Let Us Live for Each Other
After his mother passed away, George managed to regain himself a bit. She had been in the hospital for some time before the end came. Before that, shed lain at home, and he and his wife Helen took turns caring for her. Their homes sat side by side, and although George suggested bringing his mother to stay with them, she would have none of it.
My boy, your father died here, and so shall I. It is easier for me this way, she wept, and George could not refuse her.
It would have been simpler for Helen and him if his mother had agreed to stay, but with their daughter, Lucy, just thirteen at the time, neither wanted the girl to witness her grandmother slipping away before her eyes. George worked shifts, and Helen taught primary school, so between them, someone was always at her side. They even took turns spending the night at her house.
Mum, is Grandma going to die soon? Lucy once asked. I feel so sorry for hershes ever so kind.
I dont know, darling. But that time does come for us all. Life is just that way.
When things worsened, Georges mother was taken to the hospital. George had a younger sister, Margaret, three years his junior, who had a son, Edward. It had often fallen to Helen or Georges mother to mind Edward, as Margaret was forever off on one business trip or another, or so she claimed. Divorced for years, Margaret had no wish to care for their mother, knowing her brother and his wife would manage. Margaret was Georges polar opposite: sharp, heartless, fond of bickering.
Three days after being admitted, George and Margarets mother died in hospital. After the funeral, they decided to sell her house, for it would fall quickly to ruin if left unattended. Years earlier, the mother had arranged for the house to go to Georgeshe and Margaret had never gotten on, and Margaret was well aware of this.
But after the sale, Helen insisted,
As soon as you receive the money, split it evenly with Margaret.
But Helen, Margarets got her own flatthe one her ex left her, and he left with nothing. Besides, shell only squander it.
It doesnt matter, George. Lets keep our conscience clear, or else shell drag both our names through the mud at every turn.
George relented and handed over half the money to his sister, but instead of thanking him, Margaret only said,
Thats it? Wheres the rest?
Time passed, Lucy turned fifteen, and then tragedy struck again. Helen fell ill and was soon bedridden. Shed felt off for a while but always blamed work fatigueit wasnt easy teaching children. It wasnt until she collapsed in the garden that George brought her to the hospital, where they discovered the cruel truth, all too late.
Is there nothing you can do for my wife? George asked, stricken.
Were doing all we can, the doctor sighed. But she came in too lateshe didnt exactly come to us; she was brought in. Did you truly never notice?
Of course I noticed, I begged her to see a doctor, George said bitterly. But Helen always lived for everyone else, never for herself
Soon enough, George brought Helen home to stay for goodshe no longer left her bed. He said of work to care for her, giving injections himself, sitting by her side. When he had to return to work, Lucy assumed carefeeding and bathing her mother after school, though it understandably wore on her.
One day, Margaret turned up.
My washing machines gone bust, George, can you take a look? I know youre handy.
All right; Ill come over, he promised. The next day after work, he fixed it.
On his way out, George said,
Margaret, do pop in occasionally so Lucy isnt left alone with Helen. The girl is only fifteen and is already exhausted, mind and body, when Im at work. Even an adult would struggle, let alone a child. And dont forget, Helen helped raise your Edward up until he was nearly ten. She fought to keep your flat for you when your ex wanted his share.
Oh, for heavens sake, must we dredge up the past now? Edwards seventeenI married before you, remember. Yes, Helen helped with my ladthe whole time I was off on business. I gave her a gold ring for it, didnt I?
Aye, you did, but Helen gave it back right away, and you took it back just as happily.
Well, if she didnt want it, thats her problem. And honestly, its one thing to watch a healthy child, and another to sit by the dying. Leave me out of it! she snapped, storming off without a word of thanks for the repair.
George was less angry than disappointed. Never ask me for help again, youre cruel and cold, he said simply, and thought no more of his sister.
Helen faded swiftly. That day, Lucy spotted her father coming home and ran to meet him.
Dad, please! Mums so much worse. She wont eat, shes turned to the wall and wont speak. I tried to give her medicine and water but
Its all right, darling, well face this together. We must.
That very night, Helen died. They wept together, left alone now with only each other. Strangely, George felt a bittersweet reliefHelen no longer suffered, nor would Lucy be haunted by her decline. He loved his wife dearly, but that silent killer hadnt only taken a loved one but also worn down him and his daughter.
After Helens funeral, George felt lost. He missed her smile, her tender care, her laughterthoughts that clung like mist. She was gone forever, and he needed her so. Lucy mourned too but tried to comfort her father.
Dad, we did all we could. We have to accept that Mums gone. Shes better off now, she isnt suffering. Well get used to it, bit by bitwhat matters most is that we have each other.
Lucy, youve grown up so much, George marvelled. This sadness with your mum has changed you.
Lucy looked out for her father, always trying to be close. He hurried home each day, knowing she waitedshed learned to cook so they could share news over dinner.
