Chapter 25 - CLAUDIA GETS OLD
Claudia was seventy-three when arthritis made gardening difficult.
Irony, but not poetic justice.
Just age.
At a family lunch she asked Ruby, now thirty-five, to help repot a plant.
Ruby laughed.
“I quit gardening twenty-four years ago.”
“You still know more than me.”
“No.”
Thomas had retired long ago.
His daughter, Hannah, ran estate horticulture.
She helped instead.
Professional expertise over blood.
Claudia watched.
Then said:
“I used to think asking staff made me less important.”
Ruby answered:
May you like
“That sounds exhausting.”
It had been.
