Writing the Will

Writing the Will by Josephine Nolan                Reedsy Writing Contest #206                        3^rd September 2020

He was writing an outline of the Will he would give to the solicitor in the morning. They would all be ready with their hands out, but they were in for a surprise.

Jack Dalton had lived alone most of his life. He had been stuck with the farm when everyone else in his family had moved away. The eldest, Stephen, had gone off to New York in his twenties. Made good for himself as far as Jack knew. He hadn’t been home in recent years but kept in touch at Christmas. His two sisters Maureen and Ashleen had married. Maureen lived on the coast and Ashleen had moved to Scotland. His sisters and their families came home most years to spend holidays on the farm, helping a bit when they were there, saving the hay, while their children ran wild. Then there was only himself and his young brother William left on the farm, Billyboy as Jack sometimes called him. They were fans of ‘The Waltons’ on television. They ran the farm between them after their father passed away. Billy had ambitions though. The farm wasn’t big enough for the two brothers. Billy decided he’d had enough of the early mornings and constant muck and wellies. He wanted something better. He upped and left, leaving Jack to look after the farm and his elderly mother.

At that time, Jack was near thirty. He looked at himself in the mirror on Friday nights when he went off to a dance. His smile said it all. Jack knew the women fancied him. He was good-looking with thick black hair brushed back in a quiff.  He had his pick of the best women in the town. He thought time was on his side. There was no hurry to settle down, or so he thought.

Jack’s mother lived on, in good health mostly, well into her seventies. Jack and herself got on well.  During those years, Jack had met Nancy. She was younger than Jack with long hair, black as a raven’s but with a face like an angel. They got together when Nancy was home on holidays. She was training to be a nurse in England. Though she tried, she couldn’t resist Jack’s charms. She went back to Birmingham with the promise to finish her training and come back for good. Jack held on to that promise. 

He came back from milking the cows one morning, left his boots and cap in the porch and walked into the large flagged stone kitchen. His mother was sitting in her armchair by the fire.  “Cuppa, Mam?” he asked. Normally, she would jump up from her daydreams and put the kettle on for her son. She would ask him how the milking went, was it ready to send to the creamery. He drew the curtains. It didn’t register with him for a moment, how dark the kitchen was. “Are you okay Mam?” he said, moving towards her. He touched her on the shoulder. She didn’t move. Her eyes were closed. He let out a roar when he realised his mother was dead.

All the family came home for the funeral, even Stephen and his wife Jacky, from New York. Neighbours filed in and out of the house. Bedrooms were organised for the families. The women took over the cooking and the men did what had to be done on the farm. Jack sat in the front row of the church during the Requiem Mass for their mother. He couldn’t concentrate on what the priest was saying. He walked behind the coffin along with family members, friends and neighbours, up the hill to her final resting place. It was a cold wintery morning, wind raging around the small church. Jack always felt it was a bad omen for a funeral, when the weather was bleak. That was how he felt. As they lowered his mother’s coffin into the ground, the sun suddenly split through the clouds. 

The days that followed went by in a blur for Jack. Then the house was quiet again. All the hugs that warmed his heart at the time, left him empty. He missed the children’s laughter. He missed being called ‘Uncle’ and the smiles that lingered on their faces when he made them laugh. There was a stillness and quietness in the house that hadn’t been there before. His mother’s chair was empty. He couldn’t bring himself to sit in it but sat in the chair on the other side of the fire, remembering the happy face, the love she had for Jack and all her family. For a while he resented them all going back to their lives, carrying on as if nothing had happened, leaving him behind in the empty old house. He still had to up early, still had to milk the cows, clean out the barn, feed the chickens, collect the eggs.  His only companion now was Roxy, his border collie, a constant in his life.

His family continued to come home most summers, until their children got older and didn’t want to visit the farm. They were all doing well. He told them he was doing fine. Jack didn’t feel the years passing. He went into town once a week, heard all the news in the shops, had a drink in the pub at the end of the town, before he headed back home. It was getting harder to make ends meet on the small holding. He rented out a few fields to keep things ticking over. The local farmers were getting younger, had new ideas. Smart houses were being built around him. To Jack’s mind, they were spoiling the beauty of the panoramic view he had across the fields to the lakes and forest beyond. They called it progress. They were kind and thoughtful to old Jack, helped with the mowing. Sometimes the wives made cakes, would knock on his door, or leave the cake on the windowsill. He was partial to the apple tarts they left. 

One winter Jack had been out in the rain. He was tired. He came back to the house and sat in front of the fire, still with his wet coat on. He fell asleep. It was pitch dark in the farmhouse when he woke up and went to bed. For a few days, Jack had no energy. He didn’t bother making food for himself. Roxy sat by his feet in front of the fire. Barry, Jack’s nearest neighbour, called to the house as he hadn’t seen Jack out for a few days. When Jack opened the door, he was shocked at how thin and grey looking Jack appeared. A doctor was called. Jack was brought to hospital. He had pneumonia. Roxy was the only one Jack asked about in his waking moments. Jack wanted to go home after a few weeks when he started to feel better. Finally, he was told he could return home.

