Gillian Jackson - The Accident

‘And is she good, are you happy with her?’ Now that he was more relaxed and looked around the flat, it did look clean and tidy.

‘Oh yes, she’ll do anything; shopping, cleaning, laundry and cooking, and she’s a lot cheaper than Social Services were going to be!’

‘That’s good, I’m glad you’re sorted out.’ Joe was relieved that help was in place for her, if only for Alison’s sake.

‘It’s no thanks to you, though, is it? I could have starved to death for all you care.’

She had to go and spoil it, to have another dig at him. Well two can play at that game , Joe thought. ‘Ethel, you’re far more able than you make out, if only you’d get up off your backside and do things for yourself occasionally, you’d probably feel much better!’

‘How dare you talk to me like that!’

‘It’s time someone did! You think the world revolves around you, but here’s the news, it doesn’t! And while we’re having this little heart to heart, I’d like to point out that you maligned the memory of your daughter by your vicious lies. I’ve found out the truth about the baby, and you don’t come out of that situation too well either.’

‘Don’t blame me! She got herself pregnant; she had to suffer the consequences.’

‘No, Ethel, your daughter was raped and she was only eighteen! Don’t you have any compassion in that cold heart of yours? It wasn’t Alison’s fault at all, she was abused and suffered greatly for it, and you have the gall to throw it at me, telling me only half the story and besmirching her memory in the process? And I’m sure she got very little comfort from you at the time. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?’

Ethel’s mouth was open; she’d probably never been spoken to like that before, and if Joe hadn’t been so angry he would have laughed at her horrified expression. Had he gone too far, he wondered? No, perhaps he should have said this years ago, and if he’d known about Alison’s past he probably would have too.

‘I think I’d like you to leave now!’ Ethel’s chin was high and she couldn’t look her son-in-law in the eye.

‘Yes, I think that’s a very good idea, but if ever you feel like apologising you’ve got my number.’

‘Me, apologise! It’s you who should be doing that. I’m an old woman and I’m ill, how dare you treat me like this?’ She glared at him now, recovering from the shock of Joe’s pertinent words.

‘You’re as ill as it suits, you don’t fool me, and you didn’t fool Alison either! She knew what you were really like but she cared for you out of duty, because she was that kind of person. You don’t know how lucky you were to have had a daughter like her!’ Perhaps he’d said too much. ‘Yes, I’ll go now but I hope you have the decency to think about what I’ve said.’

With those words Joe turned and walked out of the door, quite sure he would never hear from Ethel again.

September made way for October with Hannah welcoming the signs of autumn as a break from the hot, dry summer. Hannah couldn’t remember there ever being such a contrast between the awful winter weather they’d experienced, followed by such a scorching summer. There was much talk about global warming and whether they could expect such extremes of weather as the norm from now on. But it wasn’t only the end of summer which sat heavily on Hannah’s heart; it was her children leaving for university.

Mel was preparing to go to Cardiff University. She’d been so excited when her grades matched what she needed to take up their offer and couldn’t wait to begin the course. The university had a reputation for excellence in her chosen field and was her natural first choice. Over the holidays she’d been delighted to have even more success selling articles to magazines and Hannah was particularly proud of the feature she’d written on Cassie and Alan’s venture of Timmy’s Farm.

Cassie and Alan had agreed to be interviewed by Mel and the resulting article was an empathic, human interest story of which Hannah was so proud. Her daughter would be the first to leave home, her bags were packed and Hannah was driving her to Cardiff the next day. Sam would leave two days later for Swansea.

In Hannah’s ideal world, her children would have found places at the same university, but as their chosen courses were so different, this hadn’t been an option. They would, however, be geographically close enough to meet up on occasions and even travel home together for weekends and holidays, a thought which Hannah contented herself with.

Mike had offered to take Sam to Swansea and Hannah had agreed; he was Mike’s son too and the children were seeing quite a bit of him and Sarah at the moment, mainly due to them both being captivated by baby Charlotte.

The twins had celebrated their eighteenth birthdays at the end of August. Neither wanted extravagant parties for which Hannah was silently thankful, and instead, Sam asked for a new laptop and Mel an iPhone. Both of them appeared to be happy; they had overcome the effects of the accident and also, it seemed, the divorce for which Hannah was relieved. They were on the threshold of their own journeys in life and she hoped and prayed that they would continue to make the right choices for their own future happiness.

Hannah often reflected on the changes the year had presented. The negative ones were becoming easier to live with and she stubbornly determined to maintain a pragmatic view on life. She supposed the grieving process for her lost leg was gradually turning into acceptance; it would never be easy to live with, and there were days where she suffered considerable pain, but she accepted it as something which could never be changed.

The shock of losing Mike hurt deeply, although she often thought she should have seen it coming. The fact that he’d been having an affair for so long was a bitter blow, humiliating as well as hurtful, but looking back, it was clear that her marriage was never going to survive. She and Mike had grown too far apart and left it too long before either of them admitted to any problems. Hannah truly wished him well and was pleased that he seemed so happy with his new family. He would always be her children’s father, a fact which would connect them forever, and who knows, in time she might even feel brave enough to meet Sarah.

And now that the twins were leaving home, Hannah faced another huge change, but not everything which was happening in her life was negative. She’d begun to work a couple of evenings a week with Cassie and Alan Jones and they had called her a godsend for how well she had organised their office. The couple were so busy caring for their animals, marketing and fundraising, that much of the everyday paperwork had been in a mess.

Hannah’s skills in organisation soon had a massive effect. She introduced systems for payment of bills, ordering of feed and other essential stock, and generally kept the office running smoothly, much to the delight of Cassie and Alan, and the three were quickly becoming firm friends.

It was Hannah’s intention to work the occasional Saturday morning once the twins left home, as it would help to fill some of her weekend and she was beginning to love being at the farm. The atmosphere was something special, they were restoring health to neglected animals and the rewards were immeasurable. Sometimes, just a little love and care brought the most remarkable returns and the animals responded with the kind of devotion which suggested that they almost knew they had been rescued and wanted to repay the kindness.

Perhaps she was getting soppy in her old age, but Hannah was moved by many of the cases they took on at the farm and now couldn’t imagine her life without being part of such a wonderful venture.