As soon as I leave hotel quarantine I take a walk along Swanston St, the main thoroughfare of Melbourne city and it’s looking like a ghost town.
Even though Melbourne’s third lockdown ended yesterday there are not too many people around and most of the shops are closed. Many are completely empty and have for lease signs on the window. The whole feel of the city is a little eerie, a little post-apocalyptic.
By most accounts, the retail economy has bounced back well from the extended lockdown the state endured late last year and certainly my business is trading very well. But what I am seeing here tells me the recovery is not being felt across the board.
I stop at a souvenir shop that is still trading and pick up a bunch of T-shirts to take back to the family in Lombok. The owner of the store seems happy for the business and throws in a couple of free items, thermometers set into resined reliefs of Australia. Cute.
I take a tram to the far end of the city. My main suitcase split somewhere on the flight from Jakarta to Melbourne and I need to find a replacement. It looks like it has fallen from a height onto one of its corners. It’s a well made polycarbonate suitcase but the split runs above the zip from one corner to the handle. It must have hit the tarmac coming off the plane. I can take it back to the store where I bought it and see if it is still under warranty.
But the store is no more.
I take an uber out of the city to meet my eldest son Josh who has kindly offered me the use of his car while I’m in town. I’ll be staying with Graeme and travelling from his place to see mum in Nagambie which is a 45 minute freeway run each way so I will need a car.
I spend an hour or so with Josh and he is his usual charming and witty self. He has found a house which is coming up for auction on the weekend which he and his partner Dimi would like to buy and we take a short trip to take a look. It’s an old, two storey, Victorian era building in a pretty part of town. It started life as a corner store and still has the remnants of a hand-painted billboard for a brand of tea popular early last century which greatly enhances it’s period charm. The building has recently been converted into two separate apartments and it is the upstairs level that is now for sale.
The Melbourne property market has been pretty soft during the pandemic but with interest rates at record lows and with banks seemingly keen to pump liquidity into the economy, it appears that now could be an ideal time to buy.
I would love to stay longer but I need to get to Nagambie and Josh has to go to work so I take the keys to his vehicle and we say our goodbyes.
My youngest son Tom lives just north of the city and as I’m going to be driving pretty much past his door, I’ve promised him I will drop by.
Tom is a completely lovely young man who shares the same easy charm as Josh though he feels the world on a completely different level. He has been vegan for about three years and cooks some of the most delicious food going around. He quit his job in construction at Christmas and is now studying to get accreditation as a real estate agent. He and his partner, Shannon are going through a trial separation after five years together and right now he’s feeling pretty down but doing his best to stay positive. He takes me out for lunch at a pop-up pizza shop close to where he lives and I have to say, it’s a bloody good pizza.
In spite of his own troubles he wants to know how I’m going and how I’m feeling about gran. I tell him I’ve been preparing for this for quite some time and though there will be a time for grieving all that’s really important right now is to make sure she’s getting the best of care, that she’s feeling comfortable and that she knows she is loved.
Life lessons passed down from father to son. Hopefully it’s something that he will remember when my time comes.
It’s now early afternoon and I have a hour plus drive to get to Nagambie. Tom says he will organise with Josh to come and visit granny this weekend. I tell him to let me check what the covid rules are around visitors at the nursing home first. And with that, I’m on my way.
I arrive at the nursing home around 3pm and the staff at the front desk have been expecting me. They take me straight to mum’s room which is near the back of the complex. Mum is lying in bed, her hand fully bandaged, an oxygen unit by her side. I give her a big smile as she moves to sit up then give her a big hug and a kiss.
Against all expectation, I have made it back to Australia in time to be with mum through what will certainly be her final weeks.
She asks me if Emma has also arrived and I tell her she is ready to come over but hasn’t left Adelaide yet.
I ask how she is feeling and she tells me her bandaged right hand is constantly in pain but other than that she feels ok.
The thing that I’m most aware of however is that her speech is faltering and she is struggling to put sentences together.
Still, she wants to tell me about her decision to request assisted dying and as she struggles with the words, her determination to articulate her reasons underlines her presence of mind and her clear intention to go out on her own terms.
I can only smile in admiration of her strength but she appears to interpret my response as patronising. She looks me square in the eye and says, “This isn’t a joke.”
I quickly reassure her that I completely understand what she has explained and that Graeme and I are both going to support her to achieve the outcome she has chosen.
As she is now too unwell to travel, the specialist doctor will be making a house call. I tell mum that I will be with her when the doctor come to visit in a couple of days time.
I give Emma and the kids a call. Emma’s daughter, Telishea, adores her gran and is first on the phone. Mum does her best to sound positive, though holding a conversation on speakerphone is a challenge. Jason says hi then Emma comes on and asks how mum is holding up. I assure her that her condition appears to be stable and that she is being well cared for. Emma says she is ready to come over at any time and I tell her we will keep her posted.
Graeme has now arrived and he explains to mum that he hasn’t booked Emma’s tickets yet. The main reason is that Emma, Jason and Telishea will be staying with Graeme, Kiyoe and I in Graeme’s small apartment which could become difficult to manage over an extended period, especially as they will be setting up camp in the living room and Graeme is running a myotherapy clinic from home.
It’s the first time I’ve seen Graeme since arriving back in Australia and we chat together for a while before mum’s dinner arrives, which we take as our cue to head home.
When we arrive at Graeme’s place, Kiyoe has dinner already prepared. Home made chicken burritos. I have a fairly large wine collection which is presently being stored at Graeme’s and I pull out a a 2011 vintage locally grown Shiraz.
It is drinking very well.
After a long day and a highly anticipated reunion with mum, I’m ready to jump into bed and videocall with Dewi for about half an hour before falling into a restful sleep.