The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike) Part 1624 by Angharad Copyright © 2012 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

The phone rang about ten o’clock and when I answered it I was relieved to discover it was Maureen not Jenny. I explained that I needed to bring forward the stable conversion–sounds like something out of the Gospels doesn’t it? She had plans drafted and approved so it was essentially about getting some quotes and then agreeing a schedule with the pertinent builder. She would get cracking on it immediately.

I’d just put down the phone from her when it rang again and I picked it up half expecting Maureen to say that she’d forgotten something, except it was Jenny calling.

“You asked me to call you back.”

“I did.”

“And the verdict?”

“Guilty.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I was guilty of offering you a home and my family are agreed that I need to honour my promises.”

“Assumin’ I stlll want to come.”

“You did last night.”

“So I did, but I coulda changed my mind this morning.”

“You have ten seconds to tell me if you want this place or not.”

“Yes,” she snapped in under a second.

“It’s probably going to take a month to do.”

“Okay.”

I could have punched her one if she was nearer–what had happened to the lovely young woman who used to work for me?

“I’ll contact you nearer the time it’s completed.”

“Okay,” I put my phone down feeling disgusted with her except it hadn’t been disconnected from her call and I heard her say to someone, “She swallowed it hook line and sinker.” I was sure I hadn’t imagined it–what was going on?

I had a cuppa and talked things over with Stella who seemed equally perplexed by Jenny’s attitude. I decided I wanted to see her, Jenny, that is, but I didn’t want her to know I was there, I wanted to observe her and see to whom she was talking. I called her back.

“Hello, Cathy, what d’ya want?”

“I’m going to need and address to send the lease and I suppose it would be useful to see what we’re planning to do to the stables.”

She agreed it would and gave me her address. It was a place in Shirley–that’s a district of Southampton not the first name of Ms Bassey. I found it on Google maps and after agreeing with Stella to look after the babies, Julie and I jumped in the car set off for the address.

It took about an hour to find it and a bit longer to park the car. She hadn’t seen it before but my number plate was almost as expensive as the car, CAT11Y, a screw being deposited between the two ones. I wasn’t into personalised number plates but I didn’t pay for it. Would you believe it took me two weeks to notice the number? And only then because he asked me if I’d memorised the number yet–I never did–until this one. His of course was S1MON, his dad’s was H3NRY, and his step-mother’s, MON164. Okay the last one took some imagination but it was as close as you could get to her name.

We split up and walking on opposite sides of the road in case we were seen went and cased the place. It was essentially a block of flats for the disabled being quite close to the hospital, there were ramps and things and all the door handles and bells were at waist level.

Her flat was on the first floor and something was bugging me. I knew she’d changed, she had when she was there at Christmas, but she seemed angry with me for some reason and I wanted to know why. So I rang the bell and the locked outer door opened without her waiting for me to say who I was. We both stepped inside and walked up the steps, although there was a wheelchair lift available.

“I thought you only came to suss the place,” Julie said as she followed me up the stairs.

“Yeah, I did.”

“So what are you doing now?”

“Sussing some more.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Nor me, which is why I’m doing it.”

She stopped me at the top of the stairs, “You don’t like it which is why you’re doing it? What are you a masochist?”

“It is Lent.”

“What’s been lent?”

“No, Lent, yesterday was Ash Wednesday.”

“What?”

“Never mind–it’s to do with Easter.”

She muttered to herself as we approached the door. “Oh, that Lent?”

I shook my head–Trish would have got it in seconds. I rang the doorbell and a voice called ‘Come in.’ So we did.

“Hello, Jenny.”

“Cathy? Julie? What are you doing here?”

“Came to see you, do we need another reason?”

“I suppose not.”

One could cut the atmosphere in the flat with a knife, “Nice place, well adapted, hope the stables work out as well.”

“It’s alright,” she said dismissively.

“Mind if I look round might give me some ideas for the stables conversion. I walked out of the room before she could answer and went into the bedroom, there were two beds in there, one with a hoist thing attached for helping her in and out of bed and the other an ordinary bed. She followed me in. The men’s clothes showed she had someone living with her.

“Have a live in carer, do you?” I asked trying not to show any emotion.

“Yeah, name’s Chris.”

“Christopher, I take it?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Is he planning on coming to the stables with you?”

“Yeah, he’ll be able to help me.”

“Okay, now tell me what’s really going on?”

“Waddya mean?”

“Jenny, you are not the person you used to be. Now I know circumstances have been difficult but the old Jenny wouldn’t have been trying to bullshit me. There is no reason for you to want to leave here and don’t give me the line about wanting to see my kids grow up, because that is offensive as well as being nonsense.”

“I don’t like it here and want to be back at the farmhouse.”

Just then the door opened and in walked Chris who said as he came through the door, “I managed to get some stuff–real skunk this time. Who are you?” he said to Julie.

Jenny and I went back to the living room and I introduced us, he wasn’t very pleased. He was also still holding the bag of cannabis he’d gone out to get.

“I can explain,” said Jenny as I was about to storm out of the flat.

“You have ten seconds,” I said and stood there arms folded.

“Since I hurt my back, the pain killers don’t work, the nerves are jangling all the time–the cannabis seems to help.” I was scanning her back and I suspect she was telling the truth. “I was hoping if we could live somewhere with a garden we could grow our own and save some money. This stuff is quite expensive.”

Whilst I had sympathy for her pain problem, no one was growing illegal substances in my garden–I couldn’t trust someone like that with my children in such close proximity, which was such a tragedy. Before she went off the rails, she had been such a good nanny-housekeeper. It was so sad, but that was in the past and I was about to let it go.

“You’re disappointed?” she looked at me with moist eyes but I wasn’t going to change my mind.

“Frankly yes, very disappointed. We could have been prosecuted and I don’t see how you could do this in a place with young children about.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t think about that.” I think the apology was heartfelt, at least I accepted it as such.

Julie and I did a healing session with Jenny which exhausted all three of us but the pain was eased enough for her to cope without the drugs. I also expected her to begin to start to feel her toes again and be walking after a fashion in the coming months. How well she did was up to her. She’d never walk normally again but she’d be able to walk enough to function again–at least until old age stopped her.

We left, after wishing them both well.

“Is she going to make a full recovery, Mummy?” asked Julie as we drove to collect the girls.

“Not quite, but she could walk again if she wants to.”

“Why not a full recovery?”

“Ask the energy, I don’t make the rules, but it might be something to do with either the motive for the injuries or the fact that they’re old ones–and surgeons have been playing with them.”

“Oh–sort of makes sense, but you haven’t forgiven her have you? I wondered if that was a factor?”

“No, I don’t judge those I heal, because I don’t control it–remember, we’re just the vessels for something I still don’t understand.”

“Oh yeah, Shekhina all over,” sang Julie and I shook my head, she could be getting worse than Stella.