The Woman Who Kept Everything

by Jane Gilley

  ‘You’ve done me proud, Gloria. But I … I didn’t want you to see me like this. And you shouldn’t be working at your time of life.’

  Gloria was completely shattered, perspiring and out of breath. The dress she was wearing was smeared with grime. But she’d kept her face plastered with encouraging smiles, throughout the day, for Mabel’s benefit. What a horrible way for her poor friend to live, she thought, sadly. But she wasn’t going to say that to Mabel. So Gloria shook her head.

  ‘I’m not working, Mabel. I’m helping out my dear friend. You might be surprised to learn that I’ve had the very same troubles myself recently. And I’ve finally had some help gettin’ through it. So I’m just helping you out, too. We do what we can, Mabel, when someone’s in need. Age has got nowt to do with it. So don’t go worryin’ yourself about that, ducks.’

  Mabel fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. Soft snoring could be heard as Gloria closed her friend’s door and removed her teacup.

  After she’d put Mabel to bed Gloria had poked her head into the kids’ bedroom.

  ‘Bloody hell, Mabel!’ She grimaced, her eyes widening.

  The ceiling was in a state of collapse along the top of one wall. You could see the pale summer sky beyond, just like in the bathroom. A steady drip, drip of accumulated rainwater could be seen in one corner that had drenched the children’s beds and soaked the rotting carpet. There was a blackish slimy mould down the walls and all over the bedcovers. It was also where the awful putrid decaying aroma was coming from, which permeated the whole house. Everything in that room would have to be removed and dumped. In fact, Gloria was horrified to realise that the whole house probably needed demolishing.

  How could Mabel’s children have left her to deteriorate in this awful environment? She felt furious with Mabel’s son David, who was the one living closest to her and yet had done nothing to help. But the others hadn’t bothered to help either. Pah! There was no excuse for how they’d treated her.

  Gloria made her way back down the rickety stairs and stepped outside to gulp the fresh country air into her lungs. She sat on a milk churn by the front door and savoured the peace and quiet for a moment, feeling greedy for the fresh, clean air. She couldn’t believe Mabel’s predicament could be this bad. Oh, the joys of getting old and not being able to do things for yourself!

  It was still light and a misty sun hung low in the sky, encouraging last-minute outings or adventures amongst the arcades and blinking lights of the Skegness waterfront should anyone wish to partake. Gloria was shattered after all her hard work and just wanted some shut-eye. Yet where would she sleep?

  She wandered back into Mabel’s stale, damp, oppressive little cottage and shut the door. She was still hot and clammy and badly needed a shower herself but she decided to go without. There was no way she would attempt to have one whilst she was here. Not having a bath or shower was what she’d been used to in her own house in Norwich, after all. So it wasn’t really a big deal. However, now she’d experienced regular bathing she wanted to continue enjoying that privilege, wherever she ended up.

  In the kitchen she simply washed her face with cold water then moved back into the front room and got down onto the hard floor with some difficulty. It took her a while to drag newspapers underneath her to fashion a bed and she pulled some loose sheets of it over her like Tilsbury had to do in her house. At least it was a warm night. But what a way to live!

  She was also a little worried about what might be crawling around on the floor with her whilst she slept and that’s even if she was able to sleep in these circumstances on such a hard scuffed dirty floor like this. But Gloria was so worn out that it didn’t take her long to drift off and start snoring softly, herself.

  Chapter 19

  On the second day at poor Mabel’s, Gloria got out the business card and rang her friendly taxi driver, Jim, and asked him to fetch eggs, butter, bread and a carton of long-life milk from the nearest shop. There was no way she could go another day without eating anything. And Mabel was wasting away, judging by her emaciated frame. She also asked Jim if he’d kindly remove and dump all the rubbish she’d managed to clear from the cottage.

  She did chuckle to herself at that. ‘Dump all the rubbish,’ she’d said to Jim. A few days ago the very idea of dumping rubbish would’ve been preposterous to Gloria Frensham. But today, because of poor Mabel, she was thinking, Thank God for bin days!

