‘They’ve had enough from me, haven’t they? She’s on her third millionaire, and he’ll only stuff it up his nose…’
He wanted to donate it all to—but she couldn’t catch that. And there was something else. A legacy. For a smaller amount of money.
‘…at least two thousand a month. It’s got to be secure, Brian. Really secure. Inflation-proof. Nothing risky… Come on Brian, it’s not that complicated… No, it has to be done now… Good. Email it to me straightaway…’
Mary reached the room next to Mr Hanley. Sarah McGregor, leukaemia. Three days, they reckoned.
‘Is that phone call disturbing you, Sarah?’
‘What phone call?’
Mary brought her the green tea she liked and talked about her son, who visited every day.
As Mary left, Judy, the senior nurse, walked up.
‘Phone call for your Mr Hanley. Someone’s trying to contact him: Rod. Can you ask him to call back?’
Mary nodded. Maybe this might be a way of getting to know Mr Hanley? But first she needed to mention his long phone call and to remind him of the need to respect the other patients. As Mary approached his room, all was silent.
‘Phone call over?’
‘Yes.’
He didn’t sound so aggressive.
‘And you got what you wanted?’
He nodded. ‘Should’ve done it years ago. Better late than never, I suppose. Time to do something useful. But—’ He rolled his eyes. ‘What a time for a re-think!’
‘It was—your will?’
He snorted. ‘Not much left now. But I’ll be damned if that bloody boy leaches any more money out of me. I’m only staying in this place because the daft little bugger won’t think of looking for me here.’
Mary paused, not sure whether to ask more. She shouldn’t have listened to his phone call, but it had been impossible not to hear it. It was sad when it ended this way: no visitors, not even your son and daughter. She guessed he wanted to talk a bit more.
‘So you donated it to…’
He stared out of the window and didn’t answer. Maybe she was wrong: he wanted to be left alone.
‘I’ve given it all to a charity. SHELTER. You know them?’
‘The housing charity?’
‘That’s the one. Damage limitation. I’ve had countless people thrown out of their houses. Might as well do something to make up for it.’