Midnight Dolphin (20 page)

Now that she
was fully awake again, it was a pleasure to lie back and watch the
hospital staff get on with the business of the day. They always
seemed to be doing something or another. A lady serving breakfast
from a trolley came around the ward and Lucy suddenly realised that
she was absolutely ravenous. Her stomach started rumbling loudly at
the very thought of food. She hadn’t eaten for days and now she
needed to make up for lost meals. Lucy piled up her plate with
buttered toast and strawberry jam, and tucked into the resulting
mound with gusto. She offered Dad a slice but he refused; it was
clear that she needed the food more than he did.

Lucy wondered
what her class would be doing in school, but she didn’t even know
if it was a weekday or the weekend. Her question was answered
though when later that morning Amy and her mum appeared at her
bedside.

‘
Hey Lucy!’
exclaimed Amy, depositing some cellophane-wrapped flowers on the
bed to reach over and give her friend an extravagant hug. Mrs
Hodges smiled broadly behind her daughter. After a few minutes of
general chat, Dad and Mrs Hodges strolled up the corridor together,
leaving the two girls alone to talk.

‘
We all
thought you’d die!’ said Amy. ‘You’ve been the talk of the school
for days. Do you remember what happened?’ Lucy told her what she’d
told Dad. ‘I was worried sick’ Amy went on. ‘I couldn’t concentrate
on anything at all. We were supposed to have a French vocab test
but I just couldn’t revise. I ended up only getting seven out of
twenty five words right.’ She looked at her friend again. ‘I
couldn’t help but think it was something to do with…, you know,
something to do with you and Spirit.’ Just then they both glanced
up to Dad and Mrs Hodges walking back towards the bed. Lucy didn’t
want to say anything that Dad might overhear but gave Amy the
slightest of nods. ‘I knew it, I knew it!’ Amy exclaimed. ‘You’ve
got to tell me all about it as soon as possible’ she whispered
quietly. ‘It’s almost the Christmas holidays’ she added. ‘Just a
few days to go. We can spend lots of time together
then.’

Lucy felt
awkward with Dad and Mrs Hodges within earshot. She asked about all
the lessons she’d missed and the preparations for the school play
and end of term disco.

‘
I don’t think
you’re going to be up for that Lucy love’ said Mrs
Hodges.

‘
That’s right
Luce’ added Dad. ‘I’ve already spoken to the doctors and school and
it’s agreed that you’ll be kept off school till the start of the
new school year in January. That way you’ll have a proper chance to
recover.’

‘
Aww’
exclaimed Lucy. ‘I’ll miss out on all the fun.’

After Amy and
her mum had gone, Lucy was taken down for more tests. The nurse put
her in a wheelchair and took her down to a room in the basement
with an enormous white tube in it, which looked like an elongated
ring-donut. There was a stretcher-like board for her to lie on and
the staff told her to lie perfectly still as something whirred and
she was propelled inside. It made heavy metallic clunking noises
from within the machine and after what seemed like an eternity,
they brought her out again.

Lucy felt
dizzy as the nurse carefully helped her back into the wheelchair
again, but the technicians were all smiling. It looked as though
whatever they’d wanted to test was fine.

‘
Why can’t I
just walk?’ Lucy asked, determined to get back to normal as soon as
she could.

‘
You will soon
enough’ replied the nurse reassuringly. ‘But you’ve been flat out
in bed for the last few days and it takes a while to build your
strength up again. We just put you in a wheelchair to be on the
safe side. Besides, I think the doctor will discharge you tomorrow
morning.’

Later on
Bethany spent a few hours with Lucy while Dad went home for a rest.
Bethany had her sketch book with her and Lucy flicked through it
idly as they sat together. There were half a dozen or so sketches
of Lucy in the hospital bed with her eyes closed.

‘
I only
started sketching you once you’d regained consciousness. It was
only after you’d fallen asleep naturally that I picked up a pencil’
Bethany explained. I was just too worried to even think about
sketching before that.’

They sat
companionably watching a film on the television that was mounted
just over Lucy’s bed. It was an old black and white movie about a
princess on holiday in Rome who was befriended by an American who
took her to see the Coliseum and the other sights on the back of
his scooter. Normally Lucy wasn’t keen on romantic comedies, but it
was good to lie back on a heap of pillows and surrender herself to
the charm of the movie.

