Told You So

I entered a short story competition with the instruction to begin the story with a letter from great aunt Mary. This is the story...and as it transpired...the first in my collection.

Told You So

I received a letter from my great aunt Mary, it said, “No doubt my darling Lizzie this letter will come as a surprise.”

 

She wasn’t wrong; she’d been dead for more than a decade.

 

I’d recognised the spidery writing of course. And the smell of Fox’s Glacier Mints. But picking it up from the mat and taking it into the kitchen I steadied myself with a comforting thought that it was just a little late arriving.

     

Sitting at the table I read on.

 

“I’m taking a chance Lizzie and I’ve got my poor old dead fingers crossed that you’ve got shot of that husband of yours by now.”

 

The sentence hit me in the stomach like a cold beer on a hot afternoon. I knew straight away that she meant Max, but how did she know I’d married him? She’d met him once, three days before she died. I’d been eighteen, Max a year older. And at that point I hadn’t even known I was going to marry him. He was just a sparkle in my eye.

 

That day, the day I’d taken Max to see great aunt Mary at the Cedars was suddenly just a moment ago. The corridor smelt slightly sour like a newly hosed pavement and the bright orange curtains were ridiculously cheerful. The nurse showing me in smiled sadly at me.

 

At the time I misinterpreted the expression. I thought maybe that my Che Guevara T-shirt was a nursing home fashion faux-pas. Or had I got lunch-time spinach on my teeth. I’d been too young to know that the smile was a warning of the geriatric grim reaper. Great aunt Mary had always been there, she always would be…at least that’s what I thought.

 

Mary wasn’t keen on visitors but I told her I wanted her to meet Max.  Maybe that was it? It was unusual for me to take boyfriends home as I was growing up. Aunt Mary was just too sharp for them.

 

“He was obviously the ‘one’”, great aunt Mary wrote. “You spent a time trying to talk him up anyway.”

 

Had I?

 

“He spoke to me as if he was being secretly filmed on a church outing,” the letter went on. “Almost as if he cared.”

 

She was my family. Mum had left me with great aunt Mary when she’d followed my father in his mad attempt to make a documentary about all his ex-girlfriends. It was a project that didn’t end well for either of them.

 

Perhaps I had talked him up. I definitely tried to find common ground for them, “Max thought he’d been here to sing to the old folk when he was in the Boys’ Brigade,” I’d said. She must have laughed about that when we left.

 

But now this letter….she’d seen things I hadn’t know myself.

 

“I’m afraid he wasn’t my cup of tea; I took one look at his tortoiseshell glasses and that umbrella with the snake’s head handle and thought of your father. Such tidy nails.”

 

What did my father have to do with it? I had to agree though; he certainly wouldn’t have been a great role-model for any boyfriend of mine.

 

“If I’d been able to stay awhile then I would have tried to tell you what a waste of space he’d turn out to be. Not (and be honest) that it would have worked my love. You’re like your mother for being headstrong.”

 

I couldn’t help but smile. How well she knew me.

 

“Now then lass, admit it…it didn’t last did it? I’ll give you ten years. It’s a bit longer than I’d give myself anyway!”

 

Her face on that last visit. That little pout as she thanked Max for the flowers. The way she kissed my hand as I left. She knew her days were numbered. She must have written this letter straight away.

 

She knew about Max too. Much as I hated to admit it she’d seen right through his fake smile and his tortoiseshell glasses.

 

I’d forgiven him the first time.

 

“Just a weak moment,” he’d said. “I can’t do without you. We are made for each other.”

 

And it was true in a way. True because he was such a liar and I was so naïve. At least that’s what I realised after the fourth or fifth affair.

 

He wasn’t dull, I’ll give him that. None of that running off with the wife’s best friend. Oh no! He was more ambitious than that.

 

I finally admitted it was over in the middle of a work meeting. Thankfully there was only the two of us there. I was trying to concentrate but all I could think about was the fact that he hadn’t come home last night. I was talking about a new project and I started crying.

 

My boss leaned forward, concerned, her hand on my arm. “Is this the first time? Has he done it before?”

 

It wasn’t until I was on the bus home that I realised I’d never told her that Max had been unfaithful. She was so keen to hear that she was a one-off that she’d given herself…and him…away.

 

Brilliant work Max! I ended up with no job and no home. It was certainly dramatic.

 

I looked down at great aunt M’s letter. The thought that she’d touched this paper gave me a little rush of joy. I had loved Mary and she’d loved me.

 

But how had she got the letter to me? And if she knew that Max wasn’t a keeper why had she written it?

 

I turned the paper over.

 

“I’ve asked young Joe to post this. He’ll remember.

 

And don’t forget sweetheart, you’re like me. You’ll be a late developer…it’ll all be yours in the end!”

 

Maybe she was right. I was OK these days. It was four years since Max had gone. I’d retrained and loved my work. And I was still young wasn’t I?

 

The doorbell rang making me jump. 

 

He stood in front of me. ”She wanted me to deliver this second one in person,” he said.

 

“Joe?” I said.

 

I looked down at the letter in his hands.

 

Broad, sunburnt hands with square nails. Not tidy at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

J.A. Rogers June 2014

Reviews

[janeannerogers]

Aw ta Woody! This is the first in a series of stories. The next one develops the story of the nurse we briefly see at the nursing home. I find that I need to have a starting point and these vague links work for me. I would love to know what you think about the next one.

[Woody]

sorry Jane, never saw your answer. it didn't follow my comment so I didn't get a notification.
yes, I'll certainly read the next one :)

[Woody]

I'm amazed at your ability to draw your characters. the psychological side of it.
this is really a great write. I enjoyed the read. thanks for sharing.

[janeannerogers]

Thanks. Don't you think we're all inspired by just one enthusiastic reader?

[Jaime]

Good read. Love how certain lines and phrases sound: "No doubt my darling Lizzie this letter will come as a surprise." and "geriatric grim reaper". Wonderful imagery here: "The corridor smelt slightly sour like a newly hosed pavement and the bright orange curtains were ridiculously cheerful."

Add more writing please!