  ‘Of course, I’ll pay you whatever the going rate is. But I’m helpin’ my friend who’s sick, you see. Her family have abandoned her and there’s no one to help but me.’

  Jim was far more accommodating than Gloria would have thought but then she’d already spent near on £44 with him already.

  ‘Yeah, of course love. S’nice what you’re doin’. D’you want a hand with anything else while I’m here? Any liftin’ or getting summat down from somewhere?’

  ‘No, ducks. It’s all done now. Thanks!’

  There was no way Gloria could sort out all the stacked newspapers but the stuff Sandie had thrown around in dismay had now gone and so had a lot of other crap from around Mabel’s home. At least the kitchen was cleaner now, the shelves emptied of rubbish, the loo pan was whitish again and the shower room could be used, once you got used to the cold water. A bit of elbow grease had done wonders. Plus there was a bit more space around the lounge and she’d even found the radio.

  Gloria got Mabel downstairs to use the loo and then discovered there was no more toilet paper. Luckily she had tissues in her tiny suitcase, which then found a new home. Afterwards Gloria encouraged Mabel to eat scrambled eggs, a piece of buttered bread and a cup of tea with milk. It all tasted grand and even Mabel nodded a grateful thank you to Gloria, her mouth full of eggs. The food would last a couple of days at least. Gloria just wanted to get Mabel’s resolve and strength back before she sorted anything else out. She could see Mabel was fading now Gerard had gone and now that Sandie was behaving like a spoilt brat, even though the woman was in her late forties.

  After their meal, Gloria helped Mabel get dressed and persuaded her to come outside for a little walk seeing as it was such a nice sunny day. She wanted to get Mabel’s limbs moving because Gloria could see that walking wasn’t a pastime Mabel was too familiar with these days. A light wind breezed in through the open window.

  ‘We’ll take it slow, ducks. Here’s your stick. But show me around the place, Mabel. I’ve never been on a farm before.’

  Gloria could see that Mabel was brighter than yesterday and she even had a cheery smile pasted on her lips today, although it took them a while to get going. The barn behind Mabel’s cottage that stored the cereals was vast. The flat Lincolnshire countryside around here was bare and stark, perfect for growing crops but devoid of any character. There were few trees apart from those framing the main farmhouse.

  But Gloria was stiff from her walk to the Skegness seafront and all her hard work yesterday at Mabel’s. And Mabel’s pained gait slowed them down even further. They probably only went some twenty yards before Mabel said she wanted to go back. She sat down on the milk churn to get her breath back.

  ‘Gerard used to sit on this to take his boots off,’ she murmured. ‘But, you know, I never walk anywhere or do anything really.’

  ‘Yes I can see that, Mabel. But doesn’t David ever come and take you out? And is Sandie always so darned troublesome?’

  ‘They don’t bother with me, now. David can’t really get away in the summer because it’s peak season in Skeggy. His wife, Fi, does most of it. Their Rebecca left home and went to London as a dancer. Been dancin’ all her life. Started at the Embassy on the front – I might have told you. Doesn’t come home much. You see, they’re all so busy now. So I … I don’t like to bother them, Gloria.’

  Gloria’s growing annoyance because of the situation had been kept in check whilst she’d been Mabel’s guest. Yet she wasn’t usually one to hold her feelings back, especially anguish. She felt it bubbling to the surface, now.
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  ‘Well I’m sorry, Mabel, but from what you’ve told me, I can’t accept all this tiptoeing around. I’ve had the same sort of problems myself, with me own family, and it’s not a good situation to be in. Plus you can’t survive on your own out here with no help at all. Your lot have got to realise that.’

  ‘But I told them I’m okay.’

  ‘But you’re not okay, Mabel. When was the last time you ate summat proper?’

  Mabel looked sad. ‘Um, well –’

  Gloria softened. She saw herself in Mabel. She, too, had pooh-poohed all offers of help in the past and it hadn’t done her any good. It had even given Clegg some leverage when he came to move her out of her own house that day. No wonder he thought the only solution was to put her in an old people’s home. She could suddenly see how he’d reached that decision.

