Chapter 29
GAYLE
Gayle opened her eyes when she felt a hand on her arm. ‘Addie…’ She turned her head and saw Susanna and Louisa. All three Rafferty girls here at her bedside, and despite the circumstances in many ways it made her feel like the luckiest woman alive.
‘How are you feeling?’ Addie asked.
‘So-so,’ she said. She was tired. She’d been poked and prodded around, needles for this, that and the other, and she’d had a scan as well as an ultrasound. ‘What day is it?’
‘Thursday,’ Louisa informed her.
‘Did I sleep a whole day away?’
Susanna smiled. ‘Kind of. You had more tests yesterday. We all popped in a couple of times, but you needed your rest.’
She leaned forward a little while Susanna put another pillow behind her head to prop her up some more. She was still tired and she was still worried. Her mum had always said to her, never go into hospital or you won’t ever come out again. What if that time was now?
‘Did you sleep well?’ Addie asked her.
She shook her head and said quietly, ‘There’s either someone yelling, or alarms by the beds going off, beeping, lights flickering.
I’ll be better once I get back to my cottage.
’ If she was going to die, she wanted to die at home, not in a sterile environment like this.
She wanted to keep eating the most delicious puddings and for the sweet smell of them to drift up the stairs as her big send off.
‘Did you all come by ferry?’ Gayle asked the girls.
‘Mateo brought us over the night you collapsed,’ said Addie. ‘You came here in the marine ambulance while he brought us by boat and got us sorted with accommodation too.’
‘He’s a good man.’ Her gaze flitted briefly to Susanna, who nodded in agreement. It felt like some sort of reprieve after what she’d done decades ago to break them up, when she did what she thought was best.
‘What was your breakfast like?’ Louisa asked.
‘Questionable.’ Gayle liked that they all giggled. The three of them together was quite something. Harry would’ve loved to see it, of that, she was sure.
When Susanna had revealed that she’d known about Harry’s affair for years but never told Addie, Gayle’s heart had gone out to her for harbouring the secret, and to Addie who had idolised her dad and had to find this out now.
Gayle had been terrified that the revelations would be too much for Addie to handle.
And yet, here she was. Perhaps collapsing had been the best thing that could’ve happened.
And at least now she was here in the hospital having tests she was no longer avoiding her failing health.
When she saw the doctor approaching, she sat up a little further. It looked like it was time to face facts head-on, and she was glad the girls were with her.
‘Should we give you some privacy?’ Susanna asked.
‘Most definitely not,’ said Gayle decisively, before she addressed the doctor. ‘Give it to me straight. How long do I have?’ Never one to beat about the bush, she added, ‘My brother died of pancreatic cancer and my sister had heart problems at a very young age. So what is it for me?’
The doctor’s neutral expression morphed into a kind smile. ‘Gayle, we’ve run quite a few tests, and we are confident that whatever made you pass out and is responsible for your other symptoms, isn’t cancer. And you don’t appear to have any problems with your heart, either.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘As sure as we can be. But there are some concerns.’
Here it was, the truth. She was ready. She had the girls at her side and she could take whatever he threw at her now.
‘We believe that the reason you passed out was because your blood pressure was very high. That can cause damage to the body and the internal organs, but we’ve given you some medication and it has come down significantly. It may take up to a few weeks to fully stabilise.’
‘Well, that’s good,’ said Susanna.
The doctor continued. ‘Our tests have also revealed that you are in the pre-diabetic range, Gayle, which isn’t so good. But on the positive side, we know now and we can act.’
‘Would that have caused her other symptoms?’ Addie asked.
‘We can’t be sure. Sometimes there are no obvious symptoms with pre-diabetes. What we do know is that there is plenty we can do at this early stage.’ The doctor looked at Gayle. ‘How is your diet? Do you eat regular meals? Healthy snacks?’
Addie leapt in with, ‘She runs on empty a lot of the time, snacking here and there in the kitchen while she’s cooking. She makes puddings. Great puddings.’
‘Then it would be wise to make some changes,’ he said. ‘Lifestyle plays a pivotal role in a lot of diseases, type 2 diabetes included.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ Gayle replied, albeit a bit begrudgingly.
The doctor smiled. ‘Don’t get me wrong – puddings are great, but you need to prioritise nutritious meals. I’ll get the nurse to bring over some leaflets with more information. Lifestyle changes don’t need to be complicated.’
Everything he was saying was true, but one thing remained – she had a business to run, while she was still able to do it.
