by Rosie Harris
That done he returned to the chair by Mary to wait to be called to see the specialist. When his name was called again, Mary stood up as well.
‘I’m coming with you,’ she said when he stopped in surprise. ‘I want to hear what they tell you.’
She thought Bill was going to argue and make a scene but he shrugged resignedly and let her go with him. The news was not good. As Mary had suspected, the AMD was bad in both of Bill’s eyes and the fact that he had not been having regular treatment had made things worse.
‘If you had come back sooner, then I would have been able to treat your eyes and minimise the damage. As it is, most of the central vision has now been damaged. I am going to make an appointment for you to have those injections as soon as possible.’ He looked across at Mary, ‘will you ensure he attends?’ he said sternly.
Bill was very quiet when they went to the hospital restaurant afterwards for a cup of tea, while they waited for the taxi.
‘I suppose it looks as though I’ve been rather foolish, but I didn’t think it was all that important and you had so many other problems that it seemed selfish to bother you.’
‘Stop making excuses. You could have attended without me,’ Mary said crossly.
‘I know, I know,’ Bill admitted. ‘I’ll attend the next one, I promise,’ he assured her.
‘Good, and I’ll come with you.’
‘Thanks, but you don’t have to do that,’ he mumbled.
‘I rather think I should. You won’t be able to see very well afterwards.’
Bill reached out and took her hand and squeezed it. ‘I don’t know how I would manage without you,’ he murmured. ‘For that matter, I don’t know any of us would,’ he added thoughtfully as he stirred his tea and took a biscuit from the packet Mary had bought. ‘It’s getting more difficult for you. It was bad enough that Lucia had to leave so suddenly, but now Delia’s lost her job, because she was trying to help out, and that is something else which is going to cause difficulties.’
‘Yes, that is a shame,’ Mary agreed. ‘You’ve done your share though, Bill, and we are grateful. George thinks you are his hero and he’s always talking about you. He looks forward to his bedtime story so much, but I think we will have to call a halt to that. Richard can read to him himself now and it must be a strain on your eyes trying to read in the evening.’
‘I enjoy story time as much as he does,’ Bill told her. ‘We usually have a chat as well as a story.’
‘You can have your chat on the way to school in the mornings,’ Mary smiled.
‘Oh don’t worry we have one then as well. He’s a fine lad and I’m sure Richard is proud of him.’
‘I think you are probably right,’ Mary agreed. ‘It would have broken his heart if Megan had taken him away.’
‘Have you heard from her since?’ Bill asked as he drained his cup.
‘No, not a word. Her solicitor has been in touch with Richard’s solicitor, but I’m not sure at what stage things are. There’s definitely going to be a divorce though.’
‘The sooner it’s all settled the better,’ Bill agreed.
Mary smiled and said nothing. She had spent so many sleepless nights worrying about what the outcome was going to be that she didn’t want to stir up all her uneasy thoughts again. At the moment, she had managed to push them to the back of her mind, but she was well aware that it would only take a chance remark to bring them all flooding back. Her greatest fear was that Megan might change her mind and decide that she wanted George after all.
So far, George had remained unperturbed by the fact that he hadn’t seen his mother for weeks and that he had been told she wasn’t coming back. His days seem to be filled with helping to take care of his father and his excitement in having Delia staying with them. He still liked Bill to read him a story at night, but if Bill felt he couldn’t make it then George listened to Richard telling him a story quite happily. He had also accepted Lucia’s absence. Delia had more than amply filled her place in his life. School took up a lot of his time, of course, and he enjoyed learning. Every afternoon, he came home eager to tell them what he had been doing or to tell them about something he had learned. He had been given quite a big part in the end of term Christmas play and so he had his lines to learn. They had all promised to be there on the big night.
‘You won’t know who I am because I will be dressed up,’ he told them, forgetting that he had already told them the name of the character he was playing.
