‘It’s probably my sister, Imogen, to give me more wedding details. She’s so unbelievably excited and it’s all about setting the date at the moment.’
He opened the wine and handed her a glass of red as she pressed the play button with her free hand. But it wasn’t Imogen at all.
‘Lydia, are you there? It’s Anita. I need to talk to you urgently.’ There was a pause and Lydia froze because she knew Anita was crying. Not heavily but enough to show how difficult this message was to leave. ‘Could you please call me back straight away.’ Her voice broke. ‘It’s Theo…’
Jonathan and Lydia looked at each other and he stepped forward, put a hand on her arm. ‘Would you rather I left?’
She shook her head. ‘Stay, please.’ The events since almost fifteen months ago came hurtling back to her: the night of the accident, the knock at the door, the beeping of machines in the hospital, the hopeless days and nights when Theo hadn’t moved, the relentless one-sided conversations.
And now, this was it. Her heart thumped. She’d known this moment could come sooner or later, that the life in limbo would finally come to an end as Theo died.
‘Oh God.’ Her hand hovered on the phone. ‘I don’t think I can do it.’
‘You can, Lydia. And you will. The woman sounds distraught and desperate. You must call her back.’ Jonathan’s voice was soft, unbreaking, and the look of compassion pushed her forwards as he lifted the handset and passed it to her.
She pressed speed dial and the number two, programmed in ever since she and Theo had moved into this house, the place they’d chosen together, where they’d shared countless dinners, been unwell and cared for one another, they’d laughed, they’d had their fair share of arguments, but mostly, it was where she and Theo had lived their lives together.
She took a deep breath and let it out when Anita picked up. ‘Anita…it’s me.’
But Anita didn’t say the words she was expecting to hear and as she tried to take in what she was saying, she staggered against the bench top and the phone fell from her hand.
Jonathan was by her side in seconds. ‘Lydia, it’s okay. Talk to me.’
She was shaking her head and Anita was still on the other end of the phone but it was all she could do just to breathe. She picked up the phone and ended the call.
She looked up at Jonathan, deep into his eyes, her own pooling with tears.
‘He’s awake,’ she said. ‘Theo is awake.’
