The Wish List Addiction by Lindsey Paley

Author:Lindsey Paley [Paley, Lindsey]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Prism Book Group
Published: 2014-08-10T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Later that afternoon, Rebecca and Max soaped off the mud from their horticultural toils and headed out for their daily visit to St Oswald’s Lodge.

The familiar grip of guilt tightened her chest as she sped past the glorious façade of Morningside Towers, the lips of the pedestalled, winged horses guarding the entry gates snarling at her poor choice of care home for her father. She shoved her self-reproach to the recesses of her mind, recalling Claudia’s assurances that George loved St Oswald. The food was homemade and wholesome, featuring his favourite steamed puddings, the staff were down-to-earth, motherly types, able to spare time for a chat about the old days or the residents’ beloved families.

Still, Rebecca recollected the article Nathan had thrust under her nose in his copy of The Community Care magazine, which revealed devastating stories of the poor care and support provided by two residential homes catering for the needs of the elderly with dementia in the East Midlands. She’d studied the exposé with hot tears coursing down her cheeks, flabbergasted at the depths to which human beings could sink.

Rebecca had freaked out, powerless to upgrade her father’s care to the desired Morningside Towers, the cheaper option of St Oswald’s Lodge being necessary because of her own selfish decisions—her father, like Max, having to suffer the consequences.

It had taken Deb all her powers of persuasion, for which she was legendary, to calm Rebecca’s frazzled nerves and reassure her there were no recorded issues with St Oswald. On the contrary, after forcing Rebecca to study their website, the home had received an outstanding report from its latest Care Quality Commission’s inspection.

Nevertheless, she still held out for an imminent sale of Rosemary Cottage, and then a transfer for George to the luxurious Morningside Towers, where the staff wore crisp, white starched uniforms creating the impression of a swish health spa, rather than a residential care home for the elderly. But it would be months before she could achieve that aim, even if the cottage sold this summer. She had no other means of accomplishing her dearest wish—no self-respecting financial institution would part with its ill-gotten gains to a bankrupt and it was as unlikely as snow in August she would secure an increase in her salary. Even now, the fees for St Oswald’s Lodge were mounting up. She dreaded the next overdue demand.

Max, familiar with the routine, shot off into the residents’ lounge before her, in search of the only grandparent he had ever known. Her dad rested his spindly hand on Max’s spiky head with love in his fading blue eyes. As he perched on the tapestry footstool next to his granddad, Max chattered away about his metal detector, his encounter with Poppy the sheep dog, and their invitation to visit the farm where they would embark on a quest for hidden treasure.

“Hi, Dad. How are you today?” She settled on his other side, drawing his cold, slender hand in her own.

“Oh, you know, Becky love, the old bones are creaking, but mustn’t complain.

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