Page 26 of The Old Gals’ Bucket List

MARY

Mary had spent the last few days tidying the house, and sorting out fresh linen and towels for the casita.

She hadn’t seen Patti for a few years and she didn’t know her friend, Sandra, at all.

She wanted both women to be comfortable while they were here.

She’d got a shop in, stocking up the cupboards and fridge in the casita with basics, though she was planning on taking them shopping when they’d had chance to settle in so they could choose some things for themselves.

The gardener had mowed the lawn – something Keith had always done until his heart attack – and Keith had done a bit of weeding and tidying up.

Wednesday morning, she and Keith were both up bright and early, ready for their guests. Mary opened up the blinds and sunshine blazed into the bedroom. ‘Well, that’s a good start,’ she said, taking a few moments to gaze at the view of the mountains in the not-too-far distance. She loved this view.

‘I checked the app yesterday, it looks like they’re going to have good weather all the time they’re here. That makes things easier, we can have barbecues, and sunbathe around the pool.’

‘They’ll want to do a bit of sightseeing too, Keith, but maybe we can alternate days out and then relax around the pool on the other days.

’ She turned from the window to face Keith, who was sitting on the bed taking his blood pressure.

He took it religiously every morning and every night.

She knew from the expression on his face if it had gone up a little.

To her relief it was okay today. ‘I’ll go and start breakfast.’

She had just popped four slices of wholemeal bread into the double toaster when Keith came in, wearing patterned shorts and an olive-green T-shirt.

‘I’ll spread my own,’ he said as he did every morning.

She had butter, Keith had sunflower oil margarine, and he didn’t trust her not to get them mixed up and spread his toast with butter. Or to spread it thinly enough.

‘Shall we eat on the terrace?’ she suggested as Keith took a jug of fresh orange juice out of the fridge, then two glasses out of the cupboard.

‘Okay.’ He placed the jug and glasses on a tray and took them outside.

The toast popped back up, golden brown, just as they both liked it.

Mary placed it in a toast rack, put it on a tray with butter, margarine, two plates and two knives and stepped out onto the back terrace where Keith was sitting at the wooden table.

‘It will be good to have Patti here at last,’ she remarked, putting the tray down.

‘Yes it will. What time are you leaving to pick them up?’ Keith took a slice of toast out of the rack.

‘I was hoping you’d come too.’ Mary smeared butter onto her knife.

‘It doesn’t take two of us and I’ve got some things I want to finish here.’ Keith concentrated on spreading margarine thinly on his toast, refusing to meet her eye.

Mary sighed. Here we go again. She put down her knife.

‘Keith,’ she said firmly. He looked up sheepishly.

‘You need to come with me and be there to greet your sister when she steps through Arrivals. This is a big thing she’s done, overcoming her fear of flying to come and visit you. You need to make an effort.’

‘Patti won’t mind.’

‘I mind. I’ll drive if you want, but you have to come along too. She’s your sister.’ She batted down her annoyance and kept her tone soft. ‘Patti’s expecting you to be there. She wants you to be there. I really think she’ll be disappointed if you aren’t.’

She bit into her toast and watched the myriad of expressions on Keith’s face.

He was battling with the decision, she could see that.

He and Patti were close, they messaged each other every week.

He’d been so upset and worried when she had cancer, and over the moon when she came through.

Patti had been very brave to overcome her fear and fly over to see them and the least Keith could do was show up to greet her.

She chewed her toast as she considered how much to push him.

He nodded slowly. ‘I guess I’d better come then. I’ll drive. I’ve got to watch my blood pressure.’

Bloody cheek, insinuating that her driving would push his blood pressure up!

Still, he’d agreed to come, that was a first. It was usually ‘you go, but don’t be long’.

Before the heart attack they’d gone almost everywhere together, now she was always racing around alone to get the shopping in and chores done.

She even walked Rags, their little terrier, by herself now.

They used to have such a busy, fulfilling life. She missed it.

‘What time do they arrive again?’ Keith picked up his glass of fresh orange juice and took a sip.

‘Elevenish,’ she replied.

He frowned, a V forming between his eyebrows. ‘You don’t know the actual time? Didn’t Patti send you the flight details?’

‘She sent them to you.’

He picked up his phone. ‘Oh, there’s a message from Patti to say they’re running fifteen minutes later. We’d better leave about ten thirty then.’

‘It takes us twenty-five minutes max to get to the airport,’ she reminded him. ‘We’ll be waiting around for ages. And the cost of parking is extortionate.’

‘We can go to Plaza Mayor and park up and wait until Patti texts and says they’ve landed, it’s only a few minutes from the airport.’

She sighed. ‘If you want.’ She wasn’t going to argue, at least she’d managed to persuade him to leave the house and drive to the airport to pick up his sister.

That was a miracle in itself. Hopefully they could build on that and, once Keith had reconnected with Patti, he’d be accompanying them all on day trips.

She longed for life to go back to how it was.

They got ready straight after breakfast but then Rags escaped through a hole in the fence and she had to get him back, locking him in the large, fenced area where he had a kennel – although he was house trained, she didn’t like to leave him inside when they went out.

It was gone half past before they finally left and then they got caught in a traffic jam.

‘Damn. We’re going to be late at this rate,’ Keith muttered. ‘I knew we should have left earlier.’

‘Relax, we’ve got plenty of time. I’ve just checked and the flight is still ten minutes away, then they still have to disembark and get through passport control,’ Mary told him.

She almost wished she hadn’t persuaded him to come with her now.

He’d been on edge ever since he got in the car, grimly holding on to the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the road ahead and insisting on total silence.

He hated driving since his heart attack, but he hated being a passenger with Mary driving even more.

How she longed for the days when they used to chat and sing along to music in the car.

Finally, the jam ended and the traffic picked up speed. They arrived at the airport just as a text pinged in from Patti to say they’d landed.

Parking was a nightmare, it seemed that quite a few people had taken advantage of the cheaper midweek flights, as Patti and Sandra had done.

‘Hurry up, they’ll be waiting.’

‘They probably won’t even be through yet. Stop panicking,’ she told him as they strode over the road and up to the Arrivals entrance.

They stood by the canteen near Arrivals watching the passengers pour through. Then Mary spotted Patti’s bright red hair. ‘There she is!’ She waved cheerily, her heart lifting.

She couldn’t wait to have a bit of company, someone to chat to and get out and about with. And hopefully, Patti would be able to get through to Keith, bring him out of the doldrums. She desperately wanted the old Keith back.