Next month A trouper till the last - or trooper if you like.
“FORCED TO BUY”
Betty stared at the envelope that had plopped through the
letter box. It wasn't very often that the postman had a letter for her and this
one looked official. She picked it up and saw the logo of her local council.
“Oh dear” she thought “I hope it’s not more forms to fill in”. Since George
died a few weeks ago she seems to have had to fill in so many forms, as well as
telling family and friends about his dying that she felt in quite a spin and
utterly exhausted. On opening the envelope she looked at the small card it
contained. With wonder she realized that it wasn't a form to fill in but a bus
pass! What with everything happening she had forgotten all about it. These
last few weeks had been difficult for her to get anywhere because she couldn't
drive and the bus fares had not long been put up – again! “At last, something
that is worth having for a change that we haven’t been FORCED TO BUY” she
thought.
Time past and things settled into a routine. She popped to
the shops most days and a couple of times she visited the big town - using her
new bus pass of course! She felt wonderful and free. She could go out to
anywhere she felt like. She had loved George and being married but he wasn’t
here anymore and she had to get on with her life and decided that using her bus
pass was the first step. She sometimes met friends for coffee or the occasional
meal or pictures – whatever took her fancy. A new ‘fancy’ was looking round the
charity shops. There was a new one that she liked. The clothes were arranged
well and the shop always smelled nice. It had a friendly ‘feel’ about the place
which made her enjoy just being in there, so when a notice went on the door
asking for volunteers to do anything from a couple of hours to full time she
jumped at the chance. She chose two hours on Wednesday mornings, so on her
first day they gave her some training and lots of advice on treating the
customers. The two hours past so quickly and she loved it. She enjoyed all
that it entailed and felt useful for the first time since George died. Betty
knew he would have been pleased for her and she also thanked the day she had her
lifeline – the cherished bus pass!
