The mention of a blood-sugar level was enough to make Pip glance towards the couch again.
‘Extra,’ Shona was pronouncing with satisfaction. ‘I used your “x”, Toni, only I got it on a triple word.’
‘Very good,’ Toni said with a feigned level of grudging admiration. ‘What’s the score?’
‘Twenty-two.’
‘Really? It should be more than that.’ He leaned over the board. ‘It’s more like thirty-six!’
It was so good to see her mother looking this happy. The tension of worrying about her condition and managing all the hurdles they were bound to face in the coming months was the biggest reason that life was nowhere near simple. It occurred to Pip that Shona might be looking this happy right now because she was with someone who wasn’t as emotionally involved as she was herself. Someone who could operate better in that superficial picture and treat Shona as though she was going to be around to play Scrabble for many years.
Was it a reprieve for her mother—in the way that it was for Pip when she spent special time with Toni?
Like last night had been.
Impossible to concentrate on information about criteria for consulting a neurosurgical team and ordering urgent cerebral scanning for someone whose level of consciousness was dropping. Pip’s head was firmly where her body had been last night. Being loved so thoroughly—so amazingly—by Toni Costa.
Thanks to that earlier conversation with Shona, however, a new tension had been added to the complexity of Pip’s life. Was her mother’s notion, that Toni would definitely want his own children something she should add to her list of worries? Or could it be shelved, in the same way as that niggle about Alice resenting her attachment to someone new?
If it wasn’t broken, don’t try and fix it, she told herself.
Things were fragile enough without searching for cracks, weren’t they?
Maybe managing life was the same as being a parent. You dealt with things when you had to. You did what felt right and you did the best you could. Addressing issues that weren’t an obvious problem and could be potentially destructive certainly didn’t feel like the right thing to do.
Pip discarded her journal. ‘Anybody feel like a hot drink? Tea or coffee?’
‘Please.’ Toni had his gaze on the board. ‘“Predom” is not a word,’ he said to Shona. ‘Sorry.’
‘It is, too.’
Pip laughed. ‘Of course it isn’t. Do you want the dictionary, Mum?’
‘Don’t need it. I can spell.’
‘Do you want a cup of tea?’
‘Yes. Go away.’
‘I’ll come and help you.’ Toni pushed himself up off the floor. ‘You can have another go while I’m gone, if you like, Shona.’
‘Don’t need it.’
‘Is she serious?’ Toni asked when they had reached the privacy of the kitchen. ‘I’m right, aren’t I? Or is “predom” some English word I haven’t learned yet?’
‘It’s not a word,’ Pip assured him. ‘Mum’s just getting stroppy. She’s probably tired.’ She filled the electric kettle and switched it on.
‘Are you tired, cara?’
‘Not really.’
‘Good. Come here, then.’
Pip was only too willing to go into his open arms. To raise her face for one of the kisses she was coming to know so well. Kisses that she couldn’t imagine not receiving on a very regular basis.
It took some time for them to complete the task of setting a tray for supper, but Pip felt happier than she had all day by the time they returned to the living room.
‘Here’s your tea, Mum. Do you feel like a biscuit?’ Pip peered at her mother before turning to Toni. ‘I think you tired her out. She’s too sleepy for a hot drink.’
‘Hmm.’ Toni came closer. ‘Shona?’
‘Don’t wake her,’ Pip advised. ‘She needs a rest.’
‘Hmm,’ Toni said again. He laid his hand on Shona’s forehead. ‘She’s very clammy,’ he said. This time Pip said nothing as he shook Shona’s shoulder. ‘Shona? Wake up!’
‘I’ll get her blood-glucose monitor,’ Pip said. ‘Maybe she wasn’t just being stroppy with that strange word.’
‘She certainly looks like she could be hypoglycaemic,’ Toni agreed. ‘She’s diaphoretic and tachycardic and she’s quite deeply unconscious. I’m going to call an ambulance.’