He was also excited about Christmas. He had written so many letters to Santa Claus and asked for so many different things, that even Richard was confused about what to get him.
‘We don’t want the house cluttered up with presents he never looks at or isn’t interested in playing with after Christmas Day. I’m in favour of one really big present, and then a stocking and perhaps a present at the dinner table.’
‘You can’t limit him like that,’ Delia told him. ‘We all want to give him a Christmas present. I know Bill has a book of bedtime stories in mind, probably ones he wants to read,’ she added with a smile. ‘Mary will want to give him something and I know she has been knitting away for weeks, making him something special to wear on Christmas Day. I certainly want to give him a nice present and, as you have just said, so do you.’
‘That’s four special presents for a start,’ Richard grumbled.
‘Yes, and he’ll probably get small ones from friends at school.’
‘Does that mean we will have to take him shopping, so that he can buy presents for his friends?’ Richard frowned.
‘It certainly does, and I think that perhaps this Saturday might be as good a time as any. If we leave it any later all the good things will have gone, the shops will be packed and there will be queues a mile long.’
‘Well good luck to you,’ Richard grimaced. ‘I’m glad I’m not fit to come.’
‘Rubbish!’ Of course you are,’ Delia told him. ‘Being in a crowd will be good practice for when you go back to school in January.’
Richard tried to argue, but Delia was having none of it and, to his annoyance, when his mother called in later that day, she agreed with Delia when they told her about the proposed shopping trip.
‘With so much happening before Christmas he will be tired of things before the big day,’ Richard stated.
‘Not a bit of it,’ Delia told him. ‘He still has to help put up the decorations at home and I know he is planning to come round here, to help your mother to make paper chains to go up in her living room,’ she added giving Mary a wink.
‘Where are you planning to go?’ Mary asked. ‘There’s not very much of a selection of toys in the village. We used to have a toy shop here but, like so many of the other small independent shops, it didn’t pay so it was closed down.’
‘We thought of going to Windsor,’ Delia said.
‘What a splendid idea. George will love seeing the castle, all the bright lights and the wonderful window displays in the town.’
‘Would you like to come as well?’ Delia asked her. She felt a little guilty and wondered how Mary felt about her organising the trip, when in the past Mary could have been the one to do so.
‘No thank you!’ Mary shook her head. ‘I’m not walking too well at the moment and I find Windsor a little bit hilly and its cobbled streets rather difficult. I think the three of you will do very well on your own. George will love seeing the castle, but walking up the hill to see it would be too much for me.’
‘If you are sure,’ Delia said.
‘Yes, I am quite sure,’ Mary said with conviction. ‘Why don’t you all come back to my place for tea afterwards? I will invite Bill for tea as well and then George can tell us all about it and show us all the things he has bought for his friends.’
The idea of them enjoying tea together did not work out as well as Mary had hoped. George was overexcited, Richard was tired and Delia was exhausted.
‘You were quite right,’ she told Mary as she sank into an armchair and e
ased her shoes off. ‘Windsor is rather hilly and those cobbles certainly make your feet ache. It’s been years since I was there and I had forgotten how tiring it could be.’
‘At least you weren’t trying to walk with a stick,’ Richard pointed out. ‘The number of times it twisted or slipped, it’s a wonder I didn’t fall.’
‘No, you did very well,’ Delia told him. ‘It proves how much progress you’ve made. Perhaps you could try very short walks without your stick,’ she suggested.
His handsome face brightened for a moment and all signs of tiredness vanished. ‘Only if you are with me, so that I can grab your arm if I need to,’ he told her.
‘I could walk with you,’ George said. ‘I can walk like a soldier.’ He wriggled out of his chair and began marching up and down the room, stamping his feet each time he turned, imitating the soldiers he had seen on guard duty at Windsor Castle.
‘Stop that, you’ll wear the carpet out,’ Richard said grabbing his arm. ‘Tell your grandma about the presents you bought for your school friends.’
