Aldous\u2019 wife telephoned me. \u201cListen, dear,\u201d she said, \u201cI\u2019m having a W.I. meeting and Mrs. Soandso has just arrived. She came past Mrs Rivers\u2019 house and saw a dubious looking character with a few scruffy children go into there. I tried to ring Mrs Rivers, but couldn\u2019t get through. I wonder what\u2019s going on. I thought I\u2019d give you a warning\u2026\u201d Mrs Rivers lives near us and what Aldous\u2019 wife meant was that I should go and have a look. I told her I would. She said: \u201cLet me know anyway\u2026\u201d I answered I won\u2019t bother, only if something\u2019s wrong. \u201cAlright, dear,\u201d she said, \u201cand see you Saturday at the party.\u201d I sent my eldest daughter to see how Mrs Rivers was. She seemed to take a long time coming back and I was getting uneasy, interrupted my baking and put on shoes to go there myself. Before I could set off, my daughter came back reporting that there hadn\u2019t been a soul around, in- or outside the house. Later that afternoon I telephoned Mrs Rivers. She had indeed been out and was upset about the news I gave her. I almost wished I hadn\u2019t said anything, but, no, she was grateful for the information, she said, and rang off, noticeably disconcerted. A few days after I bumped into her. She had calmed down and the police were keeping an eye on her house. She had asked them to. It seemed as though there were people going round trying to pick up things from unlocked premises, garages mainly. Mrs Rivers knew the Vicar had lost food out of the deep freezer in his garage which he never used to lock. Miss Felix with whom she had had lunch was another victim \u2013 garden tools this time. And one or two more people. She concluded it was best to lock up everything which she did anyway. The lady who had seen the dubious character in her grounds was Mr and Mrs Orms\u2019 neighbour, by the way, acting president of the local W.I., a very busy person with the excellent ability of taking in at a glance what\u2019s going on in other people\u2019s houses, not holding back her opinion, making useful comments, putting people right on various issues and improving wherever possible.<\/p>\n
On the Saturday of that week there was a party at Aldous\u2019 house. Neither Steve nor I felt like going and Steve volunteered to fall ill, mainly because he didn\u2019t want the job of ringing up and apologizing for me being ill. Aldous answered the phone when I rang up to give the news that we couldn\u2019t attend. \u201cHow sad,\u201d he said, \u201cand why doesn\u2019t he try Aspirin? It always does the trick with me.\u201d Somebody else had fallen ill, I heard. When I told Steve, he started speculating about that person\u2019s illness\u2026Unfortunately that gentleman was still in bed three days later. Aldous\u2019 wife rang up a few days after to find out how Steve was. \u201cAs right as rain,\u201d I felt inclined to say, but refrained. She then told me someone was going to see George\u2019s wife in hospital later on. She also confessed she was feeling very naughty about this, because.\u2026she didn\u2019t feel like going! \u201cWhat an effort. Driving all these miles, not knowing what to say when you\u2019re there. And the petrol.\u201d Didn\u2019t I feel a bit like that, she wondered. I told her I had decided to give it up altogether. \u201cYou never,\u201d she said. I told her that through the help of a charitable organization I had found somebody to replace me. \u201cYou didn\u2019t!\u201d she exclaimed. I explained that the effort invested was not worth the result achieved. She gave a sigh of relief, because she couldn\u2019t agree more about the effort. She declared herself totally sympathetic with me and that certainly we had done our share, and she was going to do the same thing. She seems to follow me \u2013 first into the job and then out of it. As for a replacement, what a jolly good idea! She would do the same. She knows a few members of the organization in question through the W.I. and would contact them. \u201cBy the way,\u201d she said, \u201ccan I drop in some time to bring you a poster about this debate Aldous is taking part in. Maybe you can put it up on your gatepost.\u201d They obviously thought that leaving slips of paper on the chairs in a concert hall \u2013\u201cLittle Glyndebourne\u201d \u2013 wasn\u2019t enough. I felt like saying she could keep her poster to herself \u2013 we don\u2019t have a gatepost anyway \u2013 but didn\u2019t dare. She then added she hoped that Steve and I would be present at the debate. I put it the English way and said \u201cwe might well be\u201d.<\/p>\n
She came in the afternoon with the very latest news. \u201cDo you know how much our neighbours sold their house for?\u201d And she threw all sorts of figures concerning prices past, present, future about me. Bought for so much, invested so much, sold for soooo much! Isn\u2019t it incredible! She said in fact it was wicked!. I said \u201cgood for your neighbours\u201d. She said, yes, she would like to do that. Sell their place \u2013 larger than their neighbours\u2019, of course \u2013 for a lot of money and then live a life of luxury. She had found her dream house, near her sister\u2019s, near where she was born, and would be happy to go back there. But Aldous wouldn\u2019t. A real city-person, she said, who wouldn\u2019t go away from here. Of course, she smiled, they wouldn\u2019t want to leave all their friends. I said it would be a big change. To come back to their neighbours, she informed me that money was no object for them. He\u2019d been made the top man of such and such a company, in a foreign country. The expense of moving him and his belongings there! And his son who is having difficulties with his A-levels here will be able to read architecture there straight away! \u201cAnd do you know where they stayed when they first came here?