Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound Chapter 22

I had to start somewhere, so decided to allow Robin to sit on the bed and deal with the clothing. What worried me was had we disturbed whoever had broken in or was this person still around. I had to confess I didn't feel safe there anymore and the more I packet it all back I wondered if I should have just gone else where and not put mum in this position with me. Maybe I should have done what I had though. It had been stupid because in hindsight, which was all better than what you did at the time, now showed me I should have not been involved. I should have gone... well I hadn't, so I was now stuck with it, being sucked in with them.

Then I heard something that really did upset me, more than I thought possible. I picked up Robin, taking him with me to find mum, who was sat on her bed bawling her eyes out. She was a sorry state and well...why shouldn't she be after the day she'd just had. You didn't burry the man you loved every day of the week, have to deal with family members who thought nothing of slagging you off.

Auntie Izzy might think I'd not heard her going on about mum being a fool and should know better, while Uncle Archie had bemoaned every thing he ate, touched and the fact there was no drink stronger than over stewed tea. Still she still had Uncle Frank, even though he was a bit sorrowful at times. There was also Auntie Connie, who'd even asked mum to go and stay with her or at least get on the bus and meet up for coffee in the town she lived in. It was all early days and for now Mum had said no she was okay but clearly she wasn't, or not just then.

She looked at me with blotchy red face and bloodshot eyes, looking less the attractive woman she had looked a few hours ago.

'Oh Cara, what am I going to do?' she wailed out, as I joined her on the bed, sitting Robin in the middle of her double bed.

'What do you mean by that?' I asked her, fearing this was all her grief coming out and nothing more.

'Oh dear,' she mumbled, sniffing badly, so I got her a tissue to blow her nose very nosily. 'You're going to leave me.'

'Well... I will have to, I mean I have a job and that,' I bumbled out, which had her looking at me like she felt something was very wrong.

'What is the matter Cara?' she asked me warily. 'Please tell me, I want to know if you're in trouble, so long as it's not money you need.'

'What?' I asked her as the last bit of her confession reached me, while she squirmed on the bed.

'Oh dear,' she sniffed out, grabbing another tissue from the box while I checked on Robin, who was fascinated with mum's crochet blanket on her bed. 'You see, it's like this, I don't have a lot of money, not enough to see me underground if I went tomorrow.'

'But dad's lumpsum,' I bleated out.

'We spent it on the bungalow mostly, not keeping up with the Jones, like Izzy,' she confessed.

'What did she say to you?' I demanded, knowing she must have.

'Oh dear,' she choked out before it all came tumbling out, on how Izzy had bitchily said that mum would have to downsize now and even consider a little flat in one of those rest home places.

'The bitch,' I hissed out, feeling my hackles really raise up and so glad she wasn't there now. 'Does Auntie Connie know about this?'

'No, and I don't want her to know,' mum shot back.

'Look, you won't have to do anything like that, I'm sure we can work out a package to pay off any bills, even change the utilities to cheaper firms, do more direct debits...'

'He never...' she cut over me.

'He's not here to deal with it, mum, and he would hate it if he knew you were worrying so. We can work it out together,' I cut over her with my promise and I really meant it.'