Jane Gilley - The Woman Who Kept Everything

However, the children’s holiday week had come and gone but there was still no sighting of Jessie and Adam. Gloria crept upstairs into their bedrooms, when Clegg and Val were at work, and looked at their things. There were lots of photos on their walls but Gloria didn’t recognise anyone in them.

Yet, as Gloria sipped her tea in the conservatory, something felt amiss. She didn’t know what it was but there was a lot of whispering going on and she didn’t like that. It made her feel awkward, as though she shouldn’t really be there. Perhaps Clegg and Val weren’t getting on any more. She hadn’t seen them together in a long time. Who knows what goes on in families, she thought. Or perhaps it was something else entirely.

In the past, when Clegg visited, he’d always come by himself, apart from once, when Val accompanied him. On that particular day she’d walked round moaning about every aspect of Gloria’s home, especially her collections of things, and she’d wanted to start chucking it all out onto the streets, for heaven’s sake! Gloria soon put a stop to that, with some choice words. Perhaps that’s why she’d never been round since.

‘Oh, Val’s workin’, Mum. She’s always workin’. It’s a callin’ being a nurse, folk say,’ he’d usually explain, by way of an apology.

That aside, it also upset Gloria that Clegg had never even thought to take her back to their house for a cuppa or a meal, which would’ve been just wonderful for a change. Plus she’d’ve got to see the children more.

So even though she was staying with them, whilst she knew her house was being sorted out and even though everything was very nice, in an odd contrived sort of way – well, the central heating and hot water, especially, were very nice – she just didn’t feel comfortable with this arrangement. She felt out of place. It was as though she was somewhere she wasn’t meant to be. Plus she didn’t know how to respond or talk to Val yet. She wasn’t even sure they had anything in common any more.

She couldn’t wait to get back to her own home, once it was sorted out. That was a comforting thought at least.

Val’s beautiful garden seemed to stare at Gloria as she sat lost in thought but Gloria Frensham wasn’t really looking at any of it.

‘Jocelyn, it’s Gloria!’

Jocelyn was taken aback. Well, she’d never expected a call from her arch-rival. In fact, she’d never had the time of day for the woman who’d been a thorn in her side, one way or another, over all these years because of Tilsbury. Not that he was a real catch by any means. Ha, their rows had been famous over the years. But there had been a time when they’d gotten on a treat.

‘What the effin’ hell do you want?’

‘And it’s great to talk to you too, ducks! Look, can’t we put all that stuff behind us, now? It’s been going on for years! We were lovely friends once –’

‘Yeah but nicking someone else’s husband ain’t playin’ fair, Glor!’

‘Oh rubbish, Joss! You kicked him out! And he hadn’t done nothing wrong. He likes animals! You got it all wrong and he used that as a reason to leave, is all. How many times do we have to go over old ground? Plus he came to me. Not the other way round. I was happy with my Arthur.’

Gloria paused, wondering if Jocelyn was still listening.

‘Besides you’re tied up with Marvin now. And he treats you right, by all accounts. Can’t have ’em both, lovey. Anyway, I’m ringing to ask a favour. I expect you know what’s gone on, ducks. And we both know Clegg’s a bit of a twat when it comes to Tilsbury. But he looks after me, he does. They both do, in their way. But, that aside, I need to talk to Tils. Want to apologise to him about all this. Don’t mind if you want to pass the message on. Or else I can speak to him, if you give him this number and get him to ring. But it’ll have to be before six p.m., this week, cause Cleggy and Val are both workin’ ’til then and I don’t want no trouble from them.’

Silence continued at the end of the line. Gloria didn’t push it.

‘I suppose!’ Jocelyn said with a sigh.

‘What do you suppose, ducks?’

‘I’ll tell him. But here, Glor. I’ll tell you summat …’

‘What Jocelyn?’

‘Well, Tils was like, full of it, when your Cleggy chucked him out. I mean he says Cleggy literally got hold of him by the scruff of his collar and marched him down the stairs and out the door. Like, over all them things you have, and Cleggy was kicking stuff outta the way and stuff was breaking. Tinklies. You know? And then straight outta your house. Anyway, the next week there was a right racket, I can tell you –’

‘Racket?’

‘Oh yeah,’ Jocelyn continued, excitedly. ‘I went to see what was going on, like, with Big Doreen from next door. And it was right astoundin’ it was. Big lorries arrived and people with weird-looking gear on and masks over their faces. And they kept going in and out, and gettin’ stuff and dumpin’ it in the lorries. Just chuckin’ it in, like. Stuff was crackin’ and breakin’. And people were gawping at what was goin’ on. You’d’ve be in the nursin’ home by then. And after that the electricity people went in, to fix up your Big Bang. Then there were decorators and floorin’ people. Gawd! It looked like a ruddy crime scene, it did, with all the vans and people swarmin’ all around!’

‘Crikey, Joss. That sounds like a whole load of crumblies!’

‘Yeah, it was, Glor. But, you know, if you saw your place now you wouldn’t recognise it. All your stuff’s gone. To the dump, Tils says. He says it’s all painted up, now: white walls and you’ve got a new kitchen and new bathroom. He snuck in and saw it after it was all done up. Plus there’s three For Sale boards outside. They’re sellin’ it, Glor. Looks like Cleggy’s sellin’ your house from under ya, love.’

‘He’s what? No, he can’t be! Don’t be silly. He’s meant to be sorting it all out for me. Not sellin’ it, love! He didn’t tell me he was sellin’ it, Joss,’ Gloria said, suddenly feeling sick. That couldn’t be what was happening, surely . ‘Crikey, ducks, are you sure?’

‘So why else would there be sale boards outside it, then?’

‘Definitely outside my place?’ Gloria gasped. ‘Not next door?’

‘I seen ’em with my own eyes, Glor!’

She’d been told they were looking for the electrical fault. She’d never been told that Clegg wanted to do anything else. He told her he was going to put things right and she’d thought that meant that, once things had been sorted out, she’d just move back in and things would continue as normal. But, if what Jocelyn was saying was true then there’d be nothing left to go home for because ALL her stuff had apparently gone. To the DUMP. And new stuff was replacing her old things.

So maybe that’s what was going on. Her son, Clegg, was trying to sell her house, on the quiet! Gloria felt weak with worry. Oh my God!

No, it couldn’t be. Jocelyn must’ve got it wrong! Why would Clegg do something like that, without telling her? Why would he think it was okay to do something like that without telling her? Or did he just want her to live with them? They hadn’t discussed anything like that. And no! Gloria didn’t want to live with them – even though they were the only family she had now. She’d dreamt about it in the early days after Arthur died, of course, but it wasn’t something she’d contemplated for a long time now. She’d grown to like living by herself. Plus there’d be rules at Clegg’s and Tilsbury wouldn’t be allowed to visit, for one thing.

Or else – no! Surely not!

A chill ran through Gloria. Surely he didn’t want to put her back into Green’s Nursing Home, did he? Or did he want to put her somewhere else, out of the way, so she’d be no trouble to anyone? Away from the people she loved and cared about …?