‘Maybe a soft drink, as we are both driving,’ she reminded him. ‘Besides, I need to speak to Kyle later, although I don’t want to ruin his long weekend.’ She sighed. ‘He’s gone on a fishing trip with a few friends.’
‘When is he back?’
‘Tomorrow. Maybe I will leave it until then.’
‘Probably best. There is nothing he could do now anyway,’ said Mark wisely. ‘I will be in touch about the funeral arrangements, then I would like to take you and Kyle out on Sunday for lunch, if you are free.’
He was determined not to let his sister disappear from his life again.
‘I will be.’ Lynn smiled. ‘And I will make sure Kyle is too.’
FORTY-FOUR
DECLAN
Declan screwed up the third sheet of paper and tossed it into the bin. He was hardly Shakespeare and, as he recalled, English was just about his worst subject at school. He had barely scraped a pass in his exams. He preferred logic and order, so accountancy was a perfect career choice.
Maybe Alice was right about the power of the written word, but he preferred to talk to someone face to face.
So what was stopping him? As soon as Jess arrived home from work, he decided he would knock on her door and apologise for his behaviour on Saturday night. He wondered whether he should have spoken to her yesterday but recalled her saying that she would be spending the day with Maisie and her mum. Maybe after she heard what he had to say, though, she would never want to speak to him again.
There was only one way to find out. Declan told himself to man up, as he grabbed his key and headed next door. After knocking for several minutes, he gave up. It was a pleasant evening, so perhaps Jess and Maisie had headed to the park, or to feed the ducks at the pond. He would catch them later.
He was about to head inside his flat, when Jess called him from across the hall.
‘Sorry, I was getting changed,’ she told him. ‘Maisie was playing on her iPad. I tell her never to open the door if I am busy.’
‘Of course.’ He smiled as he walked over.
‘Did you want something?’ asked Jess as politely as she could.
‘I did.’ He nodded. ‘I wanted to talk about Saturday night.’
‘Right,’ she said, glancing down at her toes. The dusky-pink polish on her toenails was all but chipped off and she wished she was wearing her slippers.
‘I probably should have called yesterday, but I knew your mum was staying,’ he explained. ‘And I also might have lost my bottle,’ he admitted, just as Maisie appeared in the doorway. ‘Maybe we could go for a walk or something?’
‘Well, I have to dry my hair and get dressed, so if you can give me half an hour,’ she told him.
‘Of course, I’ll call back then.’
‘Where did you lose your bottle?’ Maisie asked Declan, which put a smile on the face of both Jess and Declan. ‘Because Mum always says to retrace your steps, and you should find what you are looking for.’
Jess and Declan exchanged a glance.
‘I will remember that, Maisie.’ He smiled at the adorable little girl.
Inside his apartment he made himself a cup of tea, then sat down and thought about what he would say to Jess later.
He at least needed to apologise for his shift in mood on Saturday night. Jess deserved that at least.
FORTY-FIVE
ALICE
Alice had enjoyed the most wonderful day.
She had chatted to two sisters, both in their eighties, at the cinema and felt a little stab of regret that she could not enjoy a day out with her own sister these days.
