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‘I will. Thanks.’
A few minutes later, after walking Freya to her car, Jack comes back. ‘Come on. I’ll show you where Marnie is.’ He leads me down a light corridor, pausing outside a door at the end. ‘She’s on a higher dose of pain relief. You might find she’s quite drowsy.’
‘Thank you.’ Anxious, I’m not sure what to expect as I push the door open and go inside. The window is open, a large vase of flowers on a table. Going over to her bed, I watch the rise and fall of her chest, the way her lashes flutter occasionally.
Compared to even a few days ago, she seems so slight; so frail that a gust of wind would blow her away. It’s shocking to see how quickly things are changing. One minute, she’d seemed OK. The next… But maybe she hadn’t been OK. Maybe she’d just been good at hiding it.
After a while, Jack comes in. Pulling up a chair, he sits next to me, just as Marnie’s eyes flicker open.
‘Hey.’
‘Hi.’ Leaning forward, I take one of her hands. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Not so bad.’ She doesn’t so much say it as breathe it. ‘Thank you for being here.’
‘Where else would I be?’ My voice is husky.
‘Out on the hills…’
It seems a strange thing for her to say. As I watch, it’s as though she’s gazing into the distance. Then as she goes on, words pour out of her, words that are disjointed, indecipherable.
I look at Jack in alarm.
‘It’s probably the tumour.’ His voice is sober. ‘Just talk to her.’
I turn back to Marnie. ‘Marnie? Birdy’s coming in later,’ I tell her. ‘And I’ve got a whole load of new books in the shop, which I absolutely know you’ll love.’ Sadness wells up inside me, because I know she’ll never read them. In desperation, I turn to Jack. ‘Forrest should be here.’
‘He will be,’ I think I hear Marnie say, as closing her eyes, she smiles faintly.
34
JACK
It isn’t often it happens like this, but in the shortest time, I’ve seen Marnie withdraw from life. Mostly she rallies when Rae or Birdy come in, calling on that superhuman strength of hers, managing a few words, until her speech goes.
I go in to find Rae sitting next to her.
‘Hello.’ Her eyes are anxious. ‘She’s been asleep the whole time I’ve been here.’ A troubled look crosses her face. ‘It seems to be happening so quickly.’
‘She’ll hopefully wake up in a bit,’ I say quietly, but I’m uneasy. ‘Where’s Forrest?’
‘I don’t know. He wasn’t around when I got here.’ Rae shakes her head. ‘I have this thought…’ Breaking off, she shakes her head. ‘Never mind.’
I’m curious. ‘Go on.’
She’s frowning slightly. ‘Have you met Forrest?’
‘No.’ I’m taken aback. ‘Presumably you have?’
‘I haven’t.’ She pauses. ‘This might sound really weird, but I’m starting to wonder if he exists.’
‘He must do.’ Marnie’s talked so much about him. ‘But I can’t believe you haven’t met him.’
‘Me neither.’ She lapses into a silence that’s broken by her phone buzzing. Getting out her phone, she quickly reads the message. ‘It’s Birdy. She’s just got here.’ She sighs. ‘Birdy has this unfailing belief that death isn’t the end.’
‘Since working here, I’ve come to believe the same,’ I say quietly.
A few minutes later, the door opens and Birdy comes in. ‘Hi!’ Her eyes are bright and she’s clutching a bunch of brightly coloured flowers.