Pip was back with the kit rapidly. ‘She insisted on doing her insulin herself tonight.’
‘What was her BGL reading?’
‘It says 8.4 on this but that’s what it was this morning. It’s been so unstable lately I’d be very surprised if it had been the same this evening. Maybe she forgot to take it.’ Pip had inserted the test strip. She used a lancet to prick the end of her mother’s finger and then collected a drop of blood on the end of the strip.
The wail of an ambulance siren could be heard in the distance by the time they got proof that Shona’s blood-sugar level was dangerously low.
While the paramedics established IV access and started a glucose infusion running, Pip sped down the hall and knocked on Alice’s door.
‘Alice?’
She opened the door to find Alice lying on her bed with headphones on. Compact discs were scattered all around her and even from where she stood, Pip could hear the music. Alice jumped at the intrusion and peeled the headphones off.
‘What?’ she demanded. ‘I’ve finished my homework.’
‘Nona’s sick,’ Pip said tersely. ‘We’re going to take her into the hospital by ambulance. Do you want to come with us?’
Alice went very pale. ‘Is she…?’
‘No, hon, it’s OK.’ Pip’s heart squeezed painfully as she saw the level of distress in Alice’s face. ‘It looks like she might have had too much insulin tonight but it should be easy enough to fix. We just need to have her in hospital to make sure we get it right and an ambulance is the most comfortable way for her to travel.’
‘Will you be gone all night?’
‘No. I’ll come home as soon as things are stable.’
‘Then can I stay here? I don’t like hospitals and I want to watch TV later.’
‘Would you be all right by yourself? I could ask Mary to come over.’
‘I’ll be fine.’ Alice sat up on the edge of her bed. ‘I’m not a kid any more, Pip. I don’t need a babysitter.’
‘OK.’ It was much easier to relate to Alice when she wanted to be treated more as an adult than a child. ‘I’ll call you soon, then.’
The phone call went unanswered an hour later when Pip was finally happy to leave her mother’s bedside.
‘I’m perfectly all right,’ Shona was insisting. ‘But I’m not hungry. I really don’t want that sandwich.’
‘You need to try and eat it, Mum. It’s part of the management for an insulin overdose.’
‘It wasn’t an overdose. I just had a bit of trouble with the monitor. I couldn’t get it to beep when I put the test strip in.’
‘It was probably the wrong way round.’
‘I’ll get it right next time.’
Pip thought that her phone call home would be answered the next time she tried, but it wasn’t. She tried Alice’s mobile phone but it went straight to voicemail.
‘She’s probably got her headphones on again,’ Toni said. ‘With the music loud enough to deafen her.’
‘I’m still worried. I think I’ll call a taxi and head home. They’re going to keep Mum in overnight to monitor her blood-glucose levels.’
‘I’ll come with you.’
It wasn’t late when they arrived back at the Murdochs’ house—a little after 9 p.m. and Pip fully expected to find Alice curled up in her bed watching television.
She could hear the telephone ringing as she unlocked the front door, but it stopped as soon as she stepped into the hallway.
‘I wonder who that was at this time of night?’
Toni was close behind her. ‘If it was important, they’ll ring again.’
�
��I hope it wasn’t the hospital.’
‘They’ll have your mobile number.’
‘Yes.’ Pip stopped talking, aware of how quiet the house was. She couldn’t hear the sound of a television. She couldn’t hear anything.
‘Alice?’ she called. ‘We’re home.’
The silence was more than just a quiet house. It felt…empty.
The living room was empty, the Scrabble board with its unfinished game a reminder of how much the evening’s peace had been disrupted. Pip kept moving. The bathroom light was on but the small space was deserted. An open mascara wand lay beside the basin. Pip’s bedroom was in darkness, the screen of the portable television blank, but there was a light showing under Alice’s door.
Pip knocked once and opened the door. ‘Alice?’
Seconds later, she entered the kitchen where Toni was busy making coffee.
