The Summer Guest

by Emma Hannigan

  ‘Just some nightdresses and my washbag, if you don’t mind,’ Kathleen said. ‘Call me narrow-minded, but I’m not crazy about these hospital gowns.’

  ‘They’re not the most attractive.’ Lexie smiled. ‘The nurses have our details, but if you need us during the night, please call, okay?’

  ‘Thank you, sweet girl. Thank you, Sam.’

  They kissed her and left the hospital.

  As they lay entwined in bed a while later, Lexie and Sam had never felt more grateful to have one another.

  Chapter 46

  Kathleen spent the night caught between drugged slumber and semi-consciousness, a horrible sensation, but the nurses were kind. She was beyond relieved when the morning rounds began and her breakfast arrived on a tray.

  She hadn’t realised she had her cell phone with her until it rang. Cautiously she reached out and caught hold of the cardigan she’d been wearing on admission and took it out of the pocket. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Kathleen, it’s Agata.’

  ‘Hello, dear,’ she said.

  ‘Lexie called to tell me about your stroke. You poor love. How are you feeling today?’

  ‘I’ve been better, and I was lucky Lexie and Sam found me when they did.’

  ‘None of it sounds at all lucky if you ask me,’ Agata said. ‘In fact it sounds horrendous.’

  ‘Ah, you know how it is. We need to look on the bright side, eh?’

  ‘There is no bright side with a stroke. Enough of that. When can I come and visit? Britta has only just found a grandma so you’re not allowed to die yet.’

  Kathleen laughed. ‘Nobody else could put it quite like that.’

  ‘I mean it! If you die I’ll be furious with you,’ Agata said.

  ‘I’ll do my best not to,’ Kathleen answered, as a nurse popped her head around the door. ‘Just a second, Agata. Nurse, am I allowed to have a visit from my granddaughter?’

  ‘I don’t see why not, just so long as it’s a short one,’ the nurse replied.

  ‘I heard that,’ Agata said. ‘We’ll be there this afternoon, okay?’

  ‘Lovely.’

  The nurse checked her vital signs and said they’d be running several tests throughout the day.

  Then Kathleen decided to call Rodger.

  ‘Ah, hello, my friend,’ he answered cheerfully. ‘You’re up early today. Isn’t it great to see the sun shining again?’

  ‘Well, it’s not a whole lot of use to me at the moment,’ Kathleen said. She told Rodger all she could remember. He was understandably shocked and said how sorry he was.

  ‘One good turn deserves another. Would you like a visitor?’

  ‘Indeed I would!’

  Rodger had nothing planned so he said he’d finish his breakfast and head straight over.

  Betty and Jenny would be hurt if she didn’t let them know what had happened so next she dialled Betty’s number.

  ‘Hi, Kathleen!’ Betty answered. ‘I’m just about to leave the house to go to Ruth’s and mind the children. How are things?’

  Kathleen filled her in. ‘A lot of it is very fuzzy. Apparently I came to the hospital by ambulance and I don’t remember a single bit of that.’

  ‘Do you think all the wine we drank contributed to the whole thing?’

  ‘No, dear. I’d say that’s a total coincidence,’ Kathleen reassured her.

  ‘What can I do for you?’ Betty asked. ‘Will I come back up to Caracove? I could stay with you in the flat until you feel stronger.’

  ‘You are a darling,’ Kathleen said. ‘I wouldn’t hear of it. Besides, your grandchildren need you there. I’ll be here for another few days minimum and I’ll have Lexie and Sam upstairs.’

  Kathleen was suddenly exhausted so they hung up. It would take her a while to regain her strength but she was grateful for all the support she had.

  She felt as if she’d only just closed her eyes when there was a knock at the door. ‘Hello,’ she said, trying not to sound groggy.

  ‘It’s Rodger. Is it okay if I come in?’ said a voice from outside the half-open door.

  ‘Please do.’ She made certain that her hospital gown wasn’t gaping anywhere.

  ‘Hi,’ he said, smiling. ‘Fancy meeting you here!’

  ‘The tables have turned,’ she answered. ‘Musical hospital beds!’

  ‘It comes with the territory when you reach our age,’ Rodger said, rolling his eyes. ‘Some of the old parts don’t work as well as they once did.’

