Cross/Uncross.

Will is on holiday....so what does he do on the first 'proper' day off?.......Yes! He goes to work....to clear out some store room!I was upstairs ready to answer any phone calls by 8.15 am. Dulcie was up at half past.No sooner had she vacated her bed than I was in there to rip her sheets off and take them downstairs to wash.We were expecting a nurse at about 9 ish who was coming to check her breathing but the time came and passed and no one arrived.The washing was done so I nipped downstairs to hang it out. One sheet had some washing powder still on it so I put it back in for a rinse and spin.I went back upstairs to find Noel sat on the sofa.He had the look of nervous guinea-pig and was quite startled when I wandered in the back door.Dulcie must have let him in and she was sat on the reclining chair that has not been raised yet like the one she usually uses. It has to be higher so that her hip is higher than her knee but in the chair she was sat in it was not.....and she had her legs crossed."Oh!," squeaked Noel, " I was just telling Dulcie why I am here....sorry I am a bit late."I sat down and reached out and tapped Dulcie on her crossed leg. She scowled at me and I thought she was going to stick her tongue out....but we had company and she slowly uncrossed her leg.Noel chattered on in a very nervous fashion. It was not easy to listen to and did not put you at ease. He would start to say something and then seemed to lose confidence it what he was going to say and start on something else.He wittered on about some 'breathing group' Dulcie could go too....if she wanted.....she didn't let on what she wanted but I knew she didn't want to go. In fact I knew she didn't even know what he was talking about and probably wasn't even listening....she just looked like she was.She'd crossed her legs again.I tapped them again. She rolled her eyes and uncrossed them.Noel got her to blow into some 'beeping' machine (that is, a machine that beeped and it is not a Dulcie way of describing it!)"It tells you if your breathing is good, medium or severe," said Noel, as she blew into it for the first time. He peered at the reading..."Oh! That's low" he exclaimed rather tactlessly, "try again."She never improved upon it and she blew 4 times.Noel left us and said he would be back and in the meantime we were to thing about the 'breathing club.'"Well, that bastard could talk!" She said.I moved her to the higher recliner. She sat down and crossed her legs.I laid my hand on her knee."Oh, I forget!" She said exasperated."I know," I said "It's just a habit."I went down to hang out the re-rinsed sheet.I walked back in to the kitchen to find Annette making herself a coffee.Damn! That was twice now that it looked like I was wandering away from my charge.Annette had come to help Dulcie shower."How are you?" She asked sitting down with her coffee."Good, Dear," said Dulcie."Yes, she is doing really well," I said, "she only needs a few reminders to uncross her legs."Dulcie slowly uncrossed her legs.Today was the last day of Transition Care. It has been really good. From Wednesday Blue Care are taking over the showering.I thanked Annette for everything as she left for the last time.We both picked Will up from work this afternoon. Dulcie made easy work of the steps down now the new rail has been fitted. It was a nice change and she enjoyed watching the world go by and blaspheming at the size of the trucks.She was in bed by 6.45. I was fussing about and picked up her old bra and took it into the bathroom and popped it in the wash basket and flushed the loo on my way out."Did you just flush that down the shitter?" She asked peering at me from under her new clean bedding.We all laughed. It must have seemed very much like it."Don't replace me" I said saying goodnight. I won't see her again until the 20th of July."We couldn't," she said, "there's no one like you."Downstairs I finished packing and helped Will put the clean bedding back on the bed.He whipped the net down!"Free!" He cried."It's going back up when I get back!" I said.