George shook his head and pulled himself free. ‘No, they’re a secret,’ he said. ‘All the presents I bought today are secret,’ he said stubbornly.
‘Don’t be cheeky!’ Richard said crossly.
‘Well, they are,’ George persisted defiantly.
‘In that case then, I think it is time for us to go home,’ Delia said quickly before an argument could start between George and Richard.
‘Thank you for tea Mary, sorry to leave you with all the washing up, but I think these two boys have had a long day and need their bed.’
THIRTY-FIVE
The morning that Bill was due at the eye hospital, Mary woke up with a cold. She made a cup of tea and took it back to bed, but she knew she couldn’t stay there, because they had to be at the hospital by ten o’ clock. As she showered and started to get dressed she felt terrible. Her head ached and she could hardly breathe. She didn’t feel like making porridge, so she put a slice of bread into the toaster.
As she sat eating it, she wondered what she ought to do. Was it fair to go to the hospital with Bill when she might pass it on to sick people, or even to Bill? But if she didn’t go with him, could she trust him to go on his own? He didn’t need much of an excuse not to go, she thought gloomily.
Since he was having injections in both eyes and would struggle to see afterwards, she didn’t think he could manage on his own. She took a couple of paracetamol tablets to try and ease the pain in her head and hoped that, if that went, she could work out what to do for the best. She wondered if Richard was fit enough to go with him. After all, it was only a case of seeing him from the taxi into the hospital and then phoning for a taxi to bring them home again afterwards.
When she phoned Richard it was Delia who answered the phone. Mary told her what the situation was and Delia immediately offered to take Bill.
‘I’m sure Richard could manage but he isn’t up yet and I am up and dressed.’
‘It means leaving Richard on his own,’ Mary said worriedly.
‘Richard will be fine. As I said, he isn’t even up yet, and if I take up the newspaper to him and another cup of tea, he’ll probably stay where he is until mid-morning and I’ll be home again by then.’
Mary glanced at the clock and knew she had to make a quick decision. ‘If you wouldn’t mind, Delia.’
‘Of course I don’t mind,’ Delia told her.
‘I’ll phone for a taxi then and ask them to pick you up first, and then Bill.’
‘You go back to bed, I’ll arrange that,’ Delia told her briskly. ‘Now, don’t protest, there isn’t time. You make yourself a hot drink and go back to bed for a couple of hours.’
Bill was surprised to find that it was Delia, not Mary, in the taxi when it stopped for him.
‘Is she all right?’ he asked and his brow furrowed as he heard Delia’s explanation that Mary had a cold starting.
‘Well it’s best she stayed home,’ he agreed and it’s good of you to take her place. I could always have phoned the hospital and tell them that I wasn’t coming,’ he added.
‘That’s exactly what was worrying Mary,’ Delia told him, hiding a smile, ‘she was afraid you might do that if she left you to go on your own.’
Delia took a deep breath as they want into the hospital. The familiar smells and the sight of nurses in their crisp uniform were like coming home after a long absence. Her eyes shone with interest as she accompanied Bill to the eye department reception desk. Bill knew the routine and showed Delia where to wait for him while he went for tests and drops to prepare his eyes for treatment.
When he was called into the surgery for his injection, he shook his head when Delia offered to accompany him and told her he would rather she waited for him outside. She was sitting there, deep in thought, reminiscing about her own nursing days, when someone spoke her name. Surprised she looked up, then gasped when she saw a familiar face, a woman wearing a sister’s uniform, standing at her side.
‘Peggy? Peggy Bristow? Heavens, we haven’t seen each other for about ten years,’ Delia exclaimed staring into the green eyes that locked with her own and showed equal surprise.
‘That’s true,’ Peggy smiled. ‘So how are you and what are you doing here? Not eye trouble, I hope?’
‘No, no,’ Delia said quickly. ‘I have brought an elderly man in for treatment.’
