Page 26 of Her Fixer Upper

‘That sounds like my driver,’ said Granddad. ‘Come on, Ted, lad, time for us to take our leave.’

He made as if to stand, but as I’d feared, the low chair proved too difficult for him. The loose canvas of the arms didn’t help either, as there was nothing for him to push against to lever himself up.

‘Do you need a hand, Granddad?’ I asked tentatively, knowing that he’d hate admitting that the answer was yes.

‘I’ve got so comfortable I’m finding it difficult to prise myself away from you both,’ said Granddad, forced jollity in his tone.

Charlie stepped forward. ‘May I, sir?’ he asked, his tone polite and respectful, making sure that Granddad could retain the dignity he so feared losing.

‘Perhaps just this once, thank you, Charlie,’ said Granddad, a sigh of defeat in his voice.

Charlie helped lever him up, waiting until he was sure that Granddad was steady, then he stepped quietly back and carried on with tasks around the kitchen, allowing us all to pretend that everything was fine, when it really wasn’t.

I looped my arm through Granddad’s and walked slowly with him to the front of the house where the taxi was waiting. Beneath his smart jacket, his arm felt a lot smaller than it used to, and I was upset to realise how stooped he was when he was walking. I cursed myself for being so wrapped up in my own selfish needs that I hadn’t noticed how much frailer he had grown. Ted scampered at our feet, rushing between interesting smells. But despite his eagerness to move quickly, I noticed that he was slowing his pace when he neared Granddad, sensing that he shouldn’t get under his feet.

I waved Granddad and Ted off, and walked slowly around to the back of the house again, trailing my fingers through the weeds.

‘Penny for ’em,’ said Charlie.

I looked up and saw him leaning against the back door, his arms folded as he watched me closely.

‘He seems to have got so old all of a sudden,’ I said. ‘I mean, objectively he is old. But he’s never seemed that way until now.’

Charlie nodded. ‘We’ll keep an eye on him. I know you’re doing the dog walk rota, but I’m sure there’s more we can do to support him.’

I tried to pull myself together. ‘Thanks, Charlie, that’s very sweet of you. But you shouldn’t be worrying about it. He’s not your responsibility.’

He frowned. ‘I don’t think Arthur would like being referred to as a “responsibility”.’

‘You know what I mean,’ I snapped. I knew I was being unreasonable, that he was only trying to help, but my worry about Granddad was making me lash out. Charlie just happened to be the person on the receiving end.

‘You don’t have to carry everything on your shoulders, you know, Freya,’ said Charlie quietly, refusing to rise to the bait. ‘From The Rules to your “to-do” lists, I know you like to be in control. But there are some things that can’t be controlled. And with those, you just have to do your best to react in whatever way seems most feasible at the time.’

‘Yeah, yeah, I know. “Give me the wisdom to know the difference between those things I can change and those I can’t,” yadda yadda. It’s all well and good in theory, but it’s a lot harder in practice.’

I stomped back upstairs to the bathroom to continue taking my frustration out on the fixtures and fittings by scrubbing them to within an inch of their life. Since when had Charlie become a master of Zen?

Eventually I sat back on my heels and surveyed my handiwork. The avocado of the suite was now shining in its full glory, and although the flooring desperately needed replacing, it was now at least free of debris. I was confident that neither of us would be risking our health by washing in here. I only hoped the division of labour for the rest of our renovation wasn’t going to continue like this.

But when I got downstairs, I realised what Charlie had spent the last couple of hours doing instead of helping in the bathroom. My air bed had been set up in the living room, and this time it had actual air in it. My sleeping bag and pillow were laid on top, and after a hard day of both physical labour and emotional strain, the makeshift bed looked extremely inviting.

There was no sign, however, of Charlie. I wandered into the dining room, holding my breath in preparation for its pungent smell, but the windows had been opened and the fresh air filtering into the room was definitely making a difference. Finally, I ventured outside and discovered Charlie inspecting the outbuilding.

‘There you are. You might like to know that the bathroom is no longer a health hazard,’ I said.

‘Nice one. I thought as you had such a good system going, I’d be better off leaving you to it. But I haven’t been idle in the meantime, I promise.’

‘Yes, thanks for sorting out my bed. How did you manage it? Does that mean the electricity is working?’

‘I took a look at the fusebox, but a look was all I dared. It’s like when I kick the tyres of my car to pretend I’m knowledgeable about vehicles. I’m afraid I don’t have the first clue about what I’m doing, and electrics, along with car engines, are things best left to the professionals.’

‘So the air bed?’

‘As I’ve been told by my sister many times, I’m full of hot air. While you were doing battle with the bathroom, I was blowing the thing up like a balloon. You’re welcome.’

He pretended to bow.

‘Blimey, Charlie, you really must be full of hot air to have managed that. I appreciate it. Did you manage to do your own?’

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