She had to make him understand. ‘Young man…’ He barely looked old enough to shave, let alone to have been to medical school.
‘I’ll have you know, I own the Sweet Life Café on Anchor Island. Puddings are kind of my thing.’
His face lit up. ‘Well, I never. I love the Sweet Life Café!’
‘You know it?’
‘Know it? I love it. I’ve been going there on and off since I was a young boy.
’ He still was a young boy in her eyes, but her life was kind of in his hands so she wasn’t about to voice that thought.
‘Whenever I eat there, it reminds me of my grandmother’s home cooking.
It didn’t matter how big the dinner, there was always room for pudding. ’
Gayle laughed. ‘I like the sound of your grandmother. Wise words. And I can’t give up puddings – I have to taste test, sample a lot of different puddings with a vast array of ingredients. I have to eat what I make, or how can I expect anyone else to?’
He smiled. ‘I wouldn’t dream of suggesting you never eat a pudding again, just prioritise your nutrition first with some decent meals and then perhaps work with a process of elimination to see whether anything in particular makes your indigestion or tummy pains worse.
You might find that by eating properly as well as the necessary taste testing, you’ll feel far better anyway.
Make sure you get plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein. Do you do any exercise?’
‘I walk – not as far as I used to, but enough – and I’m on my feet a lot at the café.’
‘Well, living on an island with all its fresh air is probably at the top of my prescription.’ He nodded, smiled, and bid them farewell.
Gayle had to hand it to him – he had a lovely bedside manner.
It was only when he left that Gayle realised how relieved she was that they hadn’t found anything too sinister.
‘I’m really glad it’s nothing too serious,’ said Susanna. Gayle saw her hand move as if she was going to reach out to her, but she stopped short of doing so.
‘Me too,’ said Addie. ‘Although you want to avoid developing diabetes, so you really do need to make some changes.’
‘And I will. I promise.’ Because now she had even more incentive to hang around for many years to come. She had these three wonderful girls, her family, or at least she hoped she did from now on.
Addie suddenly asked, ‘Wait, is this why you wanted to have the living funeral? Did you really think you were dying?’
She grimaced. ‘I was convinced my fate was sealed. I had so much to say to you both and I thought if I called it a living funeral the word funeral might make you realise we didn’t have forever.’
‘The word funeral certainly did that,’ said Susanna. ‘We should’ve come sooner.’
‘We all should have dealt with things sooner,’ said Gayle. ‘All three of us struggled in different ways with how things were. I know I did plenty I’m ashamed of.’
‘Gayle, you kept us safe,’ said Addie. ‘You brought up two girls who were strangers, really.’
‘Yes, well, I didn’t do a very good job of it.’
Addie smiled. ‘I think you did a better job than you give yourself credit for.’
‘I agree,’ said Susanna with a smile so kind it made Gayle want to weep for all the years they’d missed.
Louisa stepped closer to the bed. ‘Gayle, you’re a wonderful person. I’m glad there’s nothing sinister wrong with you because I quite like being a part of this complicated, messy family.’ Her comment made them all laugh. ‘I mean it! I’ve never had it before.’
Gayle leaned back against her pillows. ‘Imagine if I hadn’t missed that wording off the invites.’
‘We might never have come,’ said Addie. ‘But I’m glad we did.’
‘Me too,’ Susanna agreed. ‘But that will do for drama for a while.’
Oh, sod it, Gayle thought. If Susanna wouldn’t make the move, she would. She reached out and put her hand over Susanna’s much warmer one. ‘That will definitely do for drama.’
Susanna’s eyes were filled with tears when she looked up.
Gayle needed to talk to Addie as well, but right now it was Susanna’s turn. Without taking her eyes from her eldest niece, she said to Addie and Louisa, ‘Would you two please give us a moment?’
‘We’ll go for a wander and give you some time,’ she heard Addie say.
Once Addie and Louisa had gone, Gayle patted the bed. Susanna moved from the chair to the mattress.
‘Didn’t think this was allowed,’ said Susanna.
‘Leap off if the nurses come,’ Gayle suggested. Susanna had popped her bottom down this same way when she first arrived and was promptly told by a porter that she shouldn’t be sitting on the bed. But right now, Gayle wanted her as close as possible.
‘I wasn’t ever very nice to you,’ said Susanna without hesitation. She said it as though she’d known what to say since she was fourteen, but had only just given herself permission to come out with it.