Page 84 of The Time of My Afterlife

She grins and gestures to the stairs. ‘Your decorating job is calling you.’

‘Where’s Laura?’

‘Ronan is taking her to the lake for a picnic. Molly should be here soon so she can help me.’

‘Wow, Ronan’s good.’

She laughs. ‘A bit too good. Oh, and by the way, I’ve started reading Mary’s book.’

I feel a little twang of guilt. I should have done that. ‘What do you think?’

‘It’s not what I expected from her. It made me feel a little sick actually.’ She frowns. ‘Mary didn’t strike me as the sort of person who would write about murder. First chapter in, and her character is killing her husband.’

‘Maybe she was a fan of crime?’

‘My friend Ruth has stopped reading it.’

A shiver shoots down my spine. ‘But we need Ruth to review it on her Insta – don’t we?’

Florence casts me a strained look. ‘Yes.’

‘What do we do now then?’

She lets out a heavy sigh. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Maybe we’re not supposed to help with Mary’s book?’ I say, trying to sound optimistic.

Florence shakes her head. ‘I’m afraid our task is to get as many people as we can to read it. The way I am looking at the test now is – if there’s anything we believe to be tricky or difficult, it’s for us to change.’

A queue is forming behind me. I need to get on with the painting.

It’s early afternoon and I have come home. I’ll be watching Jack play football later, which will help take my mind off everything. It’s also going to make him happy.

The upstairs of the café looks amazing. The second coat makes the walls brighter and it’s now an airy and light room. My body aches though from the effort.

I kick off my trainers and lie down on the sofa. As I think about what I need to do with the woodwork, my eyelids start to feel heavy, and my body sinks further into the cushions. I feel sleepy. If I close my eyes for two seconds, I’ll feel better, I decide. There’s no need to set my alarm on my phone. I never sleep for long.

Soon, I’m asleep and back in the afterlife’s bedsit. I’m lying on the sofa bed with Florence. It doesn’t feel like a nightmare as we’re spooning each other, and the feel of her peachy backside against my groin is doing things to me.

BANG. BANG.

I wake up, startled and confused. Someone is banging on my door.

I check my phone and gasp. It’s late afternoon. Oh, God, I’ve missed Jack’s football match. I dash to the door to find Florence on the doorstep. She stares at me. ‘Have you been asleep?’

Rubbing my bleary eyes, I nod. ‘I missed Jack’s game.’

‘What?’

‘He was cross at his mum not going so I said I would go and watch him.’

She lets out a groan. ‘Oh Clark, he was asking for your help and you… fell asleep.’

I groan, hang my head and wait for Florence to scream and shout. To my surprise, she doesn’t. ‘Come on. Let’s get in the car and drive to the school. We might still make it.’

‘It will have finished now.’

She nods. ‘We can still try and see Jack.’