Off The Record
No One Knew An Older Woman Had Been Living In Her Car For Years Until Her Neighbor Finds Out Why
A man is appalled to learn that, despite owning a house, his frail elderly neighbor has been living in her old, broken-down automobile.
Sometimes we need a very long time to come to the realization that something is deeply wrong and has been for a very long time. Olivia Madison, his neighbor, would usually arrive and depart in her car at the same time as David Castle.
That was, at least, his first assumption until the night he returned home at 2:30 in the morning and discovered Mrs. Madison in her car, seemingly unconscious. Had she locked herself out? David pondered. Then it dawned on him that he had never, ever seen Mrs. Madison actually operate a car.
David walked over to the beat-up old Ford and looked inside, worried. With a large comforter covering her, Mrs. Madison was soundly sleeping as she reclined in the front seat on the passenger side.
Several boxes of groceries and other basics were neatly arranged in the rear seat. It was clear: Mrs. Madison, who was 79 years old, was living in her automobile!
But why, David thought in shock. The pretty Victorian two-story next to his had begun to look terribly neglected after Mr. Madison’s death three years earlier, and it belonged to her.
After returning home, David awoke his spouse. “I believe Mrs. Madison has been residing in her car, Lydia,” he replied. “Please make the guest bedroom look nice, honey. I’m about to invite her inside.”
Lydia leaped from her bed. “David, oh my God! Madame Madison?” she exclaimed. “But she must be ninety if she’s a day!”
“I am aware,” David muttered. “I never imagined seeing a familiar face living on the streets. I’m heading over to fetch her.”
Lydia pleaded with David, “Don’t scare her.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t, but it’s freezing tonight,” David replied. “And she’s not sleeping in that car one more night!”
Many of us pass through this world without really seeing what surrounds us.
David went back outside and made his way back to Mrs. Madison’s automobile. He patted the window until the lids of Mrs. Madison’s eyes blink open. “Mrs. Madison” murmured. “It’s David Castle from next door!”
When Mrs. Madison woke up, she appeared to be a little scared, but David’s gentle smile reassured her. “Mrs. Madison. Kindly exit the vehicle and enter the interior. My spouse has prepared a cozy hot chocolate cup and a cozy bed for you.”
“David,” the woman called out, “I’m doing OK…Please don’t be alarmed.”
David firmly stated, “I’m not leaving unless you come with me,” and at last Mrs. Madison opened the door and got out of the vehicle. After putting her comforter on, David guided her along the walk to his door.
Lydia was waiting inside with the promised hot chocolate cup. Mrs. Madison’s eyes welled up with tears as she took the first drink. “I used to make hot chocolate just like this for my Charley when he was working night shifts,” she said.
Lydia softly questioned, “Mrs. Madison, why were you sleeping in your car?”
Mother Madison shut her eyes. “You see, I can’t go home.Not since Charley.”
David asked in disbelief, “You haven’t been home since your husband passed away?”
Mrs. Madison was silently crying. “I did at first,” she said, “but then…where he used to be, there was this awful silence, and then all of a sudden, whenever I opened a door or a drawer, I would smell him as if he had just recently arrived.”
“David, I couldn’t bear the anguish of constantly remembering him or living without him. I simply grabbed my comforter and went outside to the car one evening. I had not had a quiet night like that since Charley died.”
“I began sleeping outside after that, but I soon became tired of coming inside the home for anything. I turned off the lights and the water and moved into my car. It has now been two years. The first person to notice is you.”
Lydia questioned inquisitively, “But how do you manage, for bathroom facilities, I mean?”
“I have been a member of a senior citizen gym group for ten years, I used to go with Charley,” stated Mrs. Madison. “So I go there, have my bath and whatnot…I manage.”
“Mrs. Madison,” David remarked in a kind tone. “Why don’t you sell the house and move somewhere else?”
Mrs. Madison gave a flush. “Oh David, I’ve thought about that, but the house is such a mess!”
“Well, you go to bed now, and tomorrow I’ll go look it over, OK?” David spoke politely. “And if you allow me to, I’ll have the house cleaned up and you can sell it.”
Mrs. Madison hugged Lydia and David with gratitude. “I’m grateful, my love. You’ve restored my faith.”
The following day, David gave a friend of his who operated a small restoration company a call and asked him to come over to Mrs. Madison’s house. They were startled as the two men entered the residence.
Layers of dust blanketed the entire house, and thick veils of spider webs dangled from light fixtures and ceilings. Worse than that, a strange-looking black slime covered the walls from floor to ceiling.
David’s companion yelled, “Out!” and shoved David out the door. He drove to his car and returned with a number of glass vials and two face masks. The two men returned inside, and David observed as his friend gathered samples of what he claimed to be mold.
David’s companion shook his head. “This might not be good, buddy,” he remarked. “I’m going to the lab to get their opinion on this. yet the news could not be good.”
“Come on,” David commanded. “I could make a cleaning service call… A small amount of mold and dust won’t destroy the world.”
However, David’s companion shook his head. “If this is what I think it is, there’s no way that this house will ever be clean — or safe to live in.”
David questioned, “Safe?” “What do you mean?”
“If that is hazardous mold, it has gotten inside every wall and beneath every floorboard in that house. Actually, your elderly lady acquaintance would have been gravely sick by now if she had been residing at the property.”
The news from the lab arrived three days later. The technicians had never encountered this strain of the extremely deadly Stachybotrys mold before. They called it a “severe case,” and they suggested destroying every spore.
After David broke the terrible news to Mrs. Madison, the two made the decision to contact the fire department and request assistance in resolving the issue. The specialist from the Fire Department informed them that burning the house would be the only way to ensure that the mold did not spread to adjacent residences. The spore would be released into the air when the house was dismantled, allowing them to disperse over the area.
Mrs. Madison, regretfully, heeded the Fire Department’s advise and stood by while they started a carefully managed fire. She sobbed as her former home caught fire. She was given a tender embrace by David, who said, “You have a home with us, Mrs. Madison, for as long as you want, you know that!”
Mrs. Madison gave a nod. “I know David, thank you, but I was hoping to have my own little place again…”
David thought of something, but he didn’t tell anyone. He summoned the closest neighbors to a meeting the following day. “As everyone is aware, Mrs. Madison set fire to her home to stop a hazardous mold from spreading and endangering us all.”
“I believe we should all work together to try to resolve her issue. Is there anyone with any ideas?”
A female individual lifted her hand. As a real estate agent, I can attest that Mrs. Madison’s plot is far larger than any of ours. I may know of a developer who might be of interest.
In the end, the developer showed a great deal of interest, and David successfully negotiated a contract for Mrs. Madison. Mrs. Madison received the chance to spend the rest of her life in one of the finest assisted living cottages that the developer was building as part of the sizeable reward.
Because of David’s generosity, Mrs. Madison was able to sell her plot for a reasonable price, get her own small, independent house, and continue to live in the neighborhood she loved, just next door to David and Lydia Castle, her closest friends.
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