  Gloria helped Mabel back indoors and onto the settee. She proceeded to make them a cup of tea, while deep in thought.

  ‘I’d like to help you, Mabel, if you’ll let me. You can’t carry on living here like this and Sandie and David need to be told. The farmer probably also has a responsibility to you as well. A run-down cottage ain’t compensation for nothing. So will you let me help you?’

  ‘But how can you help me?’

  Gloria could see Mabel was a proud woman but it hadn’t worked in her favour. Her ruddy kids had clearly turned a blind eye to her situation. But perhaps they’d turned a blind eye because they weren’t sure what to do about it? Green’s Nursing Home had opened Gloria’s eyes by telling her how families often worried about how to look after their aged parents at the end of their lives.

  Possibly Mabel’s family didn’t have the time to do anything about it? Or probably they were worried about who Mabel would live with? Or, if they decided to put her into a home, who would take on the responsibility for that decision? There were a lot of considerations with issues like this, Gloria suddenly realised.

  ‘Okay. Well, what I’d like to do, if you’re okay with this, is ring both David and Sandie, tonight, and tell them what’s been going on. I’ll tell them I think you probably need to have a check-up with your doctor and social services will need to see how you’ve been living. You’re not able to get around very well any more, so you might have to consider going to live with one of your kids or moving into a home where you can get proper support.

  ‘I went into a nursin’ home for a while and the lovely people there helped me no end. David and Sandie can help you do that and maybe the farmer owes you some compensation too. However, that’s for David and Sandie to sort out. But I’m sure you’ll agree that something needs to be done. You cannot carry on living like this, Mabel. This house isn’t fit for human habitation and it’s making you ill. Would you be happy for me to do that?’

  Mabel hung her head low. She sniffed and Gloria realised she was quietly crying.

  ‘I d-didn’t want it to come to this, Gloria. I thought I could cope. But things’ve been getting steadily w-worse day by day.’

  Gloria put her arms around her friend.

  ‘There, there. I know, love. But you’ve got to look after yourself and if you can’t, then you’ve got to let other people do that for you. That’s how it is when we get older, as I’m finding out myself. Besides it can’t be much fun living here by yourself without Gerard. Remember how he wanted the best for you all? He worked hard for that, didn’t he? He’d be upset to see you like this, now, wouldn’t he, love? And he’d still want the best for you before you join him in the never-never. I’ve got the same decisions to make myself, when I goes back, too, Mabel. Happens to us all in the end, ducks. S’never plain sailing, life, is it?’

  As she spoke those words to Mabel, the full truth of what she was saying hit home for Gloria as well. Yes, at some point in the not-too-distant future, she would have to go home and deal with all these unsavoury aspects of her own life, too. It was totally depressing. But she wasn’t going to tell Mabel that.

  ‘Tell you what, Mabel, let’s have a nice little cup of tea, and a chat about old times now, shall we?’

  Chapter 20

  Gloria guessed her phone calls would be met with objections, when she spoke to David and Sandie, later that day. Indeed, at first they both yelled at her, which was unnerving and the word ‘busybody’ was even mentioned! But she held her ground and put her point across, calmly. She said she’d stay with Mabel until they both came to see exactly how she’d been living but that she wouldn’t be able to stay any longer than a couple of days when she had to get back to her own family.

  Sandie flatly said she wouldn’t be able to come up again until the following week, due to work commitments but would come as soon as possible after that. She said David would have to sort things out by himself. David duly arrived early the next morning before Mabel was up. He informed Gloria that his wife was looking after the guesthouse, so he was able to be here. He’d calmed down by the time he set foot in the door but he could not look Gloria in the eye.

  ‘She’s your mam, David. Choose your poison, lad. She either comes to live with you or you have to find her a good home. It’s what your dad would expect of ya, son.’

  She could see David was embarrassed by the whole situation. Understandably.

