Nana Goes Gently Into That Good Night

NANA GOES GENTLY INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT

FLLOYD:                               Thunder's Mouth Theatre Presents: Episode 7 of Season 11, and Helen finds herself on the receiving end of some rather disturbing news, and some sad, but not unexpected news. This episode includes discussions of missing persons, and grief.

VOICEMAIL:                         You have 2 new messages. 

HELEN:                                  Oh get on with it!

 SUSIE :                                 Gran, will you call me back as soon as you can please? I just wondered if you had some ideas. Charlie's away, and i can't talk to him. Mum's - mum and dad have gone off for a the easter break, and it's Preshanni she's... She seems to have disappeared, and i just don't know what to do. Um, sorry, gran, just give me a call if you have a moment. Sorry to bother you. Bye.

VOICEMAIL                          Next message         

JENNIFER :                          Oh, Helen, it's Jennifer. Sorry to bother you. I just wanted to let you know Nana passed away last night. So it was very peaceful. We were we were with her, me and Harry, we were were just having some tea with with some of the other people there, and and the nurse called us in, and she was fading, so we've got to say goodbye. It was all very peaceful. So I just want to let you know that there'll be a ceremony like a memorial in few days. I'll let you know what's happening. Hope you're well. Bye. Jennifer.

VOICEMAIL                          End of messages.

SCENE 2

HELEN:                                  Oh dear.  Ok, first things first. Call Janey. Oh no, she's away. Ok, let's see if Jennifer's in.

DOOR OPENS, SHE WALKS ACROSS THE CORRIDOR AND KNOCKS ON JENNY'S DOOR. DOOR OPENS

HELEN:                                  Hi Jenny, it's only me.

JENNIFER:                           Oh Helen, come on in. You got my message?

HELEN:                                  Yes I did. I'm so sorry Jenny.

JENNIFER:                           Yes, thank you. Oh, please sit down. Do you have time?

HELEN:                                  Loads of it.

JENNIFER:                           I'll put the kettle on.

HELEN:                                  No, don't do that. Unless you want something. I don't.

JENNIFER:                           Oh, well in that case, I will just sit down. Oh dear.

HELEN:                                  You're very tired.

JENNIFER:                           I am.  But it's not for lack of sleep. I slept for about 8 hours last night.  So did Harry. We couldn't believe it when we woke up, how bright the sky was, how late it was in the morning.

HELEN:                                  You surely needed it.

JENNIFER:                           Yes. We were over at the hospice with Nana for the past 4 days, and nights. And we didn't want to sleep, you know, in case...

HELEN:                                  Of course. But you did it, and you were there

JENNIFER:                           Yes, and it does seem silly, because she was barely conscious for all that time, but we just wanted to be with her, in case. You know

HELEN:                                  In case she knew, and of course it would give her comfort.

JENNIFER:                           And she was so ready to go! She wasn't fighting it, or anything like that.

HELEN:                                  Was she still laughing in her sleep?

JENNIFER:                           D'you know Helen, she was. It was so funny. She was having these mumbled conversations with Grandpa. Harry was trying to write down what she was saying, but it wasn't anything sensible, or - I don't know - anything that we could make sense of.

HELEN:                                  But it made sense to her.

JENNIFER:                           Exactly! And that's all that matters.  Oh, and before I forget, the funeral will be on Thursday. You don't have to come, of course, but you would all be very welcome.

HELEN:                                  I'll be there. Janey is away, and I don't think she'll be back in time. But Susie should be able to make it. And then what?  Are you going to be sitting Shiva?

JENNIFER:                           Well, yes and no.  We never did observe any of the Jewish rituals when I was growing up, not formally anyway. But I knew about them, from talking with Nana when Mum wasn't around.

HELEN:                                  From what I know about it, it seems like a very sensible idea, to take time just talk about the loved one who has passed, to share stories, remember them together.

JENNIFER:                           Yes. But I'm the only one left of the family. I have no idea if there were any surviving relatives left in Prague after the war. I think Grandpa tried to find some back in the 1960s, but he never had any luck. So. Just me, and Harry.

HELEN:                                  And me. I'd love to sit and hear your stories of Nana, from back from back in the day, before you moved here. I would very happily spend a week drinking coffee, eating lovely food, and reminiscing about Nana with you.

JENNIFER:                           And I would absolutely love that too. Thank you so much Helen. That means a lot to me.  Of course, it doesn't mean all day for the whole week!

HELEN:                                  No. Well. We can make a plan. A flexible plan. To sit and talk about Nana whenever you feel like it. And not just for a week, either.

