"Daisy, what on earth are you doing?" Onslow demanded, looking up from the television.
Fuelled by some unknown urge to make the dingy living room in the council house a bit more livable, Daisy was pulling out the cushions from the battered sofa. With a vacuum in tow, she removed at least two years' worth of dust, dog hair, and molding crisp crumbs from underneath the cushions.
"I decided to finally tidy up!" she shouted over the sound of the Hoover.
"Could'ye do it AFTER the Grand National?" Onslow bellowed.
"I'll be done in a minute!"
Daisy finished vacuuming and put the machine away; after that, she gathered up all the cushions and headed out of the living room, leaving Onslow, still sitting in the ancient recliner, staring after her.
"Tidy up!" Onslow muttered to himself. "What's there to tidy up for?"
Daisy, meanwhile, had slipped out of the house and was putting the cushions into a large tub of soapy water. Humming idly, she scrubbed them with a stiff brush, horrified at the amount of dirt and dust that leached out, turning the water dark. Perhaps she should have 'tidied up' long ago—or at least insisted on keeping Hyacinth's old living room suite.
"If anyone had told me," Daisy said out loud, "that I'd be cleaning that…mess in there, I'd have said they were daft. I guess I'm tired of living in squalor."
A moment later, Daisy sighed. "Or maybe I need something to do."
It was odd, Daisy reflected, how empty the old council house seemed without Rose around. Rose had never been at the council house much—maybe a few hours each day. In the past, Rose had been either with a 'gentleman friend' or working (as she still did) at Weatherby's. But now that a happily married Rose and Emmett lived in their cozy house on the Avenue, Daisy only saw her sister once or twice a week.
Another heavy sigh escaped Daisy before she could suppress it. It had been three months since Rose and Emmett's wedding, but Daisy was still getting used to the new order of things. She was happy for Rose, she truly was, but she hadn't realized just how close she was to her youngest sister until now.
"Hey, Dais'! Any more bacon?" a familiar voice shouted from the upper window.
"I don't know!" Daisy snapped, with uncharacteristic venom in her voice. "Just slog off to the kitchen and find out for yourself."
"Aw, nice," Onslow muttered, and stalked away from the window.
Daisy managed to wrestle the soggy cushions out of the tub, and she put them to dry on a board that was laid over a long sawhorse. There, that was finished. A few minutes later, Daisy was dusting and wiping everything in the living room with a vigor that even of which even Hyacinth would have approved.
…
"Now what 're you doing?" Onslow said later that afternoon, staring at Daisy.
"I'm going out to buy a new mattress," Daisy said indifferently.
"What's wrong with the one we have?"
"That thing is about eight years old and quite musty! And I'm using the money I won on the Red Rum steeplechase, so you can't complain about the cost."
Onslow was about to protest—their current mattress was comfortably well-broken in (though admittedly aging)—but something in Daisy's expression made him back down. Daisy had been getting into these stubborn moods ever since Rose and Emmett's wedding, and when he made an effort to think about it, it puzzled him. Shrugging, he waved his wife out of the council house.
It was a sunny, pleasant day; Daisy cheered up a little as she drove along in Onslow's ancient tinner. There was a pleasant bite in the cool January air. Daisy's mind traveled back to the family Christmas celebration—an outstanding event. Nothing had gone wrong this time; Hyacinth had invited several people over for caroling before a large and surprisingly well-appreciated Christmas dinner and a toast celebrating the union of Rose Granger and Emmett Hawksworth—which made for an unusual mixed family, to say the least.
Rose finally had the life she had dreamed of, Daisy knew, but it would take longer to get used to her absence than Daisy had ever imagined.
Daisy successfully ordered a new mattress, and then, it being a brisk and pleasant day, she decided to take a stroll through downtown and look at the shops. She enjoyed herself quite well, and even found some décor for the living room in the council house (she had donated some unwanted items to the church bring-and-buy sale).
Feeling more cheerful, Daisy returned home with her purchases and a ticket that stated the time of the delivery of the mattress. As she drew closer to the driveway, however, her heart dropped to her feet. A coroner's van was parked outside the council house, and her family was gathered close to it. Emmett had a protective arm around Rose, and it appeared that Hyacinth, now held steadily by Richard, had almost fainted.
Daisy parked the car haphazardly in the street and leapt out, her heart pounding.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Daisy cried as she approached, though she knew what had happened.
Onslow was the first to speak. Gently taking Daisy into his arms, he affirmed what she had known but hadn't wanted to believe.
"It's your father. He had a heart attack and he didn't make it."