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Chapter Twenty-Eight
Wincing as she opened her eyes, Amelia reached out to the bedside table, glad to find a large glass of water. Then she flopped back against the pillows. How much gin had she drunk last night? They’d finished the bottle of Mistletoe Gin, and when they’d gone back to Thea’s she’d decided that Amelia should try the whisky from the local distillery, which had seemed like a great idea at the time. From what she remembered, she’d enjoyed the honey-coloured liquid slipping down her throat and had been given a lesson on the best ways to drink whisky: neat, with ice, or with some water. She’d chosen the first option which, on reflection, given the way her head throbbed, had perhaps been the wrong choice. Had they made cocktails too? Had she eaten anything? And how on earth had she got home? She racked her brains, wondering if she’d walked back. She had a vague recollection of Thea’s partner, Grant, dropping her off and opening the hut for her. Oh dear. How mortifying.
She reached for her phone and saw a missed call and text message from Fergus.
Are you still meeting me for a swim?
Oh, no. How could she have slept in and missed it? Not that she would have made it feeling like this. She quickly sent him a message of apology and as an afterthought added,Please can we do it another time?
His reply was immediate.Sure;)
Amelia groaned. What must he think of her? Especially when he had gone to the trouble of dropping off the wetsuit. She had been so looking forward to seeing him too, albeit nervous of the planned activity — and whether or not she would get the wetsuit on.
Eventually she pulled herself from bed, swallowed some paracetamol and forced down as much water as she could stomach. The thought of food made her want to vomit. Instead, she had a long, warm shower and pulled on some fresh clothes. She was never ever drinking alcohol again. She made her way across the garden to the cottage and, glancing through the kitchen window, spotted Edie sitting with her head in her hands. That didn’t look good. She walked briskly round to the front door, double knocking and waiting for a moment before pushing it open.
‘Morning, Edie,’ she called, as brightly as she was able, given her delicate state. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the hall mirror and shuddered at her pale face. Edie hadn’t replied and so Amelia went through to the kitchen where her friend remained seated, still with her head heavy in her hands. She wore her dressing gown, which was strange for Edie as it was past ten o’clock.
‘Edie,’ she prompted gently.
Edie looked up, dazed and slightly confused.
‘Is everything okay?’ Amelia asked, walking over and putting a hand on Edie’s shoulder.
The woman crumpled under the touch of Amelia’s hand, dissolving into huge sobs.
‘Oh, Edie. Whatever is the matter? What’s happened?’
Edie was unable to speak, as her body convulsed with sobs.
Amelia wasn’t sure what to do. She kept rubbing her hand around Edie’s back in a circular motion, hoping it was soothing as she wasn’t quite sure how to help make things better. Edie was normally so calm and collected, and it was awful to see her in so much distress.
Amelia sat down next to her, waiting for her cries to subside and her breathing to calm and become less ragged.
‘How about I put the kettle on? Have you eaten any breakfast?’ Amelia didn’t wait for Edie to answer; instead she stood up and busied herself making a cup of tea and slipping a piece of bread into the toaster. She got the butter out of the fridge and when the toast popped up, slathered it with a generous helping. ‘There you go. Have a sip of tea and a nibble of the toast.’
Edie managed to chew a square, swallowing it down with the hot, sweet liquid Amelia had made her. ‘I am sorry, dear. I didn’t mean you to find me like this.’
Amelia shook her head. ‘I’m just glad I came over when I did.’ She sat down next to Edie. ‘Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?’
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The truth was Edie had finally decided she needed to do something about her sister. That was why she didn’t go to the pub the night before. She had phoned the hospital in Glasgow. This time, though, she hadn’t hung up. Christine had always been prone to exaggerating things when they were younger. Edie had thought maybe she was being over-dramatic about the prognosis and perhaps it wasn’t terminal at all.
Now, as Amelia bustled around looking after her, Edie wanted to tell her everything. It hadn’t been her intention to spill her story out in this way to someone she had only known for a few weeks. However, once she started talking, the floodgates opened and she couldn’t stop. Somehow it seemed easier telling someone she didn’t know too well.
‘I’d better start at the beginning.’
Amelia sat beside her. ‘Take your time.’
‘I was once married. My husband was Jim and we lived together in Edinburgh. That’s him there.’ She pointed at the photo in the window. ‘He worked for one of the banks and went up and down to London frequently on the train. I lectured at the university.’ She took a fortifying sip of tea. ‘We married a bit later in life, well, in our thirties, which probably doesn’t seem old now but then it was more unusual to marry when you were the grand old age of thirty-six . . . anyway, I am digressing. We had a good and happy life together. We didn’t have children and we were fine with that; it was very much our choice. He truly was the love of my life.’
Edie paused and Amelia gave her hands a reassuring squeeze.
‘One week he had been in London for a couple of days and he phoned from the office to tell me he was heading for the train. It was a Friday afternoon, and he’d managed to leave a bit earlier, so he could take me to supper. I remember being so excited because things had been a bit tricky. He had been spending a lot more time in London than usual and I felt a bit abandoned . . . it felt a bit like I was losing him.’ She shrugged. ‘I managed to get a cancellation at the hairdresser’s that afternoon, so I would look nice for our dinner date.’
For a moment Edie stopped talking and looked wistfully out of the window.
‘Then what happened?’ Amelia asked gently.
