money?’ Carmel sounded anxious.
‘Darling, you sent me too much money. How are you, Carmel, am I going to come and see you?’
‘No, I’ll come and see you. I don’t want you coming here until the night …’
‘Where will we go?’
‘Let me see … I’ll go into the hotel … We can have tea or coffee sent up, can’t we?’
‘Yeah, it’s costing a fortune the hotel … I wonder are you putting too much money out on all this, Carmel? There might have been another way …’
‘I have the money … I’ve always had money, that was never a problem … I’m so grateful to you for coming over, Joe, I’ll never be able to thank you. I wish your friend had come too.’
‘No, a job’s a job. Henry understands … it would have messed things up if he’d come here. He says you’re as mad as a coot but he wishes you luck.’
She laughed happily. ‘Oh good, he’s on our side. I’ll come down to the hotel this afternoon. What room are you? I’ll just slip along and get into the lift …’
‘Oh Mrs M., you sound as if you’re accustomed to this kind of racey life,’ Joe laughed. He was pleased that Carmel was so cheerful, he had been afraid that it might be a very glum Carmel. A sort of doom-laden Lady Macbeth. This sounded a lot more jolly. He sat back in his bed and lit a cigarette. It was really the most extraordinary business.
* * *
‘How nice of you to call, Ethel. No, I’m fine … and you? Good. And David? Great. Oh, what a pity, no, I’m just off out as a matter of fact. Yes it is a long time, isn’t it? But never mind, we’ll see you next week, won’t we? The eighth. Oh good, good. No, not a thing, thank you, no, no, it’s all under control. Butvery nice of you to think of it, Ethel … What? Oh yes, everyone’s coming … but it’s only a small gathering, heavens, compared to all the ones you go to. Yes, that nice Ruth O’Donnell – I had such a sweet letter from her, Wales is where she was. She’s looking forward to seeing you all again, she said. Was there anything else, Ethel? I’m in a bit of a rush. Right, see you both then, love to David. Bye.’
* * *
‘Yes, Aunt Sheila, I’m on my own. I’ve plenty of time to talk. She seems in great form to me, very perky. And looking very well, I think she looks better now than I’ve seen her looking for a long time … good, yes I thought I wasn’t imagining it. No, of course I don’t mind you talking frankly. I mean I know you’re her oldest friend, for heaven’s sake. No, honestly Aunt Sheila I’m telling you the truth, I haven’t noticed anything odd about Mother recently … she’s in very good form … Yes, well she doesn’t have much time for me either. No, I’m not actually sure what she is doing but whatever little things they are seem to keep her occupied. The way I look at it, isn’t she far better this way all cheerful and mysterious than she was the time she got upset and her nerves were bad? Do you remember she sat there all day and we all found it a terrible drag to talk to her … she had no interest in anyone.’
* * *
Anna said to James: ‘You know that friend of Mother’s, the one we call Aunt Sheila who went back to teaching, remember? She was on the phone whinging and whining and says that she thinks Mother’s behaving oddly. How oddly, I ask, and she can’t explain. Apparently Mother is too cheerful. Did you ever?’
‘Poor Grandmama,’ said James, ‘it’s bad if she’s gloomy, it’s bad if she’s cheerful. She can’t win.’
* * *
‘You look a million dollars … you’re not an old hag … you’re smashing.’ Joe was full of admiration.
‘I had a make-up lesson … you know the kind of thing the women’s magazines advise you to do if your husband’s unfaithful. “Is your make-up old-fashioned,” they ask, and recommend you to try out the new shades …’
They both laughed, and she looked at him carefully and nodded with
‘Darling, you sent me too much money. How are you, Carmel, am I going to come and see you?’
‘No, I’ll come and see you. I don’t want you coming here until the night …’
‘Where will we go?’
‘Let me see … I’ll go into the hotel … We can have tea or coffee sent up, can’t we?’
‘Yeah, it’s costing a fortune the hotel … I wonder are you putting too much money out on all this, Carmel? There might have been another way …’
‘I have the money … I’ve always had money, that was never a problem … I’m so grateful to you for coming over, Joe, I’ll never be able to thank you. I wish your friend had come too.’
‘No, a job’s a job. Henry understands … it would have messed things up if he’d come here. He says you’re as mad as a coot but he wishes you luck.’
She laughed happily. ‘Oh good, he’s on our side. I’ll come down to the hotel this afternoon. What room are you? I’ll just slip along and get into the lift …’
‘Oh Mrs M., you sound as if you’re accustomed to this kind of racey life,’ Joe laughed. He was pleased that Carmel was so cheerful, he had been afraid that it might be a very glum Carmel. A sort of doom-laden Lady Macbeth. This sounded a lot more jolly. He sat back in his bed and lit a cigarette. It was really the most extraordinary business.
* * *
‘How nice of you to call, Ethel. No, I’m fine … and you? Good. And David? Great. Oh, what a pity, no, I’m just off out as a matter of fact. Yes it is a long time, isn’t it? But never mind, we’ll see you next week, won’t we? The eighth. Oh good, good. No, not a thing, thank you, no, no, it’s all under control. Butvery nice of you to think of it, Ethel … What? Oh yes, everyone’s coming … but it’s only a small gathering, heavens, compared to all the ones you go to. Yes, that nice Ruth O’Donnell – I had such a sweet letter from her, Wales is where she was. She’s looking forward to seeing you all again, she said. Was there anything else, Ethel? I’m in a bit of a rush. Right, see you both then, love to David. Bye.’
* * *
‘Yes, Aunt Sheila, I’m on my own. I’ve plenty of time to talk. She seems in great form to me, very perky. And looking very well, I think she looks better now than I’ve seen her looking for a long time … good, yes I thought I wasn’t imagining it. No, of course I don’t mind you talking frankly. I mean I know you’re her oldest friend, for heaven’s sake. No, honestly Aunt Sheila I’m telling you the truth, I haven’t noticed anything odd about Mother recently … she’s in very good form … Yes, well she doesn’t have much time for me either. No, I’m not actually sure what she is doing but whatever little things they are seem to keep her occupied. The way I look at it, isn’t she far better this way all cheerful and mysterious than she was the time she got upset and her nerves were bad? Do you remember she sat there all day and we all found it a terrible drag to talk to her … she had no interest in anyone.’
* * *
Anna said to James: ‘You know that friend of Mother’s, the one we call Aunt Sheila who went back to teaching, remember? She was on the phone whinging and whining and says that she thinks Mother’s behaving oddly. How oddly, I ask, and she can’t explain. Apparently Mother is too cheerful. Did you ever?’
‘Poor Grandmama,’ said James, ‘it’s bad if she’s gloomy, it’s bad if she’s cheerful. She can’t win.’
* * *
‘You look a million dollars … you’re not an old hag … you’re smashing.’ Joe was full of admiration.
‘I had a make-up lesson … you know the kind of thing the women’s magazines advise you to do if your husband’s unfaithful. “Is your make-up old-fashioned,” they ask, and recommend you to try out the new shades …’
They both laughed, and she looked at him carefully and nodded with
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