  ‘That’s a fact,’ Kathleen said. ‘It’s a funny thing, this getting older business, isn’t it?’

  ‘I still feel forty in my head. It’s only when I see myself in the mirror or a bit of me breaks that I discover I’m not as young as I feel.’ He grinned.

  ‘I know what you mean. You’d think with all the technology someone might’ve come up with a way of staying young for ever, wouldn’t you?’

  ‘Would you honestly take it if they did?’ Rodger asked, with his head to the side.

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘I reckon when my time comes I’ll be done, in every sense of the word.’

  ‘I agree,’ he said. ‘God, we’re morbid!’

  ‘Just aware,’ Kathleen said. ‘I think it’s because my Jackson and your Claudia are gone – we don’t have the insatiable hunger to live for ever any more.’

  ‘You said it, girl. I’m enjoying my days. I’m happier than I thought I would be … When Claudia died I assumed I’d never belly-laugh again. I thought my world would a horrible shade of grey and eventually stop turning. But life goes on. It may not be the same, but it still happens.’

  Kathleen lay back against the pillows.

  ‘The fear that used to grip me before Jackson died was awful,’ she admitted. ‘I used to wake in the small hours of the morning and stare at him in the darkness. I’d torture myself with the notion that he was slipping away from me. Slowly ebbing towards a place I’d never find.’

  ‘Do you think they can see and hear us?’ Rodger asked.

  ‘I know they can,’ Kathleen answered.

  For a while they sat in companionable silence.

  ‘Until yesterday I thought I secretly wanted to die too,’ Kathleen said.

  ‘But now?’

  ‘I’ve surprised myself,’ she mused. ‘I knew something bad was happening to me. The pain in my head was appalling and I wanted it to stop, but this instinct kicked in. I wanted to survive, Rodger. I didn’t feel ready to go just yet.’

  ‘Then your time hasn’t come,’ he stated.

  ‘I’ve been doing well, even if I say so myself,’ she said. ‘But it’s been a constant struggle.’

  ‘Jackson has only been gone a matter of weeks.’

  ‘I know. But the way I’ve come to see it is this. If I don’t alter my mind-set I’ll spend the rest of my time on this planet making do. Merely existing. It’s never going to be the same but that’s okay. I see that now. I’m going to embrace each new day and try to find the best things on offer in this world.’

  ‘Good for you.’

  Rodger stayed for a while longer. They talked about the past, the present and, most importantly, the future. They agreed that life had to be appreciated.

  Kathleen dozed off again and woke as Lexie stepped into the room laden with bags, flowers and fresh fruit.

  ‘Hello there,’ Kathleen said, stretching. ‘Aren’t I the popular one today?’

  ‘You look a thousand times better than you did last night,’ Lexie said. ‘Which wouldn’t be hard.’

  ‘I’m sorry for scaring you, honey.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ she said. ‘Now, I need you to do something for me. This party my mother’s organising …’

  ‘Oh, yes.’

  ‘You’re to have your own table and invite your friends.’

  ‘That’s out of the question, Lexie. This is for you and your family.’

  ‘I decided in the ambulance last night that if you survived you were hosting a table. Here you are, so the decision
has been made.’

  Lexie sat on the chair beside the bed and dropped the bags on to the floor. ‘Flowers,’ she said, shoving the bunch into an empty vase on the bedside locker. ‘Fruit.’ She put grapes and apples into the bowl. ‘They think of everything in here, don’t they?’ she commented.

  ‘I guess all folk bring the same stuff.’

  Finding a pen and notepad, she leafed through the pages. ‘Who do you want to invite?’

  ‘Really?’ Kathleen raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Yes, shoot!’

  ‘Britta and Agata, Betty and Jenny, Ben and George, Rodger and Tiddles.’

  Lexie giggled. ‘Tiddles is inviting his own friends, including the budgie from number six that he’s been salivating over for the past eight months. It sits in a cage in full view of all the neighbourhood cats and teases them.’

  ‘Like Tweetie Pie from the old cartoon.’

  ‘That’s exactly what he is,’ Lexie said.

  ‘So I won’t ask Tiddles.’

  ‘No, he’s sorted. Besides, you have a perfect table of eight. My mother will approve. She likes things to be just so.’

