Chapter 25
25
‘Okay, that’s three games down, one to you and two to me.’ Isla smiled and it was almost as if she could feel her eyes twinkling. She’d forgotten what it felt like just to have fun, but Reuben had served it up in style, and now they were about to tuck into Sloppy Joe sliders, along with The Games Room’s house special cocktail, which looked remarkably like a pi?a colada, although they’d both gone for the alcohol-free option. Isla hadn’t wanted to confess that she didn’t have a choice because she was taking the fertility medication, so she pretended it was in solidarity with Reuben, who was driving.
‘I’m going to be the victor in the karaoke booth.’ He grinned and something in her chest felt as if it had fluttered in response. But she wasn’t thirteen any more, watching the Twilight movies, and fantasising about finding her very own Edward. That was the last time she’d felt like this, and when she looked at Reuben it had all the intensity of a teenage crush. So she dropped her gaze and swirled the straw around in her drink.
‘Can you actually win at karaoke?’ As she asked the question, she forced herself to look up again and meet his gaze, the fluttering sensation picking up pace as he laughed.
‘You can certainly lose.’ Reuben dropped the perfect wink. ‘But as it happens, there’s a monitor in the booths that picks up how much each person stays on pitch and you get a score at the end. It’s a bit like Just Dance for singers.’
‘Well, I hope you’re ready. I might have downplayed my abilities before, but I’ve been told more than once that I’ve got a powerful voice.’
‘You do know that’s just a polite way of saying you’re loud and tuneless, don’t you?’ Reuben laughed again, as she poked out her tongue. This had been just what she needed, and there was nowhere else she’d rather have been.
Reuben had scored a pretty impressive 76 per cent with his rendition of ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ and he raised his eyebrows as Isla moved past him to choose her song.
‘Beat that if you can!’
‘Oh, I fully intend to.’ She’d smiled as she scrolled through the choices, and a karaoke classic she’d sung with her mum and sister at family parties caught her eye. It was cheesy and maybe even predictable, but she knew the song had meant a lot to her mother during difficult times.
‘Okay. You’ve chosen “I Will Survive”, so you’re going old school with the original karaoke song.’
‘You’re just worried because you know the games’ score is about to be three to one, to me.’ Isla took a deep breath as the intro to the song began. But once she started singing, she forgot any embarrassment she’d anticipated at Reuben hearing her tuneless rendition, and she belted the song out for all she was worth, picturing her mum and the rest of the family. It was for all of them, and everything they’d survived. By the time she was finished, her eyes were blurred with tears, but she wasn’t sad, she felt stronger and more powerful than she had in a long time. At least until she saw her score: a very mediocre 48 per cent.
‘Oh God, I’m the loser.’
‘No, you’re not. You’ve just given everything to the song you were born to sing.’ Reuben took hold of her arms. ‘You’ve survived so much difficult stuff already, and you won’t just survive what’s going on now. You’ll thrive. All the things you’ve been through have made you the amazing person you are, and everything that’s happening now is just going to be a part of your story.’
‘Thank you.’ He was the kindest, most genuine person she’d ever met and in the confines of the booth their bodies were almost touching, all of which resulted in an almost unstoppable urge to kiss him again. Instead, she let go of another long breath. ‘Not just for what you’ve just said, but for everything, it really has been the best night.’
‘It has, hasn’t it?’ She couldn’t work out if she was imagining the slightly wistful note in his voice and she wanted to say there was one thing that would make it even more perfect, but she couldn’t break the promise she’d made and the only thing she could do was change the subject.
‘We do need a tie-breaker though. How about we race each other to the bottom of one of their fudge brownie sundaes?’
‘It’s a deal, and shall we agree that whoever takes the overall win gets to choose where we go next time?’ As Isla nodded, she did something else she’d promised herself she’d do more of, and counted her blessings. Having someone in her life like Reuben made it feel as if she’d already won. He might be just a friend, when deep down she wanted so much more, but he was already a part of her life she couldn’t imagine living without.
Isla was shaking as the FaceTime call connected. She’d contemplated telling her nan and Grandpa Bill about her diagnosis before her mum and sister came online. But this was going to be hard enough, and she didn’t want to go through it twice.
‘Oh my goodness, look at those two! They’re already changing so much.’ Isla’s nan clapped her hands together in delight, when Lexi appeared on the screen, with the babies cradled in the crook of each arm. Her mother was on one side, and Josh on the other.
‘They really are, Nan, and we can’t wait to see you. Just over a week to go now!’
‘I’m just trying not to think about how quickly the three weeks you’re over here for are going to go by.’ Clare pulled a face. ‘Sorry, sorry, I know I’m being a Debbie Downer, worrying about the end of everything before we’ve even had a chance to enjoy it.’
‘That must be where I get it from.’ Isla hadn’t meant to blurt the words out, but they were churning inside her, making her feel as though she might be sick. ‘I’ve got something to tell you all.’
‘You’re not pregnant too, are you?’ Clare’s eyes widened, but Lexi just laughed.
‘She’d actually have to start seeing someone for that to happen.’ Suddenly her expression changed, mirroring the shock on their mother’s face. ‘Unless you’ve decided not just to donate your eggs, but to be the surrogate too.’
‘Oh Isla, please tell me you haven’t, not without talking it through first.’ Her mother leant closer to the screen and everyone started talking at once, voicing an opinion on whether or not she needed anyone else’s permission to become a surrogate.
‘Stop, stop. It’s nothing like that.’ Isla took a deep breath, the words she’d dreaded saying rushing out on the exhale. ‘I’ve got leukaemia.’
Once they were out, there was no taking them back, and the ten minutes that followed were a whirlwind of tears, and questions, and reassurances that it would all be okay. Everyone had cried, even Josh, who Isla had no idea would have been as affected as he was. It was another reminder of just how much love she was surrounded by, and how lucky she was. But it was the wisdom of her grandmother that had calmed her mother’s near-hysteria in the end.
‘I know this is a horrible shock, Clare, and we all wish Isla didn’t have to go through this. But every day is a gift, and you and Nicky learnt to treasure that. Knowing he’d eventually develop Huntington’s didn’t stop you planning things, it meant you were able to create the best life possible and Nicky never missed a single opportunity to make a memory with the people he loved. He’s been my inspiration to do that, and I learnt far more from my son than I ever taught him. So that’s what we all need to do: hope for tomorrow and plan like it’s going to come, but live for today. Most people don’t, because they haven’t had the privilege of learning from someone like Nicky, but we all did. And that’s why, even though Isla’s going to be just fine, she’ll get to do everything she should be doing, and make the most of every opportunity that comes her way.’
If Isla hadn’t known better, she’d have been convinced that Gwen had already spoken to her grandmother, because their sentiments were much the same. But the truth was, it was a wisdom that came with age, and from having lived a life with ups and downs, sorrow and joy, and a realisation that the best type of life wasn’t always the longest, but the kind that was measured in love.