Mr Bentley, Katherine’s mum’s solicitor started to read the will, but the words that he was saying didn’t seem to sink in. Her mind was wandering; over memories of her mum, her childhood, her mum’s disability. When Mr Bentley said something from the will that seemed to bring Katherine to her senses, it was about grandchildren. Katherine hadn’t thought about starting a family, she wasn’t even married, her mum had been her life; always there for her throughout her childhood, through thick and thin, now she was gone. Mum hadn’t been herself for a while, but Katherine still loved her deeply, although she hadn’t always shown it. Especially when Katherine was a teenager. She had often decided to hate her mum for spoiling her fun, but the hatred always turned to love after a few hours when they had both calmed down.
Katherine had always known that her mum would die earlier than expected, ever since she was fourteen years old and her mum first fell ill, the waiting was horrible. Not knowing what was wrong was just as bad but the worst thing was not being able to see her mother. With all these relatives coming to help look after Katherine and her siblings, she didn’t know whether she was coming or going. She had been sleeping on her sister’s floor for six weeks.
When her mum was diagnosed with a haemorrhaging aneurysm of the sub-arachnoid Katherine didn’t know which way to turn. She tried to carry on as normal at school but it all seemed to become too much and she broke down.
“Miss Suzan. Miss Suzan. Are you ok?” Mr Bentley startled her from her teenage memories.
“Yes, I’m fine thank you. It’s just a bit hard to take it all in.”
“Would you like me to call a taxi for you Miss Suzan?” he said in his over polite tone of voice.
“A taxi would be very welcome thank you.” Katherine shook Mr Bentley’s hand and headed for the reception area of the office.
* * *
After the meeting, Katherine decided to go through her mother’s things and as Katherine had always worked systematically, one of many talents she had inherited from her mum, she decided to start in the attic.
There were books, cabinets, old sofas and in the corner of the room was a box. In the box were lots of photographs. Katherine came across some photographs from her aunts wedding. Katherine remembered that day well, she was fourteen and her mum, it seemed, was barely out of hospital, yet she still insisted that she was well enough to go; Katherine could tell that the weekend had taken its toll on her mum as she had a few weeks of bad days after that.
* * *
“Katherine. Are you awake?” Katherine’s younger sister was calling her
“NO,” She said back, louder than needed, “Go to sleep yourself it’s too early to get up.”
“I can’t I’m too excited.”
“Well lie in the bed quietly so I can get some more sleep.”
Katherine gave in about 30 minutes after that conversation because her sister fidgeted so much.
When the photographer came to the house he said that all the girls looked wonderful, which seemed to give them an immediate glow. After the portraits, they got into the car and went to the hotel where the wedding was being held. The views from the hotel were absolutely wonderful and breathtaking. Katherine was staying with a great aunt of hers from America to give her a break from her parents and siblings. The days that they stayed in the hotel gave everyone a break from the home life, no housework and no cooking.
* * *
Putting the pictures away Katherine noticed what appeared to be a white little book she realised that it was the patient information leaflet from Addenbrooke’s hospital, and she remembered being nosy and reading it but now she was even more curious as she wanted to see if she had looked after her mum properly.
‘This leaflet is intended to provide you with…’ Katherine flicked through it and after reading bits here and there she put it back in the box.
Staring around the dingy unlit room Katherine found something that she hadn’t noticed before. It looked as if her old wardrobe was up there; she went over to it and peered into it, although there wasn’t much light she could make out her old school uniform which flooded her mind with memories. Underneath the school uniform Katherine saw her school books, she noticed her geography books more than the others, and these books unlocked the memories of her enjoyment of the school geography fieldtrip.
* * *
“Are you ready to go? Have you got everything you need?” Her mum was fussing like usual.
“Yes and yes.”
“See you soon. Have a good time and I love you”
“Bye! Love you too!”
The coach journey was long but Katherine enjoyed it. She had her friends around her. But was that enough, Katherine didn’t know.
* * *
It was then that Katherine saw the Mother’s Day card that she had bought her mum when she was in hospital, she cried, as she remembered that particular day extremely well. It was the first time that Katherine had seen her mum since she had fallen ill. Katherine remembered on that day that she had started to cry as soon as her eyes fell upon her mother, for the reason that she had missed her mum, as well as not being accustomed to seeing her mother so ill.
Katherine went down stairs after she had sorted the attic and decided to go home. It was only when she arrived home that she really realised that her mum wasn’t coming back. It was now that Katherine realised that she needed her friends and family around her to be happy, not just one or the other as she had done before her mum had died.
* * *
“Josh, I can’t believe that we’re finally here, moved in together in my mum’s place. You are alright with this, aren’t you, because if you’re not we don’t have to live here, we can move elsewhere.” Katherine put the kettle on. Josh came into the kitchen and put his arms around her and laid a kiss on her lips, he then replied.
“Whatever you need to feel close to your mum I am ok with, anyway as long as we’re together it doesn’t matter where we live.”
“That’s what I love about you; you’re so thoughtful and romantic.”
As she poured the water into the cups she looked at the rings on her fingers, one, her mother’s wedding ring and the diamond one that Josh had given her as an engagement ring. Sitting next to Josh on the sofa she felt as if she had been doing it for years. She was now truly happy, and her mum lived on within her.
