Page 51 of Waiting for a Bright New Future

“You’ll have to do something about that,” George said. “Those sorts of smells get deep into the carpet and are a bugger to get rid of.”

“Let’s start the tour.” Robert stood up. “Upstairs first.”

He took the lead with Stuart bringing up the rear. As they went past the hall mirror, Stuart was the only one who noticed the folded piece of paper tucked just behind one corner of the glass. He snatched it out and unfolded it.

So sorry, I hope you see this note in time to do something about it. When I tried to get Tibby into the basket she scarpered under my bed and I couldn’t get her out. Perhaps you can say she’s a stray that’s jumped in through an open window? I closed the bedroom door to keep her in there — don’t want you having to search the house for her. Florence XX

She’d drawn a cat smiley face alongside the kisses. Kisses? He smiled. And then he realised Florence would put those on a note to anyone.

“I’ve never really looked properly before,” Theresa was saying, “but this bathroom is out of the ark. And that airing cupboard takes up so much space.”

“In need of modernisationin estate-agent speak,” George said.

“It’ll fetch far less than properties in the area that don’t have ‘old person lived here’ stamped all over them.” Robert opened the small, mirrored cabinet.

Stuart’s brain panicked and went into recall mode. Had Florence ever put anything in there? He was pretty sure not. Despite his protestations, she liked to litter the side of the bath and the windowsill with her lotions and potions so they were all, ‘where I want them, when I want them’.

The cabinet was closed without comment.

“Two toothbrushes?” Theresa pointed at the glass that served as a toothbrush holder. “Have you got a lady friend staying over? My, you’re a dark horse, Stuart.” She winked at him and gave a sly grin.

Now he dithered. Should he let them think he was sleeping with someone or should he pretend they were both his?

“More power to your elbow, eh?” Robert gave him a nudge that missed its target and hit him painfully in the chest.

“You seem to forget that Stuart is entitled to a private life.” Cindy was gesturing them all out of the bathroom. “Give him some privacy.”

They gave Stuart’s room only a cursory glance and then moved to their father’s old room. The door was closed and no one stepped forward to open it. Stuart hoped they might give it a miss. He prayed that Tibby was still under the bed and would stay there.

“It’s got to be done.” Theresa stepped forward and put a hand on the door knob.

“I distributed his better clothes to charity shops and binned the rest.” He wanted to prepare them for the room looking different. “And of course all the medical equipment got taken away. It’s like a normal bedroom now.”

There was a vague shuffling of feet as though no one wanted to go into this room associated with sickness and death. Then Theresa opened the door and strode in.

“Oh!”

Everyone followed her gaze towards the bed. It was stripped apart from a plain white, padded mattress protector and a black, grey and white tabby cat.

“Shoo!” Theresa said sharply.

“It’s a rum do if a stray cat is getting all the way upstairs and through a closed door.”

“That’s what you get if you leave windows open.”

“I thought you said the stray was a ginger tom.”

Tibby was looking at Stuart, as though waiting for him to issue an explanation that would put the world to rights and stop these people staring at him.

“It is. This must be another one. Perhaps the ginger one told its friends to come.” He tried to make it sound like a joke, but it came out like something a child would say. Then Stuart caught sight of the pink fluffy dressing gown hanging behind the door.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Stuart moved and leaned against the door so it opened flush with the wall, hiding the dressing gown.

Robert clapped his hands sharply in Tibby’s direction.

“Out!” George shouted at the cat.

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