Respite

Jack and Judy had been married for fifty-seven years and, apart from a few minor marital bumps along the way, it had gone pretty well. That is until about a year ago when things began falling apart.

Jack started asking questions and very often the same ones. Take today for instance, as they sat together in the kitchen over a late breakfast.

“Where am I?” Jack asked.

“You’re here with me, darling, having breakfast,” said Judy. “We’ve been here for fifty-seven years. Same house in Bright Street.”

“Who put me here?”

“We put ourselves here, my love. First house we looked at. We both liked it. Been here ever since.”

“And where am I?” Jack gazed round the room, his eyes pausing on a photo of two smiling children in school uniforms.

“You’re with me, darling. Your boring old wife.”

“Who put me here?”

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Judy said, pushing back her chair and heading down the hall and out into the garden. She leant against the red brick wall beside the front door, breathing deeply as an old white car drove up the street and crunched to a stop at the front gate. Bella got out, slammed the door and strode up the path, calling to her mother on the way.

“Mum, you look ghastly!”

“Thank you, Bella. I’m all right …”

“No you’re not.” She walked past Judy and on into the house. “I’ll just say g’day to dad and be back in a sec. Don’t move. What I have to say is non-negotiable.”

When she returned she confronted her exhausted mother, ready for war.

“Mum,” she stormed, “this is ridiculous. He had his cup and saucer on the gas ring. Said he was making another cup of tea. I told him he’d burn the bloody house down and he said ‘What house?’ No, Mum …” She moved in front of the doorway blocking the entrance. “Listen to me. You have to get away. Colin agrees with me. I’ve just been to see this respite place. I’m sure he’ll really like it.”

“Bella, he won’t and I’m fine. I just need to come out here occasionally for a little break. Now I must get back.”

But Bella was having none of it. “Mum, I’m taking you both right now to see this great place with a magnificent rose garden.”

“He won’t like it, Bella.”

“Just indulge me for once and let me take you both now.”

“It’s a waste of your time, but all right, I’ll tell him and meet you at the car. Thanks, Bella.”

Twenty minutes later the three of them were walking among the roses in the gardens surrounding the respite centre aptly called Rose Hall.

“I used to grow roses,” Jack commented.

“I know you did,” said Bella. “You used to pay me five cents for every bush I found with aphids or black spots. Lousy pay but I liked the job better than unpacking the dishwasher.”

“Don’t forget five cents was a lot of money in those days,” Judy added in her man’s defence.

“It was a miserable pittance even then,” Bella retorted.

“I used to grow roses like these,” said Jack, bending to test the scent of a bush massed with pink-and-cream blossoms.

“Yes, Dad, I know you did. I used to work for you. I nearly sent you broke.”

“That’s enough, Bella. Let’s go in and see the house. Jack, it’s a lovely place. If a couple want a break from each other, one can come here for a few weeks for a holiday. Look at that jacaranda, isn’t it spectacular?”

“Very nice,” Jack agreed and walked ahead into the house.

“He loves it,” Bella enthused. “I knew he would. And have you noticed he hasn’t once asked where he is? And wait till he sees the TV. It’s huge.”

“He certainly seems happy.”

“Bet you a fiver he’ll want to stay.”

“I’m not totally convinced, but he seems to be very relaxed.”

“Mum, I want to see you right out of here. On a plane up to Bali. Col and I want to see you in that resort where we stayed before Covid. I can see you lying by the pool with a book and falling in the water when you feel like it and swimming across to the bar and sitting in the water clutching a pina colada.”

“I must admit it sounds like paradise. Too good to be true, I fear.”

“It’s not, Mum. It’s what you deserve. And you’ll be happy knowing he’s wandering through the garden smelling the roses. And I’ll drop in with the kids every day.”

They followed Jack into the house and found him standing at the door of the television room where four or five people were watching a film.

“Look, Dad, Casablanca. Your favourite movie.”

“I like it, do I?”

“You love it.”

“I must watch it again then,” Jack said.

Bella nudged her mother, confident of her five-dollar win. “There’s just one more room you must see. It’s a games room with the most incredible view of the whole garden. Come on, Dad. This you must see.” She led the way down to a room surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows. Jack walked across and stood, arms folded, staring out at the sea of flowers and a perfect green lawn stretching down until it petered out among the roots of the jacaranda.

“Look, he’s mesmerised,” said a delighted Bella.

“You’re a wonderful daughter. Looks like I owe you five dollars.”

“I sometimes think I know him better then you do. I knew he’d love it.”

Judy walked towards the windows. “Well, darling, what do you think? Isn’t it fabulous?”

“Yes, I agree,” said Jack. “It’s very nice.” He turned to join his wife. “I’m sure you’ll be very happy here.”

Elizabeth Power lives in Brisbane. Her stories “Sue Me, Sweetheart” and “Propinquity” appeared in the May 2019 and January-February 2020 issues respectively