Chapter 16
Lily and Gran settled into a slow-paced routine that was working and, at times, Lily even wondered if Gran wasn’t just a little bit less tired and a little feistier than when she had first moved in.
The mornings were the busiest time of day.
To avoid waking Gran, who slept a little later, Lily would get up early and make her way around the property in a quiet manner, opening curtains, opening the back door and allowing Mr Mistoffelees to go out into the garden.
Depending on the weather first thing, she would turn on the heater to warm up the room for Gran and then she would make a pot of tea.
She snuck out of the back door as the first light of dawn rose over the horizon.
She had always been an early riser and it was even better watching the sky lighten at Gran’s house.
She held a warm mug of tea in her hands as she made her way into the garden and moved the old metal chair that gave a scrape on some bricks.
She winced, hoping that the sound wouldn’t wake Gran.
She sat down in the overgrown garden, the wet grass soaking the hem of her pyjama bottoms, and surveyed the space. She really did want to tidy it up for Gran but between the rehearsals for the show and caring for Gran, there was little time for anything else.
It was a shame, because she could remember when the flower beds had once been meticulously maintained instead of the tangled mess of weeds and wildflowers they were now.
She felt a dull ache in her chest at the sight of it, reminded of Gran’s age.
She knew Gran couldn’t live forever but she hadn’t thought about what it would be like when she died.
It was too much to bear to even think about.
A small blackbird jumped onto the branch of the gnarled old apple tree where the fruit was starting to form. Once she and Gran used to pick the apples, but she doubted they had been harvested in ten years or more.
Mr Mistoffelees appeared out of the thicket like a shadow that had been given form and, in his elegant manner, he jumped onto the little table next to her, fixing her with his golden gaze as if to say, ‘Where is my breakfast?’
Lily mumbled, ‘I’m sorry, Your Majesty,’ as she scratched behind his ears repeatedly. While he was curled up against her leg, he uttered his contrition for her.
Before taking a look around the garden, Lily took a sip of her tea, a strong builder’s tea with a splash of milk, feeling it warm her as she swallowed it down.
Even though the garden was wild, there was a certain charm about it, she thought as she looked around.
There was a trellis that was broken, and honeysuckle climbed over it in a random manner, but the sweet perfume of honeysuckle mixed with the earthy smell of damp dirt surrounded her with its heavy scent.
The blackbird had a friend now, she noticed, as it hopped about with a worm in its mouth, then it flew into the thicket and she could just hear some birds chirping.
‘You stay away from the nest,’ she told Mr Mistoffelees, but he seemed uninterested in anything as his eyes closed in the morning sun.
She watched the morning rise in the garden, with some butterflies busy with the dandelions and a little bee looking for somewhere to land, and she began to imagine what she could accomplish with the space there.
In one of the garden beds, she could replant the vegetables or some tomatoes.
Gran had always had a taste for fresh tomatoes – she made a beautiful chutney – and maybe she could add some herbs in that sunny nook.
It would be more than possible for her to clear a path and possibly install a small water feature for the birds if she had time.
Mr Mistoffelees stretched into a languid pose across the table, as though showing off for an invisible audience.
She envisioned Gran sitting out here on warm afternoons, ordering Lily about with a pleased smile on her worn face as she instructed her granddaughter on how to weed properly or how to stake up the tomatoes.
The sound of a window opening on the upper floor broke her daydreaming.
Gran was up. She would want to shower and dress and then be down for her own cup of tea and breakfast. In most cases, it consisted of something straightforward, sometimes porridge with a touch of honey or scrambled eggs on toast. As Gran’s appetite had diminished, Lily focused on good food in small portions so Gran didn’t feel overwhelmed.
Lily drained the dregs of her cold tea and she rose up and walked inside with Mr Mistoffelees following her.
Lily’s resolve grew stronger as she made her way back inside, thinking what a lovely project this would be.
She turned before she shut the back door and took one last look at the overgrown paradise.
She was already mentally preparing lists of the seeds she needed to purchase and the tools she would require.
She ran upstairs and knocked on the door.
‘You need me to help you?’ she asked cheerfully.
‘No, dear, I’ll be down soon,’ Gran said and Lily went downstairs to get things ready for their breakfast. She had some crumpets and honey this morning, which would be a lovely treat, she thought as her phone rang.
She saw Nick’s name and a little thrill ran through her.
It was silly, she knew, but it was nice to have a distraction.
