Bit by bit, we managed to get running water to her house and eventually gas as well. Then we added all the modern conveniences for her. Later, I stumbled across my aunts house on a property website.
My seventy-eight-year-old aunt has two sisters. One of them is my mum. Aunt Mary has been married at least ten times in her life. Her last husband passed away ten years ago. She never had children of her own. Aunt Mary and her husband lived in an old cottage that had never seen any modern upgrades. The house was just two rooms, and her loo was out in the garden.
Aunt Marys husband was the sort of chap people call a real character. We used to visit them quite regularly. The younger sister lived in Sweden. The sisters kept in touch over phone calls.
After Aunt Marys husband died, we found ourselves going over there more often. Out of our own pockets, we bought coal and firewood for her. We helped her plant and tidy up the garden, never taking anything in return. We suggested countless times that she move in with us, but she always insisted she wasnt cut out for life in the city.
Slowly, we brought in a water supply to her house, then gas, and finally fitted out her cottage with all the amenities shed never had before. We built her a bathroom in the garden and replaced the roof, hoping to make village life as comfortable as possible for her. In gratitude, Aunt Mary said shed leave the house to our children in her will.
We would drive over whenever she rang us up. Then, out of the blue, she left for Sweden to stay with her younger sister. Strange, really years before, those sisters barely spoke, and now suddenly there was all this sisterly affection. And what about the house? She just told us to leave it be for now!
I thought, no matter how things are between the sisters, maybe one day Aunt Mary would come back. Her sister in Sweden has her own family a husband and an adult daughter. All of them live together under one roof.
We had keys to Aunt Marys cottage and decided wed pop over the following weekend to make sure everything was alright. Of course, once we arrived, we discovered our key wouldnt even fit someone had changed all the locks. On the garden gate, someone had painted in big white letters: For Sale.
When we got back home, I found Aunt Marys cottage listed on a property website. I rang the estate agents number. Turns out, the cottage had already been sold for nearly two hundred thousand pounds. I didnt ring Aunt Mary I was so upset with her I couldnt bring myself to do it.
If we hadnt put our own money and effort into the house, it wouldve been worthless. A month later, Aunt Mary called me and said shed sold the cottage and given the money to her niece her sisters daughter from Sweden. Now I have no idea how to face my wife, considering all the money we spent on Aunt Marys house was ours too.
