Chapter 20
brOOKE
Brooke always said thank you to the hairdressers when they came upstairs after finishing work to sort things out in the flat. She knew they couldn’t hear or see her, but it wouldn’t have felt right not to acknowledge their thoughtfulness.
She watched as Ingrid closed the living room window and drew the curtains before flicking on the two lamps.
She took the remote and turned the television on, then headed into the bedrooms to shut the windows and draw the curtains in those rooms. She kindly didn’t put the lights on in there so Brooke and Danny could sleep.
‘Right, my loves,’ Ingrid said, gazing for some reason in the direction of the kitchen, ‘that’s that sorted for today. I’ll love you and leave you. Hope you both have a good night.’
Brooke smiled. Ingrid always spoke out loud as if they were having a two-way conversation, though many times she and Danny had got home to find the tasks had already been carried out, so Ingrid would have been speaking to an empty flat. It was very thoughtful of her, though. People were very kind.
When Ingrid left, carefully locking the front door behind her, Brooke sank into an armchair and stared at the television without even noticing what was on it.
It had been a crazy day, meeting Kirsty of all people. She couldn’t believe her cousin was right here in Rowan Vale.
Should she have told her that Danny was also here? She nibbled at her thumbnail, thinking. She supposed, if she was being honest with herself, that she should have. It would surely be the right thing to do.
But would it? Kirsty wouldn’t be able to see or hear Danny so that would only be frustrating for her. And it would set Danny back no end if he saw his wife again. Besides, if Kirsty told him she was married to his brother now it might just tip him over the edge.
It was all right for Kirsty and Rory. They could drop the bombshell and head home to their perfect little life together.
It was Brooke who’d have to stay behind and pick up the pieces again, and it had taken eighteen years to get Danny to the point of talking about Kirsty to the other ghosts. What would this setback do to him?
Oh! It was just typical of Kirsty to upset things, just as they were finally getting somewhere. She always was a pain in the arse.
‘Oh, you’re home.’
She jumped as Danny spoke, and looked up to see him standing by the door.
He looked a bit edgy, and for an awful moment she wondered if he’d spotted Kirsty in the village.
It was a scenario Brooke had played out in her head multiple times, and she knew it was a risk she couldn’t do anything about.
She just had to hope Danny somehow didn’t catch sight of his wife while she was in the village.
Not, she realised suddenly, that Kirsty was his wife any more. She’d married Rory. She was his wife now. Oh heck, and how would Danny react to that?
Fingers crossed Kirsty would be gone soon and Danny would never find out.
‘Are you okay? How did the song rehearsal go?’ she asked.
Danny sat on the edge of the sofa looking rather guilty. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said quietly. ‘I didn’t go to any song rehearsal because there wasn’t one. The truth is, I made that up so you wouldn’t come with me.’
Brooke couldn’t deny she was a bit hurt by that, even though he’d at least admitted it to her.
It gave her the chills, though, when she realised that if Danny hadn’t been at a rehearsal he’d probably been wandering around Rowan Vale all afternoon and might have spotted Kirsty in the street.
Or worse, come back to the flat and found her sitting in his living room with Brooke.
‘I see,’ she said. ‘And the reason for that was?’
Danny eyed her steadily for a moment and she noticed a sudden gleam that hadn’t been there before.
‘What are you up to?’ she asked suspiciously.
His face broke into a wide smile. ‘Sorry, Brooke,’ he said. ‘There’s something I didn’t tell you yesterday. I know I should have, but to be honest I needed to get my head around it and I wanted space to think it over before I told you.’
‘Told me what?’ Brooke felt a vague unease. What was Danny keeping from her?
‘You’re not going to believe this. Yesterday, I saw someone in the village. And you’ll never guess who.’
Brooke gave a silent groan. Too late then. It could only be Kirsty. Always popping up where she shouldn’t be and getting in the way of things.
‘Who?’
‘Rory!’
‘Oh heck.’
While she and Kirsty had been chewing the fat right here, Rory had been somewhere having a catch-up with Danny. So did that mean Danny knew everything? He seemed remarkably cheerful if so.
‘What do you mean, “oh heck”? It’s a good thing!
He could see me, Brooke! He could see me and hear me.
We had a bit of a chat and then we met up again this afternoon to talk properly.
