Our place

Bob crunched up the gravel driveway towards the front door of the care home. The heady lavender hugging each side of the path, tried its best to welcome him in but the evening ahead was weighing on him. He pressed the buzzer and straightened his tie while he waited patiently for the Kathy in the office to respond.

“Good evening Bob! Come on in! Step into the airlock and I’ll come and get you…..Oh, and happy anniversary!” Her tone was sickeningly happy….it always was. Bob could never understand how she always sounded so happy working in such a soul destroying place, but he was pleased to hear her voice, and the consistency of her cheeriness gave him some comfort. The door clicked and Bob pulled it open stepping into the airlock. As he waited in the dully lit entrance hall trying to ignore the overwhelming stench of urine, he mulled over the plan for the evening ahead. He had run it through a thousand times, but could never be sure how Olive would be.

The dementia was winning, it wouldn't be long before what was left of Olive’s beautiful brain would close the doors on reality forever and Bob would become a stranger like everyone else. He checked his watch, spot on six o'clock, he took a deep breath ‘Nice one Sarge’ he said to himself.

Olive landed her first punch square on the young man’s nose which obligingly exploded with an audible "pop", he doubled over, instinctively cupping his face, blood instantly running out from between his fingers. She then raised her knee from beneath her cotton nighty at an impressive speed for a 75 year old, and as the male nurse tried to twist out of the way, she landed a blow into his ribs. The bruises on his ribs would be gone before the bruises on her knee, but the small fracture he sustained would take a little longer to heal.

 "Pervert!" screamed Olive, "Bloody filthy animal!" Bob threw open the door to Olive’s room, he moved swiftly, managing to get himself between them before Olive kicked the nurse in the crotch. 

"That’s enough Olive! Enough!" Bob's voice was calm, he held her close, more as a restraint than a hug. "Whatever’s wrong Olive? Come on, this is not like you Olive" Saying her name repeatedly was usually a good way of getting her to engage with him. It worked. Olive looked him straight in the eye.

"Bob," she said calmly." This animal was about to stick his penis in my ear, his cock Bob! His cock!"

"Oh Olive come here." Bob pulled her in squeezing her tightly, he couldn't bear to hear her talk like that, his sweet, sweet Olive. He looked over her shoulder at the nurse who was shaking his head, as he slowly raised his right hand, blood running out from between his knuckles. He was clutching an ear thermometer. Bob raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. The nurse turned away slowly, wincing, and left the room.

"How about I make us a nice cup of tea" said Bob, as he sat Olive down in her chair.

"Make it a big pot Bob" Olive replied "Donald Trump’s coming for dinner and he's a fucker for drinking tea.”

“So you’ll be back by nine Bob?” Asked Kathy, as they stood in the airlock waiting to leave. More of an order than a question Bob thought to himself. “You know we like to get them all to bed by nine thirty.”

“Yes Kathy, we’ll be back by nine, just going for a little drive….it’s not every day you celebrate your fiftieth wedding anniversary.”

Kathy swung open the front door.

“You kids go and have fun now!” Kathy winked at Bob as he stepped out, she grabbed his sleeve. “Happy anniversary Bob.”

Olive sat quietly gazing out of the car window. She hummed to herself, as sleepy golden fields, basking in warm evening sunshine, passed effortlessly by. Her soft white hair dancing gently in the breeze from the open window. She shut her eyes.

Bob glanced across, the evening sun illuminating her, he thought she’d never looked more beautiful.

“Do you recognise where we are dear? We’ve been here many times before.”

Olive kept her eyes shut and said nothing.

“Olive” He said softly “….open your eyes, do you know where we are? Do you know where we’re going?”

Olive stopped humming.

“Of course I know where we’re going…..I’m not stupid….”

Olive started humming again then stopped abruptly.

“Is Elvis meeting us there? I hope he brings his guitar. I’ll do a duet with him if he brings his guitar.” Olive started to hum quietly again, only this time Bob could make out ‘Jailhouse rock’. He smiled to himself.

“Yes Olive….maybe Elvis will be there.”

