Chapter twenty two
Going Home.
1989-1997
I imagine the struggle I'd have, trying to carry a load of groceries down the steep sloping path, and how I'd manage on my own if I go into hospital for an operation. In three weeks I have to go to the doctor for a B.P. test so I'll tell Dr Railton then. The visit comes and goes but I fail to mention the lump. I realized that I need to make some kind of commitment so I ring my daughter and tell her that I'm going back to the doctor, and tell her why. Now I can't back out. I drive to the doctor's clinic on my way to work, and tell the nurse what the trouble is. “Why didn't you tell Doctor when you were here yesterday?” Nurse Erin inquires.
“I was just too scared,” I tell her.
“I see. Well Dr. Railton will see you now.”
Doctor looks at the lump on my chest and tells me that it's a sebaceous cyst and that I don't need to worry about it. I've been worrying all week for nothing.
By June 1989 we still have no offers for the sale of the house. The Real Estate agent suggests that we should replace the wallpaper and carpet. This we do at great cost to us both, but still there are no buyers. One day I complain to Carole that the mess outside the house would put people off buying before they even get inside. She suggests that perhaps I should buy the house, myself. I go away and think about it. If I can get a loan I might be able to manage it.
I'm 58, and in 18 months I'll get the pension, on top of my earnings. The loan repayments will be $300 a week and I can rent the house out for this amount. So with this in mind, I go ahead and buy Carole's half share of the house. But things don't always work out that way. The loan people kid me into using their lawyer, as they say that the loan will go through much faster. But it doesn't.
The deal is supposed to go through by October, but the lawyer is so slow that it drags on until December. By now Carole is at her busiest time in hairdressing with the Christmas rush, so it is now put off until 22nd of January, 1990.
Just before this date, Carole asks me to take two of the children, Craig and Susan. I'm only too pleased to