Bethany was
entranced by it. ‘I haven’t seen this film in years’ she murmured.
‘I’d forgotten how lovely it is.’ Wrapped up in their comfortable
cocoon of idleness, the afternoon passed. Nagging away at the back
of her mind though was the thought of Spirit, Dancer and the other
dolphins out there, somewhere in the ocean.

‘
Bethany?’ she
asked apropos nothing in particular. ‘Have you ever heard of the
Three Green Caves?’

‘
Three Green
Caves? Err no. I can’t say I have Kiddo’ Bethany replied glancing
around at her niece. ‘Why?’

‘
Oh I thought
you may have come across them’ replied Lucy noncommittally, ‘… down
in Merwater.’

‘
You’d have to
ask Thelma or Nate’ replied Bethany. ‘I’m afraid I’ve never heard
of them.’ Lucy frowned. Ever since she’d found out that Thelma had
told Dad that she would grow out of being a dolphin-child, but
hadn’t told Lucy, she’d felt betrayed and let down by Thelma. She
didn’t really want to ask Thelma anything at all. Bethany turned
her full attention towards Lucy and regarded her
thoughtfully.

‘
When you were
unconscious Lucy, do you remember anything from that time? The
doctors said the scans showed that your brain was very active; as
though it were conscious, somewhere…’ Bethany trailed
off.

‘
I remember
all of it’ she replied simply, returning Bethany’s gaze. She didn’t
want to say more at that time and was glad that her Aunt didn’t
press her.

‘
Oh I see’ was
all that Bethany said, but her eyes showed a level of understanding
more than words could convey. Lucy looked out of the window for a
minute or two into the wintery darkness of early
evening.

‘
Bethany?’ she
asked once more. ‘Mum never lost her gift did she?’ Bethany shook
her head.

‘
No Lucy, she
didn’t.’

‘
Why was
that?’

‘
I only wish I
knew. But I have no idea at all. I…’, she hesitated. ‘No it’s
nothing.’

Just then Dad
strode up to them. He was cleanly shaved and looked as though he’d
finally caught up with some sleep.

‘
How are you
two getting on then?’ he asked in a friendly tone. ‘You look very
thoughtful the pair of you. Been having a heart to heart have
you?’

Bethany left
not long afterwards, promising to come back the next morning. It
was soon dinner-time on the ward and Lucy was again exceptionally
hungry. She didn’t normally like sausages and mashed potato, but
this evening she didn’t care. She devoured the whole plate followed
by apple pie and ice cream and then asked Dad if he could go down
to the hospital shop and get some salt and vinegar crisps because
she was still feeling hungry.

‘
Well, it
looks like you’ve got your appetite back’ was all that he said
dryly as he jangled his pocket for loose change. ‘I’d be surprised
if they didn’t discharge you tomorrow morning’ he added with a
smile.

At eight
thirty the nurses politely informed Dad that he had to go home for
the night. When Lucy had been so ill, they’d waived the rule about
visiting hours and let Dad stay. Now that she was evidently so much
better, there was no reason why he shouldn’t go home for the night.
As they dimmed the lights in the ward to enable the patients to
sleep, Lucy imagined that each hospital bed was a life boat set
adrift on a windless sea. As she tried to imagine where her bed
might float to, her eyelids fluttered shut and she slipped into a
dreamless sleep.

By ten o’clock
the next morning Lucy was fully dressed in jeans, tee-shirt and a
woolly pullover that Dad thought would keep her warm but which she
didn’t really like very much.

‘
You need it’
he insisted. ‘It’s really chilly outside’. ‘There’s already been
snow up in Scotland and they think it’s heading this way. This
ward’s really warm and you’ll feel the difference when you leave.’
He’d even brought her ski jacket from home. A junior doctor gave
her one last quick check and then declared her fit to leave. Lucy
said goodbye to the nurses, and then she, Dad and Bethany made
their way downstairs to the exit. As soon as they got outside Lucy
realised what Dad meant. There really was an Arctic chill to the
air. Her mind immediately turned to Spirit and she wondered how he
was coping with the cold. Would he be able to find the three green
caves? If only she could reach out to him.

