Page 40 of Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening Society
Her mother arches an eyebrow, probably because she’s heard this spiel before. ‘All members? Or just Cora?’
‘How dare you imply that,’ Lorraine says drily, picking up a Red Delicious apple from the bowl her mother always keeps on the kitchen table and taking a bite. ‘Actually, Terry and Simon today.’ And Cora too, of course, but as her mother knows that goes without saying.
‘What have they done?’
‘Terry’s not doing his chores and Simon is taking Cora’s side on things.’
The latter isn’t entirely true, but there’s less drama in the truth and Lorraine is feeling dramatic.
‘That’s to be expected. Cora doesn’t have to discipline him.’ Rose smiles and pats Lorraine’s cheek. ‘You were the same with my mum.’
‘Really?’
‘And she indulged it. Wanted to be your favourite.’ Rose shrugs. ‘She was always a little competitive with me.’
‘Good thing you don’t compete with me.’ Lorraine takes another bite and chews noisily. ‘Or with Cora.’
They’re both silent then. Rose has every right to be upset about the amount of time Cora gets to spend with their mutual grandchildren relative to how often she sees them, but she’s never made a fuss. Lorraine knows that’s not because she doesn’t care. It’s because she doesn’t want to cause trouble within Lorraine’s marriage. Except Lorraine has often thought she’s letting her mother down by not insisting that the boys should see Rose more, even though that would mean her and Mike trying to find time to make it happen. Rose doesn’t drive; never has. Cora doesn’t either.
Lorraine couldn’t stand to not be able to get in the car and zip off when she needs to, but that generation relied more on the menfolk to get them around. Or maybe it just wasn’t that common for girls to drive. She really should ask her mum one day. But not today. Today she wants to wallow a while longer in feeling upset about her kids not behaving the way she wants them to.
‘Cora loves them,’ Rose says quietly. ‘As do I. But sometimes we think going easy on kids is how we should love them, when the opposite needs to happen. Structure is good for young people.’
‘Yeah, but how do you keep them in it? They usually listen to Mike but he’s sobusy, Mum.’
‘Can’t he cut back on work?’
‘We need the money. Feeding five is expensive.’
And now it looks like he’s placing bets too.She hasn’t broached it with him yet and isn’t sure how – because Cora’s right, he does work hard and part of Lorraine thinks she shouldn’t tell him what to do with money when it doesn’t affect the rest of them. What’s a couple of bucks here and there? That’s all the receipts added up to.
‘Plus he wants to build onto the house so Cora has more room,’ she adds.
She and Mike had argued about that. Why should Cora get more space when their bedroom is the smallest in the house? Mike had said, ‘We don’t need much space to hold a whole lotta love,’ and Lorraine had wanted to whack him. Softly, but whack himall the same, because how corny can you be? Even if it’s true. He’s always been good at giving her a good time. As he would say, ‘It’s one of my only talents.’
‘So where do they think you are now?’ Rose says.
‘Who knows? Don’t care.’
Rose’s telephone rings and she walks slowly into the sitting room to answer it. ‘Hello, Cora,’ Lorraine hears her say, but doesn’t catch the rest.
Once the call is over Rose comes back into the kitchen. ‘That was Cora. She guessed you’d come here. Simon’s crying. He thinks he upset you so much you left.’
‘He’s right,’ Lorraine fires back, then she sighs. ‘I’d better go.’
Her mother nods and squeezes her arm. ‘Always here if you need me.’
‘Same.’ Lorraine kisses her cheek. ‘Love you, Mum.’
‘Love you too.’
As Lorraine starts the engine she realises that she may have only seen her mother for a few minutes but she feels a hundred times better. That’s the power of being with someone who loves you unquestioningly.
It’s probably what her children feel about her, too, even if they don’t quite know it. She should try to honour that. Although Terry still needs to rake the lawn.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Itoccurs to Elizabeth that she’s come to enjoy helping the ladies of the Sunshine Gardening Society as they work to remake Jon’s garden so it closer fits his ideal. While gardening wasn’t a love Elizabeth and Jon shared, being involved in his garden does help keep him close. Sometimes when she’s digging up a garden bed, she can pretend that he’s just in another part of the garden and if she turns around she’ll see him. Although that’s also the reason she feels a twinge of fear each time the ladies work in her garden – Elizabeth knows she will let herself imagine all sorts of things because she so badly wants them to be true. By doing something Jon loved she knows she can’t bring him back, but she can tell herself that maybe he approves from wherever he is, or that he’s guiding her somehow. Those would be fairy stories, however, and as much as she believes in Heaven and Hell she does not believe in any kind of afterlife that would bring her in contact with her husband once more.