‘I see!’ Peggy’s eyebrows went up. ‘So why aren’t you in uniform?’
‘He’s not a patient, he’s a family friend,’ Delia explained.
Peggy nodded understandingly. ‘You are still nursing though?’
Delia shook her head, her eyes lining with tears.
‘Oh, why ever not?’ Peggy asked in surprise.
Delia hesitated for a moment and then in a sudden need to tell someone who would understand, she found herself telling Peggy the whole sad saga of how she had been forced to leave her job as a sister.
‘Whew!’ Peggy whistled softly. ‘That was tough. So what are you doing now?’
Delia shrugged. ‘Nothing at all,’ she confessed.
‘So how are you living? If I remember, none of your family is still alive. Your mother died while we were still training.’
‘That’s right,’ Delia acknowledged, ‘and of course my dad died several years before that.’
‘So however are you getting by? You’re not married are you?’
Again, Delia shook her head. ‘No, I’m looking after a friend who has been sick.’ She related the story of Richard’s accident; how his wife had left him and his housekeeper had been called away, because her own mother died and she had to go back to Italy to care for her sister.
Peggy listened in silence. ‘Is this Richard recovering from his accident?’ she asked.
‘Oh yes, he’s going back to work after Christmas. He’s a schoolteacher so he should be able to manage to do that without too many problems.’
‘So you will be redundant again,’ Peggy mused.
‘Well, not exactly. He has a child, a boy of seven, so he still needs someone to be there when the child comes home from school.’
Peggy frowned. ‘If this Richard is a teacher then surely he will finish work around the same time as the child comes out of school?’ she commented.
Delia looked at her startled. She hadn’t thought of that.
‘Anyway,’ Peggy added, ‘because both parents are usually working these days, they seem to have after-school clubs to keep the children occupied, until one or other of the parents can come and collect them.’
Delia stared at her in silence. She hadn’t thought of that either, but now the possibility that her help might no longer be needed by Richard alarmed her.
As if reading her thoughts, Peggy said, ‘We have a vacancy for a staff nurse, so why don’t you come here. I know you were a sister and it would be a bit of a come down, but it is better than nothing and it would get you back into circulation again.’
Delia looked doubtful. �
��I was thinking of applying for agency work,’ she admitted, but working here would be ideal. The only thing is, I don’t think my old Matron would be willing to give me a reference.’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ Peggy told her. ‘If you are interested then leave it with me. It might take a few weeks to organise, but I’d say the job is as good as yours.’
‘Really?’ Delia looked both pleased and surprised.
‘Very much so,’ Peggy assured her. ‘Look, I must go, I have work to do, people to organise, you know how it is. Sit tight where you are at the moment, give me your details and I’ll be in touch. As I said, it may take a week or two to organise.’
When Bill came out of the surgery half an hour later, Delia was still feeling bemused by what had happened. She and Peggy Bristow had trained together and shared a room. As well as confiding in each other about all their fears and sharing grumbles about what was expected of them, they had become firm friends. After they had qualified, they had both been disappointed when they had been sent to different hospitals, which were so far apart that they knew visiting each other was out of the question. They promised each other that they would keep in touch, but they never did apart from sending each other cards at Christmas and on each other’s birthday. Even this had stopped about five years ago.
Delia pushed aside thoughts of Peggy and the past from her mind. She hoped something would come out of Peggy’s promise to get her a job whilst Bill, on the arm of a nurse, was brought over to where she was sitting.
‘Wait at least ten minutes to make sure he is all right before you leave,’ the nurse told her. She handed Delia some drops and gave her careful instructions about putting them in. ‘We will make an appointment to see him again in four weeks’ time,’ the nurse told her.
‘It will only be a check-up next time, Mr Thompson,’ she said patting Bill’s arm reassuringly.
Delia waited ten minutes, as she had been told to do, then she asked Bill if he was ready to go.
‘You don’t feel giddy or anything, do you?’ she checked.