Page 92 of The Time of My Afterlife

We ride in silence for some time, but eventually I catch Florence glancing at me. Her tense shoulders have relaxed a little and I can sense all the fight gone out of her. ‘I’m sorry, Clark,’ she says. ‘You do understand. I should not have said that.’

I reach over and give her hand a squeeze. ‘I know.’

As we drive through Pixie Cove, I can hear Pearl’s sobs fill the air. ‘It still looks the same,’ she croaks. ‘It hasn’t lost its beauty or charm.’

Today, the sky is grey, and sinister rain clouds lurk on the horizon, but Pixie Cove still looks picturesque and quaint.

As we get nearer to Mr Beaver’s cottage, Florence casts me a nervous glance. Anxiety creeps over me. Pearl is not only my neighbour but she’s a dear friend. I am very protective of her, and I don’t want Mr Beaver to upset her.

‘It’s going to be okay, Pearl,’ says Florence, reaching through the seats and holding Pearl’s hand. ‘We don’t have to stay long if it gets too much.’

‘Thank you both,’ she says, dabbing her eyes. ‘I’m crying already and I haven’t even laid eyes on him yet.’

‘How long ago did you last see Mr Beaver?’

‘Well, I am seventy-five and I started dancing with Rodney when I was sixteen. We were partners first, and then we fell in love. I was twenty when my boss proposed. So, that would be fifty-three years.’

Wow. I can’t help but be floored by the strength of their love, after all that time.

I pull up outside Mr Beaver’s cottage. ‘Here we are, Pearl.’

She looks out of her window. ‘He said he would wait for me in Pixie Cove.’

‘Do you want to get out?’ All I can think about is how reuniting Rodney and Pearl could be the big thing we have building up to. This could give us a pass tonight. This reuniting of lost souls could mean Florence and I might finally get our lives back – for good.

‘No, Clark,’ says Pearl as my heart comes to a shuddering halt. ‘I can’t do it.’

Florence gasps and turns to Pearl. ‘But we have come all this way?’

Her voice is tinged with panic. The pressure of passing this test is bearing down on both of us.

‘Come on, Pearl,’ I say. ‘Just say hello to him.’

She shakes her head. ‘It will spoil the dream – the image of Rodney that I have inside my head. I can’t do it. What happened between us all those years ago should stay in the past. Please take me home.’

‘Are you sure?’ Florence asks, outstretching her hand for Pearl’s.

She nods, before giving Florence her hand. ‘I want to go home.’

Florence looks at her and says softly, ‘We will do whatever you want, Pearl.’

But I can feel the disappointment emanating from her. Florence hangs her head as I turn the car around.

‘Why don’t we stop for a cup of tea and some cake?’ I suggest, desperate for one last attempt at turning this around.

Pearl shakes her head. ‘I’m sorry. I want to go home.’

37

FLORENCE

I thought I would be angry at Pearl’s change of heart. The old me before we got run over on that pedestrian crossing would have been mad. She would have tried desperately to convince Pearl to go and see Mr Beaver and knowing how I was back then, I would have tried to boss her into getting out of the car. This test has taught me a lot about myself. The situations with Molly and Jane showed me a side of myself that I don’t like. I can be too assertive with people, and I am grateful for being given the chance to spot this.

Pearl is an old lady who has been through a challenging time lately, what with the sudden death of her friend, quickly followed by the revelation that said friend was a serial killer, plus being driven two hundred miles to meet someone she hasn’t seen for fifty-three years.

We’re all silent as Clark drives home. I don’t want Pearl to feel uncomfortable, so I try and make her smile with funny stories from the café.

It’s a long and arduous journey filled with roadworks, diversions, and Clark’s satnav throwing a wobbly.