Page 69 of When We Were Friends
‘That would be… good. And I’d love to meet Olly. I could give him some autographed photos for his friends.’ Tiff grinned.
‘I’m hoping to meet him too, if that’s what Olly wants,’ said Paige. ‘He sounds like a wonderful young man.’
‘So we’re going to stay in contact. Does that mean the four of us are…’ Morgan couldn’t say it.
‘Friends again?’ said Paige. ‘I hope so.’
‘Me too,’ said Emily.
‘Definitely,’ said Tiff.
Morgan could hardly breathe. ‘You know, the word “algebra” comes from the Arabic wordal-jabrthat meansthe reunion of broken parts…’
‘Now we’ve put our friendship back together again,’ said Emily. ‘Stronger than before, right?’
The others nodded.
‘Sorry for what I said about you feeling threatened,’ said Tiff to Paige.
‘Yes, sorry for doubting you,’ said Morgan.
‘It’s okay,’ said Paige. ‘You’d had a huge shock.’
‘What I still don’t get, Paige,’ said Emily, ‘is why you didn’t tell us about Felix when we first met up, outside Dailsworth High. I’m glad you didn’t,’ she hastily added, ‘otherwise we probably wouldn’t have got to know each other again. But why didn’t you take the easy option? In Cornwall, you mentioned something about Morgan having another reason for the trip we went on.’
Paige looked along the bench, past Emily and Tiff. ‘Morgan?’
Morgan’s eyebrows knitted together. She bit the inside of her cheeks. It was easier to pretend that the other reason didn’t exist. She only talked about it now and again with Olly.
‘When we met up in that New Chapter Café, you got upset, Morgan. I followed you to the toilets, remember?’ said Paige. ‘I sensed there was something you weren’t telling us, why you wanted The Secret Gift Society to get back together. I asked you straight but you didn’t reply.’
Morgan’s face flushed.
‘Little things over the last week have concerned me, like you not drinking in the pizzeria in France and Mlle Vachon’s today, and the backache you’ve mentioned, both fed into my worst fears, from what I saw written on that letter in your handbag.’
That explained why Paige had quizzed everyone about illnesses they’d had in the café near the surf shop in France. She must have been hoping Morgan would open up.
‘You left your handbag outside the toilets at New Chapter Café,’ continued Paige. ‘I’d taken it back to the table for you. One word in particular from the letter jumped out. I didn’t mean to see it and—’
‘Morgan?’ said Emily.
Tiff leant forwards.
‘I’m okay. Honestly,’ she said. ‘I just… something bad happened, before Christmas, and straightaway, despite the years apart, I wanted to be with the best friends I’d ever had.’ She took a deep breath. ‘One night I ended up in A&E with acute indigestion. Olly was away and I was low after a crap day at work, so I treated myself to a movie night with pizza, garlic bread, and ice cream and I lay down whilst eating – the worst thing for heartburn. But the pain was so severe, I was on my knees, and I rang for an ambulance because I thought I was having a heart attack. I was so embarrassed at the hospital…’
‘Go on,’ said Paige, gently.
‘But when I took off my shirt for the ECG test, the doctor turned his attention to a mole behind my shoulder. I’d never seen it. He didn’t like the look of it and sent me for tests. It was a stage two melanoma. Cancer.’
‘That’s the word I saw on the letter,’ said Paige, her voice wavering.
‘It’s a frightening word, right? I was in shock for a couple of weeks.’ Morgan exhaled. ‘I reckon I got it due to those countless weekends I helped out my granddad with his gardening business when I was at school. He paid well and I loved being outdoors. I never applied sunscreen, not even in the summer. Nor did he, and several years ago, he had a few skin cancers cut out.’
‘Oh Morgan. I’m so sorry,’ said Emily.
‘Have you had it removed?’ asked Tiff.
‘Yes. In January. They didn’t hang about. The operation was a success, they cut out the mole and the skin around it, and got rid of all the cancer cells.’ She turned to face her friends fully. ‘That letter was about a check-up I’ve got next month. It had only arrived the day we met. My mind was focused on meeting you guys and I must have absent-mindedly put the letter in my bag so that Olly didn’t see it. I’m going to have these check-ups every three to six months for the next five years.’ She swallowed. ‘If you three are in my life, it’s as if my head, inside, isn’t so dark, I could ring you or we could go out and get pissed.’ She gave a small smile. ‘Or maybe not that. I’m on a health kick.’