  ‘Isn’t the party in September?’ Kathleen asked.

  ‘It was going to be, but we’ve changed it to August so you can come.’

  Kathleen had to bite back tears. ‘That’s just precious of you, Lexie.’

  ‘I couldn’t have my party without you there and, correct me if I’m wrong, but your wedding anniversary is in August, isn’t it?’

  ‘Certainly is,’ she said wistfully.

  ‘So maybe we’ll have a rainbow to add to the occasion.’

  ‘Maybe we will,’ Kathleen said, smiling.

  ‘You should get some sleep,’ Lexie said a few minutes later.

  ‘I need a nap all right,’ she agreed. ‘I know you’ve only just arrived, but strokes are kind of exhausting.’

  Chapter 47

  Kathleen had gone from being as weak as a kitten to feeling better than she had in years. Ben and George had been amazing. ‘Knock, knock,’ they called, at the door to the flat. ‘We have supper!’

  ‘You’re my two guardian angels, did you know that?’

  ‘You’ve only told us about a thousand times,’ George quipped.

  ‘I don’t know how I would’ve managed without you, boys, over the last couple weeks,’ she said.

  ‘We know, we know,’ Ben said. ‘As we said before, it’s totally our pleasure.’

  It was the day before Lexie’s party and the two men had brought a Thai green curry to share. ‘Mum can’t bear anything with spices so we never make it for her,’ Ben said.

  ‘What time are the girls arriving?’ Kathleen asked, as she tossed the salad.

  ‘Their train gets in just after nine. I’ll fly to the station and collect them,’ George said. ‘They don’t want to wear you out so they said they’ll see you tomorrow.’

  ‘I’m looking forward to it already,’ Kathleen said excitedly. ‘It’s going to be a superb weekend.’

  ‘It certainly will,’ Ben agreed. ‘We need to make the most of it, seeing as you’re leaving us next week.’

  ‘I have to go home some time,’ Kathleen said. ‘Much as I’d love to stay here longer, I need to face our house and all of Jackson’s things.’

  ‘We understand,’ George said, ‘but we’ll all miss you.’

  ‘Who knows? Maybe you’ll come over with your mothers for a visit,’ she said hopefully.

  ‘We’d be there in a heartbeat, Kathleen, you know we would. It’s just a matter of money. If I get the job I attended the interview for,’ Ben said, ‘we’ll try to sort something.’

  By the time they’d had supper George had to leave for the station.

  ‘I’ll wander back to the house and make sure it’s shipshape for the beady eyes of our mothers,’ Ben said, with a wink.

  Kathleen cleared the plates and pottered about before going to bed to read. She was truly excited about the party the following night. Penelope had dropped in several times to let her in on the plans. Kathleen could understand why she and Lexie didn’t see eye to eye at times, but she couldn’t fault her. During the last few weeks as she was convalescing, Penelope had been unbelievably kind and thoughtful.

  As she climbed into bed Kathleen knew she was going to miss Cashel Square and Caracove Bay dreadfully. Ireland had become a new and different life for her. Jackson had never been to Caracove so it was easier to bear the separation there. This bed, this bathroom, the sofa and kitchen table had never hosted her darling husband, so his absence didn’t seem quite as cruel. But the ghost of him would echo through every corridor of their home in Orlando. She longed to touch his clothes, see all their framed photos and immerse herself in the life they’d once had. But she wasn’t sure she would stay there. She didn’t know if she’d be able to live out the rest of her days in a place where Jackson had been king. Her king.

  Lexie finished putting on a layer of fake tan. The pretty coral chiffon dress she’d chosen for the party would look so much better if she had an extra glow.

  ‘You smell,’ Sam said, wrinkling his nose, as she padded into the dressing room wearing nothing but slippers.

  ‘Thanks.’ She grinned, and he attempted to pull her into his arms. ‘Naughty,’ she said, slapping his hand away. ‘You can’t touch me until I’m dry.’

  ‘Yet another reason why most men despise fake tan,’ Sam mused. ‘It stinks and there’s no hanky-panky while it dries.’

  ‘You’ll appreciate it when I look sun-kissed at the party.’

  ‘Do I really have to wear that silk shirt you bought me?’ he asked, like a grumpy teenager.

