Mary Reynolds, an eightyfouryearold grandmother, was perched on the bus shelter just a stones throw from the cottage she had called home for decades, and she could not tell where she should go next. Beside her on the wooden bench lay a canvas tote and a paper sack that held nearly everything she owned.
Shoo, Rita! I wont be scared of anyone, the neighbours had shouted, Off you go, old thing, back to your own business, and dont lean on our lives any longer.
Only three winters ago the household had been snug and cheerful, five of them sharing a threeroom flat: Mary, her daughter Helen, her soninlaw Ian with his wife Natalie, and their lad, Marys greatgrandson Arthur.
The peace began to crumble the day a new clerk named Rita arrived at Ians office. She had rolled in from the city to their little Kent village, and no one could say why. She was given a room in the local hostel and promptly hired. It seemed she had everything she neededuntil she started looking at the men in the village and set her sights on Ian. He was married, of course, but as the old saying goes, a wife isnt a wall.
One April afternoon Ian came home from work, gathered his things, and was the only one the street seemed to notice. He paused, then said,
Its only at fortyfive that I truly grasp what real life and love feel like.
Natalie, his wife, said nothing. She waited until Arthur sat his school exams, and then she too began to plan:
Well move to the town, Arthur needs a university place, and well live in my parents old house. Its been boarded up for three years, but well mend it. If we cant manage the work ourselves, my brother will lend a hand, and Ill find a quick job at the school.
She packed in two days, her brother Tom arrived with a van, loaded the belongings, and they set off. Arthur gave his greatgrandmother a firm hug as he left:
Dont miss me, Gran. Ill come to visit.
He kept that promise twice while Helen was still alive. When Helen passed away, Ian and Rita moved into the flat, and Arthur never returned.
Marys days grew bleak. Rita began to impose her own rules. At first she was shy, inviting Mary to sit at the table and sharing the food she prepared for herself and Ian. Then she ordered Mary not to leave her room:
You make a mess in the kitchen, dear. Its easier for me to sweep your room once a week than to mop the floors here three times a day.
From then on Rita boiled porridgeoat, barley, or wheatand Mary ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, washing it down with tea.
One morning Rita announced that her son would be visiting in a week. She and Ian argued over where to place him, knowing that after a stint in a corrective centre he wouldnt get just any job.
That same day Ian went off to work, and Rita told Mary to pack:
Heres the address of the oldpeoples home. Take a cab there and thank me for not throwing you out onto the street.
She thrust a slip of paper into Marys hand and slammed the flats door shut.
Mary shuffled to the bus stop, her sight dim, the address unreadable. A young lad stood nearby. She called out,
Son, could you read the address and tell me which bus I should catch?
The boy glanced at her and replied,
Where are you off to, Mrs. Mary? Arthurs come looking for you. Ill give him a bell right now.
Within five minutes Arthur sprinted over. It turned out that Natalies former neighbour had called yesterday, saying Rita intended to send Mary to a residential home. The neighbour had once worked as a caretaker in such a home before retirement, and Rita had asked her for its address. Upon hearing this, Arthur rushed back to the village to bring his greatgrandmother home.
Arthur gathered Marys belongings and said,
Ill whisk you away, Gran, like a queen, in a taxi to the town. Mother has already set a room aside for you, and our garden is just now bursting with apple blossomsdelightful!
When Rita and Ian learned that Arthur was taking Mary to the town, they were pleasedthough only briefly. While sorting through the paperwork they discovered that Mary had been the rightful owner of the flat all along, and that Ians late husband had merely held a lifetime tenancy. Consequently, Rita and Ian were forced back into the hostel.
Mary sold the flat and handed the proceeds to Arthur, so he could buy a place for himself in the city. Property prices in the county seat were steep, so he managed only a modest onebedroom flat, but it was in a new building with plenty of room. He planned to marry soon, securing a roof over his head and a future for the young family.
