Chapter 36
Chapter thirty-six
Gloria spun the scooter and shot off, leaving Sloan grumbling as she followed. Matty caught her hand and pulled her to a stop.
“Stop. Just a second,” Matty said.
“I don’t have time. She’s off doing God knows what,” she argued, pointing in the direction Gloria was heading. “What if she falls again?”
Matty let her talk.
“She’s so bloody self-absorbed.”
“Do you think,” Matty said carefully, “maybe this is the bit that makes you feel out of control, and that’s why she gets to you so fast?”
Sloan opened her mouth, then closed it, not sure how to respond.
“You like knowing where you stand with things,” Matty said. “But with her, there’s no pattern to it. No way to get ahead of it. Maybe that’s also some of what gets under your skin.”
“Because she’s chaos,” Sloan said quickly. “Look at her.”
Matty looked, smiling as Gloria trundled along. “She’s having fun, Sloan. Can’t you see that?”
“No. Because it will always come back to me to fix whatever carnage she creates,” Sloan continued, not hearing the full meaning of what Matty had said.
“I think she does that because she’s feeling out of control, too.” Matty shrugged. “Maybe you have more in common with each other than you think.”
“Maybe it’s not your place to psychoanalyse me,” Sloan said curtly, and walked off.
Matty followed her and tried not to huff as she caught up. “Maybe not. Still doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
Sloan reached out for her hand as she walked. “No, it doesn’t mean you are wrong.”
***
“Is there a problem?” the sales assistant asked as Gloria drove back into the store barely ten minutes after she’d left it.
“Yes, Gerry. I need one of these yesterday.” Gloria grinned at him. “Can we make that happen?”
Gerry grinned back. “You liked it, huh? I had a feeling you would.” He picked up a clipboard and started scanning. “This model I can get in for you by the end of the week.”
“No quicker? Not even with a bribe?” Gloria said, winking at Gerry.
“’Fraid not, but you can hire this one for the week until yours arrives. I could give you a nice discount on it.”
When Sloan and Matty caught up and entered the shop, Gerry looked up and smiled. “Be with you in a moment.”
Gloria looked round. “Don’t worry, they’re with me—the fun police.”
“Oh.” His smile slipped.
“Gloria, that’s a really unkind thing to say,” Matty admonished.
The older woman turned and looked at them. Her daughter stood rigid, eyes glistening, but Matty frowned at her. “Sorry,” she said, then turned back to the assistant. “They mean well, and I should appreciate that more.”
He smiled awkwardly. “Indeed.” He clasped his hands together. “Shall we take a seat? And I can go through some things with you?”
The empty wheelchair was to Gloria’s right, her cane resting against it. Sloan moved towards it, but Matty put her hand out to stop her.
“She can do it,” she whispered. “And if she can’t, she’ll ask for your help. Or she’ll work out her limits soon enough.”
“Another six hours in A&E isn’t my idea of a great weekend, Matty,” Sloan said, but she didn’t move forward.
Instead, they stood side by side and watched as Gloria shuffled around.
The mobility scooter seat twisted when she unlocked it, making it easier for her to place both feet onto the ground.
She heaved herself upright, wobbled, but gained her balance with a satisfied smirk on her face.
“See?” Matty nudged her lightly. “She’s not as helpless as you think she is.”
“I’ll suspend judgement for now,” Sloan muttered. “But if she falls, you will be hearing a great many I told-you-so’s.”
Matty grinned when Sloan’s fingers slid against hers again, lacing through, reassuring in a small, gentle gesture that meant a lot to Matty.
With her cane now in hand, Gloria shuffled off after the young man.
“I might take her to the gym,” Matty said as they followed behind. “Help build her strength up a bit.”
“Perhaps start with dumbbells at home.”
***
There had been a dozen or so questions from Sloan. “Would the scooter fit into her car?” and “How easy was it to get repaired?”
