The Fairy Godmother

An elderly widow's way of coping with life alone.

 

 

THE FAIRY GODMOTHER

 

It was Friday night again and the start of another lonely weekend. Shona, an aged lady who had lived alone since her husband’s death, was standing in her disgustingly filthy kitchen with a cup of tea in one hand. She had washed the one cup she used so that she would have something to drink out of. The feeling of despair never left her. It was bigger than she was. When the house had been full of people it had been in pristine condition. Now she was alone, what was the point just for her when she no longer cared whether or not the rooms were neat and tidy and the crockery and cutlery washed and put away.

 

Over the years they had sent each other Christmas cards and holiday postcards, but nothing else. When Shona’s husband died,  Alethea attended his funeral. After that, she began to visit Shona every anniversary of his death to comfort her and noticed that Shona needed help with her problem. and organized the cleaning up of her house and getting her back on track to a normal.

 

The inevitable happened, Alethea had gone to join Godfrey. So now what would Shona do without anyone’s help?

 

The next anniversary was imminent. Shona was in a state, she wasn’t quite sure whether she wanted Alethea to visit again or not. Alethea would see the disaster. But she needed her help to do something about her flagging fuse.

 

On Saturday the phone rang. Shona went to answer it ,”Hello,”

“Hello, Shona. It’s me, Alethea, and I’m ringing to invite you to have lunch with me at my hotel today. Is that all right with you?”

Shona breathed in deeply and replied, “Well, I don’t know.”

“Would you prefer tomorrow, Sunday?”

Shona  trembled in fear, what was she to say? “I’m not sure.”

“Shona, are you ill?”

“No, just a bit tired, that’s all.”

Alethea, sensing that all was not right in Shona’s world said, “I’ll ring you later.”

Shona, relieved, hung up and sat down in the messy living-room.

 

An hour later Shona’s front door bell rang and she dragged herself to answer it. “Who is it?” she asked through the letter box.

“Shona, it’s me, Alethea. Come on, open up and let me in, it’s cold out here.”

Much to her own surprise Shona opened the front door. Standing in front of her was an elderly lady like herself but that was where the resemblance ended. Alethea was made up and well-dressed and looked full of energy. She walked past Shona into the hall and had the shock of her life. The dirtiest and untidiest house she had ever seen. Alethea then knew that she had done the right thing in taking it upon herself to call upon Shona, who went over to a filthy sofa, sat down and burst into tears. Alethea went in search of the kitchen. Shona couldn’t stop crying and feeling generally down in the dumps. She could hear water running and the clattering of crockery and cutlery. Then the sounds of a kettle boiling. Alethea came into the living-room carrying a tray with two cups and saucers and a sugar bowl on it. She smiled at Shona and said, “This should make you feel a bit better.”

“Thank you very much, Alethea.  I feel very bad that you’ve caught me in such a state. Ever since Godfrey died I haven’t been able to raise my head. Everything’s a big effort. It’s as if all the life has gone out of me. I don’t know what to do or where to pick up my life again.”

Alethea had taken stock quickly of the state of the house and Shona, and while she had been tidying up the kitchen and making tea had come to a decision. “Shona. how would you like to stay with me at the hotel and we’ll get a cleaning company to come in and put this place straight?”

Shona swallowed some tea and responded, “That would be lovely, of course, but who would pay for it?”

“Don’t worry about money. Now, let’s go upstairs and get some clothes into a case for your stay at the hotel.”

If Alethea had been shocked at the state of downstairs, she was struck dumb at the sight of Shona’s bedroom and bathroom. Shona opened her wardrobe and other clothes cupboards and drawers in the dressing-table and chest of drawers, hauling out everything she laid her hands on. Alethea watched in amazement at the disorganised handling of her relative’s belongings. When done, Shona said to Alethea, “I think that’s all. Shall we go?”

In the taxi ride to the hotel, neither of the two said a word. At the hotel they got out of the taxi and Alethea paid the fare. The taxi driver shook his head in disbelief at the sight of Shona.

 

Inside the hotel, Alethea informed the receptionist that Shona would be staying with her in the same room for a few days. “Please send the valet service up to my room would you, there’s some work to be done.”

“Yes, of course, Madam. They’ll be there straightaway.”

Shona and Alethea entered the hotel room. Shona stared around her and said, “This is nice.”

“Why don’t you go and have a shower and I’ll open to the valet service when he knocks.”

