Page 102 of The Side Road
‘She was in insurance for a while.’
When they received no answer, Leo tried the bell again. He followed this with a firm rap on the door. There was still no answer. They directed their gazes to Helen’s car, a white Toyota parked in the driveway. Leaves had gathered on the hood.
‘Let’s go around the back,’ Leo suggested.
Leo led the way, and they headed down the side of the house. The backyard was orderly. Someone had mulched and pruned the fruit trees. Freshly mown grass clung to Oliver’s work boots. At the back of the house was a raised, covered deck with an outdoor dining setting and a barbecue in one corner. Lying on a daybed was Helen. Her legs were partly covered by a blanket and her eyes were closed. White as a ghost, her lips were pale, but the rise and fall of her chest indicated she was breathing. It was unclear whether she was asleep or sedated.
Wearing dishevelled pyjamas and a towelling dressing gown with scuffed slippers, her thin, grey hair hung loose. She hadn’t seen the inside of a hairdressing salon for some time.
‘Helen, it’s Leo. I’m with Oliver from next door. Is Mike around?’ Leo called from the grass.
Helen didn’t answer, but the pattern of her breathing faltered.
‘You remember Oliver from next door?’ Leo continued.
Helen’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. But no words came out.
‘Oh, dear.’ Leo sighed. ‘Helen, have you had a stroke?’
She opened her eyes and offered a discernible shake of her head.
Leo climbed the steps. ‘Are you having a bad day? Not feeling well?’
Quietly, she began to cry.
Leo kneeled beside her. ‘I understand. Do you think you might be depressed?’
From her dressing gown pocket, she retrieved a tissue and dabbed her eyes.
‘We’ll get you some help,’ Leo continued. ‘Mind if I put the kettle on?’
Helen pressed her lips together. Oliver thought she might be holding her breath. A long, painstaking moment followed before she eventually breathed and nodded at the same time.
‘Under control,’ Leo said, and he headed inside the house.
It was a signal for Oliver to leave. He knew Helen was in good hands.
The following day,the rain started early. Not the gentle patter of a shower, but a relentless downpour that turned thestreets into rivers. Mia, snuggled up with Snood in the sitting room, worked on her patterns for Halloween accessories: knitted and embroidered pumpkins, ghosts, spiders, and wearable costume ideas like animal noses and ears.
With Holly still away, she needed a distraction, and there was nothing like a complicated lace stitch, which she was using to create an intricate pattern for spiderwebs – not all knitters were beginners – to keep her mind focused and not on the dire state of her heart. It felt like the organ had shrivelled into a tight knot and, pressing against her ribs, it caused a deep ache in her chest.
Midway through plotting her spiderweb, Blanche called. She couldn’t find her pills. Distraught, she gasped for air.
‘What pills?’ Mia asked.
‘Tramadol for my back. I take one every night before bed. I can’t find it and Leo’s in Sydney.’
‘I didn’t know Leo was in Sydney. What’s he doing in the city?’
‘Business. Check-ups. Visiting the native plant nursery. Seeing old friends. All the normal things people do in the city. Mia, this is serious! I’m in dreadful pain. I need that pill.’
‘Is it just one pill? Don’t you have others?’
‘I get one prescription a fortnight. It’s the last in the packet.’
The panic in Blanche’s voice tugged at Mia’s heart. The poor woman was alone in a storm without her pain medication. Mia could relate to her plight.
‘I’ll come over and help you look.’ Mia wrapped up her lace and webs, placing them into a bag.