‘Morning,’ she said to him.
‘Morning to you too. How’s things in Appleton Green?’
‘Busy, busy, you know, rushing about, all of the things that need to be done.’ She laughed. ‘How are you?’
‘Great, about to visit a patient, but do you want to do dinner tonight? I can pick you up around seven?’
Lily paused. ‘Can we make it earlier? I don’t want Gran to be alone too late. I came home the other night and she had sat up for me and fallen asleep in her chair and was a bit rickety the next morning.’
‘Of course, actually, why don’t I bring dinner over? I can pick it up on the way to you and the three of us can have something to eat. It might be nice for her to have a change in cuisine. That’s if she likes Indian food? I can bring her anything to be honest. Whatever the queen desires.’
Lily smiled. ‘She’s fine with a little butter chicken and rice. She eats like a bird so don’t bring too much.’
‘Okay, I’ll come over at six with the food. How’s that?’
‘That’s perfect, and thank you for being so understanding,’ she said.
‘It’s not a big deal. I’m looking forward to it,’ he said. ‘Got to run, got to check on a broken arm.’
‘Bye,’ she said with a smile as she put down the phone.
Not long after, Gran was downstairs and at her seat, buttering a crumpet.
‘So what’s news this morning?’ she asked Lily, who was already on her second crumpet.
‘Well Nick is coming for dinner,’ she said cheerfully.
‘Is he? How nice. What will we make?’ Gran asked, looking pleased at the news.
‘Well, he’s bringing Indian takeaway, if that’s okay? A bit of a treat for us all.’
Gran nodded. ‘That sounds lovely. What a nice thing to look forward to. He is turning into a lovely friend, isn’t he?’ She gave Lily a knowing look, and she laughed in return.
‘Don’t get any ideas – it’s not like that. I’m only here for the summer,’ she said and she crinkled her nose at her grandmother.
Gran laughed. ‘You really are a terrible liar,’ she said.
‘And besides, summers turn into autumns that turn into winters and then into springs. Don’t say no to the possibility for love.
It doesn’t come around often,’ Gran said.
‘I thought your grandfather was just a friend to go to a dance with and we ended up dancing for many years after.’ She paused, thinking.
‘I wish it had been more years though. I didn’t realise it would be so short in the scheme of my life. ’
Lily reached over and took Gran’s hand. ‘It’s very unfair for you. I wish I had met him.’
Gran nodded, a glaze of tears in her old eyes. ‘He would have loved you, Lily,’ she said and then she shook her head, as though shaking away the memories. ‘Oh well, enough about that. What else is news?’ Gran brushed her hand off and with it her mood.
Lily met her grandmother’s change of topic with her own. ‘I was thinking I should fix up the garden.’
Gran took another bite of her crumpet and chewed slowly with her eyebrows raised quizzically at Lily.
‘What? I thought I could weed it all and plant some vegetables and some tomatoes, maybe pick some apples?’
Gran swallowed and took a sip of tea. ‘Why?’ she asked.
‘Why what?’ Lily was confused.
‘Why do you want to plant the garden up?’ Gran asked again.
‘I just thought it would be nice,’ Lily said, feeling a little less sure of her decision now.
‘Having a cup of tea is nice. Building a garden is work.’
‘I know. I’m not afraid of work.’ Lily frowned as she spoke.
‘I know, but you won’t be here to harvest it,’ said Gran. ‘And I can’t be out there. That’s why it’s in the state it’s in.’ Gran’s tone was matter-of-fact, dismissive perhaps; Lily wasn’t sure.
Lily was silent. ‘I suppose,’ she said.
Gran shrugged. ‘Don’t plant anything you don’t plan on staying to harvest, my girl.’
Lily thought about Nick and their growing flirtation. Perhaps she needed to think a little more sensibly about it all, especially with Jess back home. And besides, she had no idea how he thought of her; she was probably delusional, she thought, and she set about cleaning up breakfast.
When Gran was settled in her chair after breakfast, Lily sat outside in the sunshine.
The very fact that Gran said she didn’t want her to start anything she wasn’t planning to finish seemed to tease her even more, and she looked around and pulled a weed from the path, and then another, and soon she had weeded around the area where she was sitting.
Pulling out what you don’t want in your garden isn’t a bad thing , she told herself as she looked around. It wasn’t as fun or interesting as planting, but it was still good to see where the room was for new possibilities.