The Alphabet Sisters (23 page)

“Are you sure? We can catch a flight and be there in a few hours.”

“Seriously, you don’t need to. She’s a bit shocked, but it’s just a broken wrist and a bad cut on her forehead. She wasn’t even unconscious when Ellen found her. It’s just Ellen got such a fright.”

Nothing compared to what Ellen’s words had done to the rest of them. The auditions had been forgotten, Daniel Hilder had been forgotten, as Bett, Anna, and Carrie ran to Lola’s room. The first sight was the worst, seeing Lola sprawled across the floor, the chair upended beside her, her left wrist bent at an awkward angle.

“Lola, no,” Bett heard herself scream. Anna reached for her right wrist to feel the pulse, then nearly leaped out of her skin as Lola spoke. “Hello, darling.”

“You’re not dead?”

“Not unless heaven looks like the motel.”

Bett was on the floor beside her in seconds, gently touching her. “Are you hurt? What happened?”

“The stupid lightbulb. I told your father to buy better-quality ones.”

“Lola, we’ve told you not to change those bulbs,” Anna said crossly. “You’re eighty, too old to be climbing up on chairs like this.”

Lola rallied. “One minute you’re crying because you think I’m dead, the next minute you’re telling me off. Talk about fair-weather friends.”

Crouched on the floor beside her, too, Carrie put a hand on her own chest. “Oh God, Lola, at least you’re okay. I nearly died of the fright. My heart is still racing; you should feel it.”

“
Jesus,
Carrie.” Bett was shocked as a surge of fury hit her. “Do you have to be the center of attention all the time?”

Carrie’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t, I was just—”

“You were so. You always—”

“Stop it, Bett, for God’s sake,” Anna snapped. “You’re as bad as each other.”

Bett glared at her. “Don’t you start on—”

“I will start on you. Leave Carrie alone and ring an ambulance, would you?”

“I was about to, before she—”

“Darlings, please.” Lola’s voice came from between them. Her head was against Carrie’s shoulder, her eyes closed. “Don’t fight over me. And, Bett, please don’t blaspheme like that again. You know I don’t like it.”

Her words set them into motion, even as they avoided any further eye contact. Bett called for an ambulance. Carrie stayed with Lola while Anna moved to the door, asking the crowd that had gathered to please move back. “She’s fine; she’ll be fine. She’s not dead at all.”

“Mummy?” A familiar little voice came from the back of the group. Anna turned as Richard Lawrence came into view, holding Ellen by the hand.

He brought her forward. “I found her crying in the function room.”

Anna pulled the little girl into her arms. “Ellie, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry to leave you behind.” In the rush to find Lola after Ellen’s announcement, they had run straight past her. “You’re such a good girl; you might have saved your great-grandmother’s life, do you know that?”

Bett was about to suggest a cup of tea, something warm and sweet for Lola, when she saw headlights approaching. She crouched down beside her grandmother again and gently took her good hand. “Here we are now. The ambulance is here.”

It wasn’t the ambulance but an ordinary station wagon. Daniel Hilder got out and walked over. “I thought it might be as quick for me to bring Lola in to the hospital. The ambulance could be a while yet.”

“You see how important this musical is?” Lola said, rousing again for a moment. “I told you this Valley needs another ambulance.”

“Lola, are you sure you’re okay to move?” Bett asked. “You’re not hurt anywhere else? Your back or your legs?”

“I’m fine. It’s just my sore head and this stupid wrist.” She was shaking violently.

Carrie was on one side of her, Bett on the other. Bett turned to Daniel, businesslike, serious, in no need of an inner-Anna now. “Daniel, we’ll accept, if you don’t mind. Carrie, you and I go in with her. Anna, you’d better stay here with Ellen. Lola, can you stand?”

Daniel stepped forward. “I can carry you to the car, Lola, if you need it.”

“So kind of you, Daniel.” Lola managed to be gracious. “But I’ll walk. Where’s my little Ellen first?” Ellen came forward, and Lola touched her gently on the cheek. “Thank you, my little darling, for doing exactly the right thing.”

