The Ghostlights by Gráinne Murphy

Author:Gráinne Murphy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Legend Press

Ninety minutes later, they were back in the car on the return leg of the journey. Without Ethel, the silence felt more awkward. What would her mother be doing now? Settling in, the manager, Judith, had told them, but that could be anything from playing draughts to rocking in a corner or licking the carpet. The set of Judith’s mouth had suggested that such questions were best ignored, if a person was so uncouth as to ask them in the first place. Her brisk tone left Marianne feeling like a bold small child.

‘Will she be all right?’ she asked Liv.

‘She’ll be fine.’ Liv maintained the same crisp tone she had adopted throughout the checking-in process. Even when their mother’s belongings were searched, followed by Ethel herself, she had done nothing more than stand there with her arm out so that Ethel could drape coat and cardigan over it.

‘Stop the clinical thing, would you? The I’ve-seen-it-all-before-so-it’s-nothing-new attitude.’

‘It’s not an attitude. It’s nothing new because I’ve seen it all before. Several times.’

‘Well, I haven’t. And you can blame me all you want, but that doesn’t make it any less fucking terrifying. They practically strip-searched her.’

‘It’s difficult, I know, but it has to be done.’ Liv’s voice was gentler.

‘Could they not just ask her if she had anything on her?’ Marianne hated the wheedle in her voice, like a child moaning about unfairness.

‘It’s their job not to trust her.’ Liv glanced over at her sister. ‘They do it so we don’t have to. Ethel agreeing to go is a step. That’s how we do this. Step by step.’

‘Thirty days,’ Marianne said. By then it would be coming into summer. Everything seemed more manageable on a longer evening. She could take some time off work. Be here for her mother coming home. ‘Will she last, do you think?’

‘Step by step,’ Liv reminded her.

They drove in silence through the village. Outside Naughtons, Alan was washing windows and saluted the car as it drove past. Marianne was surprised to see her sister wave back. Wasn’t he half the problem? If he wasn’t serving – supplying – her mother with alcohol, they mightn’t have had to watch her being led away like a calf to mart.

When Marianne entered the kitchen and found Ed braising beef, she nearly wept with gratitude.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.