‘Do you think you’d like to try some of the community groups we talked about before?’
But Tara had shaken her head. ‘I couldn’t. I can’t … I can’t go outside. You know that.’
And Phoebe did. Tara hadn’t once left the house in all the time that Phoebe had been visiting her, no matter how hard Phoebe and the other people who cared for her tried to persuade her. At first, the voices had been what kept her a prisoner in her own home, telling her that awful things would happen if she went outside. But even though the voices have gone, it seems the fear hasn’t.
Before leaving, Phoebe did a quick check of Tara’s kitchen – a common tactic of hers to work out how her patients arereallydoing. On discovering that the fridge was practically empty, she sat with Tara while she placed an online food order, not leaving until she was certain that there would be supplies arriving in the morning.
‘And I’ve put a pizza in the oven for you. I accidentally bought one too many at the shop earlier. It would only go to waste otherwise.’
Now she’s finally finished for the day, her motorbike parked up outside the flat, but with nothing for her own dinner and not enough energy to go back out to the shops. She’s just thinking about the bottle of gin waiting for her upstairs when she spots someone she thinks she recognises walking towards her along the pavement.
Although the mousy-haired woman is dressed in tracksuit bottoms and a hoody, Phoebe can immediately recall her in a bright yellow swimsuit when they swam together at the river this morning. Jesus, was it really only this morning? Her day has felt about three weeks long.
To her surprise, the woman isn’t alone. She is pushing a navy pram, a soft rattle shaped like a star hanging from its canopy.
‘Kate?’ she asks as the woman draws closer.
The messy bun on the top of Kate’s head bounces as she looks up from where she’d been peering inside the pram, her eyebrows rising in surprise.
‘Oh, hi Phoebe.’ She appears decidedly flustered, her cheeks colouring.
Phoebe catches a glimpse inside the pram of a tiny baby wearing a pink-and-white striped onesie. She is fast asleep, her arms flung out above her head.
‘I didn’t realise you had a baby.’ The morning might already seem a long time ago, but she tries to recall their conversation at the river. She’s certain Kate mentioned something about work … But then, how much did any of them really reveal about their lives beyond the river, however happily they had chatted together?
‘Oh, yeah,’ Kate says, shifting somewhat uncomfortably on the spot. ‘This is my … daughter, Rosie. Short for Rosemary.’
Is it Phoebe’s imagination or does Kate hesitate before the word ‘daughter’?
‘Nice name.’
A faint smile appears on Kate’s face.
‘Thanks. She’s named after an old friend. Actually, the person who first got me into swimming.’
‘How old is she?’
‘Three months.’
‘She’s cute.’
‘Thanks.’ There’s something about Kate’s expression that looks conflicted. Phoebe notices the dark bags under her eyes that she hadn’t spotted when they were down at the river, where nature seems to put a filter over everything, making it brighter and softer.
She thinks of the gin and tonic waiting for her upstairs. Then she looks at Kate again.
‘You don’t fancy a coffee, do you?’
Kate looks startled but pleased.
‘That would be lovely.’
Phoebe starts leading them towards the Cosy Corner, but Kate gently grabs her arm.
‘Um, do you mind if we go somewhere else? This place right here looks promising?’ She gestures behind them. ‘I’ve been wanting to go since it opened, but this little one means I basically never get out anymore. Ooh, it looks like they do wine too …’
Phoebe looks through the window, catching sight of Luca standing on a ladder, reaching for a bottle of olive oil fromone of the top shelves. His T-shirt has lifted slightly, revealing a slice of tanned back. She immediately looks away.
‘Here, let me help you,’ she says, holding the door open as Kate wrestles with the pram.
