Page 33 of The Winter We Met
‘I got an email on my phone,’ interrupted Gran. ‘And you can stop talking about me as if I’m not here.’ Her cheeks were pale.
‘A shock makes the blood pressure drop. That slows the pulse,’ explained Lynn. ‘The result is less blood – and oxygen – to the brain and that makes you faint. The nurse did an ECG and we’re just waiting for the doctor’s verdict. But I’m sure the test will come back normal, and he’ll say that, coupled with the fact she’s never fainted before, it’s almost certain that an underlying condition isn’t responsible. However, her back’s hurting.’
Gran shuffled on the bed and winced. ‘I’m having an X-ray in a minute.’
She could have fractured something.
‘Who was the email from?’ I asked.
‘Social Services. My assessment for the move is Tuesday.’
‘Try not to worry,’ said Lynn gently. ‘The council is duty-bound to offer you somewhere else to live and Jess is helping you try to find one that’s just perfect.’
Her voice wavered. ‘That email… it all seems more real now. What if I end up somewhere away from you, Oliver and Buddy, Jess? What if none of my friends move to the same place? I… I don’t feel like I’ve got the energy to start over. And…’ She stopped.
‘What?’ I asked.
She fiddled with a button on her cardigan. ‘Nothing. I’m being silly.’
‘Join the club, then,’ said Oliver. ‘I spent a good ten minutes asking Buddy what he thought was causing the bathroom fan to rattle, this morning, and then it dawned on me that he couldn’t help.’
She managed a small smile. ‘I buy the newspapers… The staff at Willow Court are the bee’s knees, they treat us with kindness and nothing is too much trouble. But occasionally you read about horror stories of places where residents are abused and online I’ve watched the secretly filmed videos. I may have no choice if everywhere is full and I don’t want to see out my days being…’ She gulped. ‘Being treated like a nuisance – or even worse, like a child.’
Her eyes filled and not for the first time anger swept through me about the speed with which this closure was happening.
‘That willneverbe the case, Gran, and you know those cases are very few and far between. Newspapers just love to blow up a shocking story.’
‘Several of my colleagues have relatives in care homes and they can’t speak highly enough of the attentive staff; they say they are real heroes – just like the ones where you live,’ said Oliver and I shot him a look of appreciation.
‘I know. They are true stars – and you’re both so good to me. I don’t like to make a fuss. But I love my view of the canal. My room’s so cosy…’ Her voice broke. ‘I’m trying to put on a brave face, but the truth is… I’m scared. Scared I’ve got no control over this decision. Scared of having to rely on people who… who might not be quite as understanding as the staff at Willow Court. And of being alone – Willow Court runs lots of lovely activities. We have a laugh. What if I’m left in my room a lot? My arthritis is only getting worse. I’m going to lose the little independence I’ve got left as I lose my mobility.’ Her chest heaved and she put a hand over her beaded necklace. ‘That list of directories… it doesn’t tell us the things that matter, like what the food is like and do the staff know how to have fun.’
Oliver stood up and let me have his seat. Firmly, I took Gran’s fingers. ‘Now, you listen to me, you’re not moving anywhere until we give it a thorough once-over. Together we’ll visit and talk to the staff and the residents. You aren’t going to be made to live anywhere you don’t want to.’
‘Jess and me both have cars – wherever you go, nothing will stop us visiting as much as we do now,’ said Oliver. ‘It won’t make a difference.’
‘What if they don’t let Buddy in?’ she croaked. A tear ran down her cheek. ‘Some men turned up with a van today. They took the paintings out of the lounge. Betty got really upset and called them thieves. She didn’t understand. Then they came back in and tried to take—’
‘Don’t upset yourself, Alice. I gave head office short shrift when I rang them, believe me,’ cut in Lynn, face flushing red. ‘I’ve made it quite clear any removals will have to wait until the last resident has moved out.’
Gran wiped her face. ‘It’s as if our home is being dismantled before our very eyes.’
‘I’ve always got my ear to the ground about other facilities,’ said Lynn. ‘I won’t let a single person move anywhere that I’ve heard a bad word about. If it’s any comfort, I’ve rarely heard a negative word about any of the care homes in this area. For a lot of the people who work in the care sector it’s a real vocation. And I’m talking to the mobile hairdresser I mentioned tomorrow.’
Gran sniffed. ‘It makes you think how upsetting all of this must be for someone on their own, like Glenda and perhaps… perhaps she was right about the party being too much.’
*
Oliver fetched us chocolate from a vending machine before driving himself and Lynn back to work. The X-ray was done and the doctor eventually came back with all the test results. As Lynn suspected, the ECG was normal. So was the X-ray but Gran had slightly bruised her tailbone and it would take a month or so for the pain to completely go. Plus her blood pressure was sky-high so the doctor decided he wanted to keep her in for observation.
I went to bed early, before Oliver got back from Misty’s – after I’d paced around the room for almost half an hour, up and down, over to the window then back to the bed. Seeing Gran like that, vulnerable and afraid, the future a vast unknown, reminded me how I’d felt when the police turned up to arrest Mum, saying something about dealing, me wondering if I’d go to jail too. Gran had got me through that unsettled period. Now it was my turn to get her through this – and do everything I could to make the last Christmas party the best ever was a good starting point. That’s if it went ahead. Maybe Gran would think it was too much work for her to help organise now.
But if that were the case, I’d take over her role. Angela was putting the pressure on at work and we had to find Gran a new home but somehow I’d fit it all in. The Christmas party was more important than ever now.
15
Silence fell in the lounge at Willow Court as I stopped the DVD and switched off the television. In the corridor Betty walked past, muttering to herself. Nik came up to the front and stood by me.
‘What a movie,’ he said.
