Page 67 of A Christmas Celebration
‘There are no accidents,’ Molly cut in.
‘I was out doing the delivery round one day,’ I carried on, not mentioning that it was right at the beginning of me taking it on, ‘and happened upon this rather neglected looking cottage.’
‘There are a few of those around here,’ said Mick.
I was pleased about that because it hopefully meant no one would be able to pinpoint exactly the one I was talking about. I might have wanted to pick their brains for suggestions about how to further help Albert, but not at the expense of exposing his identity until, or unless, it became absolutely necessary.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘You’re right, Mick, and this one belongs to someone elderly, who now lives alone and has been struggling to keep on top of things.’
‘They sound like an ideal candidate for Kathleen,’ I was then surprised to hear Dorothy say. ‘What?’ She frowned at my look of surprise. ‘I know she’s not all bad, really. And those healthy mincemeat flapjacks she was handing out last night were almost edible.’
Praise indeed.
‘Well,’ I smiled, ‘I’m delighted to hear that and you’re right about this person being right for her and Anna to help. However, they’re also fiercely private and quite stubborn to boot and as a result, and probably because they’re feeling a bit vulnerable, the only person they’ll let help them at the moment, is me.’
‘So, that’s where you’ve been disappearing off to when you haven’t been officially working.’ Dorothy smiled.
‘I have already helped them with a few things,’ I confirmed, ‘and they’re managing better…’
‘A PWC already sorted by the sounds of it then,’ interjected Angus.
‘Not quite,’ I further explained. ‘There are a few practical adjustments I’d still like to help them make and officially adding them to Anna’s round is also a priority, but it’s not the main one right now.’
‘So, what is?’ Mick asked.
‘My main concern is that they haven’t left their home in a very long time and, if for any reason they had to, then I think they’d struggle. I asked them to lunch here today, because it’s a safe and reasonably quiet place, but they turned me down and that’s not the first time I’ve offered to take them out.’
‘Maybe they didn’t like the sound of Dorothy’s cooking,’ said Archie.
Dorothy threw a cushion at him, narrowly missing the top of Bran’s head.
‘I’m being serious, Archie.’ I frowned. ‘There may come atime in the future that they have to leave, say if they become ill or something and if they haven’t done it in a very long time then it will make the situation even more stressful.’
‘Sorry,’ Archie said, sounding repentant. ‘I didn’t think. So, how have they been managing with food and things?’
‘They’ve been living off frozen stuff and processed packets and tins for a while.’
Dorothy’s sharp intake of breath said it all.
‘And lots of it was out of date when I arrived on the scene and stocks were running dangerously low.’ I shook my head. ‘I dread to think what would have happened had I not turned up when I did.’
‘Like I said,’ Molly kindly whispered, ‘there are no accidents.’
Perhaps she was right.
‘And it’s not just their diet which is suffering,’ Angus said thoughtfully. ‘Although that’s dreadful enough, but they’re missing out on so much more, too. Life must be very limited when it’s restricted to four walls.’
‘Not to mention lonely,’ Catherine added.
‘Exactly,’ I agreed. ‘I don’t want to force them out. To be honest, I don’t think I could, but I do think they need to broaden their horizons a bit.’
‘What did you say their name was?’ Dorothy frowned.
‘I didn’t,’ I said, ‘and I’m not going to tell you. Not yet anyway. Even talking about them feels like a betrayal of trust.’
‘It’s not that,’ Angus said kindly.
‘But I understand where you’re coming from,’ saidDorothy. ‘And I wasn’t trying to trick it out of you. I just couldn’t remember if you’d said.’