Bob bumped the car off the lane and crept along the gravel track, his wing mirrors grazing the hedgerows on each side. The track led to a small meadow flanked with lush green ferns, then rolled gently down to a wood, where rabbits darted for cover at the sound of the tyres on the gravel, their white powder puff tails vanishing into the undergrowth. In the distance, on the horizon, you could make out the sea. The evening sun was low in the sky and a dreamy haze hung still, like painted canvas. Bob turned off the engine and they sat staring, taking in the silence. A barn owl drifted silently past, landing briefly on a fence post alongside the meadow, before disappearing like a ghost.

Olive smiled.

“Bob….it’s….It’s our place!”

“Yes Olive, it’s our place…It’s where we used to come when we were kids. You remember?”

“Of course I remember Bob…..It’s my favourite place in the whole wide world. Can we walk out and sit in the meadow?”

Bob smiled.

“We can do better than that my sweetheart…..I’ve got a picnic with me.”

“Oh Bob!....how wonderful!”

He gathered an old wicker basket from the back of the car and wrapped a checkered blanket around Olive’s shoulders. They sat on the grass reminiscing about their childhood, about their courtship. About how Bob proposed over near the woods under a huge oak tree that he had fallen from three years earlier. Olive had put his arm in a makeshift sling she made from her jumper. She walked him all the way home that day. When he proposed, he was so nervous he could barely speak, so Olive took the ring from him, got down on one knee and proposed to him. It had been their secret….this place, this meadow. Bob watched and listened as Olive recalled details about those days he had forgotten…..He saw the joy in her face. What a cruel illness this was he thought as she enthusiastically recalled one story after the next. He had not seen her this happy for years.

“Olive, do you know what today is?” Bob asked, when Olive paused, lost in her memories. Olive’s smile fell slowly away. She took Bob’s hand.

“Bob…My lovely Bob.” She lay her head on his chest and curled her legs under herself as the evening air began to cool. A tiny bat flicked around above their heads casting a silhouette against the mellow evening sky.

“I’m scared Bob…..I…..I know I’m not myself anymore. Sometimes I don’t know who I am or what I’m saying….I’m so ashamed.”

Bob swallowed back the lump that was pushing at his throat. He daren’t try and speak, his voice abandoned him. Olive continued.

“Bob…..I don’t want to go back.” She turned and looked at Bob. She stroked his face.

“I don’t want to go back Bob…..Let’s stay here….can we stay here?.....forever.”

She dabbed her sleeve at the tear that made its way down Bob’s cheek. Bob took a deep breath.

“Olive, my darling Olive. This evening….I’ve not seen you as happy as this for a long time. I want us to be here forever too.” He felt around in his blazer pocket producing a small clear bag. 

“Do you remember our promise Olive? Do you remember what we said?”

Olive gazed off into the distance. A minute passed, and she turned to Bob.

“Yes my darling, I remember our promise….I think it’s the right time….now is the right time, I want to be here with you…. forever.” Bob choked back his tears. He poured some water into their tea cups. With a shaking hand he passed Olive her cup then one of the white pills from the bag.

“You need to go first my darling…you’ve looked after me my whole life, now I need to help you….It’s my turn to look after you.” Without hesitation, Olive threw the pill to the back of her throat and gulped down the water. She lay down again with her head on his chest and squeezed into him.

“Promise me you’ll come Bob…I’ll be frightened without you.” She whispered.

Bob couldn’t speak, he breathed her in stroking her soft hair and waited. As he felt her body relax and her breathing slow down, he waited….Finally she took one final breath and her body fell heavy against his. He waited for a few minutes, stroking her hair, watching as the sun dropped off the horizon. He swallowed his pill, shut his eyes, and lay back. The two of them entwined, as the darkness rushed in.

Hand in hand, once again, full with the radiance of youth. Bob and Olive looked down at the old couple laying in the grass, entwined, as evening dew hung from their cold bodies. The young couple, smiles on their faces, turned and silently drifted across the meadow, disappearing in to the woods like the barn owl.