‘Toni?’
He turned swiftly. ‘What’s up, cara?’
‘Alice isn’t here.’
‘She must be,’
Pip shook her head in bewilderment. ‘I’ve checked everywhere. She’s not here.’
‘Where could she have gone?’
‘I don’t know.’ A dreadful sensation was gripping Pip. She shouldn’t have left Alice at home alone. She was really only a child still. What kind of parent would do something like that?
Pip had no idea at all of where Alice might be or who she might be with. She had failed—yet again—to do the right thing as a parent, and this time she might have put her daughter into real danger.
‘Oh, my God, Toni,’ Pip breathed. ‘What am I going to do?’
Toni’s touch was reassuring. At least she wasn’t going to be alone in tackling whatever new crisis was about to present itself in her life. He opened his mouth to say something but, at exactly the same moment, the telephone began to ring again.
Pip froze. This was going to be bad news, she just knew it.
Toni looked at her face. ‘I’ll answer that,’ he said. He touched her cheek. ‘I’ll be right back.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘WE’LL be right there.’ Toni put the phone down and turned to Pip. ‘She’s safe.’
‘But where is she?’
‘With the police.’
‘What?’ Horrific images of abduction and potential violence crowded the back of Pip’s mind.
‘She’s safe,’ Toni repeated. ‘She’s at the mall.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘She and her friend—Daisy, is it?’
‘Dayna?’
‘Yes. They were caught shoplifting.’
‘Oh, no!’ Pip groaned. ‘How could they?’
‘They’re too young to be arrested but apparently the mall’s policy is to involve the police. They want you to go and collect Alice.’
Pip nodded tersely. She scooped up her car keys from the bowl on the end of the kitchen bench. ‘I’ll go straight away.’
‘I’m coming with you.’
‘You don’t have to do that, Toni.’ Pip’s half-smile was rueful. ‘As if you haven’t had enough of my family’s dramas for one evening.’
‘I’m not going to let you cope with this by yourself, Pippa.’ Toni patted the pocket of his jacket and Pip heard the rattle of keys. ‘I’ll drive.’
The strength that Toni’s company imparted was dented as soon as they entered the mall management’s offices.
‘What’s he doing here?’ Alice demanded.
‘Who is he?’ The girl sitting beside Alice had bleached, blonde hair, too much make-up and a top that exposed several inches of midriff and a large jewel in a belly-button piercing.
‘My mother’s boyfriend.’
‘Oh-h. So that’s the Italian stallion.’
The derogatory tone and the innuendo was too much for Pip. So was the sullen expression on the girl’s face. At least Alice had the sense to look frightened beneath a thin layer of defiance, faced as she was with the presence of a bored-looking security guard, an angry mall management representative and two police officers.
Pip would have expected her to be looking relieved with the arrival of someone prepared to defend her, but Alice didn’t look any more pleased to see her mother than Toni.
‘You’re Alice Murdoch’s mother?’ The policewoman looked surprised.
‘Yes.’ Pip was in no mood to provide an explanation for looking too young for the part.
‘She’s been spotted in the mall on several occasions, so we’re told—with Dayna here. The security guard followed up his suspicions tonight and kept a close eye on the pair of them.’
The nod from the burly security guard was satisfied.
‘These items were found in Dayna’s bag as they were trying to leave the mall at closing time.’
Several items of clothing were lying on the office desk, the labels advertising their newness.
Toni raised his eyebrows. ‘So Alice hasn’t actually stolen anything?’
‘She was aware of what was going on. A willing accomplice.’
Alice wasn’t meeting Pip’s gaze so she turned to the policewoman. ‘What’s going to happen to her?’
‘At this stage, probably nothing more than a warning, but we wanted you to be aware of what your daughter’s involved in, Mrs Murdoch. It’s not the first time we’ve had trouble with her friend, Dayna, and we intend to deal with her a lot more severely. If you don’t want future involvement with the police and Social Services, I suggest you take your daughter home and have a very serious discussion with her.’