JENNIFER:                           Oh! I've just remembered, one of the things Nana was saying in her sleep a couple of nights ago, and it was as clear as a bell. She said "What? Don't be silly, Misha. Of course I don't mind what music they play at my funeral."  And then there was a pause, and then she said "Because I won't be there!"

HELEN:                                  [laughs]

SCENE 2 -

HELEN CALLS SUSIE

HELEN:                                  Ok then what is the problem?  How do you know Preshanni is in trouble?

SUSIE:                                   Because nobody knows where she is!  And Gran, you know how friendly she is, and enthusiastic. She would never deliberately let people down. And Mrs Patel is desperate.

HELEN:                                  Doesn't Mrs Patel know where she lives?

SUSIE:                                   Yes. She tried phoning at first, but there was no answer, just going straight through to message bank. And then she went over there to the hostel where Preshanni was staying, and they said they hadn't seen her for a fortnight. And they had mail for her, that looked important. You know, Government offices on the envelope.

HELEN:                                  Oh.  And you've tried other people you met in Kiara's mob?

SUSIE:                                   I've tried absolutely everyone. No-one has seen her for three weeks.

HELEN:                                  And has anyone gone to the police?

SUSIE:                                   I don't think so. Because everyone assumed she was with someone else. The people at the hostel thought she was staying with Mrs Patel. Some of Kiara's volunteers thought she had relatives up north.

HELEN:                                  Ok. But none of that accounts for her phone not being answered. Have you tried the hospitals?

SUSIE:                                   No.  Oh of course. I should have thought of that. I'll do that now.

HELEN:                                  Don't you have work to do?

SUSIE:                                   I've finished for the day.  I could start calling now.

HELEN:                                  How about you make a list, and share it with me. We can cover more that way.

SUSIE:                                   That would be great. Thanks Gran. I know the nearest one is St Pancras, I'll do them first.  But yes, I'll make up a list and email it to you. Thanks so much for helping me. I knew you would know what to do.

HELEN:                                  Well, this would be a start. And then when we've checked with all the nearest ones, I think the next step is reporting it to the police.

SUSIE:                                   Sure. That makes sense.

HELEN:                                  You sound exhausted.  When does Charlie get back?

SUSIE:                                   Thursday.

HELEN:                                  That's when Nana Madeleine's funeral is.

SUSIE:                                   Oh no!  Did she die?

HELEN:                                  Yes Susie.  Oh, I'm sorry. I should have mentioned it. But yes, you do usually wait till someone dies before you arrange the funeral.

SUSIE:                                   Gran! 

HELEN:                                  Sorry. Gallows humour. It was just last night. I've just seen Jennifer.

SUSIE:                                   She's alright?

HELEN:                                  Yes. Bearing up.  But back to the funeral. Can you make it?

SUSIE:                                   I'm sure we can.  I know I'll be there. I'm pretty sure Charlie gets in early in the morning. He might be a bit raggard from the overnight train, but I'm sure he'll be up for it.

HELEN:                                  Good. Well, you get on, and I'll give your mother a call, see if she could possibly come back for the day, if nothing else.

SCENE 4

HELEN CALLS JANEY

JANEY:                                  Of course we'll come back for the funeral. What time is it?

HELEN:                                  3, I think.

JANEY:                                  Ok. Well, we're only an hour or two away, we'll have time to drive home and then pick you up. Where is it?

HELEN:                                  Golders Green.

JANEY:                                  Ok, well don't worry, and please tell Jenny, we'll be so happy to see her.  And is she going to be sitting Shiva?

HELEN:                                  In a very informal way. We've agreed to use the week after the funeral to sit and chat about Nana whenever she feels like it.

JANEY:                                  I'd love to join in. Is that allowed?

HELEN:                                  I'll check with her, but I'm pretty confident she would be delighted.

JANEY:                                  Ok. Now what is all this fuss Susie is on about, somebody has gone missing from the cult?  I thought she had broken free from it.

HELEN:                                  She has. And so has Preshanni. But now Preshanni has gone missing. Not turning up for work, not answering her phone, and not going home to her bed

JANEY:                                  For how long?

HELEN:                                  About three weeks.

JANEY:                                  Oh goodness. That does sound serious.  Has it been reported to the police?  To whoever handles missing persons these days?

HELEN:                                  Not yet. We're about to check with all the nearest hospitals, and the the police is the next stop.

JANEY:                                  That is very worrying. What about her family?

HELEN:                                  All still somewhere in South Africa. But we don't have any contact details for them.

JANEY:                                  Well that is a lesson, if ever I heard one.

HELEN:                                  What is?

