She`s had a very bad day

In the weeks after my Father`s passing I was inevitably involved with the tying up of loose ends from my Fathers affairs, if you could call them that. Mother veered from randomly off loading things she had no interest in or did not benefit her onto me but with other things, such as his pension funds, she was secretive and the only update I was given was that some staff member at the end of the phone had been very very helpful or that she was pleased to report there were plenty of funds available to ensure her comfort, the announcement made with a self-satisfied look and mysterious raise of the eyebrows. I wasn`t interested in how much she had been left, just relieved that she was satisfied, for a while at least. She told me she had to go to the local bank to close my Fathers account and have the remaining funds transferred to her, which would involve her opening an account with them. Mother`s money was held in building societies and post office accounts and the odd wad of cash hidden away in some ancient handbag, a velvet one I particularly remember having a savage snap shut clasp that would rival `Arkwright`s Till !! And so she reported back at some point that she had been, Fathers account was now closed and she had a new cheque book and cash card which she doubted she would need but was impressed with owning them nonetheless, especially as she had `qualified` for a gold card. It was all a bit confusing really she commented vaguely. I asked if she wanted me to help in any way or go back to the bank to have things explained more clearly with her but she refused and said it was all wearing her out. So some months later I get an irate call from her telling me they are taking £20 per month from her account and why didn`t I warn her she had to pay for an account, she didn`t know anything about banks after all. She was implying I had left her to their mercy, conveniently forgetting she was insistent on going alone. When I called next she presented me with statements detailing the monthly fees she was incurring as they had opened her an account with lots of added extras as she had an impressive balance. She was agitated and again implied I should of been looking out for her. If only dad was here to help her. And at that time I had been making silent promises to my dead Father that I would step up and make sure Mother was OK, I was still in denial about his true character and even when dead I was still on a mission to be finally good enough in his eyes. So her words stung and the guilt coursed through me as I promised to contact the bank. Which is exactly what I did. I was calm and measured but was clear I was making a complaint and suggested to them they had taken advantage of my Mothers lack of knowledge and encouraged her to open a premium account which incurred a monthly fee when a basic chequing account for one of my Fathers pensions to be paid into would of been more than adequate, I also mentioned how upset my Mother was when discovering the charges. Had I not been processing the whole thing through guilt and bereavement it may have dawned on me Mother had probably swanned in dressed to the nines and bragging about her finances and was no doubt delighted to be offered a special account with a gold card. But unable to read between the lines I was an obedient flying monkey and gladly accepted my mission. I reported back that they were transferring her account to a basic no charge one and were very apologetic though certain Mother would of had the details explained to her. By that point I could almost hear her grandiose actress voice drawling..."Oh yeesss, that will be lovely" while she glazed over and tuned out, no doubt admiring how well her gloves went with her coat while they gave her the account details. She seemed placated and commented she liked the gold card but "I ain`t got the money for all them bloody charges ". So next visit I call and she's had her hair done, won at bingo and is clearly riding a high. She tells me her new card has arrived and also that the nice man from the bank phoned her...Oh yes ? I say...."Yes" she says wrinkling up her nose to imply her disinterest with the topic "He said he was very sorry about it all and said he was sorry you were disappointed with how they had handled it, and I said oh you were OK about it, he says you were quite cross actually and so I told him I thought you`d just had a VERY bad day"...she shakes her tragically while I stand there incredulous at her words. Glancing up and seeing my face she quickly says "Don`t worry I put it all right for you" implying she had graciously got me out of a fix.... "forget about it now" she added firmly to ensure the topic was closed leaving me to ruminate and stew on my own stupidity for days after.