Isabella's Last Request (5 page)

              ‘So, is it really worth paying an extra $10 per person?’

Isabella and I have been posing for photos next to statues of knights in shining armour. They may not be real, but we’re about to watch the real thing whilst we eat our tea, so we feel number 97 can be ticked off.

              ‘Babe, Medieval Times is totally awesome; it should have been on your list in the first place. Oh, talking of the list; I’ve booked us all in for a hot air balloon ride to see the sunrise tomorrow.  Ollie, you may want to pull a sickie for this. I was thinking after that, we could head to Everglades and The Kennedy Space Centre? Make a full day of it.’

             
‘Wow Josh, that sounds amazing. But don’t you think that’s quite a lot to do in one day?’

Josh looks a bit hurt by my reaction and Isabella is now glowering at me. I know she agrees with me, and I know she’ll be too tired to do all of it in one day; but she’s afraid of offending her new boyfriend.

              ‘Mate, Livs has a point. I’m up for the hot air balloon, but it’s too much for one day. How about we get up early, do that, I go back to work for the rest of the day, and then we can all meet for dinner at the All You Can Eat place. That’s another off the list, and we can do the rest another day?’

             
‘I do have a point, of course, but there are two flaws with that. One, don’t call me Livs and two; we’re going to Discovery Cave to swim with dolphins tomorrow.’

I don’t know what it is about Ollie but he makes me feel confident. I can say anything to him.

              ‘Can we talk about this after? We paid extra to get in first and be in the front row seats, and we’re now wasting time and missing the experience.’ Josh grabs my wrist, and slightly more carefully takes Isabella’s hand leading us towards the massive stadium.

We’re still almost first in and near the front, even with our setbacks. We’re directed to the very first row of the blue section and given a blue flag and a blue paper crown each. There’s a large arena in the centre which has sawdust or something covering the ground, and a thick barrier all around the edge at about waist height; so we can still see everything that happens, but in safety.

Isabella and I are sitting in the middle with Josh to her left and Ollie to my right. I feel like they’re all trying to set us up, possibly including Ollie himself. That makes me sound really big headed, but it’s just the feeling I’ve been getting.

Laid out in front of us is a paper place mat with Medieval Times written at the top, there’s a photo of a gorgeous white stallion across the
centre, and a blue border along the bottom with blue knight written in bold, just in case we forgot who we’re voting for. We also have a metal plate and a metal bowl, but no cutlery.

Once everyone is settled, the waitress who introduces herself as our wench brings us a beaker of ice with some coke dripped over. She also fills our metal bowls with tomato soup and some yummy garlic bread. Ollie laughs when I ask how I’m supposed to eat my soup without a spoon.

              ‘They didn’t have cutlery in the Medieval Times; you just pick up the bowl and tip it into your mouth like this.’

Ollie demonstrates, but ends up spilling soup down his chin.

              ‘I get the cutlery thing, but why have we been given a glass of coke then, surely they didn’t have that either; we should just have water.’

Ollie quickly wipes the soup from his face, I think he
’s going to argue with me, or at least try to reason with me; but he gets interrupted by cheers all around us when the blue knight rides past, throwing carnations to the beautiful ladies in our section. Josh catches one and helps Isabella fix it in her hair. I can’t help but feel a bit jealous, which in turn upsets me. How can I feel jealous of Isabella?

              ‘Did you enjoy it then Livs? The horses were amazing, especially when that big white one jumped completely off the floor. Oh, and the jousting! Also, wasn’t our knight really hot? I can’t believe he gave me a flower!’

             
‘It was awesome, it was just a shame our knight lost. But it was so worth it, especially being sat right at the front.’

             
‘I’ve wrecked my dress though, I didn’t realise we’d be expected to eat half a chicken, ribs and a jacket potato with our hands. Look at the grease smeared down me!’

We decided to stay out and have a few drin
ks after the show had finished, we are now in a fairly quiet bar on the outskirts of Kissame. Isabella and I decided we didn’t want alcohol, and Ollie is driving; so Josh begrudgingly decided not to be the only drinker.

             
‘Here we go ladies, sodas all round.’

Josh has a hint of sarcasm to his tone as he places the drinks down. Ollie follows him over with his and Josh’s drink, winking at me as he hands Josh his pint of coke.

              ‘So what’s the plan for tomorrow then?’

Josh looks eagerly from Isabella to me and back again.

              ‘Well, we’ll all go for the hot air balloon ride, then Livs and I are going to Discovery Cove where you two are welcome to join us. ‘

             
‘That sounds nice, but like I said earlier I really need to go back to work after the balloon ride, and I suggest you do the same Josh. You’ve pulled a few too many sickies lately.’

Josh looks into his coke, swirling the ice around. He looks like a kid who’s just been told off by his dad. He must know Ollie has a point; he just doesn’t want to admit it.

              ‘But the girls list says to pull a sickie when you’re not sick, I’m just helping with the list. Get it out babe.’

Josh holds his hand out to Isabella, waiting to be able to point and prove he’s right. Isabella hands him the list, keen to help him out.

              ‘Well actually, the list is just for Isabella and I, we’ve already completed number 47 so there’s no need for anybody to miss work. We’re on a tight schedule as it is.’

Josh again looks slightly perturbed as he sulkily takes a swig of his drink.

              ‘How come you’re on a tight schedule? I didn’t think you had a leaving date? Also, if Josh and I are helping you complete the list, doesn’t that mean we get to tick things off for ourselves? ‘

My attention is instantly drawn away from Josh. I look from Ollie with his questions, to Isabella to gauge her reaction. Why
did I have to say tight schedule? We haven’t discussed the reasons we’d give the boys if they asked. I’m desperately searching for something to say, and then I hear Isabella’s quiet but strong voice at my side.

