Why was Anthony going into Elizabeth’s? Knowing her, she’s probably off to the Palace. Meeting the King, getting a medal. They do that for spies all the time. Not so much for nurses. I swear though, if she meets King Charles without telling me first, I will have something to say about it. A friend of Gerry was once invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace. He was head of the Rotary Club or something, and they’d raised some money for a hospice. Anyway, he didn’t go, because he was playing golf. Can you imagine?
I think the Queen and I would have got on. She reminded me a lot of Elizabeth. A bit more approachable maybe.
But with Elizabeth out of reach, I find myself at a loose end, and I’m not always great with being at a loose end. I can potter around the house for a bit, watch a
Perhaps I could work with the boys on their romance-fraud plan for a couple of days? I could offer them a woman’s eye. Though, according to Ron, Ibrahim is very capable of writing messages that would make ‘a docker blush’.
They’ll know that Elizabeth is out of bounds too, so they won’t be surprised to see me. I’ll bake them something.
Perhaps I should go to see Mervyn too? I wonder how he is? We’ve slightly been avoiding each other, staggering our dog walks. Sometimes Alan sees Rosie out of the window and he loses his mind. Starts rolling around and showing his belly. He really reminds me of myself sometimes.
I’m looking out of the window right now, over to where I saw Anthony’s car parked. One of the guest bays. And I do know what you’re thinking – I promise, I’m not a fool. I know why he was really there.
We buried Snowy the other day – I haven’t mentioned it, what with everything. He’s the fox with the white-tipped ears who rules the roost around here when we all go to sleep. Bogdan had dug Snowy a grave, ‘nice and deep, so no one can touch him’. Not the first grave Bogdan has dug recently, so he knows a thing or two about them. Watching Bogdan dig a grave is one of the few things that could change my mind about wanting to be cremated when I die.
Bogdan and Stephen had found Snowy last weekend. Now he’s in a biodegradable wicker basket, which people laid white flowers on.
There was a surprisingly big turn-out. I think we all thought he was our own special secret, but, once the details were put up on the noticeboard, half the village turned out to pay their respects. They all knew him by different names, ‘Lucky’, ‘Tippy’, ‘Moonlight’, all sorts of things. The name ‘Snowy’ had come from Stephen. I always used to call him ‘Mr Fox’, so perhaps I lack imagination. Joanna always says that I do.
A recently widowed woman from Ruskin Court called him ‘Harold’, and she was one of many people in tears as we sang a hymn and laid him to rest.
Anyway, to my point, among the mourners, out in public for the first time since goodness knows when, was Stephen.
He and Elizabeth walked up to the allotment, arm in arm, and Stephen said his hellos to the congregation. Everyone was ‘old chum’, ‘old friend’, ‘chief’. Ibrahim gave him a hug, and Stephen smiled with joy and called him Kuldesh.
Ron rather formally shook his hand; he finds hugs hard. Stephen took one look at Ron’s tattoos and said, ‘West Ham man, eh? Better watch out for you,’ and then Ron gave him a hug too. When he met me he said, ‘It’s Joyce. There she is.’
Anyway, it felt like Elizabeth was allowing us to say our goodbyes. Certainly when I hugged him, I didn’t want to let go.
And, of course, Stephen’s hair was immaculate.
So, yes, I am not entirely a fool. I know in my heart that Anthony was there to see Stephen. And that Elizabeth is ‘out of circulation’ for the next few days because they are off to take Stephen to a home where he might be looked after properly. She is finally going to let him go. She should have done it months ago, and she knows that, but, while you have something to cling on to, you cling on. I wonder what has made her change her mind? Are they able to discuss it?
Anthony had done a lovely job. Elizabeth just wants Stephen looking at his best. Wherever he is going, Elizabeth will want him to make a good impression, make people understand how special he is, and how loved he is.
I don’t know how they will cope apart. Stephen will enter a new world, of course, but his walls closed in long ago now. Elizabeth loves him so utterly, and is loved by him so utterly, and that is being stolen from her.