JANEY :                                 If you are alone in a foreign country, make sure somebody else has your home contact details.

HELEN:                                  Unless there's a reason why you don't want them to know where you are.

JANEY:                                  What?  Are you speaking from experience?

HELEN:                                  No. Not me. I never lost contact with my family back in Rocky. Well, not for any length of time. Although, now I come to think of it, I don't think anybody else had their contact details, so that they could get in touch if anything happened to me. I never thought of that! Young people, eh?

JANEY:                                  I'd say - some young people, Mum. Or even, some people.

HELEN:                                  Well how about you?  Did you give my address, or my phone number to anyone?

JANEY:                                  For one thing, I never left the country. And for another, when I left home, it was to get married to Jon, and he had your contact details very early on in our relationship, if you remember.

HELEN:                                  Oh yes, of course. He was most persistent, wasn't he?  Came for dinner one night, and then wanted my phone number "to ask me something". Very mysterious.

JANEY:                                  And you just gave it to him!

HELEN:                                  Well you had been dating him for several months before you brought him home. It seemed pretty serious to me. At least he did.

JANEY:                                  And you just gave him your phone number!  And you never did tell me what he wanted to ask you.

HELEN:                                  Didn't I?  Didn't he?  I assumed he told you himself!

JANEY:                                  No. He insisted it was private, just between him and you.  And to be honest. I didn't care at the time. I was so thrilled to be getting married.

HELEN:                                  Just to be getting married?  Not - getting married to Jon in particular?

JANEY:                                  Very much the latter.  So what was the mysterious question he wanted to ask you?

HELEN:                                  He asked me out for dinner. He took me to Rules, in Covent Garden, we had a lovely meal. We talked about our origins, you know, our ancestry, and we shared stories about living in Rocky, and living in Biloela. Not all that dissimilar as it happens.

JANEY:                                  And was that it? Just two expatriate Australians sharing their stories of home?

HELEN:                                  Yes. And then he asked me something rather special...

JANEY:                                  Yes?  Oh Mum, don't be a tease!

HELEN:                                  He asked me for your hand in marriage.

JANEY:                                  He what?

HELEN:                                  You heard.

JANEY:                                  Well.  Well I never.  I knew he was a gentleman, but I had no idea he was so old fashioned.

HELEN:                                  I call it courteous. Good mannered. Thoughtful, even.

JANEY:                                  And what did you say?

HELEN:                                  I said no.

JANEY:                                  What?

HELEN:                                  Oh Janey. You should have seen his face!  He was - what. Is the word?  Crestfallen.  Absolutely crestfallen.

JANEY:                                  I'm not surprised. What does it mean?

HELEN:                                  Good question. I've no idea what the word is derived from, but it describes a particularly poignant form of disappointment. You know, when you truly believe something is going to happen, and then you suddenly find out that it isn't I must look it up.

JANEY:                                  But you didn't mean it?

HELEN:                                  No, of course I didn't. And I had no idea how convincing I could be, when I was lying through my teeth.

JANEY:                                  So then what happened?

HELEN:                                  I stood up, and said come here, you big lug. And he came around the table and I hugged him and said of course you can marry my Janey. Just don't ever call me Mum.

JANEY:                                  Ah. That explains it.

HELEN:                                  Yes. And now you know. And now I have to make some phone calls, see if I can find out what has happened to Susie's young friend.

JANEY:                                  Oh. Right. Ok. Thanks for calling, See you Thursday.

HELEN:                                  Love to Jon!

JANEY:                                  I'll have to think about that...

OUTRO

FLLOYD:                               That was Episode 7 of Season 11. It is always sad when we lose a loved one, but I'm glad Helen and her family are able to comfort Jennifer with their love and friendship.  And yes, I do know they aren't real people, but to be perfectly honest, when I'm writing and performing them, they are very real to me. And I hope to you also, as you listen. Here's something I picked up from the latest Hindenburg newsletter (that's the software that I use for editing and sound design). They say, and I quote: "We're wired to make snap judgments based on what we see.  100 milliseconds, that's all it takes.  But when we listen without visuals, without distraction, something else happens.  We imagine. We empathise. We connect."  End of quote. And now for a quote from the makers of my favourite sci fi podcast, Midnight Burger – “I know it's free to listen to a podcast, but it's not free to make”. So if you'd care to make a donation towards our production expenses, head over to buymeacoffee.com/amIoldyet, where you can donate anything from a pound or a dollar. Or you can subscribe on a regular basis, and receive my infrequent newsletters and also join up with other Am I Old Yet? listeners over on Discord. Thanks for listening. Stay safe.