Page 12 of Coming Home to Sturcombe Bay
“You heard me. I’m sick of being stuck in this place. I want to be back home where I can be comfortable. I don’t need this stupid noisy thing to tell me what my heart’s doing.” She indicated the heart monitor. “I might have a few weeks left, I might have only a few days, but I’m going to spend them at home. And don’t you go telling me I can’t.”
Cassie’s mother sighed and rolled her eyes. “You’re a very obstinate old woman.”
“Of course I am! That’s how come I’ve lived so long. And if I can’t go out in my own way, well, I wonder what’s the point?”
“Very well.” Helen Channing threw up her hands. She knew when she was wasting her breath. “I’ll go and talk to the nurses.”
Chapter Three
Nanna’s homecoming had all the pomp and ceremony of a royal visit, though she had only been in the hospital for ten days. Ollie had gone with Cassie’s mum and dad to fetch her in her dad’s comfortable car, but Cassie was there waiting for her outside the house, along with Lisa and Paul.
When the car drew up at the kerb the grand old lady gave a regal wave, her eyes twinkling with delight as she saw the reception committee. Paul opened the car door for her with a solemn bow as Cassie’s dad went to the boot to fetch the wheelchair. Paul and Ollie settled her into it with all due ceremony and wheeled her to the front door, then the two of them lifted it up the stone steps to the hall.
She gazed around in smug satisfaction. “Right. I’m home.”
Cassie’s mum smiled wearily. “Yes, you are.” Apparently, the journey from the hospital hadn’t been without its trials.
Nanna had finally been persuaded nearly five years ago to give up her own house at the top of Cliff Road, and move in with her son’s family three doors down. Lisa had kept Cassie entertained for months with the story of all the toing and froing as the obstinate old lady had insisted that she was perfectly fine living on her own.
It had taken two falls to put an end to the arguments. But even then she had been as contrary as possible, refusing point-blank to consider a stairlift so that she could use one of the upstairs bedrooms. ‘She says it looks like a toilet,’ Lisa had written. ‘Can’t say I blame her.’
So all the furniture had had to be moved out of the dining room, and her bed brought in, along with her dressing table which she had had since she was a bride, and her favourite armchair set in the bay window so that she could see out over the whole village.
They had brought her photographs — her wedding, wearing a lovely white lace gown, Grandpa Channing at her side, handsome and smart in his naval uniform. And they had set up her television for her to watch her favourite soaps and quiz shows.
“Do you want a cup of tea?” Lisa offered.
“Of course I do. And biscuits. Chocolate digestives.”
Cassie wasn’t the only one trying to suppress her laughter. Nanna had always been bossy, but as she had grown older she was worse than ever. Still, as she had said, at the age of ninety-three she was entitled to be as bossy as she liked.
“Do you want to lie on the bed or sit in your chair?” Ollie asked.
“The chair, of course. Come on, what are you standing there for? Help me up.”
They settled her in the armchair, making sure that she was comfortable with several cushions round her, and her feet propped up on a low footstool. Ollie had taken her wrist and was checking her pulse. She glared up at him.
“Stop mithering me,” she scolded. “That’s why I wanted to get out of that damned hospital, with the way all those doctors and nurses kept mithering me all the time.”
He smiled. “Humour me.”
“Huh!” But she let him finish. “Now, where are the little ones? Don’t they want to see their poor old granny?”
“Noah is down at the café playing with Amy, and Kyra’s upstairs sleeping. You can see them later — you need to take it easy for a while now.”
“I’ve every intention of taking it easy,” she retorted. “Where’s that tea? Ah, about time.” She scowled as Lisa came in with a tray. “What did you do? Go and pick the leaves yourself?”
Cassie’s mum sighed and set the remote control for the television down on the table beside her. “Is there anything else you want?”
“Not for now. I’m going to drink my tea and then have a nice sleep.” She glared at Ollie. “And I don’t want anyone disturbing me to take my damned pulse!”
“Okay. We’ll go and leave you in peace for a while then.”
In the kitchen the family settled round the big scrubbed-pine table. Cassie’s mum had provided home-baked scones and mugs of tea.
“Well, she’s home.”
“She’s going to run you ragged, Mum,” Cassie warned her.
