I’ll come over straight away.’
‘Thanks,’ Emma said, ‘I’ll only be here for another couple of minutes.’
As she closed the apartment door she let down the pretence. In truth, she had wanted Lizzy to stay – the thought of being alone scared her witless – but she wasn’t going to let Lizzy give up her big chance. This was her problem, and ultimately she had to deal with it.
Within seconds she had buried the feelings of fear, if only temporarily.
She was already thinking about what she would ask Mrs Henderson.
12
‘Hello, Richard.’
He moved closer, towards the edge of the bed, watching Richard as he lay there motionless. Richard was in a better state than he had expected – more asleep than seriously injured. The doctors had obviously done a good job. But it was possible to make out the damage that had been done, just under his hairline, above his left eye – a purplish, inky bruise that seemed to leak into the surrounding skin.
‘You’re free to stay as long as you like,’ said the pretty Filipino nurse who had shown him to the private room. ‘The doctor has already been around this morning, so you won’t be disturbing anyone.’
‘Thank you,’ he said, watching Richard’s face for signs of life. It was weird thinking that he held his life in his hands.
‘So you are a work colleague?’
‘Pardon?’ he said, caught in a bit of a daydream, transfixed by the bleeps of the life-support machine and the thoughts of imminent death. ‘No, we met through a mutual friend. This is the first chance I’ve had to come and see him. It’s difficult to get time off, you see. But I really wanted to come and see how he is.’
‘That’s nice,’ said the nurse, checking the clipboard at the bottom of Richard’s bed. ‘He’s had a lot of visitors since he arrived here. It’s nice when someone is obviously loved so much.’
‘Yes, it is. The problem is,’ he added, ‘that the more you love someone, the harder it is to let them go.’
‘Yes,’ the nurse said, nodding. ‘But please try to think positively. Richard can get better.’
He smiled back at her, while thinking about how Richard’s loved ones would react to the news – and especially how Emma would feel. She would certainly take the news hard, and he was looking forward to watching the drama unfold.
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ the nurse said, smiling sympathetically. He barely noticed that she had left, only registering he was finally alone with Richard when he heard the door close.
‘So,’ he said, leaning in towards Richard, placing both hands on the bed’s guardrails. He felt the bed lurch under his weight, seeming to symbolise the power he had at this moment.
He was the giver and taker of life.
‘It’s funny how things work out,’ he whispered into Richard’s ear. ‘You know,’ he said, as he looked at the tubes and wires spiralling from Richard’s body, ‘if there was any other way of doing this, then I would do it. But you shouldn’t think of this as a bad thing, Richard. It’s all part of the wider picture, the greater good. I hope you understand that.’
He moved a hand towards the ventilator and grasped one of the tubes. He was shaking and a bead of sweat tickled his face as it snaked down past his ear. This was going to be harder than he had expected.
‘You see, she needs to know,’ he said, pulling back again and letting go of the tube. ‘And you’re going to help her understand.’
13
The call had come out of nowhere. Shocked to hear his voice again after all that time, his first reaction was to hang up and hope he would go away. But he had been insistent, begging for him to come over. And then the threats came, so he had little choice but to go over there and find out what was going on.
When he arrived at the apartment it had been a stomach-churning sight. The place looked like an indoor rubbish dump. He had struggled even to open the door, pushing past unopened post and unread
‘Thanks,’ Emma said, ‘I’ll only be here for another couple of minutes.’
As she closed the apartment door she let down the pretence. In truth, she had wanted Lizzy to stay – the thought of being alone scared her witless – but she wasn’t going to let Lizzy give up her big chance. This was her problem, and ultimately she had to deal with it.
Within seconds she had buried the feelings of fear, if only temporarily.
She was already thinking about what she would ask Mrs Henderson.
12
‘Hello, Richard.’
He moved closer, towards the edge of the bed, watching Richard as he lay there motionless. Richard was in a better state than he had expected – more asleep than seriously injured. The doctors had obviously done a good job. But it was possible to make out the damage that had been done, just under his hairline, above his left eye – a purplish, inky bruise that seemed to leak into the surrounding skin.
‘You’re free to stay as long as you like,’ said the pretty Filipino nurse who had shown him to the private room. ‘The doctor has already been around this morning, so you won’t be disturbing anyone.’
‘Thank you,’ he said, watching Richard’s face for signs of life. It was weird thinking that he held his life in his hands.
‘So you are a work colleague?’
‘Pardon?’ he said, caught in a bit of a daydream, transfixed by the bleeps of the life-support machine and the thoughts of imminent death. ‘No, we met through a mutual friend. This is the first chance I’ve had to come and see him. It’s difficult to get time off, you see. But I really wanted to come and see how he is.’
‘That’s nice,’ said the nurse, checking the clipboard at the bottom of Richard’s bed. ‘He’s had a lot of visitors since he arrived here. It’s nice when someone is obviously loved so much.’
‘Yes, it is. The problem is,’ he added, ‘that the more you love someone, the harder it is to let them go.’
‘Yes,’ the nurse said, nodding. ‘But please try to think positively. Richard can get better.’
He smiled back at her, while thinking about how Richard’s loved ones would react to the news – and especially how Emma would feel. She would certainly take the news hard, and he was looking forward to watching the drama unfold.
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ the nurse said, smiling sympathetically. He barely noticed that she had left, only registering he was finally alone with Richard when he heard the door close.
‘So,’ he said, leaning in towards Richard, placing both hands on the bed’s guardrails. He felt the bed lurch under his weight, seeming to symbolise the power he had at this moment.
He was the giver and taker of life.
‘It’s funny how things work out,’ he whispered into Richard’s ear. ‘You know,’ he said, as he looked at the tubes and wires spiralling from Richard’s body, ‘if there was any other way of doing this, then I would do it. But you shouldn’t think of this as a bad thing, Richard. It’s all part of the wider picture, the greater good. I hope you understand that.’
He moved a hand towards the ventilator and grasped one of the tubes. He was shaking and a bead of sweat tickled his face as it snaked down past his ear. This was going to be harder than he had expected.
‘You see, she needs to know,’ he said, pulling back again and letting go of the tube. ‘And you’re going to help her understand.’
13
The call had come out of nowhere. Shocked to hear his voice again after all that time, his first reaction was to hang up and hope he would go away. But he had been insistent, begging for him to come over. And then the threats came, so he had little choice but to go over there and find out what was going on.
When he arrived at the apartment it had been a stomach-churning sight. The place looked like an indoor rubbish dump. He had struggled even to open the door, pushing past unopened post and unread
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