  ‘You can wear whatever you like tomorrow night. But you might end up having to stay here on your own.’

  ‘How’s Penelope holding up?’ Sam asked.

  ‘Fine.’ Lexie rolled her eyes. ‘You’d swear she was organising the return of the Messiah the way she’s carrying on. She must have four clipboards stuffed with bits of paper.’

  ‘She loves it all,’ Sam said. ‘It’ll give poor Dee a break too. I’d say Penelope has a stop-watch counting backwards till her due date.’

  ‘Talk about a doting grandmother, I think she’s more excited than Dee, Billy and Amélie put together.’

  ‘It’s nice to see. And better than her showing no interest, I guess.’

  ‘True,’ Lexie agreed.

  In spite of the fake tan, he wrapped his arms around her and spooned close to her in bed.

  Chapter 48

  The day of the party was like Armageddon.

  ‘Oh, Sam, it’s vile out there,’ Lexie said, pulling back the curtains and looking at the squally rain. ‘Mum will do her nut. She’d been hoping to serve drinks on the veranda so people could have a lovely view of the boats.’

  ‘Well, she’ll have to settle for drinks inside, won’t she?’ Sam said matter-of-factly. ‘Your mother can organise a lot of things but the weather is beyond even Penelope’s control.’

  The phone rang and Lexie dashed to grab it. ‘Hi, Mum! Yes, I know … I know … Yes, of course … No, don’t worry … Yes, of course people realise this is Ireland. As you say yourself, one can’t depend on the weather around here … Okay … Yes, I’ll see you then. If you need me to do any last-minute jobs you know where I am … Okay … Okay, Mum.’ Lexie was looking cross. ‘I’m not being snippy. I was just trying to help.’

  By the time she hung up Lexie was agitated. ‘How does Mum always manage to turn everything into a row?’

  ‘She’s highly strung, you’re highly strung. You’re probably too alike,’ Sam observed.

  ‘I am not like her,’ Lexie fumed.

  Sam raised his eyebrows. ‘“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, I am my mother after all.”’

  ‘Run like the wind, Sam, before I do damage to you.’ Lexie laughed as he shot off down the stairs.

  ‘Coffee is ready and the toast is on,’ he shouted, a few minutes later.

  She padded downstairs in her dr
essing gown. In the kitchen, he nudged her. ‘So you’re nearly forty!’

  ‘You’re already forty.’ She elbowed him back.

  ‘Yup, but I don’t give a toss what age I am. Ladies seem to have more of a problem with all this.’

  ‘I actually don’t mind turning forty,’ Lexie said. ‘In fact, I think there’s a certain advantage to it.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Well, a person in their forties is probably taken a little more seriously than a person in their twenties or thirties. It’s sort of accepted that you’ve grown into yourself, that you’re au fait with your life and all it entails.’

  ‘That’s very profound of you.’ He grinned.

  ‘Um, that’s because I’m going into my forties,’ she said, raising her pinkie to drink her coffee. ‘I’m going to get my hair done with Kathleen in a while. What are your plans?’

  ‘Well, I’ll do my own hair,’ he said, shaking his head like a sheepdog. ‘I’m meeting your father at the yacht club to do a few chores.’

  ‘Oh? Like what?’

  ‘All will be revealed!’ Sam said, tapping the side of his nose and winking.

  ‘God, I hate secrets.’ Lexie scowled.

  ‘You don’t hate surprises, though, and that’s what these are, little surprises. There’s a difference.’

  ‘I suppose,’ she agreed reluctantly.

  They finished breakfast in companionable silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

  A knock at the front door made Lexie jump. Glancing at her watch, she cursed under her breath as she opened it. ‘Kathleen! Hello, love, come on in. I’ll be with you in two seconds. I was in a world of my own there. Sam will make you a cuppa while I throw some clothes on.’

  ‘Take your time, Lexie. I’m probably a bit early. I’m so excited, you wouldn’t believe it.’

  ‘Ha! You are sweet,’ Lexie said, hugging her. ‘How are you feeling today?’

  ‘On top of the world, my dear,’ she said cheerfully. ‘I’m better with each passing day. I’ll be back to my old self in no time.’

  ‘Good for you!’

  As Lexie ran up the stairs she said a silent prayer of thanks that Kathleen was doing so well.