Bett had felt her eyes well up with tears at the sight of Ellen’s face, filled with pride. After that it had been all action, getting Lola to the hospital, into the waiting room. Daniel Hilder had been there, gentle, helping; then he had gone before Bett had a chance to thank him.

On the phone, Jim Quinlan sounded relieved. “You’re absolutely sure you don’t need us there, Bett?”

“I’m sure, Dad. She’s sleeping now. We’re going to go home, too. I’ll call you first thing in the morning.”

As she hung up, she saw that her hands were shaking. Nurses were moving swiftly up and down the hospital corridor. Carrie was in a chair down a little way, making a call on her mobile phone. To Matthew, Bett presumed.… 

“Bett?”

She turned. It was Daniel.

“Is everything okay? Is Lola all right?”

She nodded. “She’s going to be fine, they think. It looked more serious than it was.” She glanced up at the clock. Nearly two hours had passed since they had arrived, the time speeding past in the flurry of doctors’ visits and X rays, before Lola was finally settled into a small ward. “Have you been waiting all this time?”

“I didn’t mind. I had a book with me. I thought you and your sister might need a lift back to the motel.”

She was too tired to be embarrassed or to feel nervous with him. She just gave him a big, grateful smile. “Thank you.”

T
en meters away, Carrie was talking into her mobile phone. “… so they’ll keep her in overnight. God knows what would have happened if Ellen hadn’t found her. She was so shocked she hadn’t been able to get up off the floor.”

“What was she doing up on the chair in the first place?” Matthew said. “Don’t tell me, swinging from the light fittings?”

It was nice to laugh. As soon as she’d heard from the doctors that Lola was going to be all right, she had wanted to ring Matthew. He had been wary when he first answered, but his tone had changed as soon she told him what had happened. Just hearing his voice helped calm her, too. Until he suddenly changed the subject.

“I want to come down, Carrie.” He paused. “Not just for Lola, but also to see Bett. I think I need to. I’ve been thinking about her a lot.”

Something chilled in her again. She thought of the photo she’d found. “No, you can’t.”

“Carrie, come on.” He sounded cross, impatient again. “What do you think will happen? That I’ll decide I made a mistake and go back to her?”

So the thought of that had been in his head already. “I don’t know what would happen, and I don’t want to find out.”

“Carrie, don’t hang up. Can’t you see—”

She didn’t want to see anything else that night. “The doctor is coming back, Matthew. I have to go. I’ll be in touch.”

“Carrie—”

“Good-bye.” She hung up first, once again. Composing herself, she walked over to Bett and Daniel.

A
t the motel, Anna was kneeling beside Ellen’s bed. She stroked the hair back from Ellen’s face and tucked the sheet in close around her shoulders. The child was nearly asleep, stirring now and again to ask another question. “Lola will be all right, Mum, won’t she? They’re not taking her to be put down, are they?”

Anna stopped herself from laughing. Their neighbor’s cat in Sydney had been run over and had needed to be taken to the vet to be put down. Anna thought she’d explained the situation to Ellen well when it happened, telling her the truth, that the cat had broken so many bones and was in such terrible pain it was kinder to end its life than try to fix it. She stroked her forehead again. “Of course not, Ellie. The doctors and nurses know exactly what to do, and she’ll be back home before we know it.”

Ellen’s eyelids fluttered, then closed, and in seconds her breathing was slow, measured. Anna waited a moment longer, then leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead and whispered, “I’m just going to turn all the lights off in the motel and then I’ll be right back.”

As Anna came out of her room, she jumped as a figure appeared in front of her. It was Richard. She noticed the bar and function room were already in darkness.

He came closer. “I hope you don’t mind, I wanted to do something, so I closed up for you. I’ve been here so long I know where all the light switches are.”

“Thank you,” she said, surprised and touched.

“And Lola will be all right?”

Anna nodded. “I’m sure she will. It’s us who nearly died of the shock.”

Richard looked concerned. “Anna, can I make you a cup of tea? Or perhaps a hot chocolate? I know my way around the kitchen, I think. Would you like that? You must have had a terrible fright tonight.”

