Who was she anyway? back to introduction
"Who was she anyway?" Jeannette Biggs wonders as she moves towards Mrs Tamarind with her daughter Marie.
"They say she has no visitors and will 'welcome a visit' from me. It doesn't look like it - she never even looks at me, let alone says anything. You can't say I haven't tried - brought her fruit and old magazines, chatted about the TV.
And now look at her! She's talking to Marie, as if I weren't here. Well then, I'll move on to Mrs. Smith - at least she's grateful for a little attention."
Mrs Smith is chatty and pleased to see Jeannette.
"I see your daughter is talking to Mrs Tamarind," she says. "There's a nice lady. Quite a heroine in her own way, you know. Shouldn't be here by rights. Got two perfectly good children of her own, I've heard - why aren't they looking after her? "
She beckons Jeannette to lean closer. Her breath is old, stale; her eyes watery and soft.
She whispers, "Mrs Tamarind - we don't get to know her first name you know - was in India. I heard about it from one of the doctors here. Somehow he knew about it. He was angry with one of the health assistants for being rude to her the other day. She’s only here for a while…"
Her eyes are alive with the delight of gossip and extra knowledge.
This isn't the kind of conversation that Jeannette was expecting, but she doesn't like to move away.