AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Charlie tightened her grip. She stroked Elda’s hair.
“Don’t, Charlie, I’m filthy. My hair is a right mess.”
Charlie cupped Elda’s face in her hands and kissed her gently on the lips. She wanted to take all the pain away. “I know I’m a bit useless with all this, but this is what I can do. I can finish the tea while you shower. I promise not to come in.” She winked and pecked Elda’s cheek. “I’ll look in on Nancy and sit with her. Take your time. And then, you can go and get your mum and try to pin the doctors down on what she needs at home.”
Elda rubbed her bloodshot eyes. “You know where the milk is.” She kissed Charlie on the lips.
***
Charlie rubbed sleep from her eyes and stretched the stiffness from her neck. The house had been restless overnight. They waited as the family doctor climbed two steps across the threshold. It had rained all morning, and the paving stones were slippery under foot.
Doctor Adams was weathered with age and wisdom, his face wrinkled in the right places. Charlie fidgeted in the hallway. Her thoughts were beginning to run away from her, and she needed to get a hold of something. The stairs creaked, and she followed Elda and Adams towards Linda’s room and hovered on the landing.
“Linda, it’s good to see you home. And with your daughter. Gosh, isn’t she a grown-up, now? How is Nancy doing?”
“She’s the same. We’re both very worried about her,” Elda said since her mother didn’t respond.
“It’s a difficult time, but I’m here now to help.” He unclipped his briefcase and unfurled a pile of notes. “How are you feeling at the moment, Linda?”
“I’m very tired, doctor. The hospital gave me all sorts of instructions and exercises to do, but it’s an awful lot.”
“Yes, you’ve been through something very strenuous. That’ll take some time to get over. You must do all the physio and take the exercise that the cardiac team have recommended.”
“We’re worried about caring for my nan. Mum needs some support with that,” Elda said, her voice shaky.
“Yes. Have you spoken to the council?”
“It’s a minefield. You’re passed from one idiot to another.”
Linda’s outburst made Charlie examine the artexed ceiling, wishing she could escape.
“I’ll make a referral today. Your spell in hospital changes the situation. I think we should also start to consider the end-of-life care that Nancy will need. I’ll ask the team to come and talk to you about that.”
Charlie spotted the panic flash in Elda’s eyes. She placed her hand over Elda’s as she gripped the edge of the banister. She wanted to fix all this, take it all away.
“I don’t want to see her suffer, doctor. It’s been awful. I’m sure it was what put me in hospital in the first place, and that’s no place to be.”
Linda was working herself up into a state.
“Mum, let’s try to focus on what Nan needs.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing all these years. If you believe otherwise, you can think again.”
Charlie dug her fingernails into her palms. Her jaw clamped, and she headed downstairs to avoid the rest of the conversation. This house was suffocating. Elda had warned her, but she was seeing it for herself. Charlie thought about her own parents, overflowing with kindness and love. She wished she could bring some of that here for Elda. She longed to be able to create safe spaces for her. For now, she had to protect her from Linda’s bile.
Another restless night followed, and as the sky turned from black to grey behind the living room curtains, Charlie turned over, her bones creaking with fatigue. Her eyebrows pulsed, and she rubbed at the pressure across her forehead.
She eased her shoulder blades off the sofa, padded upstairs, and crawled back under the warm duvet. Elda reached behind her and pulled Charlie close into the curve of her spine.
“Here you are,” Elda said.
“Just about.” She nuzzled into Elda’s neck and closed her eyes, enjoying the brief, unburdened moment.
“Where’ve you been?”
“I slept on the sofa, listening out for Nancy.”And now I feel like shit.
“Thank you.” Elda turned and planted kisses along Charlie’s cheek.
