Manchester Reconnection

Elizabeth Forman was excited when she learned of Herbert’s decision to return to Manchester, she couldn’t contain her excitement and soon her friends and peers at the University were aware her son prodigy was returning to his roots. Professors in the sciences departments were aware of Herbert’s meteoric rise in the business world as her son was Elizabeth’s man topic of conversation now her husband had passed on and there was some interest in trying to entice this brilliant young man to consider the world of academia once more. They also noted that while Elizabeth continued to perform her teaching excellently, she was slowing down as expected and they wondered if she’d see out the predicted six month her doctor had suggested before she needed to go into high level care. Elizabeth brushed these hinted conversations aside. She was of Scottish blood and would fulfill her commitments with distinction. Her peers marveled at her resolve.

However, Elizabeth despite her bravado realized her increasing limitations and would need to use all her spare time away from the university now resting rather than bustling around the home attending to house chores as she’d preferred to do. Both she and her husband now deceased were quite wealthy and could have afforded servants to care for their home giving them a break from a full-on university program, but each enjoyed looking after home and gardens and shared these chores. Now with her husband Cedric no longer with her she was increasingly struggling. Herbert would be home tomorrow, and she’d need to inform him of making that decision to employ as he’d be occupying his old suite of rooms and there was the guest room, she’d concluded they’d need a live in person to housekeep and help her with medications and transport as time elapsed and she became increasingly unable to cope.

She’d been in contact with friends made in Romania where she’d made several trips in connection with her academic work. After the collapse of Communism in Romania the country opened to the west and slowly began to rebuild their infrastructure and academic programs. Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian communist politician, statesman, and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989 and the University of Bucharest in the process of reorganization after his ouster had acquired the services of visiting academics from the West to help them enhance the quality of their programs. In the process they’d been introduced to a ranking textbook authored by Professor Elizabeth Forman and invited her as a guest lecturer on many occasions.

This had commenced while Herbert was working in London. On these visits Elizabeth had bonded with Andrei and Ilinca Popescu, and they’d exchanged several visits and were now closely bonded. Andrei and Ilinca had been some of the leading dissidents who organized final resistance against the Ceausescu regime and were well connected in the current academic and political leadership of the country. They had a daughter named Izabela who’d completed her nurses training in Romania and was currently working there. Elizabeth knew she had a plan to eventually come to the UK to pursue further education and had put out feelers to see if she’d be prepared to care for her in her final battle with cancer for which she’d be happy to pay liberally so Izabela could finance her studies here. At first the family protested Izabela would perform this service for their friend free as a mark of their respect for the Forman’s but as they’d not be able to finance Izabela in further studies themselves with the gap between economies of UK and Romania, they eventually agreed under constant urging of Elizabeth to allow her to pay Izabela for her services.

On Herbert’s arrival home in Manchester Elizabeth informed her son of plans made for Izabela to be part of their household until Elizabeth passed on and how she’d set aside funds for the young woman’s further education in her will. Herbert had been aware of his family connection with the Popescu family but had never met them on any of their visits so was apprehensive hearing there was to be someone else in the house during these last months with his mother. While apprehensive he was also appreciative of the fact there’d be someone Elizabeth knew with a nursing degree to care for her and help with the housework. He wondered with his introverted personality how they’d get along but determined to make it work for his mother’s sake. He also wondered how he’d communicate with someone whose first language was Romanian.

Two days after his arrival home he was driving his mother to Manchester airport to pick up their new house guest and on her arrival, they parked and headed for the arrivals section of the airport scanning the screen to check on the time of arrival of Izabela’s flight connection. It was fifteen minutes overdue, so he found a seat for his mother while he stood to survey the screen for update details. Soon the landing sign flashed, and they waited for that flight disembarking passengers to arrive at luggage retrieval. Elizabeth had seen the arrival on screen and joined him standing to survey disembarking passengers. Finally, Elizabeth pointed in excitement and moved toward the arrivals throwing her arms around Izabela as she stood with her carry-on luggage. Herbert moved to join them and stood awkwardly waiting while the two women chatted animatedly. Finally, Elizabeth turned to face him.

“This is Izabela, and she’s like a daughter to our family now. Izabela this is my son Herb and he’s returned from New York to spend my last days with me.”

Izabela smiled and extricated herself from Elizabeth’s embrace dropping her hand carry luggage and embraced Herbert kissing him on both cheeks.

“It will be nice to have a brother to help me while we care for your mother Herb. Is that the way you’d like to be addressed? That’s what your mother calls you.”

Herbert was unused to being hugged by someone not of his family and wondered how he was supposed to relate to that. Brits were not natural huggers but there were so many Europeans in the country now that traditional ways were being modified rapidly and he’d noticed the generational difference since his time in London. He smiled self-consciously.

“Mother has always called me Herb and that’s the way I was addressed in London and New York so Herb’s fine.”

He hastened to grab the carry-on luggage from the floor, and they all moved to the carousel to collect her luggage which she pointed out as the bags slowly began to appear for this flight. Herbert grabbed the bags and headed for the exit and their car in the parking lot while Izabela carried her hand luggage. The two women carried on an animated conversation all the way home and sped into the home to explore the guest room which Izabela was familiar with from one of her family visits. She sighed in appreciation at the familiar room after an exhausting trip negotiating immigration and customs at both ends of the journey.

Herbert dragged the heavy suitcases to the guest room and deposited them leaving the women to continue their conversation. His first impressions of this new addition to the family were positive mostly because his mother obviously loved this young woman and Herbert wanted to see his mother happy during her last months of life. Her English was surprisingly good though obviously accented in a pleasing way. He retreated to his room and opened the laptop to check on progress of his investments. That had to be a constant vigil particularly in that those investments were spread in different time zones and hedged against currency fluctuations, and he’d often wake during the night to check and see no threatening events were happening that would require his immediate attention shifting funds around. A half hour later he heard his mother call him for the evening meal and emerged to find the two women bustling around kitchen and dining room setting up for the meal. Izabela had changed out of her smart business travel clothes and was dressed in shorts and a tank top. She’d shed her travel fatigue look and was now confident in her new environment. He’d never taken much notice of women before as investments were the only thing that interested him but looking at Izabela, he felt mesmerized. She was beautiful!

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