Charitable Giving 

By Jane Scoggins

Angela’s decision to go to the charity shop was made a few months after her husband Jim had passed away. It had been the Macmillan nurse who had suggested she might like to donate some of Jim’s clothes to the hospice shop. Although she had nursed Jim through his illness and knew that time was short, she had still been overwhelmed with grief. She had been quite unprepared for the savageness of her emotions. Nurses had tended Jim at home with such care and professionalism and supported them both emotionally right to the very end. One of the nurses continued to phone Angela from time to time, helping her cope with her initial turmoil and giving her practical advice. For the first few months, Angela got relief from opening Jim’s wardrobe and chest of drawers and holding a piece of his clothing to her cheek and then to her nose to breathe in his smell. When she was ready to pack up Jim’s clothes she spent a morning washing them and an afternoon ironing them. She put his good suit, sports jacket and leather jacket, three sweaters and six shirts into a spare suitcase from the loft, and took it to the Hospice charity shop in the neighbouring town. As soon as she had handed over the suitcase to the volunteer in the backroom Angela felt the sadness of parting from Jim once again. Feeling a bit tearful she went to a corner of the shop where there were shelves of books in alphabetical order, and a collection of CDs. It gave her time and privacy to reach into her handbag for a tissue, and gain her composure. After dabbing away her tears Angela looked about her and pretended to choose a book. At the end of the shelves, a coat stand stood adorned with scarves and a collection of handbags. One of the bags caught Angela’s eye. It was a baggy purple velvet thing and looked homemade. The many badges sewn or pinned on were what had caught Angela's attention. Cornwall, Thailand, Paris, Moscow, México, Lake District, Scotland, and Pembrokeshire. Then there were other badges, CND, Amnesty International, Love Books. As she turned the bag to read all the badges she saw that on one of the wide straps had been embroidered in chain stitch. Live Each Day As If It Were Your Last. Rose felt tears gather in her eyes again as she thought of Jim and their many holidays together. When they were first together it had been camping in Cornwall and Wales. As they got older and could afford hotels it had been touring in Scotland and walking in the Lake District. On their 25^th Anniversary, it had been to Paris where they had enjoyed a romantic few days, wandering the streets, visiting Montmartre, the gardens of Versailles, and riding in the lift to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  Since early retirement, they had had less money to spare for hotels but still went away, staying instead in B&B’s. Sadly those days were now over. The next thing she knew she was paying for the velvet bag along with a CD of folk music and leaving the shop. At home, Angela put on the CD and boiled the kettle for a cup of tea. She put the bag on the kitchen worktop and examined it more closely. It was even more shabby than she had noticed in the shop and began to wonder what had possessed her to buy it. But was once again drawn to the badges. She reflected on the images they inspired of travel, and altruism, and a strong indication of joy for life itself. She felt her spirits lift. She made a mug of tea, but while reaching over for the sugar she knocked it over and flooded the worktop with hot tea. The velvet base of the bag beside it sucked up the tea thirstily. Angela tried to sponge it clean to no avail, so put some cold water in the sink and dunked it in the bottom of the sodden bag. Holding the bag up it was really heavy with the water and feeling there was cardboard or padding in the base she squeezed out as much water as she could before getting her nail scissors and snipping at the stitching to pull out the cardboard and padding. To her surprise, Angela found something quite unexpected. The base padding was wrapped in plastic, and inside, neatly stacked in two piles was £1000 in £20 notes. Around the notes was a handwritten letter.

 

 Dear Stranger

        I am so glad you have my bag and have discovered this treasure trove. It s a gift for you. Yes, it really is. Let me explain. After many years as a free spirit travelling and supporting causes close to my heart, I am now housebound and having to live any unfulfilled dreams of travel through others. I have decided to give away some of my possessions and treasures. The velvet bag I was not sure about but decided to take pot luck with giving it away, in the hope that someone would like it, and at some point discover the money hidden inside. I would like you to use the money to fulfill a dream of your own. Life is short and we should enjoy it whilst we can. Of course, you may decide to pay your electric bill or have your house painted. That is up to you, but I hope you are the kind of person who will take a leap of faith and do something out of the ordinary, like taking a trip to Norway to see the beautiful fjords, the Northern Lights, or the Rocky Mountains. Or maybe to find peace in a Hebridean croft. I have been living in Essex for some time but am now downsizing and returning to my native Cornwall to be near my niece. I am including a PO Box address so if you decide to have an adventure it would give me great pleasure to hear about it.

Wishing you joy and happiness,

Rose

After Angela had read and re-read the letter she sat thoughtfully for quite a while before saying out loud

  ‘ Well Jim, what a bolt out of the blue this is! I’m not going to waste a wonderful opportunity. I'm going to do it, Jim! I’m going to do what we said we would do if we ever could. I’m going to walk in the Himalayan mountains, stay in a tea house and watch the sun rising and setting from the Annapurna Sanctuary. And you and Rose will be with me all the way.’

 

Copyright Jane Scoggins