Free A Song for Joey by Elizabeth Audrey Mills Page B

Edith nodding behind him. "You know
we would love to have you."
There is one moment in everyone's life, I'm sure, that decides their entire future; a
crossroads. No matter how carefully we reason, we cannot know where each branch will
take us. All roads lead over a hill to a future that is hidden until we are committed; then it
is too late, we cannot change our minds, cannot turn back and try one of the alternatives.
Once the first step is taken, it is irrevocable. This was the day I shall always remember,
that definitive moment when I made the worst decision of my life.
I hugged each of them. "Thank you so much for everything. I love you both very much,
but Gran needs me, I cannot leave her." And, with that, I destroyed a future that would
have been happy and contented, and embarked on a life punctuated with harshness and
pain.
I waved goodbye to them at the door, watching until their Ford Popular turned the
corner of Regent Road and they were lost forever.
-♪-♫-♪
    Uncle Ernie stayed for two days, during which he was as unpleasant towards me as he
could be. Just before he left to catch a train back to Yorkshire, he grabbed my arm in a
fierce grip, crouching down so that his eyes were level with mine.
    "You had better take good care of my mother, or it will be the worse for you," he hissed.
"I wouldn't leave her with you except I have to get back to my business, and she wanted to
be in her own home. She sacrificed herself for you, you little bastard; she wouldn't be in
this state if it wasn't for you."
    "What have I done?" I stammered, frightened of him and close to tears. We were
standing on the landing at the top of the narrow stairs, just outside Gran's bedroom door,
and I felt very unsafe in his grasp, tottering a few inches from the steep drop.
    "Done?" he barked. "She nearly died because of you. She shouldn't even be bringing up
some damn foreigner's spawn. It's a pity my sister didn't get rid of you when she had the
chance!" I felt his hot breath and spit on my face.
    "Not my fault," I mumbled, looking at the floor, afraid of what he would do to me. But,
to him, the conversation was over. "There's my taxi," he barked, releasing my arm and
standing up.
He picked up his case and walked out without a backward glance.
     
-♪-♫-♪
    Angrily wiping my tears and his spittle from my face with my sleeve, I turned and went
back into Gran's room. Outside, a car door slammed.
"I heard voices," she said feebly from her bed. "Who was it?"
"It was your son, Ernie, Gran," I replied, absently brushing her hair away from her eyes
with my fingers.
"Ernie? Why didn't he come in to see me?" she croaked.
"He had to get to the station to catch his train. Don't you remember, he's been here for a
few days?"
Her eyes darted around the room as she tried to take this in, to remember. Then they
settled on me, and took on a shrewd expression. "Who are you?" she demanded, shrilly,
her little hands gripping the bedspread.
Tears sprang to my eyes as I tried to think how to reply. Every day ... several times
every day ... she had asked the same question. It seemed she had forgotten all the times we
had spent together, a whole piece of her life was lost without a trace, seven years of
memories erased.
I forced a smile. This wasn't about me; she needed reassurance and help. "I'm Belinda,
Gran. You remember me, Rita's little girl."
"Rita?" she cackled. "Where is she? Why isn't she home yet? I need her to help with the
cooking."
"I'll help for now," I said. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Yes ... yes, I'd like that. And a ginger biscuit. What was your name again?"
"Belinda."
She tested the sound of my name. "Belinda. No, don't know it. But if you're here to help,
you'd better get started downstairs, otherwise the guests will be arriving and we won't be
ready."
I touched her arm as I left to make her a pot of tea. There were no guests due, we had no
bookings, but it was not the time to put her straight.
-♪-♫-♪
    Gran gradually gained