“Thank you, here are my things,” said Shona from the bathroom, and handed out the clothes she had been wearing. “The rest of my things are in the cases, everything’s there, as far as I know,” Shona said as she closed the bathroom door.

 

Alethea  dragged the cases over to the door and waited for the valet to arrive. When he did so she handed the whole lot over to him without saying a word except for, “Add it to my bill, please.”

“Yes, Madam.”

 

Then Alethea rang a cleaning service. “Are you free to give a house a thorough, deep clean as soon as possible?”

“Yes, Madam, of course. Please leave us your name and address and we’ll be there Monday morning.”

“That’ll be fine. I’m staying at the Majestic for the time being, please send the bill there.”

“Very well, Madam. Good afternoon.”

 

A clean and shining Shona came out of the bathroom, wearing some of Alethea’s clothes. “I feel better already. Thanks for the clothes. What’s next on the timetable.”

“In this hotel there is a spa and a beauty clinic, so we’d better get you down there before it’s too late and they start closing for the night.”

The hairdresser took one look at Shona’s hair and said, “It’s been quite a while since the last cut, hasn’t it?”

Shona sat back in the chair as the hairdresser washed, cut, conditioned and dried her hair. Then she followed this up with a manicure and make-up. Shona sat up and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She smiled at herself, and stood up and left.

 

Alethea met her in the reception area, and the two went to have a look in the nearest shops. Now she was no longer a working woman, Shona didn’t need suits or high heels, and usually wore casual clothes or sports clothes indoors. Alethea took the lead and examined what was for sale on the racks. Shona happily gazed at the colourful clothes and started taking down tops and trousers, socks and underwear. All of these were placed in a basket with wheels, making the experience easier. Alethea told Shona that the house was being cleaned and then it would be done up. Shona felt glad that she had someone to deal with these boring details. Godfrey had always seen to that side of their married life and had been happy to do so. Shona loved being waited on and gloried in it, her husband had understood this and played on it. He treated her like a little girl. What neither he nor Shona realized was that some day little girls have to grow up and become responsible adults. Shona was in fact a senior citizen with an eight year old girl inhabiting her body. Now he had gone, she was lucky to have found Alethea. That evening, dinner was in the hotel as Shona was rather tired.

 

Over the next days Shona and Alethea went sightseeing and visiting all kinds of out of the way places that a woman alone doesn’t normally visit. Having Alethea for company made these excursions pleasanter and less fraught, than if she had been on her own. Little by little Shona’s true character began to show through. Gone was the diffident elderly lady, and what emerged was a revived plant that had been on the point of withering. They hardly spoke to each other, it was as if  they didn’t need to. They were in tune.

 

Shona’s clothes were cleaned and sent up to their room in clear plastic bags, their cleanliness clearly showing through.

Every day was a holiday, and made all the more enjoyable by Alethea’s presence. From time to time Shona would ask Alethea when she could return home. The answer was always the same. “When everything is ready and in its place.” Shona wasn’t quite sure what this meant, so she said nothing and continued having a good time.

 

On the eve of her birthday Shona was told by Alethea that they would be leaving the hotel the next day. A taxi took them to Shona’s house and she got out and walked up the path to the front door she had closed behind her a month earlier.

The atmosphere inside her house was that of fresh paint and varnish. The floors had been polished and shone darkly, the damaged pieces of furniture had been reupholstered. The whole house had gone through a makeover and it now resembled the house that Shona and Godfrey had lived in before his untimely death. Shona had a sudden feeling of profound happiness and was her old self once more.

“Thank you, Alethea, for coming to my aid. I needed you and you didn’t let me down. I’m deeply grateful.” Shona lay down on her bed and fell asleep.

 

At the ‘Majestic’ the manager was talking to the receptionist. “I see that Shona has left. She never fails. Every year on the anniversary of her husband’s death she’s here. For someone who doesn’t know her, they might think her a bit odd, muttering to herself as she does. She can’t handle the disappearance of her husband. He must have over-indulged her, so much so that she is now incapable of holding herself together without some support. It’s very sad. When her cousin Alethea was alive, they used to come here, and Shona was nagged rotten by her. Now she has to resurrect her once a year, in order to force her to sort herself out, and her house.”

“How do you know all that?” asked the receptionist.

“I’ve known Shona for many years, and have been witness to her solution to her problem. And, I’ve listened to her mutterings.”

“So, Alethea is Shona’s fairy godmother.”

“Exactly!”