 “You’ll receive a visit from the District Nurse every day until we are sure you are back on your feet”, the doctor assured Jack.  

Jack thanked the doctor. His sister Maureen was there to collect him. Her husband was looking after the farm and the animals in Jack’s absence. They had made sure that everything was in good order for Jack’s return. Maureen said she would stay until he was able to manage on his own. By then Maureen and her husband Paul had retired. Their family were reared and no longer lived at home.  They had notions about coming back to the land. Jack listened as they told him what they could do to help him out. 

“We could increase the cattle, make things more profitable”, Paul said, enthusiasm lighting up his face. 

Jack was happy that they had come to help. That they cared enough to want to look after him until he got back on his feet. Did they think he couldn’t manage by himself? It wasn’t like him to sit around the house doing nothing, but they insisted he needed his rest. 

“The District Nurse will be calling on Monday, Jack”, his sister told him.   Maureen meant well, he knew she did, but Jack wasn’t used to being told what to do.

“I know” he replied.

 Maureen had the kitchen spotless when the knock came to the door on the Monday morning. Roxy was wagging his tail. Jack was watching from the armchair beside the fire. He saw a startled look on his sister’s face. 

“Oh, it’s you” Maureen said. “What are you doing here?”

Nancy took a few steps into the kitchen. She bent down to stroke Roxy on the head. 

“Where is he?” she asked Maureen. 

Maureen opened the door wider and Nancy walked in, to see Jack trying to stand up.  

“Sit down Jack” she said, walking toward him. The blood drained from his face. 

“What the hell are you doing here” he said. 

“Don’t upset yourself Jack. I’m your District Nurse”. 

A silence descended. Roxy whined. He came to Jack’s side, sitting down beside him. There were a few moments of confusion. No one spoke. Nancy was smiling. 

“I’m sorry I gave you a shock” Nancy said, opening a case she had left on the table. 

“How long have you been back” Jack asked. “Only six months” she said. “I answered an advertisement in the local paper. They were trying to fill a vacancy after Mary Clarke retired. I got the job, and here I am”. 

Maureen and Paul decided maybe farming wasn’t a good idea after all. It was with an air of disappointment that they returned home. Nancy continued to nurse Jack. She had a flat in town and called out most evenings to see how he was getting on. For a long while Jack felt Nancy wouldn’t settle back to small town life. He was waiting for her to tell him she was leaving again. Nancy’s life hadn’t worked out as she had planned. Soon after she went to Birmingham, she met Alan Baxter. Alan swept her off her feet. He was part of the ambulance team at the same hospital. When she qualified, she was moved to a different hospital. Herself and Alan finally married. She learnt to drive so that she could get to her job in the next town. Although they wanted children, it didn’t work out for them. They had a lovely life together for about ten years.

“It’s a long story really”, she told Jack. “I found out he was seeing someone else. I couldn’t believe it. He moved out. I was on my own. Then I saw the advertisement in the paper. 

“I had nothing to lose, so I went for it”.   

“Did you ever think of me?” Jack asked. 

“Of course, I did. I thought you’d move on and meet someone. I was sure you’d be married with a family of your own by now”. 

“Did you know before you came out here that I was on my own?”

“Yes, I’d have to know the history before visiting a patient”.  

It took Jack two years before he could trust himself again. Nancy kept on her flat in town, but they spent day trips touring the country the following summer when she got her holidays. It was one of those glorious years when the sun shone for almost two months between July and September. Farmers were complaining of a drought and lost harvest, but for Jack, he felt almost like a young man again. Nancy was kind and considerate. He realised she was still the same person he had loved all those years ago.

When Nancy moved in with Jack, it didn’t go down well with the rest of his family. Jack got the house painted, inside and out. Nancy bought bed linen and put up new curtains. There were less family visits during the following summers. Maureen and Paul visited for two weeks, but with less enthusiasm to help on the farm. They had bought a smaller house by the coast.

“You and Nancy should come for a holiday” Maureen said, “get away from this place, walk on the beaches and see the beautiful countryside around us”.

She was looking at her brother. “Our house is twelve miles from the city and twelve miles from the countryside, Jack.  You’d love it. Have you ever thought of selling the farm and moving?” 

Jack didn’t answer straight away. “I’m glad you’re out of that big house Maureen” he said. It’s hard to keep a place that size at your age”. The conversion died down after that.

Jack was the happiest he had been in a long time. Nancy had given him a second chance. He found in her all the love he had missed over the years and thanked the heavens for his fortitude. When Nancy had to go into town to shop, she would bring back news of what was going on outside their little world.  Even when he was diagnosed with a serious illness, he held onto the hope that they would have a bit longer together. No matter how long he had, he would make sure she was looked after when he was gone. 

It wouldn’t go down well that the farm and every penny he had would go to Nancy, but she was THE ONE in his world, the only one that mattered.

2,230 words