Chapter 68
As Shaun walked away from the table, pressing his phone to her ear, Daisy looked at Yvonne, desperate to say something that could ease the moment. Yvonne’s face had glowed so brightly when she’d recalled the memory of her and Harry, but now that had gone and all it left was the shadowy chill of his ghost.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked. Their wines were barely touched, and she felt a definite drying in her throat.
As if reading her mind, Yvonne reached out and took a long sip from her own glass before letting out a sigh.
‘Yes, yes. I am. It’s hard. Some days, it’s harder than others, but then I just have to remind myself that we may not have had as long together as some couples, but we had more adventures in that time than some people would have in twenty lives. And it wasn’t as if we did bad, either. Twenty-seven years. It’s hardly something to sniff at.’
Daisy nodded, her chest still swelling in an ache for her friend.
‘But I guess in some ways that must make it harder, if he was the one you always had adventures with,’ she said.
‘Perhaps,’ Yvonne agreed. ‘But it doesn’t have to be that way, does it?’ Daisy could see the way Yvonne forced herself to smile, and it only made the ache in her chest more pronounced. ‘I just wish I’d done this sooner. Got out and seen the world again before… before…’
She let her words linger in the air.
Daisy frowned, wondering exactly what it was she meant. Probably before she’d got old. That was the most likely thing. Before she’d needed to take numerous naps each day. This trip had already taught Daisy hundreds of things, but not waiting for life to start had to be one of the greatest. Somehow, she thought that was something Yvonne would like to hear, and she was about to say as much when Shaun came striding towards them, his forehead crinkled in a frown.
‘Is everything all right?’ Daisy asked, noting the way Shaun hovered above his seat without sitting back down.
‘Not exactly. It’s my brother. A whole lot of stuff you don’t want to hear, trust me. But basically, it means I’ve got to go. I’m really sorry.’
Daisy stood up. ‘Don’t apologise. Although I feel terrible that you bought a bottle of wine and you’ve not even had half a glass.’
‘I know. What can I say? My family has perfect timing. Honestly, though, I need to leave now or it’ll just be more stress.’
‘Well, then, we’ll come with you?’ Daisy suggested.
Shaun shook his head. ‘I’ll just be more upset if you don’t finish the wine. Besides, I’m in the opposite direction. It’s typical. I love hearing about all your adventures.’
Whatever was going on, Shaun clearly wanted to deal with it as swiftly as possible, without any fuss, though before he could turn around and leave, Johnny jumped up and grabbed him by the bottom of his shirt. Of all the strange things Daisy had seen Johnny do over the last few days, this was definitely the oddest. His teeth were clamped on to the fabric as he pulled backwards, as if he were trying to get Shaun to sit back down.
‘Johnny, stop it. Stop it now!’ Daisy tugged on his leash so that he dropped back into a sitting position, but there was a strange look in his eyes as he continued to stare at Shaun. Daisy couldn’t help but think how odd it was that out of all those people in the park, Johnny had run to Shaun, and now he was looking visibly upset at Shaun leaving. She knew that she and the dog had built up a fairly close relationship over the last couple of days, but they had been spending all their time together. This bond Johnny clearly felt with Shaun caused an uncertainty to twist within her.
‘I guess that means he doesn’t want me to go, either,’ Shaun said, reading Daisy’s mind and offering a tight smile before he looked to Yvonne. ‘Who knows, perhaps we’ll bump into each other again soon?’
‘That would be lovely, and best of luck with everything.’
Before any of them could say any more, Shaun had turned on his heel and was practically sprinting out of the beer garden.
‘Well, I hope it’s not too serious,’ Daisy said.