Eventually, Gloria had arranged everything to her liking—delivery, a cover for when it was parked outside, and already forming a plan for some kind of small shed.
“As if I haven’t got enough to do,” Sloan said under her breath to Matty.
“She didn’t ask you to do it.” Sloan looked away, but Matty shifted into her line of sight. “You carry things before they’ve even been handed to you. Maybe not all of it has to be yours.”
“You make it all sound so easy.”
“Maybe some of it is.” Matty smiled and folded the wheelchair. “So, big question… The scooter doesn’t fit in your car. Do you want me to walk back with her while you take the wheelchair, or…”
“Or?” Sloan frowned.
Matty shrugged. “Let her go home by herself, and we follow behind in the car without making a thing of it.”
“You mean stalk my mother?”
“That’s one way to put it.” Matty laughed. “I think it gives her a chance to enjoy a bit of independence…to work out what feels manageable and what doesn’t.”
“How do you mean?”
“She’s used to someone always being there, whether she liked it or not, which means the responsibility’s always been theirs, not hers. Maybe if she gets a bit of freedom, she’ll either rise to it, or understand why you keep pushing her to embrace the help.”
Sloan huffed, but then she turned and walked across to Gloria, who was getting herself comfortable on the scooter again.
“They do a rain tent for it,” she said brightly.
“Do they?” Sloan gave her a tight, unconvincing smile. “So, we are going to take the wheelchair back to the car. Are you done for the day?”
Gloria stared at her. “I am a bit tired,” she admitted.
“Okay, so shall we all head home?”
“I guess so,” Gloria acquiesced.
“Right, and you know the way?” Sloan asked.
Gloria’s stare widened. “Home? By myself?”
“Yes,” Sloan answered. “This doesn’t fit into the car, and I will have to put the wheelchair into the boot.”
“Matty isn’t going to skate with me?”
“She doesn’t have her skates. She can walk beside you, but you’ll have to go at her speed. No zooming off.”
Gloria thought about it. “No, I think…I can do it by myself. You and Matty can take the car.”
“Are you sure?” Sloan checked.
“I said so, didn’t I?” She turned the key and the scooter came to life. “It’s not that far. Gerry, how many miles before I need charging?”
Gerry grinned at them. “This model can do up to forty-five miles, but I’d suggest maybe recharging at thirty-five just to be on the safe side.”
“Right, well, it’s less than five miles home, so you should be fine,” Sloan said. “I thought we’d go out tonight for dinner.”
“Out?”
“Yes, Mother. To a restaurant. Unless you’d prefer to stay in.”
“No, I would not prefer to stay in,” Gloria answered. “I don’t have anything to wear.”
“You have a wardrobe full of things to wear, and it’s not a fancy restaurant. Just somewhere nice, to thank Matty for putting up with you all week.”
Gloria smirked. “Bribing her to sleep with you and using your old, disabled mother as cover. Bit elaborate, if you ask me, but I admire the commitment.”
“Oh, for God’s sake… See? This is why I don’t—”
“I’m kidding.” Gloria grinned at Sloan’s reaction. “Honestly, Joan, where did your sense of humour go?”
“It’s Sloan.” Sloan glared, then turned. “I’ll see you at home.”
Matty followed Sloan as they left the store. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Gloria frown as she watched them go.
“Maybe it’s not such a good idea to let her go on her own—”
Sloan came to a halt. “You said she needed her independence.”
“Yes, I think she does, but…” She glanced back at the store, the doors now closed behind them, Gloria inside. “Maybe I was wrong.”
“No, you’re right,” Sloan said. “She needs to understand, that without me, without you, without carers, she is on her own. And she cannot manage like that.”
“It’s a balance the two of you still haven’t found.” Matty reached for Sloan’s hand. “You’re right to stand up to her, just don’t let anger be the reason you make a decision.”
“Let’s get the car.” Sloan sighed. “Then we’ll follow her.”
Matty grinned. “Let’s do that.”