Page 34 of If I Could Say Goodbye
‘Wouldn’t she be a widower?’
‘I don’t know, Ed! What would I say to her? Sorry I didn’t come and help you with your daughter while you were passed out because I’m too busy sleeping in my Egyptian cotton sheets next to my husband – who is a Viking in the sack by the way—’ Ed smirks slightly at this even though his brow remains furrowed, ‘so no I can’t go around to your house and comfort a five-year-old who is petrified.’
‘Fine.’ Ed straightens his face. ‘But you still should have woken me up.’
‘If it happens again I will.’
‘Good.’
‘Good.’
‘So . . .’ Ed starts to grin. ‘Ragnar Lothbrok, eh?’
‘Huh?’
‘The Viking?’
‘Oooh, he’d make a good Ragnar.’Kerry steps back into our hallway just as the tumble dryer beeps the ending of its cycle.
‘I’ll get the clothes out,’ Ed says, passing me into the kitchen.
‘He’ll figure it out, you know,’ she says, examining the last bit of crust before putting it into her mouth.
Figure out what?
‘That my sister can see dead people.’
Chapter Twenty-One
Jennifer
Erica and Oscar are singing ‘Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar’ in the back of the car, while Hailey has slipped on her headphones and is tapping away on her tablet. Oscar and Erica have both been to a birthday party and I offered to stay and bring them back.
‘Who are you trying to kid? You offered so you could keep an eye on Nessa.’
I ignore my subconscious and plaster a smile on my face as I pull up outside the house and see that Nessa is half-way through mowing the lawn. Her hair is tied back and she has the beginnings of a tan. Just outside her gate is a couple in their mid-forties who have their faces attached to each other.
‘Ugh,’ Hailey groans from the back seat. Oscar is giggling. I look into my rear-view mirror and catch Erica’s eye.
‘I never see my mummy and daddy doing that!’ Erica says, giggling.
‘My mummy and daddy do that,’ Hailey confirms. ‘Daddy does it to Mummy in the cupboard under the stairs.’
‘No, he doesn’t. He tickles Mummy in the cupboard under the stairs because I heard her laughing and then she ate some chocolate.’
‘What do you mean, Oscar?’ I ask. I know that I should shove this conversation onto another track, but curiosity is getting the better of me.
‘Because you went mmmmmmm, like you do when you eat chocolate.’
‘Yes, that’s right. I was, um, eating chocolate under the stairs with Daddy.’
‘Why were you under the stairs?’ asks Erica.
‘Erm—’
‘They were playing hide and seek,’ Hailey butts in, and I’m grateful for her no-nonsense tone.
‘And then Daddy hurt his-self cuz he went ugh-ah-ah!’