  ‘I know. I know. Er, I’m sorry I shouted at you, Mrs Frensham. Bit shocked about all this, that’s all. Sis can’t get her head around it either. And I don’t think she wants to deal with it. So I’ll have to. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. Um I guess I knew that one day things would come to a head. But we’ve all been so busy. Never realised just how bad things were here, I guess. Or maybe we didn’t want to see how things’ve been with Mum. So thanks for being here, Gloria. Don’t like to think what could’ve happened to her without your being here. So, um, can I give you a lift somewhere?’

  ‘Well, lad, I hadn’t thought about leavin’ so soon. Really wanted to stay until I knew someone was steppin’ up. But I guess that’s what you’re doin’, now, lad. Did you speak to social services?’

  Mabel’s apologetic son shook his head.

  ‘No, sorry, I haven’t. I wanted to swing by and see what’s been happening here first. And it’s crap, I can see that, now. I would’ve come sooner but the guesthouse is always full in the summer. And, sure, I can see you think we’ve all neglected her. And you’re right; we have. But look. What I’m thinking is this: I’d like to take her back to the guesthouse tomorrow but I can’t do that today. We’ve no spare rooms. But I’ve got a cancellation tomorrow for two weeks, so Mum could have that room, as an interim arrangement. It’s a lovely room with a sea view so that’ll be nice for her. But – er – I don’t really like to ask, but with you being her friend and all, I’m just wondering if you could possibly stay with her again tonight. Could you do that?’

  Gloria nodded. ‘Yep I’d prefer that. It’ll give her time to say goodbye to the place. All her memories are here, too. But can you get her a doctor’s appointment as soon as? Just to get her checked out. She might have problems with her stomach, she told me.’

  David agreed that he would take responsibility for his mother’s welfare from now on, including having a word with the farmer.

  So Gloria spent her last evening with Mabel, chatting about their lives and actually having a laugh, despite the dire situation. She was relieved everything would be all right for her dear old friend now. Well, she sincerely hoped it would be. She told Mabel she’d give her a ring in a few days’ time, once she was established at David’s, and also wrote down her son’s phone number for Mabel, in case she wanted to call any time.

  When David came to collect them after breakfast, the following morning, Mabel had chosen only to bring an old photo album with her and Gerard’s fishing rod, which she gave to David. Everything else she could’ve taken with her was mouldy or broken or under piles of magazines. She left all her damp clothes in the wardrobe. The crockery and cutlery belonged to the cottage as did all the furnishings so there was really little else to take.

 
‘It’s going to be a new start for me, from now on, thanks to you, Gloria. And I do thank you with all my heart,’ Mabel said, a happy smile gracing her tired face, as she hugged her best friend.

  Gloria then picked up her tiny suitcase and breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad to be leaving that dire, oppressive little cottage of Mabel’s.

  Everybody then got into David’s BMW and they all left together for Skegness station, without looking back.

  Once she’d settled down on the train, thankful to be leaving Skegness for her journey back to Norfolk that day, Gloria again thought about the parallels between Mabel’s story and her own predicament. She wiped away a tear as the conductor asked to see her ticket. It was so difficult for everyone concerned, she thought, when an elderly relative needed caring for.

  But now she’d seen and fully understood, first-hand, how impactful and disruptive these decisions were on everyone’s lives. And she could see how depression could easily sweep through a person’s life and stop them caring about looking after themselves and their home properly.

  Gloria reinforced her vow to Green’s Nursing Home, there and then, that she would NEVER start hoarding things ever again. Plus, from seeing the sad, emaciated physical state of Mabel, she knew she must look after herself, physically and mentally, in order to remain healthy.

  She’d also need to be more accepting of Clegg and Val’s concerns about her welfare from now on. And even though she fought against it, she knew the day would come when she’d have to be accepting of their decision to put her in an old people’s home. She now realised it was nothing to do with them not loving her. It was to do with the logistics of it all.

  Christ! It was so distressing being old and infirm.

  The duh-duh-duh-duh of the train lulled her into a relaxed state. She gazed out the window at the scenery speeding by, thinking she might just have a nap.