He needed a bit of time, you see, to get his head around the fact that his kid brother was unalive and relatively well for a dead man. ’
‘Right, right. And how was he?’ she asked cautiously.
‘He’s pretty good. Told me all about Mum and Dad and how they’re doing, and about his new job.
But the really big news is, he’s married!
I never thought my brother would take the plunge but they’ve been married ten years apparently.
She must be pretty special to get him to commit, that’s all I can say.
I’d love to meet her but she’s not with him and at least that means he gets to spend more time with me. ’
Brooke pursed her lips, confused. Danny was taking it far better than she’d expected him to.
But wait, hadn’t he said he’d love to meet her?
Hmm. So Rory hadn’t told Danny who the lucky lady was then?
Well, she wasn’t surprised really. Rory must be all too aware that Danny was still carrying a torch for Kirsty, and that it would be devastating for him to hear that she was now – well – his sister-in-law, rather than his wife.
‘Well,’ she said slowly. ‘That’s nice.’
‘Nice?’ Danny’s eyes widened. ‘Did you hear what I said? Rory’s here!
We can talk to each other, Brooke. Don’t you understand what this means?
I can finally get a message to Kirsty and tell her I’m okay.
And I can tell Mum and Dad, too. Maybe,’ he said excitedly, ‘they could come here and with any luck one or both of them will be able to see me too, just as Rory can.’
When Brooke didn’t respond he said, ‘Don’t worry.
I haven’t forgotten your family. It means we can get a message to them, too.
We can tell your brother and your parents that you’re here and you’re all right.
Maybe they’ll be able to see you!’ He leapt to his feet suddenly.
‘Why didn’t I think of that before? You’re Kirsty’s cousin!
If we can get her here she might be able to see you, and you can tell her everything that’s happened.
Kirsty and I – we can communicate with yours and Rory’s help. Oh my God, Brooke! Imagine it!’
Brooke could imagine it only too well. Danny would be selling tickets next.
He sat down again and frowned. ‘What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you more excited?’
‘It’s just…’ Brooke didn’t know how to put into words all the emotions that were swirling around in her mind. ‘I’m not sure we should get carried away by all this, that’s all.’
‘Carried away? Are you insane? This is the chance we’ve been waiting for!’
‘Danny, it’s been eighteen years!’
‘I’m well aware how long it’s been, thanks very much. What’s that got to do with anything?’
‘I’m sorry, but eighteen years is a long time. They’ll all have moved on with their lives. They’ve accepted our deaths and they’ve come to terms with it. What good would it do to tell them it’s not what they imagined? Surely it would be kinder to let them go on believing we’re at peace?’
‘But…’ Danny shook his head, staggered. ‘They’ll want to know we’re still here! Wouldn’t you want to know if you were in their shoes?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe. No.’ She shrugged.
‘At first, probably. Yes, I think in the first few years I’d probably give anything to have one last conversation with them.
But eighteen years? Danny, there’s a grieving process that’s so hard and so painful to go through, but they’ve done that and survived it.
How would it be fair to put them back where they were all that time ago?
They’ve let us go. Surely the kindest thing we can do for them is to respect that and wish them well in their lives?
I know I don’t want Mum and Dad upset all over again.
They think I’m at peace. That I have eternal rest. I don’t want them to know that I’m stuck here probably for eternity with no idea why I’m here or what I can do to move on.
It wouldn’t be right. They’ve let me go and I have to let them go in return. ’
Danny looked stunned. ‘You really mean that?’
Brooke blinked away tears. ‘I really do. It’s so tempting to think about seeing them all again. But it wouldn’t be fair to them. I couldn’t do it to them.’
He sat staring at her for a few moments.
‘Well,’ he said slowly, ‘I think you might have a point about parents. At their time of life it probably wouldn’t be a good thing to land such a shock on them.
But Kirsty is a different thing all together.
She’s still single, Brooke. She hasn’t moved on. Don’t you see? She hasn’t let me go.’
Brooke frowned. ‘Rory told you Kirsty was still single?’
‘Yes! And that can only mean that she’s still grieving. If I could see her, if I could let her know that I’m still around, maybe we could say a proper goodbye. It would help her to move on.’
‘Are you sure you want her to move on?’ Brooke asked cynically.
‘Of course I do. I don’t want her to be unhappy.’
‘And that’s the real reason you want to see her?’
‘Yes. What other reason would there be?’