Monday

I didn’t need to open the door at The Home this afternoon. Lily was pulling hard on the handle as I put the code in. Fortunately I was able to fill the doorway, get inside and close the door before she knew what had happened.

“What did you do that for? I need to get home.”

“It’s getting dark and it’s too cold. You need a thicker coat Lily”

“But I’m only going up the road”

“It’s too dark and too cold Lily”

“Too dark and too cold? Is that all you’ve got to say?”

“Yes. If you need help getting home you should ask someone in the lounge.”

She stomped off muttering under her breath.

I reported the near miss to Madeline and Juliette. They just laughed but they were lucky it was someone who knew Lily and what she was up to. They haven’t always been that lucky. I left the nurses office and saw Lily recounting her misfortune to the gang in the rear lounge. I stayed at the other end of the corridor until she’d gone.

I greeted everyone in the rear lounge as usual. Only one nurse was there.

“Alright Nicky?”

“I’ve pissed Lily off”

“What?”

“I stopped her escaping through the front door”

“Give her 5 minutes and she’ll forget all about it”

I proceeded to Mum’s room only to find Lily trying to get out of the back door.

“Do you know how to open this?”

“Sorry Lily, I don’t know the code for that door.”

“But it should be open”

“They lock it when it’s dark to keep everyone safe”

“Oh. That’s good. But I need to get to this address”

She had an envelope in her hand and it’s got her address on it. It literally is just round the corner. I gave my usual “If you need help then go back to the lounge and ask there” response. She thanked me and toddled off.

I found mum sound asleep. Unfortunately, she’d fallen asleep with a drink in her hand. Her blanket was soaked. I switched the blanket with her spare and returned to the lounge to ask for a change. While I was waiting for assistance to arrive I got mum to have a drink from another cup in the queue to be drunk. She was gasping and had a good long drink before going back to sleep. I didn’t bother reading. Just talked to her about my day.

I got no response though.

Author’s Note

My Mum is in a nursing home in a small village in the Thames Valley. The photo is not of the home. I used an AI image generator to give the reader some idea of the home she’s in.

All, some or maybe even none (you’ll never know!) of the names have been changed to protect privacy and hide real identities. If you think you recognise someone then let me know and I’ll edit the post or remove it entirely