CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

The sun felt great on my skin and I let out a happy sigh, “what a nice day”, I say, feeling genuine happiness, unsure if it’s from seeing John this morning or because we were able to get Mum up and about, I was walking beside mum as Lisa guides Chester on lead. I hear Mum hum in contentment and look over at her, seeing her smiling a genuine, it filled me with warmth I have not seen her smile this way in weeks, “let’s go to the store”, she said, “it has been over a week and I am sure they miss me there”, Lisa and I agree to her request and we walk the fifteen minutes to the store.

Once we were done at the store and Mum had finished conversing with Mr and Mrs Martha, the store owners, we began our walk home. Along the way I noticed Mum still smiling but shivering as though she were freezing, “Lisa it’s time to ride”, I urged, jumping on the wagon with Mum, she had become delirious and feverish, as her eye were wondering around as if watch a fly buzzing around, “why what’s wrong”, Lisa asks, “just get us home fast”, I demand as calmly as possible, I straddled mum to secure her and held onto the railing. Lisa spared no more time and hopped on the saddle, quickly glancing back at us before speeding off. We arrived home in five minutes and Lisa and I carried Mum up the stairs, me having her upper body and Lisa having her legs, we got her onto the bed and tucked her in, “Go and fetch father from work and the doctor”, I say to Lisa, she has a look of worry on her face, “take the wagon with you”, Lisa nods and races out. I stayed with Mum, placing dampened rags around her body, to cool her down, Mum had fallen asleep just as we got home but I began talking to her, “Mum, you can not leave us just yet, we are not ready to lose our mother”, I said at first, “I thought I was prepared for the moment you would leave us, but this has made me realise I am so far from being prepared”, tears begin streaming down my face at this point, I am not ready to lose my mum because I know I will lose both parents at the same time. There came a sudden knock on the door, that was fast I only just sent Lisa out, “come in”, I say, quickly wiping my tears, the door opens and in walks my grandmother followed by Lisa, we had not seen each other in a year or so but we have had been sending letters, “grandma”, I say shedding more tear as I hop to my feet and embrace her in a big tight hug, “shh, it is okay sweetheart, gran is here”, she says softly, stroking my hair, “what has my daughter done to herself”, she says, her voice filled with concern, as she looks at our mother on the bed, grandma goes and sits beside her on the bed feeling her face and arms, “was she feverish before”, she asks looking to me, “yes, quite”, I say and go to feel the same areas, “but it has come down in the last ten minutes”, I add, grandma nods and looks back at mum, “we will keep these rags on for ten minutes more, then carry her to a warm bath”, says grandma, “it won’t cure her, but she will feel more comfortable”, she finished, her voice cracking slightly. “Do not trouble your father just yet, she is currently stable”, Grandma says, staring down at her daughter, “if she worsens, we will alert him”, she continues, “Lisa and I will get the bath ready and bring you tea, you stay here grandma”, I suggest, walking up to Lisa, grandma nods and looks back at mum. Lisa and I walk out of the room leaving Grandma to stay with Mum, “I feel so relieved having Grandma here”, I confess to Lisa as we descend the stairs, “I too feel relieved”, Lisa agrees, sadness in her voice, “it’s like we are not doing it alone now, we have wise adult support”, she continues, she was right, it felt like we were enduring this alone because father closed himself off. Once we were in the kitchen we set up the tea, I sent Lisa up with the tea, “I will make a start on the bath”, I said, “Okay, I will come down and help you shortly”, she nodded and we part ways as she goes upstairs and I walk to the bathhouse in the backyard. Once outside, I go to the well and fill the cauldron, placing it over the fire pit and lighting the fire to heat it, Lisa walks out as I am placing more wood on the fire, “we just need to fill the tub”, I say, stand and dusting my have off on my apron, Lisa nods and we start taking bucket from the well to fill the tub, “has mum woken yet”, I ask, waiting patiently for Lisa to finish filling her bucket, “no, not yet”, she says, shaking her head, I let out a sad “oh”, I notice Lisa seemed to hold a guilty look and made a mental note to speak to console her once we finish the bath, maybe grandma said something, but grandma is generally not one to place blame that easily, then again it is her daughter in question. “Why do you look so sullen Lisa”, I ask as we walk inside, she sighs deeply and stops to face me, “I feel like today is my fault”, she says looking down, "it was my idea to take mum out, I place my hands on her shoulders, “Lisa, look at me”, I say and she lifts her head, her eyes finding mine, “mum is seriously ill”, I continue, “I know even if we did not take mum out today, she would of turned in her room and we would have been too busy to notice or worse, not even home at all”, I finish, Lisa’s eye go wide, “so your saying we saved mum by taking on an outing”, Lisa asks, “yes”, I nod and smile, we continue our walk to mum’s room, Lisa feeling less guilty then earlier, though I can not be sure if we contributed to her condition, as I too feel strong guilt, I am just better at hiding it. We managed to wake Mum enough to walk her down to the bathhouse, Lisa and I scattered some herbs and peddles to help make mum feel more comfortable and relaxed, it smelt delectable as we helped Mum bathe. We were five minutes in the middle of bathing Mum when she suddenly woke up completely, "Mother, when did you get here", she asked, finally noticing Grandma's presence, grandma smiled softly, "I arrived one hour ago my dear", she replied, caressing mums hair, "I am so happy you are here", mum beams, grandma smiles back at her, "relax now, my dear", she says, mum closes her eyes and enjoys the comforting bath.