             
‘The list is for me. Olivia has given up everything to make this the best year of our lives because the truth is, it’s almost certain to be my last year alive. That’s if I even make it to the end of the year.’

             
I’m gobsmacked. I can’t believe she just announced that so matter of fact. I look up from my lap and realise that both of the boys are staring at my best friend as if she’s just ripped her clothes off and jumped on the table screaming she’s a man.

I feel Isabella take my hand and suddenly any memories of horse tricks and hot knights are wiped from my mind. I feel the tears sliding down my face with ever increasing pace, and I’m powerless to stop them. I bite my tongue in an effort to calm myself; I need to be strong for Isabella. I feel my chest
heave as I let out a large sob. If I can’t be strong for her, then I can’t cry in front of her at the very least. I turn to look at her and she gives me a knowing smile as she lets go of my hand, allowing me to flee the bar.

              ‘Isabella wants to know if she can cross off 93 for you.’

I look up from the bench that I managed to get for myself, usually an impossible feat in America. The benches are always full; it would appear that even the fattiest, laziest American will depart their resting spot when a small, blonde girl starts to hyperventilate through an avalanche of tears. Through my sore, bloodshot eyes I see Ollie standing in front of me, he looks like a lost child. He’s concentrating on locking and unlocking his
fingers, avoiding eye contact. I feel guilty, I mean what right do I have to be sitting here falling apart when Isabella has to hold it all together and go into the gory details. I’ve not been with her when she’s told people before, and we don’t really talk about it. So to hear her tell her brand new boyfriend and his friend makes it suddenly seem very real, very final.

             
‘I guess it’s safe to say she can cross it off, I’d say that’s definitely what constitutes sobbing uncontrollably in a public place. I bet she’s all smiles and making jokes right?’

Ollie looks up and as his eyes meet mine, he takes a sharp intake of breath and I know I must look a state.

              ‘That friend of yours is very brave, you should be very proud of her… but don’t be afraid to cry. After all, you have the thought of continuing life without her in the not so distant future. At least she knows she’ll be at peace and out of pain soon.’

His words hit me like a block of cement. He’s right; it won’t be long before I’ll be all alone. How on earth will I survive without her? The longest we’ve been apart is a couple of days and even then we text or phoned each other. We even went on family holidays together. I start to howl again and sensing he’s done wrong, Ollie rushes over, embracing me tightly.

              ‘Shit, I’m so sorry Livs! I don’t cope well in situations like this.’

This time when he calls me
Livs, I find it comforting rather than annoying.

             
‘You don’t need to say anything Ollie; please can you just hold me? I think we should give Isabella and Josh a bit of time to talk anyway. I’m sure he’ll have questions, and lots of them at that.’

Ollie breathes a sigh of relief, pulling me closer to him. I know the tears have stopped for the time being, and it feels really nice to be this close to another human being, to him. As I rest my head against his chest, I feel him gently kiss the top of my head.

Ollie affectionately rubs his hands down my arm, his fingers making little circles as they go. I don’t know what comes over me but I feel my face lift up towards him. As our lips meet, it’s like an out of body experience. I’m hovering above us as Ollie runs his fingers through my hair, the kiss soft and gentle to begin with, then passionate. I put a hand to his cheek and feel a single tear glide down. As I pull away from him, he gives me a sad smile and takes hold of my hand.

             
‘I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have done that Livs. I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of you’

I stand up keeping hold of his hand, pulling him up in doing so.

              ‘I think I initiated that so it’s not taking advantage at all. Well, unless you feel I took advantage of you.’

Ollie shakes his head and smiles at me.

              ‘I’ll let you off this time Miss Hope, but next time you might not be so lucky.’

             
‘I’ll keep that in mind Oliver, now let’s go back in shall we before Isabella thinks I’ve jumped in front of a bus or something.’

Ollie stops walking which jerks me back slightly as he’d been allowing himself to be dragged.

              ‘I don’t think that’s funny to joke about, do you?’

             
‘No, you’re right. I take it back.’

             
‘Listen Livs, I think Isabella is an amazing girl and this is so tragic. I don’t really know what to say about her situation, I didn't even know a girl her age could get cancer! I want you to know if either of you need anything at all, you know where I am. I really like you Olivia and can’t bear to see you sad, so if you ever need a hug or a kiss; just shout and I’ll come and find you.’

I’m not sure if he’s saying this as a friend or a boyfriend, but either way it’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.

              ‘I’ll bear that in mind when we’re in Vegas or back home.’

As I say this, his smile fades. I’m feeling brave and I want to cross number 29 off, ask honest questions you’re afraid to ask.

              ‘Do you like me… as more than a friend?’

Ollie pulls me into a warm embrace and kisses me hungrily. He’s running his hands through my hair and then down my body, and resting them on my bum before drawing back slightly.

              ‘Does that answer your question? Because if you’re unsure, I can do it again’

I playfully hit him on the chest. That was the most amazing kiss of my life. I think I love him already.

              ‘You’re so cheesy! Now come on, let’s go get the others… we have an early start tomorrow.’

             
‘Hey! I’m a reporter, cheesy is what we do best and you know you loved it!’

Ollie takes my hand again as we enter the bar. Once back at our table, I almost recoil when I see Isabella and Josh have been
crying. As soon as I see her bloodshot eyes I let go of Ollie and rush over to hug her. We cling tightly to each other for quite some time before she breaks the silence.