‘Oh, I will,’ Pip said heavily. ‘Don’t worry.’
Extra stress like this was the last thing they needed at this time. The thought of having to explain all this to Shona was horrible. Why was Alice choosing now to make trouble? To emphasise her failure to meet the demands of taking over as a full-time parent? Pip felt as though she was under siege.
‘How long has this sort of thing been going on?’ she snapped as they marched Alice towards the car a short time later.
Alice shrugged.
‘Those CDs and videos and everything that Dayna’s been lending you lately—are they all stolen property?’
Another shrug was infuriating.
‘Do you want to get into real trouble?’ Pip’s voice rose. ‘End up in juvenile court and get suspended from school?’
Alice’s silence continued as they climbed into the car. It was Toni who broke it as he started the engine. ‘I think the problem might be one of association rather than intent,’ he said mildly.
Pip was hoping that was true. She could deal with that. ‘You’re not to have anything more to do with Dayna,’ she informed Alice crisply. ‘She’s bad news.’
‘She’s my friend.’
‘What kind of friend sets out to get you into big trouble?’
‘Why should you care?’
‘Because I’m your mother, that’s why!’
‘No, you’re not.’
Shocked by the vehement tone, Pip turned to look at Alice. The intermittent light from streetlamps couldn’t conceal a very adult anger on the young girl’s face.
‘You’ve never been my mother,’ Alice continued bitterly. ‘Not really. You never wanted me. You couldn’t even look after me by yourself. Nona had to do it.’
Pip could sense the glance she was getting from Toni without meeting it. He was as shocked as she was. He might want to help but there was nothing he could do or say. This was between Pip and Alice and it was private. He was probably embarrassed to be a witness. Pip was certainly embarrassed. Mortified, even. She’d always felt a failure as a parent but she’d never expected such blatant confirmation of her inadequacy to come from her child.
The despair in Alice’s voice filled the car. ‘Now Nona’s going to die and she’s the only person who ever cared about me.’
‘That’s not true, Alice.’ The despair her daughter was feeling was an abyss that Pip had no idea how to reach across. The distance felt impossible. ‘I love you. I’ve always lov
ed you.’
‘You gave me to Nona. You went back to school and then you went away to university. For years and years and years.’
What could she say to that? It was true. They had discussed moving so that they could live in a city that boasted a medical school, but it would have meant all the upheaval of selling and buying a new house in a far more expensive area, and finances had been tight enough as it was. Alice would have been taken away from the play centre she’d loved. From the GP who had cared for her since birth. Shona would have lost her own friends, who’d provided a network of support. And they’d decided against it because Alice had been so happy.
Pip had been so sure that she had been the only one to suffer because of the prolonged absences.
‘I missed you,’ she told Alice. The words sounded totally pathetic. ‘I always told you how much I missed you.’
‘Ha!’ The sound was derisive. ‘It’s not as if anything changed even when you came back. You’re always working now. You still don’t want me. I’m just in the way.’
‘That’s not true!’
‘You’ve got Toni,’ Alice said accusingly. ‘You’ll get married now and have babies that you do want. You’ll forget all about me.’
‘No!’ Pip put all the conviction she could into the word. She had to ignore the sharp intake of breath from Toni. This wasn’t the time to try and explain she was denying a lack of interest in Alice rather than the prospect of marriage or babies with Toni. ‘That’s not going to happen, Alice.’
‘And I’ll have no one.’ Alice either hadn’t heard or didn’t believe her.
The car had stopped. They were home. And it had never felt less like home.
Toni switched off the engine and spoke for the first time since they’d left the mall car park. ‘You’re not going to lose your mother, Alice. She loves you. I know you’re going through a tough time at the moment and I understand how you feel. I—’
‘Shut up!’ Alice shouted. ‘You don’t know anything. This is your fault, anyway.’
The Italian Doctor's Perfect Family Page 11
