Page 48 of The Vanishing Bookstore
‘I think you are good to go, Dora, I can find no reason to keep you here. Your blood pressure is a little high but that’s to be expected. I think it will decrease when you leave here. I have no concerns except maybe you should take it easy for a couple of days. I overheard you telling Estella that you’ve recently flown to Boston. Do you travel much?’
‘No, that’s the first time I’ve been on a plane.’
‘Do you have any pains, worries or concerns that I need to know about?’
Dora wondered what he would say if she told him that her brain had exploded with many lifetimes of memories, but decided to just smile at him. Maybe Sephy’s anti-homesickness tea had caused this, but she wasn’t about to tell him that in case he made her stay in, thinking she’d been poisoned, and got Sephy arrested.
‘No, I feel fine now. I also feel like a fraud. I’m so sorry for wasting your time.’
He smiled at her and waved his hand. ‘That is what we are here for, Ms English. Are you happy to be released?’
‘Yes, absolutely. Thank you.’
He nodded and left her with Estella who was busy writing everything up on her chart.
‘I can go then?’
‘Yes, if you feel okay then you can go. Just make sure you sign the forms. Any repeat of those symptoms and you get yourself straight to the nearest hospital to get them checked out.’
‘I will, I’m sure it was just a moment. Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome, take care.’
Estella pushed the curtain open and rushed to help a colleague who was struggling to get an elderly man out of his wheelchair and onto a bed. Dora stood up, grabbing her backpack and jacket from the chair before making her way out of the busy unit and out into the waiting area, which was rammed full of an assortment of people who looked far more in need of medical help than she was.
After signing the release forms, she made her way to the exit. Pushing the button to open the double doors, she stepped out into the cold, damp air and shivered. She needed to find Ambrose if that was at all possible. Just then, a bright orange cab with a black witch silhouetted on the side pulled up and a drunken couple staggered out of it. She waved at the driver and jumped in the back.
He set the meter running and drove her away. She was trying to stay focused on the roads and nothing else because inside her mind were a thousand memories threatening to come forwards and take over.
30
Sephy had spoonfed Lucine some of her favourite broth and she was now fast asleep. Sephy sat in the rocking chair next to the window so exhausted that she kept feeling herself dozing off. If it hadn’t been for Hades hopping in and out, she would probably have fallen into a deep sleep. She felt helpless, Lucine was getting weaker by the day, Dora was out looking for the book and she had a sneaky feeling that Lenny had gone to some bar whilst waiting at the airport and picked up a bit of stuff – when the stress was high her way of dealing with it was by sleeping with a handsome young man half her age. Sephy sighed, a long, drawn-out sigh that she felt carried the weight of the world in it. She spotted a squidgy black spider in the corner of the window spinning a web of intricate gossamer threads and watched her. The spider moved deftly, weaving away until Hades hopped back inside the open window and opened his beak. She waved a finger in his direction.
‘We don’t eat or kill spiders in this house, Hades, mind your manners.’
The spider, who had sensed the bird and was now frozen, waiting to be swallowed up, seemed to be staring straight at Sephy. She shook her head and whispered to it:
‘You are quite safe here, dear. My friend will not pose a threat to you, he knows better than that.’
She reached out and petted Hades’ head, stroking his soft feathers. He let out a low caw and rubbed himself against Sephy’s arm. He glanced over at the bed where Lucine was tucked in and gently snoring then hopped out of the window and took off. Wearily, Sephy stood up. This time it was taking its toll on all of them, today they were a little more drained than yesterday. She desperately wanted to hear Dora’s voice; now that she’d come back into their lives, even only for a few hours, she found that she didn’t want to let her go and hoped that the little bit of protection she had given her had been enough. Tugging her shawl around her, she tiptoed out of the bedroom to go downstairs and see if she had any missed calls or updates from either member of her AWOL family.
The front door opened and in walked Lenny, a black cloud around her blotting out her aura. Sephy shook her head.
‘Why aren’t you on a plane to London? What did you do?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Your aura tells me different, Lenny. Have you heard from Dora?’
She sighed. ‘No, I haven’t heard from Dora, well not for a couple of hours. I thought you were keeping tabs on her? In any case, I have some very bad news for you.’
Sephy turned her back on her, walking away to the kitchen, her safe place, the heart of her home where she cooked up spells and made her magic, always for the good of others.
‘Do I want to know this bad news?’
‘No, but I’m going to have to tell you regardless. I saw him.’
Sephy turned to face her. ‘You saw who?’