One evening, Lucy told him,
I came home after school and Aunt Margaret turned up right after me.
What did she want? George asked, irked. Dont let her in next time.
She slipped in behind me before I could shut the door. Said shed come to claim Mums old fur coat and some of her things. She told me you were aware.
I didnt let her have anything, and she left in a right mood.
Good. I gave her no such permissionlock the door straight away next time, Lucy, and dont let her in.
But then, at work, Georges heart seized in his chest. The pain was excruciatinghe struggled to breathe and nearly lost consciousness. His colleague quickly called an ambulance, and off he went to the hospital. Lucy arrived in tears, but the doctor assured her:
Dont fret, your fathers still with us. Hes had a warningneeds treatment and rest.
Now all responsibilities fell on Lucy: her father, the house, and schoolwork. She did her best, racing between lessons and hospital visits, often bringing her dad something homemade to cheer him.
Once, Margaret appeared with a pie.
Lucy, heres a pie for your dad. Hows he doing in hospital? Dont want to see him myself, you know he cant stand me. Give it to him, but leave my name out of it, will you?
Thank you, Aunt Margaret, Lucy replied, and Margaret left.
Fifteen minutes later, Edward, her cousin, dropped bya frequent visitor and a help where he could be, as he was nearing the end of his schooldays, preparing for university entrance.
Forgot my house keys, so I came round, he said. Did you bake that pie, Lucy?
No, I cant bake. Your mother brought it for Dad, but lets cut you a sliceafter all, youre just back from school, and its rather a lot for Dad on his own.
Edward was grateful. She poured him tea, and they decided to visit George in hospital together. But as they neared the entrance, Lucy noticed Edward pale and break out in a sweat as he gripped the stair rail, then collapsed. Thankfully, they were already at the hospital.
It turned out Edward had been poisoned.
What did he eat? the doctor asked Lucy.
The pieAunt Margaret brought it for Dad. She made it herself.
Dont let your father touch it. Ill need to take it for testing.
Margaret was contacted and rushed to the hospital, frantic.
Oh my goodness, Edward, whats happened? What did you eat?
He had the pie you made, Aunt Margaret. I gave him a slice just after he arrived, Lucy answered, and Margaret suddenly turned very pale.
It wasnt long before Margaret was taken in by the police. It came out that she had mixed something poisonous in the pie, intended for her brotherhoping to claim his house as her own, planning for Lucy to go off to college and live in lodgings. All for money. She had not foreseen that the pie might end up harming her own son.
When George was discharged, he and Lucy, together with Edward, visited Margaret in jail.
Forgive me, George. Forgive me, Edward. Forgive me, too, Lucy I know now what I have done. Please, for heavens sake, forgive me, she wept.
George withdrew his statement, and before long, Margaret was released. But Edward could not forgive hertheir relationship was shattered, and in the days that followed, he spent more and more time at George and Lucys home.
Uncle George, Ill never forgive my motherhow could she? he confided.
Edward, you dont choose your parents. Yes, she did a terrible thing, but true remorse is rare. Try to forgive hershe is suffering too.
Bit by bit, life settled again. Edward went up to university; Lucy finished school and planned for her own studies, but was reluctant to leave her father alone.
Its all right, love, George assured her. You must study. Well always have each otheryoull come home for weekends and holidays. Your mother so dearly wanted you to go to teacher training college. We shall live for each other, as she wished.So Lucy did leave for college, her suitcase packed with hopes and a photograph of her mother smiling in the garden. George stood by the door, watching her go, proud and anxious all at once. When the taxi turned the corner, he went inside and sat at the kitchen table where they had shared so many meals, the empty chair across from him now a promise instead of a loss.
He filled the days fixing up the house, planting flowers along the fence between his yard and the old plot that once was his mothers. Letters and phone calls passed between father and daughterLucy wrote about her lessons and new friends, and George told her about the silly squirrel that danced on the windowsill, about Edwards postcards from university, about how the pie shop finally reopened after all these years.
On Sundays, Lucy returned full of stories, and often Edward joined them, lanky and changed, but always thoughtful. Sometimes, the three would walk together to visit Margaret, who now lived quietly on her own, her spirit gentler, voice softened by regret and time.
Seasons changed. Lucy graduated first in her class and took a teaching post right in their own town. George, older now, watched her stand before a classroom of children, her mothers patience shining through her eyes. Edward found work nearby, and sometimes he and Lucy would recall childhoods tangled by hardship, then laugh at how, somehow, love had gathered them all back together.
In the evenings, after dinner, George would sit with Lucy at the table, sometimes joined by Edward, and they would talk about everything and nothing. Above them, the clock ticked, as it always had, marking the simple and miraculous passing of days filled with forgiveness, work, and shared joy.
And so, with each sunrise, they remembered the promise Helen had given them without speaking: that love endures through pain, that kindness outlasts bitterness, and that in living for one another, wounds would heal, hearts would mend, and a family, though battered, would carry on, together.
