Kate checks the time. Maybe she should be focusing on what’s to come and the speech she shortly has to make, but, suddenly, a swim feels like exactly what she needs. And she suddenly recalls that their mum suggested they do this – a swim before the ceremony. Because a swim is always a good idea.
While Kate and Erin get changed, Jay pulls Rosie’s sundress over her head. Beneath is a sunshine yellow swimsuit that matches Kate’s. He zips her into a little wetsuit decorated in flamingos.
‘Cute,’ says Erin.
They head down the meadow to where the river is shallower and the bank slopes gently, creating an easy spot to access the water. Ever since the water was declared clean enough to swim in, Kate has been coming here every day. She even swam all the way through the winter. Even on the days when she really, really doesn’t feel like swimming, it always makes her feel better. So the days when she doesn’t want to swim are the days when she knows she reallyneedsto swim.
Erin strides into the water and pushes off in a confident breaststroke, Brian, Mark and the boys waving to her from the bank. Kate steps in next, planting her feet firmly in the gritty riverbed.
‘Are you ready for her?’
Kate nods up at Jay, reaching out for her daughter, who stretches towards her too. Carefully, Kate pulls Rosie close and then slowly crouches down until the water reaches her. Rosie giggles, splashing her hands on the surface of the river.
‘Mama! Swim!’ says Rosie, kicking her legs behind her and circling her arms. ‘Rosie! Swim!’
Holding her daughter in her arms as the river flows around them, Kate thinks about everything she has been through over the past eighteen months. The words of ‘What A Wonderful World’ float in the air around her, making her eyes sting and her heart ache. Because the world doesn’t always seemwonderful. Sometimes it seems awful. But over the past couple of years, as well as the very worst moments, there have been wonderful ones too. Often when she has least expected them. A friend managing to make her laugh even when she didn’t think she could. Jay kissing her forehead and letting her know that she is loved. The sun peeking out from behind a cloud and shining down on a river. And this girl. No matter what else happens, and no matter how hard their beginning may have been, the world will always feel wonderful because of this girl.
‘Yes, that’s right, darling. Mama swim. Rosie swim.’
‘And Granny wants to swim too!’ comes a voice from across the meadow.
Kate turns at the sound, a smile spreading across her face. Her mum strides through the grass, a bag slung over her shoulder and a wide-brimmed sun hat flopping on her head.
‘Hi, Mum, the water’s lovely!’ calls Erin, waving.
‘Granny!’ cries Rosie, splashing eagerly.
‘That’s right, darling. It’s Granny.’ Kate tries not to let her voice shake too much. It still catches her when she thinks how close Rosie came to growing up without her grandmother. But she’s here, thinner than before since the final round of chemo, but regaining her strength day by day. And she’s going to be OK. Kate still can’t quite believe that her mum is going to be OK. They found out the good news just last week that the treatments did their job and she is now cancer-free. Every time Kate thinks about it, she doesn’t know whether to cry or cheer.
Miriam hugs Jay, Mark and the boys and gives Brian a lingering kiss.
‘Eww! Granny, Grandpa, yuck!’ cries Ted, shielding his eyes. But Kate’s parents don’t seem to care.
‘Sorry I’m late, darlings. My yoga class overran. But I came prepared!’ She whips off her yoga top to reveal a blue swimsuit. Then she steps down into the water, Brian standing on the bank and offering her his hand for support. ‘Ahh! This is wonderful as always,’ she says with a smile as she sinks into the water, a happy, peaceful expression spreading across her face. Swimming in the cold water was one of the things that helped when she was dealing with the nausea from the chemo. The three of them started doing it regularly and haven’t stopped. Sometimes, their swims are less swims and more dips, just bobbing about in the water and chatting. With cake at the Kingfisher afterwards, of course. Because, as Kate’s old friend Rosemary always said, a swim isn’t a swim without cake.
Erin kicks over towards them until they are all standing in the shallows of the river, Kate’s mum in the middle, Erin on one side and Kate and Rosie on the other.
‘My girls,’ her mum says, wrapping an arm around the three of them.
And who knows what will come next in the winding rivers of their lives? But right now, right here in this place and with these people, Kate’s world is wonderful.
CHAPTER 55
Phoebe can’t quite believe how many people came. The meadow is buzzing – quite literally, in the case of the beehives on the top of Hamish’s riverboat. She spots Maude and Hamish as soon as she steps through the gate. They are clearly making the most of the gathering and have lined up pots of their honey on a pop-up table outside the Kingfisher.
‘This thing is heavy!’ says Sandra from behind her and Phoebe turns, readjusting the weight of the roll of fabric in her own hands. She is carrying the front, with Hester in the middle and Sandra at the back. Jazz is in front of them, holding open the gate.
‘Not long now, we’re nearly there!’
They shuffle their way through, various groups looking up and waving as they approach.
‘Hey, Phoebe!’ calls Ben from down by the pontoon, where he is gathered with his girlfriend, Rachel, met through his jobat the local sports shop, and a group of his football mates. They’re smiling and laughing and Phoebe experiences a rush of happiness and pride. Ben’s journey hasn’t been without its potholes, but to see him here, surrounded by people, is a stark reminder of how far he has come since Phoebe first met him. His beloved football club never reopened, but after months of mourning its loss, he decided to set one up himself.
Over by the Kingfisher, she spots Camilla browsing for books with the women Phoebe recognises as her running group friends. They’ve come along to the wild swimming group a few times, often having jogged there through the fields.
Phoebe searches around for Arabella and eventually sees her on the river, floating in a large inflatable ring shaped like a flamingo, sunglasses on and head leant back, her fingers trailing in the water. She looks like a completely different person to the woman Phoebe first met over a year ago. She was never Phoebe’s patient and yet her transformation has been just as dramatic as her mother’s.
The one person she can’t see here is Tara. She messaged this morning to say she wouldn’t be able to make it. She’s having one of her bad days and the thought of leaving the house just felt like too much. Phoebe replied straight away to say they’d miss her but not to worry. She’ll be round to visit tomorrow and they can have a good chat. Phoebe isn’t giving up on her, just like she won’t give up on all her other patients who are having more bad days than good right now. Her job will always have its dark and heavy parts. But, over the years, she’s discovered what a privilege it is to be there with people in their very worst moments. And to try, little by little, to helpthem find their own version of happiness. Whether that means swimming in a river or making honey or kicking about a ball with a bunch of friends.
