Laura placed a hand over hers and smiled. ‘I think we should forget everything and move on.’
A lump formed in Natalie’s throat. She’d missed her friend. She laughed. ‘You and Kyle, I can’t get that out of my head.’
‘Don’t.’ Laura playfully elbowed her.
A young man in a nurse’s uniform entered the reception area. ‘We’re bringing him through to the conservatory in a couple of minutes. If you head through…’ He held an arm up, pointing in the direction that he wanted them to walk in. The sound of a humming dishwasher came from the kitchen.
Soon they reached a large clifftop room with panoramic views of the sea where they both sat on the large window seat and waited.
‘Great view.’ Laura chewed what was left of her sweet. ‘I hope we don’t have to wait too long for him. Are you going to tell me more about why we’re here or do I have to work it out as we go?’
‘I’d rather speak to Archie first.’
‘You do know how bad Archie is, don’t you? I haven’t seen him but Cody tells me all the time that his dad is getting worse.’
‘Yes, of course I do. I also know that he has moments where he can remember. He’s not completely lost yet.’ Natalie had to have hope that Archie would give her something to work with.
Laura placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘Just don’t get your hopes up, that’s all I’m saying.’
Maybe she’d pinned too much on speaking to Archie. Natalie swivelled slightly to get a full view of the sea under the light of the moon. She wondered where that child lay. Jess might end up embroiled in legend one day. The little baby mermaid, lost forever to the sea, haunting caves along with pirates of the past. She imagined her as a little sea urchin. Maybe that’s what her memory would be in several hundred years’ time.
An unsettling swirl in the sea tossed a small fishing boat about causing its lights to flicker. No one could survive falling into those waters when the sea was like that. With the swirling currents and the drag of exhaustion and hypothermia that would soon come, a mere human wouldn’t have much of a chance.
‘It’s horrible to think of a little baby drowning in that, isn’t it?’ It’s as if Laura sensed her thoughts.
She shivered. ‘I wish I could stop thinking about it. It’s literally haunting me.’
Laura gripped her hand. ‘It’s going to be okay.’
The trundling of wheels got louder as the young man pushed Archie into the room. He pressed the brakes on the wheelchair with his foot as they reached the other side of the table. ‘Here you go, Archie. You’ve got visitors, how lovely. Can I get you all a cuppa?’
Natalie shook her head.
‘No, thanks,’ Laura replied.
‘Just one for you then, Archie, my friend.’
‘Y-y-yes. Cup of tea.’ The old man nodded. The skin on his chin hung loose like it was dragging his lips downward, giving him a miserable look. The nurse left. ‘I don’t know.’ Shaking his head, over and over again, Archie kept repeating those words.
‘Do you remember me, Archie?’ Natalie leaned forward a little.
The man ignored her, instead playing with some flakes of skin that had rested on his navy-blue cardigan.
‘Archie?’
‘Cody.’ The man scrunched his eyes as he stared at Natalie.
‘No, I’m Nat. I worked with my husband, Alan, at the ice-cream shop. You used to pick up tourists for your boat trips there.’ The word husband had almost stuck in her throat. If he was still alive, a divorce would have been on the cards.
‘I used to pick up tourists?’
‘Yes, you took them on fishing trips and Cody helped you.’
‘Where’s Cody?’
‘He was at the boat earlier. Cody is fine.’
The nurse came back in and placed a beaker of tea in front of Archie. ‘If you could encourage him to drink it, that would be great.’
