A Mother Forever by Elaine Everest (free children's online books txt) 📕

‘See you later,’ Ruby called as she turned and walked up Alexandra Road and approached her gate.

‘Ruby!’ Wilf shouted from his open front door. He looked so upset that Ruby froze for a moment.

‘What is it, Wilf?’ she asked, hurrying over the road. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘It’s Stella. She’s ever so poorly. She’s burning up, and I don’t know what to do.’

Wilf had continued to care for Stella since Donald’s death, although things had changed to the point that he was no longer the proud man who worked on the Thames. It was as if he’d shrunk up inside, becoming older than his years.

Ruby hurried past him, pulling off her coat as she did so. The Greens’ house was stiflingly hot.

‘I lit a fire because she said she was cold – but look at her. I’ve never seen anyone sweat so much, and she is delirious.’

Ruby went over to the sofa where Stella lay. She looked as though she was asleep, but as Ruby approached her she could see her eyes were fluttering and she was mumbling all the time. She seemed quite distressed.

‘Can you get me a bowl of water and a cloth please, Wilf,’ she said, kneeling down next to the sofa and loosening Stella’s clothing, which was damp with perspiration. ‘It’s all right, Stella, I’m here. I’ll help you. I can see you don’t feel well.’

Stella stirred and focused on Ruby. ‘Where is my Donald?’ she muttered as she grabbed Ruby’s hand. ‘Get my Donald for me, please.’

Wilf returned with a bowl of water. As Ruby sponged Stella’s face, she asked him how long she had been like this.

‘A couple of days now. I thought she’d get better.’

‘I wish I’d known. I’d not have sent Pat over to bother you.’ Ruby couldn’t help wondering if whatever was wrong with Stella could have been passed on to her daughter.

‘She’s been in bed the last couple of days, and Pat played down here quietly. You know she’s no trouble, but today Stella decided she wanted to come downstairs. She took a turn for the worse, so I settled her on the sofa and had your Pat go over and sit with Irene. Do you think it’s the Spanish flu?’

This had not occurred to Ruby. Dear God, she thought, please don’t let it be the Spanish influenza. She’d heard of so many people in the town going down with it. There’d been quite a few deaths as well. The girls down the munitions reckoned the soldiers were bringing it back from the trenches, but Ruby thought it was all hearsay. All she knew was, it was a nasty illness and there’d been so much about it in the newspapers that she’d stopped reading them. If it wasn’t the war, it was the flu. At work her colleagues spoke of nothing else, and then the shopkeepers would go on and on. Like so many people, she was worn down by four years of reading about the horrors of war and knowing so many people who’d lost loved ones. The war didn’t seem to discriminate, as there were huge losses on all sides – and now the Spanish flu was doing the same. It was about time they all had some good news in their lives.

‘I don’t know, Wilf, but I think you should go and get the doctor. I’ll make her as comfortable as I can while you’re gone.’

‘I thought only younger people got it, so perhaps it’s not Spanish flu,’ he said hopefully.

‘Whatever it is, Stella is poorly. Please can you hurry and get the doctor?’ she urged him.

Wilf did as he was told and Ruby set to work making Stella more comfortable. She hurried upstairs to the woman’s bedroom and found a long cotton nightgown. Being careful, she cooled her down with the water Wilf had brought in and dried her before putting her in her nightwear, then plumped up the cushions around her head.

‘There you are, that’s much better, isn’t it, Stella?’ she said with a smile. ‘Wilf will be back shortly with your doctor. You’ll soon be as right as rain.’ She thought she knew why her neighbour had taken so poorly. She was just skin and bone – there was hardly anything of her.

Thinking back, there had been an occasion recently when Ruby had seen her walking through the town and Stella hadn’t even seemed to recognize Ruby. A group of soldiers had passed nearby, and she’d heard Stella call out: ‘Donald, is that you?’ before going into a cafe and sitting down.

Ruby, afraid of being rebuked again, had seen that there was another of their neighbours in there talking to Stella, so she had gone on her way; but what she had witnessed worried her. The light inside her friend had been gradually dimming, and Ruby felt she should do something. But what?

She sat on the floor close to Stella’s head and chatted away, hoping that Stella would hear her and be comforted by her voice. She talked about Frank, mentioning that there had been a letter and that she would bring it over later to share his words. She spoke of George and how he hoped to be home soon before the birth of his baby. At the mention of the word ‘baby’, Stella opened her eyes and looked straight at Ruby. ‘Your baby died,’ she said, before drifting off into a restless sleep.

Although shocked, Ruby continued to talk, as she felt it was important for Stella to know that somebody was there. Would it hurt now to mention Derek, she thought? Taking a deep breath, she chatted about Stella’s middle son and how she’d gone to see him several times at the hospital. She told Stella about Susannah, and how good she was for her son. She told her that he had regained the sight in one eye, although his face was badly scarred. She added that the last time she’d gone to visit, Susannah had shown her an