You know, my husband used to have this gran, right? Every summer, hed go stay with hermade it a bit of a tradition growing up. She never minded, she actually quite enjoyed it, I think. Back in those days, Gran ran her own little business; she’d set everything up herself and used to supply local pharmacies with all sorts of herbal remedies. My husband never really knew the ins and outs, but he remembered she did rather well for herself, especially considering what most folks were bringing in at the time.
Gran was always a bit of a character, honestly. She adored my husbandnever spared any expense when it came to food, what with the roast dinners and all the treatsbut she never gave him a penny for games or the ice-cream man, not even pocket money for the corner shop. Everyone used to reckon she was saving up for something big. She had these huge old wardrobes at hers, filled with all sorts of cubbyholes, each one locked up tight.
When my husband was a boy, hed constantly wonder what she kept in there. Gran always shrugged him off, saying it was all for work. Anyway, times changed, didnt they? Before long, everyone started their own business, and the competition left her behind. So she turned her hand to being a healer instead. She never charged a fee, but some pretty well-off people came to see her, thats for sure.
Wed pop round to see her while she was still alive and, honestly, she lived so simply by the end of it. Ragged old jumpers, a bit of bread and cheese for suppernever anything fancy. Wed bring over a few bags of shopping, but she always insisted she didnt need it, told us not to spoil her, that she was well used to living sparingly.
When she died, she left the house to my husband. We went along to sort out all the paperwork and bits and pieces, as you do. When we looked in her pantry, it was stacked with foodcans and tins piled highbut all of it out of date. Turns out, loads of her grateful clients brought her groceries for years, but she never touched a thing.
But wait for itthe real surprise came when we opened up those mysterious cupboards of hers. There was a treasure trove from the ’90sdesigner bags, fancy perfumes, collectible knick-knacksyou name it. There were shedloads of the stuff, all tucked away like she’d been hoarding a secret museum. I still cant wrap my head around why shed stash her money in things that would only lose their worth over time. She was a real enigma, that woman.
