Sorry it’s been a while, girl. Sorry I haven’t been to see you. I did my best, but it wasn’t enough, I know that. All I can say is that I’m here now.
He stood there, saying nothing, doing nothing, as the rain began to fall harder. He listened to the drops hit the leaves above his head, drowned out occasionally by the pitiful barking of a dog somewhere in the distance. When he was ready, he got the figure of Pip out of the box and laid it down beside the flowers. She would have a friend here now. Someone to keep her company.
Brody stood again. There was no happiness here, no joy to be found. He doubted he’d ever feel complete peace about what happened, but something was shifting, releasing. In that imaginary place he’d avoided for so long – his woodland glade with the pond – a tiny single shoot began to poke through the scorched earth. He took one last look at the words on the headstone, heaved a sigh, and walked away. He had one more appointment in London before he headed home, something he knew he needed to do, but really wasn’t looking forward to.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
ANNA FINISHED THE vegetable chilli she’d made for herself, setting her plate down on the coffee table in front of her. It hadn’t tasted as good as she’d wanted it to. But that had been the theme of the day, she supposed. She’d also had a big meeting at BlockTime, something she’d been looking forward to all over Christmas. It was really going to happen. She’d given in her notice at Sundridge Plumbing and Heating to go to work for them, to oversee both the office and the development of her app. And for almost double her current salary. It was all a bit mind-boggling.
Even though Anna knew this was really huge, that this was a massive step forward, she couldn’t quite seem to get excited about it in the way she wanted to. For the last two weeks, ever since New Year’s Eve, it had felt as if something was dragging her down, making her heavy and listless.
She had just got up to go and deliver her plate to the dishwasher when her phone rang. It was Gabi. ‘You must promise not to judge me…’ she began.
Anna closed her eyes. ‘Oh, Gabs… What have you done now?’
‘I… um… I phoned Lee’s number a few nights ago.’
Anna’s eyelids snapped open. ‘Oh, Gabi! You didn’t! That is a really, really bad—’
‘No, Anna. Wait! I didn’t call Lee – I called hisnumber. It was late at night and I felt lonely and so I… I did what you did.’
‘You did whatIdid?’
‘Yes. I called the number, even though I guessed it might have been given to someone new. I thought about what you did and thought that maybe… somehow… the magic would work for me too. So I waited until midnight and I dialled.’
Until midnight? Anna slapped her palm to her forehead. Oh, dear. Gabi really had got sucked in by this idea, hadn’t she? ‘And…? What happened?’
Gabi exhaled. ‘Someone answered.’
‘They did?’
‘Yes. And we talked. He gets insomnia too. Like me, he’s lonely… His wife died. And can you believe he lives in Sevenoaks? That’s only ten miles away!’
Thisis why she needed to start work at BlockTime as soon as possible and develop that app, Anna thought,to find a safe way for people to meet. Suddenly, she saw very clearly why Gabi had been so wary of Brody in the beginning.
‘Are you going to keep talking to him?’
‘Um… I already did…’ Anna could imagine Gabi wincing as she told her this. ‘He’s calling this evening because I promised to do some shopping for him.’
‘Oh, Gabs… Don’t spend any money on this guy! You hardly know him.’
Instead of being affronted, Gabi started to laugh.
‘What’s funny?’ Anna asked, not sure if she was irritated or confused or a little bit of both.
‘He’s not going to scam me!’ Gabi replied. ‘I’m sending him a book of crossword puzzles. He had a hip operation and needs something to do.’
A likely story,Anna thought.
Gabi giggled again. ‘He’s eighty-three, Anna… and very sweet.’
‘Eighty-three,’ Anna echoed, and then she began to laugh too. Well, there wasn’t much else she could do, could she? She was definitely in no place to judge.
‘We’re helping each other,’ Gabi added. ‘Even if he’s not what I expected.’
‘That’s wonderful,’ Anna said, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized how true that was. Gabi was living proof her app idea could work, even if Gabi had gone about it in her own unique way.
‘Also,’ Gabi added more seriously, ‘he keeps talking about his “rather nice” grandson, and I—’
