David Charles 5

The final instalment!
Stunned by the unexpected and very sudden death of Ma, Pa said quite simply that he was remaining where he was and he would cope, despite being confined to a wheelchair. We panicked but Cambridge County Health Service was brilliant. A lovely woman came to help him get up in the morning and  prepare him for the evening; meals on wheels came several times during the week and on other days Ma’s home help continued to offer wonderful support. His friends also rallied round and visited weekly, including taking him out for spins and lunch. They always came armed with expensive bottles of whisky and by this time Pa didn’t drink but was too polite to say so. Later, when we had to clear the house, we found the cellar full of Laphroaig!
He coped and life was fine if unremarkable. Then he got a phonecall. It was someone he had been engaged to 50 years before! Why they broke off I never asked but although they had never kept in touch, Pa had always sent her mother Christmas cards and the odd letter- he was very good at correspondence. P’s mother had recently died, aged 100, and trawling through her things she had found Pa’s letters, complete with telephone number. She decided to take a chance. He casually mentioned this phonecall and was a bit stunned but I didn’t quite realise the significance at first. More phonecalls followed, letters, photos and then P travelled up to see him – all the way from Cornwall. To cut a long story short – they fell head over heels in love all over again. Romance blossomed and she travelled up whenever she could. We managed to get him down to Cornwall too – my brother took him and I went to collect him later. They were easy and comfortable with each other, both a little amazed at their good fortune. They had two years together then sadly he had another stroke and was forced back into hospital. She promised to marry him if he would walk up the aisle. He worked on it, returned home and then just slipped away. Later, P came to help me sort everything out. Perhaps the saddest moment for me was seeing her drive away knowing her life had suddenly taken a completely different route to what she was hoping.
So there we have it, a delightful man, a gentleman; a life well lived and two unexpected years of happiness at the very end. You can’t really ask for more than that. 

Here we are in the garden, my brother (and Toggles), me and Pa, circa 1998. The last photo I have of him, I think.