A man is shocked to discover that, despite owning a home, his fragile elderly neighbor has been living in her old, broken-down car. Sometimes it takes a long time to realize that something is fundamentally wrong and has been for a long time. Olivia Madison, his neighbor, would frequently arrive and leave in her automobile about the same time as David Castle.
That was, at least, his first impression until the night he arrived home at 2:30 a.m. and found Mrs. Madison in her car, obviously comatose. Did she lock herself out? David pondered. Then he realized he’d never seen Mrs. Madison drive a car. David approached the beat-up old Ford and peeked inside, frightened. Mrs. Madison reclined in the front seat on the passenger side, a huge quilt covering her, and slept deeply.Several boxes of groceries and other necessities were neatly organized in the back seat. It was clear: Mrs. Madison, 79, was living in her car!
But why, David wondered in shock. The lovely Victorian two-story next to his had began to look badly neglected following Mr. Madison’s death three years prior, and it belonged to her. When David returned home, he woke his husband. “I believe Mrs. Madison has been residing in her car, Lydia,” he informed her. “Make the guest bedroom seem beautiful, honey. “I am about to invite her inside.” Lydia jumped from her bed. “David, Oh My God! “Madam Madison?” she exclaimed. “But she must be ninety if she’s a day!”
“I am aware,” David murmured. “I never expected to find a familiar face living on the streets. I’m heading over to get her.””Don’t worry, I won’t, but it’s freezing tonight,” David said. “And she’s not sleeping in that car one more night!” Many of us go through life without fully seeing what’s around us. David returned outside and approached Mrs. Madison’s car. He patted the window, causing Mrs. Madison’s eyes to blink open. “Mrs. Madison” said quietly.
“It’s David Castle from next door!”When Mrs. Madison awoke, she appeared to be afraid, but David’s soft smile soothed her. “Mrs. Madison.” Please exit the vehicle and enter the interior. My spouse has prepared a warm hot chocolate cup and a comfortable bed for you.” “David,” the woman said, “I’m doing fine…”Please do not become concerned.”
David forcefully repeated, “I’m not leaving unless you come with me,” and Mrs. Madison eventually opened the door and exited the van. After putting on her comforter, David led her to his door. Lydia was waiting inside, holding the promised hot chocolate cup. Mrs. Madison’s eyes welled up with tears as she sipped her first drink. “I used to make hot chocolate just like this for my Charley when he was working night shifts,” she remembered.Lydia softly asked, “Mrs. Madison, why were you sleeping in your car?”
Mother Madison closed her eyes. “See, I can’t go home.”Not since Charley.” “You haven’t been home since your husband passed away?” David inquired, stunned. Mrs. Madison was crying silently. “I did at first,” she responded, “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 agony of continuously remembering him or being without him. I just grabbed my comforter and headed outside to my car one evening. I hadn’t had such a tranquil night since Charley died.””I started sleeping outside after that, but I quickly grew tired of coming inside the house for anything. I turned off the lights and water and got into my car. It’s now been two years. “The first person to notice is you.”
Lydia inquired, “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,” Mrs. Madison replied. “So I go there, have my bath and whatnot…I manage.” “Mrs. Madison,” David said with a pleasant 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 cordially. “And if you allow me to, I’ll have the house cleaned up and you can sell it.” Mrs. Madison hugged Lydia and David in appreciation. “I am grateful, my love. “You have restored my faith.” The next day, David called a friend who owned a small restoration company and asked him to come over to Mrs. Madison’s house. They were astonished when the two men entered the house.
Layers of dust covered the entire house, and spider webs draped from light fixtures and ceilings. Worse, a strange-looking black slime coated the walls from floor to ceiling.David’s friend cried “Out!” and shoved him out the door. He drove to his car and returned with many glass vials and two face masks. The two men returned inside, and David watched as his friend collected samples of what he said was mold.
David’s friend shakes his head. “This might not be good, buddy,” he said. “I am going to the lab to get their view on this. However, the news could not be good. “Come on,” David demanded. “I could call a cleaning service…” A modest amount of mold and dust will not ruin the planet.” However, David’s friend 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 asked, “Safe?” “What do you mean?
“If that is hazardous mold, it has infiltrated every wall and under every floorboard in that house. Actually, your elderly lady acquaintance would have been terribly ill by now if she had been living on the land.” Three days later, the lab returned the results. The technicians had never seen this strain of the extremely lethal Stachybotrys mold before. They referred to it as a “severe case,” and they recommended eliminating every spore.
After David relayed the awful news to Mrs. Madison, the two decided to approach the fire department for assistance in addressing the situation. The Fire Department specialist warned them that the only way to prevent the mold from spreading to nearby homes was to fire the house. When the house was dismantled, the spores were released into the air, where they dispersed throughout the neighborhood.
Mrs. Madison regrettably followed the Fire Department’s advice and stood by while they began a carefully controlled fire. She sobbed as her former house caught fire. David gave her a gentle embrace and added, “You have a home with us, Mrs. Madison, for as long as you want, you know that!” Mrs. Madison nodded. “I know David, thank you, but I was hoping to have my own little place again…”
David had an idea, but he kept it to himself. He summoned the nearest neighbors to a meeting the next day. “As everyone is aware, Mrs. Madison set fire to her home to stop a hazardous mold from spreading and endangering us all.””I feel we should all work together to try to address her problem. “Does anyone have any ideas?” A female individual raised her hand. As a real estate agent, I can testify that Mrs. Madison’s property is significantly larger than any of ours. I may know of a developer who might be of interest.
In the end, the developer expressed a lot of interest, and David successfully negotiated a contract for Mrs. Madison. Mrs. Madison was given the opportunity to live the remainder of her life in one of the nicest assisted living cottages that the developer was constructing as part of the substantial award. Mrs. Madison was able to sell her plot for a reasonable amount, purchase her own tiny, independent home, and remain in the neighborhood she adored, just next door to David and Lydia Castle, her closest friends.