It felt
strange leaving the hospital. Most of the time she’d been
unconscious and hadn’t even been aware of being there. Despite that
she had a curious feeling of leaving the comfort and safety of the
big building with its friendly nurses, for the cold uncertainty of
the outside world. Bethany’s battered old Land Rover was waiting
for them in the car park. Even in the summer it was a draughty car.
It would be freezing now.

‘
Where’s your
car then Dad’ asked Lucy, feeling surprised. Dad was usually so
proud about his car, with its heated steering wheel and plush
leather seats. He said at least one good thing about his job was
that they gave him a decent car.

‘
Oh, it’s err,
in for a service’ he answered uncertainly. ‘I’ll…, I’ll tell you
about it later Lucy.’It was only a short drive back to their house.
Lucy sat in the back and Dad sat in the passenger seat next to
Bethany at the wheel. She shivered on the cold hard seats and was
grateful that Bethany dug out a tartan travel rug to throw over
her. Home looked exactly the same as before, but in a way she could
not put her finger on, it felt somehow completely different. They
shed their coats in the narrow hallway and went through to the
living room to sit down.

‘
Who wants
something to drink?’ asked Dad, before making his way to the
kitchen. Just then Bethany’s mobile phone rang and she delved in a
pocket to pull out the phone in time before it went to
voicemail.

Bethany
answered the phone with a cheery ‘Hi there’ but within a few
seconds her face seemed to crumple unhappily.

‘
I’m so, so
sorry’ she was saying. ‘It must have been a terrible shock.’ The
voice on the other end spoke for a while. ‘Yes of course, of
course’ said Bethany. ‘And if there’s anything we can do…’ she went
on. ‘Our thoughts are with you all’ she said. Soon after she
lowered the handset and looked up. Lucy had been listening
unashamedly and Dad had come back into the living room, holding a
mug in each hand. It was clear something bad had happened, but Lucy
still could not guess what. It took Bethany a few moments to
compose herself.

‘
It’s Thelma’
she said at last. ‘She had a massive stroke and they took her to
hospital in Exeter, but it was no good. She passed away.’ Lucy sat
down heavily on the sofa.

‘
How can that
possibly be?’ she said. ‘Thelma wasn’t
that
old.’

‘
I know’ said
Bethany, looking down at the mobile phone in her lap. ‘She was only
in her late fifties. Not that old at all, nowadays anyway. She may
have been a bit overweight but nothing that bad.’ Bethany put an
arm around Lucy’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

All three had
conflicting feelings at the news. For Bethany, Thelma had been a
friend who had been able to offer support to her troubled niece.
For Dad, Thelma had assured him that Lucy would grow out of her
gift and become a normal girl again. Lucy though had more
complicated feelings. For her, Thelma had been a motherly figure
who she felt that she could trust. When she found out though that
Thelma had said one thing to her but another thing to Dad, she had
felt completely let down and betrayed. The secret that Thelma and
Dad had shared; that her special gift with dolphins would simply
wear off like a henna tattoo was shocking and awful. She could
hardly believe that Thelma would keep it from her as she did. She’d
never had a real opportunity to tell Thelma how she’d felt. Now she
never would. The thought of Thelma’s death brought all the memories
of Mum’s death come flooding back. She didn’t know how to cope with
it all.

When Lucy had
been with Spirit recently, they had seen Nate on the Lady Thelma
looking out mournfully to sea. Now Lucy realised why he had been
looking so sad.

‘
Well, we must
go to the funeral’ said Dad. ‘Do you know when it is Bethany?’ Lucy
looked up in surprise, wiping away at her tears with the back of
her hand. She never thought that Dad would suggest such a
thing.

‘
But what
about your work Dad? Are you sure you get the time off?’

‘
Oh yes’ he
smiled sadly. ‘I’ve got all the time in the world. You see Luce,
they made me redundant last week. You were still unconscious at the
time. That’s why I don’t have the car anymore. They took it away
from me. I’ve got a reasonable pay off and more time on my hands
than I know what to do with.’