Page 9 (1/2)
She could never get used to it, never take those words for granted nor fail to feel as if the whole world was ablaze with glory as she caht and fresh air But one thing she would also never do was gloat to her doctor, because she had disagreed with her and rejected her orthodox treatment in favour of natural therapies They had had a short sharp fight, Karin had stood her ground, the oncologist had done so her and reed that if the cancer returned, she would look again seriously at theher own regime of alternative treat, expensive and lonely and Karin had been dealt a terrifying blohen the acupuncturist who had treated her had been revealed as a psychopathic serialabout in the dust, delighting in the sheen on its wings and the brightness in its eyes, the horrors of the previous year were in another life She ell She had no need to return to the hospital for another half-year She ell!
‘Dennis Potter,’ she said aloud She had loved The Singing Detective Dennis Potter had not been lucky Cancer had killed him, but not before he had spoken of the beauty of what he had knoas his final spring ‘Never was blossom blossomier’
Karin dialled Cat Deerbon’s number on her mobile but it was on answer She left a quick and jubilanther to tears as she drove – Eva Cassidy who had fallen into the darkness of death from the cancer Karin had vanquished
‘Somewhere, over the rainbow …’
Karin slowed down at a junction to let a lorry driver turn out in front of her
Mike’s car was in the drive But Mike was supposed to be in Ireland on business and not due home for another couple of days
Karin sailed into the house hu ‘Mike? Where are you?’
His voice came from upstairs ‘Here’
She ran up She loved her house She loved the white-painted curving banister and the turquoise-blue bowl on the ledge of the landingShe loved the slice of light that fell through the open door of the bedroom on to the keli froood news … the best’ She went on in and her hu hi beside the wardrobe and two suitcases were open, one on the bed, the second on the floor
‘Hey … what’s this? You look as if you’re packing Not turfing out the dirty washing’
‘Yes’
‘You’re not going away again? Not straight off?’
‘Yes’
He had his back to her and was running his hand through a tie hanger, detaching one, riffling through, taking another
‘Where to this time?’
He did not reply
‘Mike? And didn’t you hear ood news …’
There was a silence He still did not turn round So in the stillness of the room and the nature of the silence ?’
In the end, he looked round slowly, though not at her immediately, but at the suitcase, into which he laid a shirt Then he straightened up A big ht, still handso back till later I thought you’d probably go over to Cat’s’
‘And? I ht have but her phone was on answer – she was probably resting Her baby’s due in a ot ho so at her
Then he said, ‘Will you make some tea?’
‘OK’
‘I have to talk to you’
Then the silence again The awful, deafening silence
She ran out of the bedrooain, after Mike had gone Karin felt as beaten and bruised and shocked as if she had been told her cancer had returned and was advanced and inoperable, as hurt as she had ever been in her life Not a great deal had been said considering it had taken three hours and Mike had walked out on their e to cross the Atlantic to a wo at one another and then not looking, drunk tea and then whisky; she had said a little, cried, stopped crying and fallen silent Then he had gone How could that have taken so long?
‘Cat Deerbon’
‘Cat …’
‘Karin … what news?’
Karin opened her mouth to speak, to tell Cat that she had neither cancer nor a husband, but no words would cory noise which, as she heard it, Karin thought was beingto do with her at all, a woman she did not know
‘Just come here,’ Cat said, ‘whatever it is’
‘I can’t …’
‘Yes you can, you get in the car and you drive See you in half an hour’
She did not kno, but she arrived at the farmhouse safely Cat looked at her hard for a e and took out a bottle of wine
‘I’m off it but you certainly need it’
‘No, it’ll lass ‘The children are upstairs, Chris isn’t back yet but there’s a chicken pie and you’re welcoht and leave you in charge, and heaven help you Let’s go into the sitting room, I lit a fire’
Cat looked tired and uncoed – capable, cheerful, firm, the perfect friend, it always seemed to Karin, as well as the perfect GP
‘So … you saw the doc Was it that?’
‘No I’n’
‘So …’
‘So Mike’s left’
‘Left as in – left you?’
‘Yes’
‘You’ve never said a word, I didn’t know there were any problems between you two’
‘Jesus, Cat, do you think I did? I was on such a high … you’ve no idea what it feels like … when the scan’s clear, when the blood tests are OK, when they tell you so … it’s like … literally like having a reprieve in the conde his stuff’
‘Did you tell him?’
‘The results? Oh sure’
‘And?’
‘I don’t know if he took it in He said –"Good"’
‘But why is he going, for God’s sake?’
‘A lot of reasons, a lot of things I didn’t take in The chief why lives in New York and her name is Lainey She’s fifty-four’
‘I don’t believe this’
‘No’