No! I Don’t Need Reading Glasses! by Virginia Ironside

anything, and I know if I’d suggested it in advance he would have become anxious and made an excuse, so I just said, in a no-nonsense way, ‘I’mcoming down right away. I’ll be there in a couple of hours!’ And I didn’t give him time to change his mind.
    Leaving a note for Michelle to feed Pouncer, I hurled a few things into a case and drove like a mad thing to Devon, all the time feeling choked with sadness and emotion about Archie. I realised that I’d never be going down to see him again without feeling concern. That my dear old Archie was starting to disappear slowly, and that one of the happiest periods in my life was starting to come to an end.
    It was beginning to get dark when I arrived, and, much to my pleasure, it seemed as if he were expecting me! The moment my car crunched up the drive, he opened the door, and I could see a welcoming expression on his face.
    â€˜Philippa!’ he said, as I got out of the car. ‘How lovely! I haven’t seen you for so long! Darling!’ And he enfolded me in a big hug.
    Was it that he thought I was Philippa? Or was it just a matter of his muddling our names? I didn’t know, and I didn’t really care. He took my holdall out of the car, and led me inside the house. But just before his bedroom, he stopped. ‘Here you are!’ he said, opening the door of one of the spare rooms next to his. ‘I hope this room will suit you!’
    â€˜But darling, we usually … I mean … I usually sleep in your room …’ I said, nervously.
    â€˜I know you do, darling,’ he said, suddenly like the old Archie. ‘But, sweetheart, I’m afraid I find myself wandering in the night. I don’t know why. But I’ve woken up in some funny places recently! I don’t want to disturb you,’ he added,rather plaintively, ‘but sometimes I feel I’m in such a muddle, darling.’
    I took both his hands in mine and looked into his eyes. Then I drew near to him, kissing him.
    â€˜If it makes you feel happier,’ I said. ‘That’s fine.’
    It wasn’t fine, of course, but what could I do? I could hardly badger my way into his bed. And there was something so serious and ‘old Archie’ about the way he spoke, that I felt he was aware that something was deeply wrong, and he knew that I knew, too.
7 April
    Just got back! Oh, it’s all so agonising! I
do
so hope Sylvie gets him to the doctor. If it were just me in charge I’d have had him down the surgery the first moment that he lost his glasses. But I can’t steam in when I know that he’s really Sylvie’s responsibility, and if I did anything like that she’d be terribly upset.
9 April
    Popped into my local shop to buy some frozen peas. Because I didn’t have the right money, they undercharged me, letting me off 1p. Very decent of them, but I know this debt will drive me mad. What’s 1p, you may say? But to me one pence still has the same sort of value as it did in the days when it bought a bag of sweets, so I
must
remember to pay it.
10 April
    â€˜NATIONAL DEATH SERVICE!’ yells the
Daily Rant. ‘More people killed in hospitals than in the Blitz! The message is: if you’re ill, don’t see a doctor!
’
    As she was making her speedy kitchen visit for her breakfast of Yakult, Michelle looked at the headline in horror. ‘I ’ave to ze doctaire zis afternoon! I ’ope I will not die!’ she said.
    â€˜Of course not!’ I said reassuringly, stuffing the paper out of sight. ‘It’s all a load of rubbish.’
    Honestly, I must stop getting this ghastly newspaper. I’m certain it’s not true. And all it does is scare the living daylights out of people.
11 April
    Penny came round to lunch to plan the Residents’ Meeting. She’d brought with her huge maps of the area, plus the council’s plans, and laid them out on the table. I