‘Hello Nan, in yer get.’ Nathan lent across the passenger seat of his car to open the door. Elsie carefully lowered herself in. She put her handbag on her lap and let Nathan clip the seatbelt buckle in whilst she patted down her hair. ‘Where are we going?’

‘St Patricks’ said Nathan, easing the car back into the road. Elsie smiled. It was one of her favourite churches.

‘Tom Scarrot today.’

Elsie frowned, her already wrinkled brow puckered in concentration. ‘Did I know him?’

‘Might have. He was 86. Widower. Went to school at St Cuthberts. Worked at Cartwright's most of his life.’

Elsie trawled her mind for a memory of Cartwright's. ‘It was a glass factory, wasn't it? Made beautiful chandeliers.’

Nathan nodded. ‘Long gone now. Turned into shops back in the 80’s. Bit rough. Tattoo parlour, betting shop, that kind of place.’

Elsie sighed. ‘Family?’

‘One wife, died about twelve years ago. Four kids, nine grandkids. And four dogs when he died. Loved ‘em.’

Elsie clutched her handbag tighter. Nine grandchildren? She only had the one, Nathan, but he was a good boy. Picked her up and took her places. And working at the funeral home he was a mine of information.

He dropped her outside the church. ‘Good turnout.’ Elsie said, watching people file inside.

‘Yep, should be a good un.’ Nathan undid her seatbelt. ‘You go on in. The do after is next door at the church hall. I’ll pick you up at four.’ He looked at his grandmother. ‘Any problems, you know what to do?’


After the service she followed the crowd into the church hall. It was damp from lack of use, in the way these places normally were. Decent spread though, Elsie thought, eyeing up a trestle table groaning under the weight of food. She sat at the end of a long table, as the room filled up around her, the chatter rising.

An elderly man next to her asked ‘How did you know Tom?’ and Elsie offered sparse details of the early years working at Cartwright’s ... not seen him in years ... paying her respects… She was loving this, reminiscing with all the mourners, sharing stories. When it looked like people were getting ready to leave, Elsie took a plastic bag from her handbag. ‘It only seems right’ she said ‘that we have a whip round for charity. The Dogs Trust, considering how much Tom loved his dogs.’ She stood up and with a flourish took a twenty pound note from her purse and dropped it into the plastic bag. ‘I'll get it started.’ She passed the bag to the lady next to her who paused before putting in a five pound note. Elsie watched as the bag moved around the room, coins and notes being put in. Finally it ended up back with her. ‘Lovely’ she muttered. ‘Very generous’

She stood, nodded a goodbye and walked to the doors of the hall. ‘Hold on a minute.’ A man’s voice from behind shouted out ‘How did you say you knew Tom?’ She didn't stop or turn. With a sharp prod of her elbow, she smashed the glass on the ‘In case of emergency’ fire alarm panel before carrying on outside. The noise was instant and deafening. Nathan was waiting.

‘How did it go?’ he asked, hastily pulling the car away without waiting for Elsie to fasten her seatbelt.

‘It was beautiful’ said Elsie, poking her nose into the plastic bag. ‘There’s easily £300 in here.’

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