\u201d She gave the name of a well-known ten-star or so hotel in the vicinity. She shook her head and I could see that her mind boggled \u2013 she told me why, because I had no idea. \u201cWe were taken out for a meal there once,\u201d she said, \u201conly four of us and it came to \u00a3100 without drinks!\u201d \u201cI love you, dear,\u201d she laughed, \u201cbut I wouldn\u2019t invite you to a cup of coffee there. I would come out broke.\u201d I asked had she met her new neighbours yet. She denied and said she didn\u2019t expect anything from them. Too young. A coloured musician with his family who probably wouldn\u2019t be interested in people of her and Aldous\u2019 age. I said, you never know, and she confided that Aldous had told her to keep an open mind. Their present neighbours, the ones who were leaving, were alright. I was surprized to hear it. Not that they had a lot in common, she said, but they were a similar age. They had had drinks together and that was about it. She couldn\u2019t come to terms with the lady. The gentleman, on the other hand, was \u201cdelightful\u201d, I understood. No problem with the dogs apparently. \u201cIt\u2019s a female, their dog,\u201d she said, and with a smile of some sort \u201ca foregone conclusion\u201d. Aldous\u2019 dog is a male and I gather they \u201ckiss\u201d every day.<\/p>\n
Our next topic of conversation was George\u2019s wife. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you all about her,\u201d she said, looking important and bearing in mind our chat by telephone earlier on. She had been to see her and, of course, was questioned about me immediately which was a slightly tricky situation after the disclosure I had made to her in the morning. However, she had managed alright. George\u2019s wife, I heard, was worried about me, not having seen me for a few weeks; she could only hope I was alright and missed me \u201cterribly\u201d. Aldous\u2019 wife had been able to tell her that I had been feeling tired lately \u2013 \u201cyou do look tired, dear,\u201d she said, interrupting her account \u2013 and that Steve hadn\u2019t been well on Saturday. I approved. \u201cBut how are you going on?\u201d she then asked, \u201caren\u2019t you going any more at all?\u201d I said I wouldn\u2019t. She looked incredulous. \u201cWhat are you going to tell them?\u201d If George wants to know, I\u2019ll give my reasons, I said to her. \u201cYou\u2019ll tell him what you told me?\u201d I nodded. What\u2019s wrong with that? No feelings involved of any kind. She said: \u201cWe\u2019re probably flattering ourselves by thinking we do them good.\u201d And then: \u201cI won\u2019t let them down. But maybe I can cut my visits down to fortnightly ones. That would be a help, wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d I couldn\u2019t agree more. She left me soon after, urging me to look after myself, to have a rest and try and recover in general. She got into her car without kissing me bye-bye; but maybe I wasn\u2019t too forthcoming in that respect. Last time I saw Yan he said to me: \u201cYou look well.\u201d And he didn\u2019t understand why Aldous and his wife had remarked to him I didn\u2019t\u2026<\/p>\n
Coming back from the dentist on this day, in the morning, I went to the post office to collect Mrs Rivers\u2019 pension. I saw my friend, the Greengrocer, and his wife and bumped into the lady who had taken over the shopping for Mr and Mrs Orms. I asked her, had everything worked out satisfactorily. She said, yes, she hadn\u2019t had to do any shopping after all, but they wanted her this week.<\/p>\n
The Greengrocer\u2019s wife had been monitoring our conversation and said: \u201cI think their neighbour is trying to get them to do more shopping here. They already get quite a lot from us.\u201d I thought to myself \u201cgood for you\u201d and remarked about meat and toiletries which they don\u2019t do. I didn\u2019t tell her that cat food and a few other items were more expensive here than elsewhere. She must know that anyway. The Greengrocer\u2019s wife said: \u201cYes, of course, we don\u2019t do everything.\u201d And that was the end of our conversation.<\/p>\n
George was on the phone to me, wondering first of all how Steve was. Aldous\u2019 wife had told him, so he said, that he wasn\u2019t well. I was able to reassure him on this matter. Secondly he told me that they missed me very much, his wife missing me even \u201cterribly\u201d.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t see why she should, because asked once whether she found it boring always seeing the same people like myself, she had answered: \u201cNo more so than seeing all the other patients.\u201d I said, would you like to come down for a cup of tea? He hesitated and informed me he had his wife at home. Of course it was Wednesday \u2013 I had forgotten. Could I come up and have a cup of tea with them? I told him I couldn\u2019t, having lots of things on my hands. \u201cWhat shall I tell my wife then,\u201d he asked, \u201cwhen will you see her?\u201d I was at a loss what to say and he helped me by suggesting: \u201cYou\u2019ll see her when you can?\u201d I jumped at that and said that was exactly what I felt. We rang off.<\/p>\n
