Loose Connections Read Online Free

.’
    ‘I know, darling. We’ve got to get to the supermarket, and then we’re off to the hospital this afternoon to see Mum.’
    ‘You remembered!’
    She gave a slight frown. ‘Of course I remembered!’
    A tiny spark of hope.
P’raps she’s getting better. P’raps it’ll be OK now.
    Later they sat down and made a long shopping list.
     
    ***
     
    The trip to the supermarket went really well. Gran was wearing odd socks and the same stained jersey as yesterday, but she seemed at ease driving the car and she only forgot the
way once. Her parking was a bit bizarre, but she remembered to turn off the ignition and put on the handbrake.
    They walked up and down the aisles checking their list and lobbing things into the trolley. Occasionally Gran would reach for something they didn’t need.
    ‘No, Gran. Not that.’ Jake caught the items before they made it into the trolley. He replaced a pack of nappies, a 2-for-1 pack of deodorant, a fistful of soaps, a huge carton of a
washing powder Mum never used, some barbeque fuel and four jumbo rolls of cling film.
    And he slipped a few things into the trolley that weren’t on the list: five pies, five bars of chocolate and five cans of Coke (sorry, Mum); this week he was going to do his own
lunches.
    When their shopping had gone through the checkout, Gran opened her handbag and stood peering into it, frowning. Jake waited for a bit while the checkout lady drummed her fingers on the counter,
then he rummaged inside the handbag, found Gran’s card, popped it in the machine and quickly keyed in her PIN. The lady at the checkout looked a bit surprised, but it all went through OK so
she didn’t say anything.
    Gran’s driving was more erratic on the way home.
    ‘Gran! GRAN, STOP! The light’s gone red!’
    ‘Sorry, Jakey. It’s the sun in my eyes.’
    It was a cloudy day. Not a ray of sun to be seen.
    When they got back to the house, Jake made a game of putting the shopping away.
    ‘And the toilet paper goes in. . .?’
    ‘The bathroom!’ yelled Gran, grabbing the rolls and running to the bathroom.
    Quickly, Jake put a few more items away before she came back.
    ‘And the washing powder goes in. . .’ He saw her hesitate.
    ‘The laundry!’ he finished.
    She smiled. ‘The laundry!’ she shouted, grabbing it from him and trotting off.
    Like this, they got everything sorted – or most things. He’d seen when she’d got it wrong; he could put things back where they belonged later.
    ‘All finished,’ he said at last.
    Gran clapped her hands. ‘Let’s have a cuppa!’ She wandered over to the electric kettle and switched it on.
    ‘You need to put some water in it, Gran,’ said Jake automatically.
    She unplugged the kettle and took off the lid. ‘Rubbish. There’s plenty of water in it.’ Sometimes she surprised him.
    ‘Sorry, Gran. Thought it was empty.’
    She turned and smiled at him. ‘I may be scatty, darling, but I can still make a cup of tea.’
    Jake felt a lump in his throat as he watched her pour the boiling water into the teapot. As she turned to find the milk in the fridge (plenty of that – it would be sour long before they
drank their way through it) he quickly popped a couple of teabags into the pot while her back was turned.
    She straightened up triumphantly, holding a carton. ‘Found the milk,’ she said.
    Couldn’t miss it.
    Later they made lunch together – soup and sandwiches.
    Jake thought about Irene’s offer of a chicken casserole and wondered whether she’d come round. Perhaps not. Perhaps she was still mad at him for saying that about Kenny.
    Jake finished his lunch. He was dreading the trip to the hospital, but they’d have to go.
    ‘Why don’t we take the bus, Gran? Save you driving.’
    Gran scraped back her chair. ‘Don’t be daft; it takes a lifetime on that bus. Now I’ll just go upstairs and change. Can’t go visiting your mum in this old jersey can
I?’
    He wondered if she had any clean clothes left. She