My Mother's Gift: A totally heartbreaking and powerful page-turner full of family secrets by Steffanie Edward

Author:Steffanie Edward [Edward, Steffanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800196483
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2022-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

‘So, what was it like?’ Millie’s voice was brisk.

I’d called her when I got back to fill her in on the visit. ‘Not too bad, I suppose,’ I said, hesitating.

‘Is it good enough for Nannie? That’s what we need to decide.’

‘I don’t know. It’s hard.’

‘What would you give it out of ten?’

‘Mmm.’ I hadn’t been assessing it through numbers. ‘Er… seven – maybe.’

‘No higher?’ Her tone told me she was disappointed, but I’d be lying if I’d said an eight or above.

‘Don’t think so,’ I said, visualising the little rooms Mrs Paul had shown me.

‘It’s not a lot.’

‘But it’s the best on the island.’

‘And not quite good enough.’

‘I’d put her there if I needed to.’

‘But don’t you?’

‘Well…’ I reflected, briefly, on the word ‘need’. ‘Not quite yet. Let’s see how things go.’

‘Pity you couldn’t take pictures.’

‘Doubt they would have allowed me,’ I said, though I hadn’t thought of that.

‘That’s true. This is one of the times when I feel I’m in the wrong business. They need decent homes – really good care homes, down there.’

‘Telling me.’

‘So what’re you going to do?’

‘We’ll leave it for now.’ I was tired of talking about it. ‘See how things go. At least I know it’s there and what it’s like.’

‘It’s up to you, at the end of the day.’

She was right. Mum, nor Auntie, got to choose. It was all on me. Unfair, really, on many levels, but we couldn’t change that.

‘It’s not what she would have wanted,’ I said.

‘But situations change, don’t they, Mum? Plus, this home’s in St Lucia. Not here, in England. You hadn’t discussed that bit with her.’

‘I know.’ It was a depressing subject.

‘And I don’t want to be mean, but Nannie’s old. She’s had her life and you’ve got your job and everything.’

‘I’ll have to think about it.’

‘It’s either that, get new carers in, or hope the tablets will work and she’ll be able to travel.’

‘Mmm.’ I sighed.

‘Nannie’s lucky to have you there for her. Someone who loves her, and who’ll make the best decision for her.’

‘I know,’ I said.

Millie paused. ‘What’s your gut feeling?’

‘Well… ideally, I’d like to be able to leave her in the home for a year or so. And get back to work. I could monitor things – you know…’

‘That sounds—’

My bedroom door pushed open. ‘Hold on, Millie.’

Auntie Barbara was standing in the doorway, glaring at me. ‘So dat’s what you-all planning? To put Ione – your mudder – in a home?’

‘Is that Auntie?’ Millie asked, lowering her voice as if Auntie could hear her.

‘Yeah… Let me… I’ll have to call you back,’ I said, my quivering fingers breaking the connection, as I faced Auntie Barbara’s rage. How much had she heard?

‘You mean to say in dat little time you here, you already go an’ find a home to put Ione in?’

‘I only wanted to see what it was like, Auntie,’ I said.

‘A home?’ Auntie’s voice rose to a scream. Mum wasn’t with her, so she had to be somewhere inside. ‘A home, Erica? You would put Ione in a home? Mé ou sa visyèze.

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