Aldous and his wife dropped in two days later as they were walking their dog past our house. Aldous came in on his own to pay us for some concert tickets, his wife staying outside with their dog who doesn\u2019t like ours. \u201cHow is Steve?\u201d Aldous asked first of all. I think the news of Steve being unwell must be around the village and told him so. He shrugged his shoulders. I then enquired about his own well-being. His wife had told me a tale of asthma, inoculations and frequent visits to the chemist\u2019s. He looked surprized. Nothing to worry about, he said, a kind of wheeziness early in the morning which stopped him from sleeping through. However, he had improved recently and managed without drugs, now. He wished, though, Steve would try Aspirin for his headaches. Aren\u2019t people obstinate! Just like George! Imagine he, Aldous, might be able to help his wife. There was a friend with new resources in their immediate surroundings! There could be hope for her!<\/p>\n
Aldous\u2019 wife whom we had joined outside interrupted him and informed me that two people in the North were being treated according to Aldous\u2019 ideas. Aldous just couldn\u2019t work out why George didn\u2019t want his help. \u201cBut there you are. You can\u2019t force people.\u201d He looked frustrated. They had at long last had a letter from a friend who had spent a lot of time with them, they told me next. The friend was well, I heard; happy also with his wife and family, now \u2013 Aldous\u2019 wife looked pleased about that. She had told me months ago that they had been on the brink of divorce. He was full of new projects. Fancy him going to China to study acupuncture! Always things going on in his life. An interesting person. Aldous\u2019 wife had called him \u201cnaughty\u201d for never writing to them. After all they had been together quite a lot \u2013 he a stranger in this country, too. And all the musical evenings. He told them in his letter what pleasant memories he had of them. According to Aldous and his wife he was always hovering on the brink of financial breakdown which made me wonder who was paying for his stay in China. Would he get a grant or something? Aldous laughed a little pained: \u201cThat\u2019s why he wrote the letter, really. He will get a grant, but needs\u2026references!\u201d I expressed my hope that Aldous would write a nice reference for him and asked, didn\u2019t he know that people only come when they want something. He said: \u201cYes, that is so. Poor Kate! She\u2019s never had a single line from him\u201d. I said: \u201cHe doesn\u2019t want anything from her!\u201d He said: \u201cIndeed not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aldous\u2019 wife remarked: \u201cHe was willing to be driven around by her when he was over here\u2026\u201d To inform the reader, the lady in question is about sixty and quite attractive; lively, anyway, and always well-dressed. And Aldous: \u201cPoor Kate! She feels he was the only lover she wanted and won\u2019t consider any other man, now. She could do with a man. She needs a man to stop her from doing daft things!\u201d Aldous was serious, if not concerned, rolled his eyes a bit like Othello and emphasized the important words, while I was listening quietly. Then he addressed me: \u201cA sexist remark, I suppose, but you, in your new-found reticence, won\u2019t argue that!\u201d I couldn\u2019t help smiling \u2013 he wasn\u2019t frustrated again, was he? I said \u201cdoesn\u2019t a change make life more interesting? Always the same thing \u2013 that\u2019s boring!\u201d He said: \u201cWell, when you see me turn up as a red-haired punk, you will know that I\u2019ve taken your remark to heart.\u201d \u201cWhich remark?\u201d I asked. \u201cThe change,\u201d his wife pointed out. I was surprized, not being aware of having invited Aldous to change into a \u201cred-haired punk\u201d. As they left they said we had to make travel arrangements for the next concert. Was it their turn to take us? I said Steve wouldn\u2019t mind using our car and didn\u2019t tell them I preferred him for a driver. \u201cSee you before then, anyway..\u201d \u201cBye-bye.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Aldous\u2019 wife telephoned me. \u201cListen, dear,\u201d she said, \u201cI\u2019m having a W.I. meeting and Mrs. Soandso has just arrived. She came past Mrs Rivers\u2019 house and saw a dubious looking character with a few scruffy children go into there. I tried to ring Mrs Rivers, but couldn\u2019t get through. I wonder what\u2019s going on. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reading-aloud"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.d-c-k.com\/Readingaloud1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.d-c-k.com\/Readingaloud1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.d-c-k.com\/Readingaloud1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.d-c-k.com\/Readingaloud1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.d-c-k.com\/Readingaloud1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.d-c-k.com\/Readingaloud1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.d-c-k.com\/Readingaloud1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.d-c-k.com\/Readingaloud1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.d-c-k.com\/Readingaloud1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}