‘Should we give you some privacy?’ Susanna asked.
‘Most definitely not,’ said Gayle decisively, before she addressed the doctor. ‘Give it to me straight. How long do I have?’ Never one to beat about the bush, she added, ‘My brother died of pancreatic cancer and my sister had heart problems at a very young age. So what is it for me?’
The doctor’s neutral expression morphed into a kind smile. ‘Gayle, we’ve run quite a few tests, and we are confident that whatever made you pass out and is responsible for your other symptoms, isn’t cancer. And you don’t appear to have any problems with your heart, either.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘As sure as we can be. But there are some concerns.’
Here it was, the truth. She was ready. She had the girls at her side and she could take whatever he threw at her now.
‘We believe that the reason you passed out was because your blood pressure was very high. That can cause damage to the body and the internal organs, but we’ve given you some medication and it has come down significantly. It may take up to a few weeks to fully stabilise.’
‘Well, that’s good,’ said Susanna.
The doctor continued. ‘Our tests have also revealed that you are in the pre-diabetic range, Gayle, which isn’t so good. But on the positive side, we know now and we can act.’
‘Would that have caused her other symptoms?’ Addie asked.
‘We can’t be sure. Sometimes there are no obvious symptoms with pre-diabetes. What we do know is that there is plenty we can do at this early stage.’ The doctor looked at Gayle. ‘How is your diet? Do you eat regular meals? Healthy snacks?’
Addie leapt in with, ‘She runs on empty a lot of the time, snacking here and there in the kitchen while she’s cooking. She makes puddings.Greatpuddings.’
‘Then it would be wise to make some changes,’ he said. ‘Lifestyle plays a pivotal role in a lot of diseases, type 2 diabetes included.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ Gayle replied, albeit a bit begrudgingly.
The doctor smiled. ‘Don’t get me wrong – puddings are great, but you need to prioritise nutritious meals. I’ll get the nurse to bring over some leaflets with more information. Lifestyle changes don’t need to be complicated.’
Everything he was saying was true, but one thing remained – she had a business to run, while she was still able to do it. She had to make him understand. ‘Young man…’ He barely looked old enough to shave, let alone to have been to medical school. ‘I’ll have you know, I own the Sweet Life Café on Anchor Island. Puddings are kind of my thing.’
His face lit up. ‘Well, I never. I love the Sweet Life Café!’
‘You know it?’
‘Know it? Iloveit. I’ve been going there on and off since I was a young boy.’ He still was a young boy in her eyes, but her life was kind of in his hands so she wasn’t about to voice that thought. ‘Whenever I eat there, it reminds me of my grandmother’s home cooking. It didn’t matter how big the dinner, there was always room for pudding.’
Gayle laughed. ‘I like the sound of your grandmother. Wise words. And I can’t give up puddings – I have to taste test, sample a lot of different puddings with a vast array of ingredients. I have to eat what I make, or how can I expect anyone else to?’
He smiled. ‘I wouldn’t dream of suggesting you never eat a pudding again, just prioritise your nutrition first with some decent meals and then perhaps work with a process of elimination to see whether anything in particular makes your indigestion or tummy pains worse. You might find that by eating properly as well as the necessary taste testing, you’ll feel far better anyway. Make sure you get plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein. Do you do any exercise?’
‘I walk – not as far as I used to, but enough – and I’m on my feet a lot at the café.’
‘Well, living on an island with all its fresh air is probably at the top of my prescription.’ He nodded, smiled, and bid them farewell. Gayle had to hand it to him – he had a lovely bedside manner. It was only when he left that Gayle realised how relieved she was that they hadn’t found anything too sinister.
‘I’m really glad it’s nothing too serious,’ said Susanna. Gayle saw her hand move as if she was going to reach out to her, but she stopped short of doing so.
‘Me too,’ said Addie. ‘Although you want to avoid developing diabetes, so you really do need to make some changes.’
‘And I will. I promise.’ Because now she had even more incentive to hang around for many years to come. She had these three wonderful girls, her family, or at least she hoped she did from now on.
Addie suddenly asked, ‘Wait, is this why you wanted to have the living funeral? Did you really think you were dying?’
She grimaced. ‘I was convinced my fate was sealed. I had so much to say to you both and I thought if I called it a living funeral the wordfuneralmight make you realise we didn’t have forever.’
‘The wordfuneralcertainly did that,’ said Susanna. ‘We should’ve come sooner.’
‘We all should have dealt with things sooner,’ said Gayle. ‘All three of us struggled in different ways with how things were. I know I did plenty I’m ashamed of.’
