The Turning Point

CHAPTER FIVE- OUR PAIN

Heloyse

A bright light made the darkness vanish, and I blinked several times, trying to ease the discomfort. I woke up with a pounding headache, heavy eyes, stiff legs, and an aching body.

It was past two in the afternoon.

Ashley had definitely put me to bed last night.

I got up with a grimace. I heard noise in the house and realized Margot was cleaning. She had a copy of the key.

I took a shower, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and then, hunger took over me.

Margot was a plump woman with fair skin and rosy cheeks that matched her slender nose, also reddened. Her hair was a mix of blonde and white, and she was short, with a calm expression.

After I finished getting ready, she entered my room, picking up the clothes I had left on the floor all week. She gathered them while looking at me with a furrowed brow.

"Good morning, Lisy!"

"Good morning, Margot. And thank you... I know the house is a mess..."

"Yeah, it is!"

"I’ll pay you double, then..."

"I don’t care about your money. I would have come here anyway."

I crossed my arms, surprised by her tone. She had always been so kind to me. I couldn’t recall doing anything that might have made her angry.

"Why are you upset?"

She stopped in front of me and sighed. Then she sat on my bed and motioned for me to do the same.

"I’m not angry, Lisy. I’m just… unsettled. I looked in your pantry, and there’s nothing. Just a pack of bread, half a jar of jam. The house is a mess… And those sleeping pills sitting on the shelf. What’s going on? Do you want to die by shutting yourself away from the world? You look awful. I think you’ve lost some weight."

"Margot, I..."

"Lisy, what you need is to get out a little. Do your hair, buy some new clothes, have lunch somewhere, meet new people. I’m sure the way you’re living isn’t healthy at all."

"I don’t want to go out, I don’t want to buy anything, I don’t want anything except to lock myself away and wither away."

"Okay," she rolled her eyes, making it clear she thought I was being dramatic. "But you’re not the first, and you won’t be the last to go through this. Michael was always a good guy, and it was easy to fall for him. Things like this happen all the time. It’s going to hurt now, and nothing I or anyone else says will change that—I know. But shutting yourself in here won’t help either. Get that into your head. He’s out there living, isn’t he? So why do you want to give up?"

Tears began streaming down my face, and Margot pulled me into a hug.

"I didn’t mean to make you cry," she said, looking down at the floor. "Two years ago, when I became a widow, I thought my life was over. With Mandy and Adrian living far away, everything felt harder. I was lonely."

"I can imagine."

"George and I were married for forty-two years. Then, all of a sudden, he decided to die and leave me. Can you imagine how I felt? My kids want me to move in with them, but I’m used to living here." Her eyes were heavy with sorrow. "You, my dear, have so much time and so much ahead of you, but I don’t. Old age doesn’t give me much time, yet I fight every day not to let the pain consume me. I lost the man I slept beside for forty-two years. I will never see him again, never hold him again. I will never hear him say ‘I love you’ again. I will never sit in my chair and feel his hand resting on mine."

"I’m so sorry for your pain, Margot."

"Thank you."

"I don’t know what to do. My parents, my brother, Michael… Everyone has left me. I feel alone. People always leave, eventually."

"You’ll get through this. Believe me!"

"Maybe!" I took a deep breath and stood up. "Until then, I don’t know what to do." I rubbed my hands over my eyes.

"I do. Come on, put on something else, and let’s go buy real food for you."

I smiled and did as she suggested.