Read Online Moving On by Anna Jacobs - Free Book Online

cup of coffee and a chat?’
    ‘I’d love one.’
    As she sat on Jane’s patio, she found herself confiding in her neighbour, fighting against tears. ‘Sorry. I keep telling myself I won’t cry any more, then I get upset and before you know it, I’m weeping again. I’m so annoyed with myself.’
    ‘Don’t be,’ Jane said gently. ‘You’ve held things inside yourself for too long.’ She hesitated, then added, ‘You changed so much after Craig left, I did wonder whether you were clinically depressed. I told you if you wanted to talk, I was here, but you didn’t come. I repeated my offer recently. It does help to talk, you know, dear, and one of the good things about being eighty is that you have a lot of experience under your belt and sometimes that can help others.’
    Molly stared down at her tightly clasped hands, frowning. Depressed? You read about depression, but you never related it to yourself. But when she looked back, she realized she had been pretty miserable. And reclusive. ‘I think you could be right. About the depression, I mean. It hit me hard, Craig leaving.’
    ‘Bound to. But in spite of what’s happened lately, you look much brighter these days. Now, on to something more positive. Do you really mean what you told me the other day?’
    ‘What about?’
    ‘Fighting back against the world.’
    ‘Well . . . I mean to try.’
    ‘Not the right attitude,’ Jane said at once.
    ‘Whatever do you mean?’
    ‘You sound as if you’re expecting to fail before you even start, as if you don’t believe you can hold your corner and fight back.’
    Molly looked at her in surprise. ‘I . . . Do you know, you’re right.’
    ‘It’s not enough to say you’ll fight back. That’s far too vague. What are you going to actually do ?’
    ‘I was planning to buy a house in the country and make a peaceful new life for myself. Only I can’t do that until I sell this house.’
    ‘Peaceful! Sounds rather boring to me. How old are you now?’
    ‘Forty-eight.’
    ‘That seems quite young to me. Surely you don’t want to retreat to a cottage and sit there quietly until you die. I’m not looking for a peaceful life and I’m thirty years older than you. By all means move to the country, but find yourself a job, take up new interests, get out and about, look for a new man, if there are any suitable ones around.’
    Molly shuddered. ‘The last thing I want to do is get married again, or even live with someone. Men take too much looking after.’ She paused to think. ‘But a job . . . That might . . . No, who’d want to employ me? I’ve been out of the workforce for years.’
    Jane looked at her severely. ‘Anyone with sense would be glad of your help. I’ve seen you organize a dinner party for twelve people, cook all the food for it – gourmet food too – and manage the staff hired for the evening. That takes considerable skill. I’ve seen you run round after Craig in all sorts of ways, sorting out all his minor problems from work. What you are, is a born organizer. Do you have any formal secretarial skills?’
    ‘I suppose so. I did train as a secretary, got a diploma and everything, though I’ve not worked for years—’
    ‘Except as Craig’s unpaid assistant.’
    ‘I suppose so. But I’m used to computers and I’m still pretty quick at touch typing. I can do spreadsheets, too.’ She looked at Jane in surprise. ‘I’ve kept up with technology, haven’t I?’
    ‘Yes. You even taught me to use a computer, and you were an excellent teacher, too.’
    Molly could feel herself relaxing a little. ‘You’re very good for my morale.’
    ‘I’m only telling the truth. What I’d suggest is you register for office work temping. You can give my name as a character reference, if you like. One of my granddaughters did some temping and she said she learned a lot about people, as well as about business from going to so many different places. She really enjoyed it, too.’ Jane let her