Friday, January 08, 2010

outdoor shoes

‘Just a minute,’ called out in the robotic tone of someone holding their nose.

There are so many locks and bolts on this door, I guess it would take Ms Wilkinson a full minute to open it normally. But reduced to one hand, she struggles first with the top bolt, then with the bottom bolt, the mortice lock, and finally the Yale lock in the centre.

‘He likes it secure,’ she pipes when the door is finally open, then turns to walk back along the hall. ‘Come on in.’

We follow her into the living room, an austere box dominated by an old gas fire in the centre where the fireplace used to be. The wallpaper is so heavily striped it feels like a cream and mustard downpour, ceiling to carpet. There are no pictures on any surface. A few small ceramic figures measure out the dusty wooden mantelpiece above the fire, but other than that the room is empty, except for a TV in one corner, and a three piece suite in a semi-circle opposite.

Ms Wilkinson sits herself down on one of the armchairs.

‘It’s been going on for an hour now and nothing I do makes any difference. I’m sorry to call you out, but I didn’t know what else to do.’
She holds a bunched up bloody tissue in her right hand; her left arm crooked above her head, her thumb and forefinger pinching her nose.
‘The last time this happened I had to have a nostril cauterised. Not very sexy.’

The toilet flushes upstairs.

‘My father’ll be down in a minute. He’s very old and confused, so I’m afraid if we go to hospital he’ll have to come with us. I hope he won’t be too upset when he sees you. He gets worried easily.’

Heavy footsteps to the top of the stairs.
‘Sheila? Sheila!
‘Down here, Dad.’
‘Who’s that with you?’
‘It’s the ambulance. About my nose.’
She gives us a smile, a diffident bob of her head.
‘He does get confused,’ she says.

Mr Wilkinson’s entrance is dramatically heightened by a prolonged clumping down the stairs.
‘Don’t worry. He may be ancient but he’s steady on his pins.’
When he finally makes it to the bottom and enters the room, a lick of cold air swirls in around him. He stands in the doorway, one hand on a stick and the other on the door, glaring into the room like a Dickensian schoolmaster ready to lay in to an unruly class. Except – there is a distinct lack of focus to him. His face and figure may be a caricature of patrician rage, but his eyes are fogged and helpless.

‘Are you going out?’ he says.

‘Don’t worry. You’re coming too,’ says Ms Wilkinson. And she gets up to find his outdoor shoes.

7 comments:

lulu's missives said...

Morning Spence,
Really liked the way you described this family, gave me a great image of their relationship.
xx

uphilldowndale said...

So many people care tirelessly for others, one their biggest concerns being who will look after their 'dependants' if they are ill, they just can't afford to be ill themselves.
nose bleeds, A+E, ENT, my mother and I could write a book; it's never a good look!

Spence Kennedy said...

Hi Jo - It was obviously such a difficult thing for Ms Wilkinson to care for her Dad. I don't know how much support she got; my impression was - not much! I wonder how things happened to lead her to that situation? I mean - lovely that they had such a close relationship, but a tough call nonetheless.

Hi UHD - Even though her nose was pouring blood, she was still preoccupied with looking after her Dad and making sure he was okay. Amongst all her other difficulties, I was struck by how tough it must be to have a dependent you couldn't confide in, or share worries with.

haveyouseenthisgirl said...

"We follow her into the living room, an austere box dominated by an old gas fire in the centre where the fireplace used to be. The wallpaper is so heavily striped it feels like a cream and mustard downpour, ceiling to carpet. There are no pictures on any surface. A few small ceramic figures measure out the dusty wooden mantelpiece above the fire, but other than that the room is empty, except for a TV in one corner, and a three piece suite in a semi-circle opposite."

What a beautiful eye for detail, you really conjured it up for me...

Spence Kennedy said...

Thanks v much HYSTG!

Anonymous said...

I hope somone looked after her father whilst she was being treated.

I did wonder if you were inferrng he was blind?? The stck and the lack of focus??

Spence Kennedy said...

Hi CN
He wasn't blind, although I think his sight was compromised to some degree. His main thing was a form of dementia - presenting as confusion and utter dependency on his daughter to take care of him emotionally.
She was a lovely woman, but the whole situation was obviously an enormous drain on her. I didn't find out the level of support she was getting. I would hope that it was substantial, but you never know til you know!