Read Online A Family Christmas by Glenice Crossland - Free Book Online Page B

she would stay and see to her brother, even though they all knew the real reason was that she was squeamish about hospitals. They were met by the matron, who invited Ben into her office and explained that it had been necessary to amputate his mother’s leg below the knee. It was hoped that all the necrosis had been eliminated and Annie was as comfortable as could be expected. Ben and Mary were the first to be allowed into the ward. Annie looked so small and ill amongst the pillows that Mary promptly burst into tears. Now instead of fearing her mother, Mary just pitied her.
    ‘Nay, lass, crying’ll alter nowt,’ Annie told Mary. ‘Me leg’s gone now and glad I am to be rid of it.’
    ‘Oh, Mam, why didn’t you see the doctor sooner?’
    ‘I don’t know, lass. I just kept putting it off. I expected the Borax to heal it up and get it better. Anyway, it’s gone now.’ A tear slid down her pale cheek and Mary leaned over and placed her arms round Annie’s shoulders. ‘Anyway, I shall manage once I get used to a pair o’ crutches. How’re me bairns?’
    ‘Our Lucy and Nellie’re here. Our William isn’t allowed in.’
    ‘And our Jane’ll be too busy I expect.’
    ‘She’s keeping an eye on William.’
    ‘She didn’t need to. Mrs Slater’d ’ave seen to ’im.’ Mr and Mrs Slater had always been there through any crisis affecting the Gabbitas family; in return Annie and Bill had given any assistance required by their neighbours. Unlike others on Top Row they had never fallen out over any of their children’s quarrels and simply ordered them to go out and play nicely. The women had attended each other’s confinements and acted as godparents to each other’s children. Indeed William and young Ernest Slater had been baptised on the same day.
    ‘I think we’d better go and let our Nellie and Lucy come in.’ Ben wasn’t in the mood to begin making excuses for their Jane.
    ‘Aye, I want to talk to our Lucy.’
    The two sisters were so intent on cheering up their mother that Annie never got round to saying whatever she intended saying to her youngest daughter, before the bell sounded indicating the end of visiting. For the first time in years the girls received a kiss from their mother, which might have caused the tears to start, had they not hurried out to join the others. ‘What are we going to do about caring for her?’ Lucy worried. ‘Will I have to leave work?’
    ‘No!’ Ben was emphatic. ‘We’ll sort something out.’
    ‘Aye, but what?’ Nellie knew her mother would need full-time care.
    ‘We’ll get a bed downstairs for a start.’ Ben hadn’t thought beyond that. ‘It wouldn’t be fair to expect one of us to carry all the burden.’
    It was a dispirited and silent foursome who boarded the bus back to Millington, each of them dreading what the future was to bring.
    Whatever they had been dreading couldn’t possibly have been as bad as the reality. Annie had been in good spirits and recovering well until five days after the operation. She had told Ben to bring Lucy the next day and because Ben had never missed a visit Lucy told him to have a night off and she would visit her mother on her own. Annie was sweating and her face was flushed. She didn’t look as well as when Lucy had last seen her. ‘Are you all right, Mam?’ She held her hand on Annie’s forehead. ‘You’re ever so hot.’
    ‘I’m right enough. A bit of a headache, that’s all. Come and sit on the bed; I want to tell yer summat.’ Lucy checked to see if the stony-faced matron was anywhere in sight before perching on the bed and taking hold of her mother’s hand.
    ‘I’m sorry, Lucy.’
    ‘What for?’
    ‘Oh don’t pretend, lass, we both know I ’aven’t treated you right. I’m not making excuses, but I thought I was doing the right thing, saving every penny I got instead of spending it on summat nice for you all. Well, I still think I did the right thing, especially now. It’ll come in when I’ve