I smile while nibbling on my thumbnail.
‘I’ll be in the hallway on my hands and knees if you need me.’ He beams.
‘Oliver, you don’t have to do this.’
‘Nelly, I do.’
I’m busy searching Google for faulty curses when he comes back with the missing piece. ‘I’ll find some glue. I won’t let you down, Nelly.’
I want to believe him, but he keeps letting me down.
20
I boarded the train to Aunt Polly’s, wondering whether this would be my first-ever normal train journey. There would be no need to squeeze myself against the window to avoid touching anyone or any unwanted romantic visions. Excitement ripped through me.
When a handsome young man with a crooked smile, styled brown hair and piercing blue eyes asked me if the seat beside me was free, I beamed. ‘Yes, it is.’ He grinned and sat down, clutching his vape and an energy drink. For a few fleeting moments, I told myself to appreciate this new experience – sitting next to someone cute on a train, without an annoying curse to spoil things.
‘Are you going far?’ he asked, making me jolt with surprise. My heart went berserk. Not only was I curse-free, but I was also about to start an engaging conversation with someone of the opposite sex. The train jolted, and we both reached out to the seat in front to steady ourselves, accidentally touching hands.
I held my breath. My curse was gone, so there would be no more visions.
White light flashed behind my eyes, and when it cleared, I saw him sitting in a café, explaining to a heavily pregnant young woman why he was texting someone called Carrie. My vision remained long enough for me to read the text. The pregnant woman was scrolling through his phone with a look of horror on her face. ‘You were hooking up to have sex with Carrie in the back of your car,’ she exclaimed. ‘Our baby is due any day and you’re having sex with other women.’
He’s shaking his head. ‘Zoe, calm down, it’s not what you think.’
Sadness enveloped me. My curse was back.
I silently vowed to stop getting my hopes up and accept the fact that it’s either glitching like Miranda’s Wi-Fi or… it’s running out of cursed energy. This was a new angle. I took out my phone and asked Google for its view. Wow – according to Google, the energy behind a curse can diminish over time, although this can take years.
‘Well? Are you going far?’ The young man repeated his question, casting me that dangerous crooked smile of his. ‘If you are, we could keep each other company.’
I let out a heavy sigh. ‘No thanks, I prefer total silence.’
His phone bleeped. As he glanced at the message, I couldn’t stop words flying off the tip of my tongue. ‘Is that Zoe or Carrie messaging you?’
I have never seen someone change seats so fast in all my life.
I’m now sitting on Aunt Polly’s sofa, flicking through her photo album. It’s mid-afternoon and my aunt is upstairs having a nap. I noticed the album under the coffee table while vacuuming. Aunt Polly and I only looked at the photos of Luke and me, but I’m curious about the rest.
This morning, she was cheerful despite telling me her hair was starting to fall out. As I drove her to the hospital, she talked about her exhaustion and daily self-injections to boost her white blood cells, putting my worries into perspective: an annoying curse, a chaotic flatmate, a cat trying to escape, and a negative view on love. I’m not facing cancer or worrying about my blood count. We shared an emotional hug in the car park, and I said her bravery and positivity inspired me. She said if I’d seen her the first time she had to inject herself, I’d see her bravery differently; she cried like a small child.
Once we got home, I cleaned her bungalow and sorted through her pile of ironing while she settled on the sofa with her crossword book, her novels, and the TV remote.
After flipping through pages of teen photos, I find one of Aunt Polly and Hilary outside a lively bar abroad. The sky is clear, and everything looks bright – perhaps Ibiza. Seeing them smile together in tiny denim shorts, low-cut vests, flip-flops and Hilary’s pink cowboy hat makes me emotional. I notice Aunt Polly’s smile looks wider with Hilary. Turning more pages, I see a photo of them in a nightclub, holding large cocktails, with Hilary talking to a bare-chested man in a policeman’s hat, probably after giving relationship advice to a male stripper with issues, which Aunt Polly joked probably saved his relationship.
I think about Hilary, her advice, which always helped my aunt and me navigate difficult times, and how she was there for us, no matter what was going on in her own life.
‘Hilary,’ I murmur, ‘I wish you were here.’
The rest of the photo album celebrates Aunt Polly and Hilary’s friendship. On the final page, they are preparing for a road trip along the south coast. Aunt Polly had recently moved to Tide-Leigh. I’d found a flat to rent and had decided not to go live by the coast. She and Hilary started their great adventure from her bungalow. It was their last holiday together. After this, Hilary moved away to be nearer her ex-husband, Mike. She and Aunt Polly stopped speaking, and Hilary became a distant memory.
In the photo, Aunt Polly is hanging out of the passenger window, wearing a straw hat and clutching a bag full of wine bottles and packets of crisps. Hilary stands beside her, wearing giant pink sunglasses and clutching a bodyboard. I remember waving them off and shaking my head in embarrassment as Hilary turned up Bon Jovi on her car radio.
As I go to close the album, I notice there is something tucked behind the photo of them about to embark on their road trip. Upon closer inspection, I can see that it’s an envelope inside the plastic wallet. I pull it out and see that it’s addressed to Aunt Polly. My eyes dart to the Exeter postmark.
My heart starts to thud. I have always been curious about what happened between them. Perhaps the answer is in this letter? I know that Hilary cared a lot about my aunt, and she would want to know about the breast cancer.
An uncomfortable feeling passes over me. This letter is personal to Aunt Polly. The reason why their friendship ended is none of my business, and that’s how it should remain.
