Salvage by Maureen Telfer

The flat is full of absence. Dust hangs motionless in still air. There is no cooking smell from the oven, no pan of peeled potatoes on the hob.

I unwind a black bag from the roll in my hand. I shake it open, ready to receive your ancient underwear and bobbly jumpers, stacked side by side with bright new knitwear, tags still on. Things you’re ‘keeping for best.’

In the wardrobe, coats and trousers are arranged by colour and season. I remove a mint green jacket from its hanger, run my hand around the pocket and extract a crumpled paper tissue before laying the limp garment on the bed. I move along the rail, working to the rhythm of a gently ticking clock, classifying items as charity shop, which join the jacket on the bed, or recycling, which fall listlessly into the yawning mouth of the black bag.

Above the rail is a plain wooden shelf supporting a neat row of boxes containing ‘shoes that someone will be glad of.’ Pushing away thoughts of other feet filling them, I lay the boxes alongside the jackets on the bed.

I stand on tip toe, glance along the shelf. In the far corner is a pile of tissue paper. I slide it forward, tease it open. A lofty pile of aqua cotton sateen with a bold pink floral print quicksteps into the stillness. A dress, off the shoulder, huge skirt supported by net petticoats.

Flirty glamour fills the dead room.  My fingers glide over the silky fabric. My eyes linger on the delicate pleating on the shoulders, the gentle gathers at the tiny waist and the bold pink rose on the right side. This is a ‘look at me’ dress.  It’s a dress with the tags still on.

Suddenly you dance into the room. A younger you, the you in your wedding picture. Exuberant wavy hair, scarcely restrained in a sparkling clip.  A cheeky smile lighting your face, fun dancing from your eyes. For what ‘best’ did you cherish this dress? What long abandoned hope is harboured in its folds?

I place the dress in a new pile, one I label ‘salvage.’

Maureen lives near Edinburgh, Scotland, with her husband, Sandy, and giant poodle, Bo. She studied English at university but, after a short stay in teaching, made a career in accountancy. Following retirement, she reignited her passion for literature and rekindled her dream of writing, a dream she had harboured quietly for decades. Maureen likes to write about women of all ages and backgrounds, their hopes and dreams, how they are realised or thwarted. She writes about relationships, how we struggle to express what is most important to us and the importance of this moment. She loves history and has researched her family history extensively, the East Coast where she can watch the changing seasons. She has 2 sons, 2 stepsons and 2 beautiful granddaughters. Her favourite pastime is walking on the beach with Bo – and sometimes, her husband!

Photo – Maureen Telfer

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