“Yes. Yes, I have. Thanks, Richard. That would be really kind of you.”

Then she burst into tears.

T
he blue station wagon pulled up in front of the motel. “Thanks, Daniel,” Carrie said from the front passenger seat beside him.

“Yes. Thanks, Daniel,” Bett said from the back.

“I was happy to do it. You’re both okay from here?”

“We’re fine, thanks,” Bett managed to get in first.

“And will you tell Lola I was asking after her?”

“Of course.” Bett hesitated for a moment, wondering if this was the opportunity to speak to Daniel. She had to mention something about their night together, or the tension at work would be too much. But she couldn’t do it now. Not with Carrie in earshot. Her sister already seemed to be taking what seemed like hours to undo her seat belt and get out of the front.

They finally got out at the same time, standing side by side to wave as Daniel drove off. There was a long, awkward silence. Bett felt uncomfortable. Did she ask Carrie to stay for a cup of tea? Give her the chance to talk over the night? Surely she was feeling as shocked as Bett was?

Carrie took the decision away from her, reaching into her bag for her car keys. “Anna’s turned off the lights, I see, so I’ll leave you to it.” Her voice was very brisk.

“Oh. Okay. Good night, then.”

“Yes. See you tomorrow.”

Bett walked to her room. Carrie walked to her car. Neither of them turned around, or noticed that the light was still on in the kitchen.

Chapter Twelve

F
usspot.”

Anna grinned. “Lola, I’m not a fusspot. I’m doing what the doctor told us to do, checking on you all the time.”

“Much ado about nothing, if you ask me.”

“Taming of the shrew, more like it.”

Anna stood by Lola’s bed, looking down at her grandmother, sitting up against the pillows, her arm in a sling made from a wildly patterned silk scarf. Her bed jacket was a bright yellow satin. There were bunches of flowers all over the room—they’d been arriving all day as word got around that Lola was out of hospital and back at the motel. She was wearing full makeup, the foundation applied around the bandage on her forehead. Anna could see she’d missed her mark slightly, a smear of blusher heavier on one cheek than the other, the lipstick wobbly. Lola had been keeping up a brave front since the accident, although her doctor had called Anna aside and told her to keep an eye out for delayed shock. So far there’d been no sign of it, though. Lola had spent the afternoon reading to Ellen and would still be at it if Anna hadn’t prized them apart and put Ellen to bed.

Anna gently tucked the sheet in around her grandmother. “Are you sure I can’t get you anything before I go to rehearsals?”

“I’m fine, darling. Stop looking at me as if I’m some museum specimen.”

Anna sat down beside her and took her hand. “You frightened us, you know.”

“I frightened myself.”

“Don’t die, Lola. We wouldn’t like it.”

“All right, darling, I promise I won’t. Now, off you go to those rehearsals and make your poor sick grandmother proud of you.”

A
nna had been gone only a minute or two before Carrie knocked lightly on the door and came in. “Is everything all right, Lola? Do you need anything?”

“I couldn’t be happier, darling. I should have done this months ago. All this spoiling, it’s marvelous.” She patted the bed. “Now, enough about me. Let me interrogate you for a quick minute. Are you coping with all the motel business while your parents are away? Do you need any extra help?”

“Everything’s fine. No problems at all.” Carrie was enjoying it, in fact. It was giving her the opportunity to try out a few of her own ways of doing things.

“And how are things with Matthew?”

“They’re fine,” she lied smoothly, picking up one of the Get Well cards on Lola’s bedside table, concentrating fiercely on the greeting inside. It was from the ladies in the charity shop, wishing her a speedy recovery. Beside the cards was a large basket filled with fruit, chocolate, and crossword puzzle books. Jim and Geraldine had sent it. “He sends his love. Says he would have brought you a bunch of grapes if he’d been here.”

“If he’d been allowed to be here, you mean. Carrie, I’ve been thinking about the ban, and I’ve decided it can be lifted. I think it would be all right now if he visited here again. In fact, I think Bett would like to see him.”

Carrie’s head shot up. “Has she said that to you?”

“No, but she doesn’t need to. I know her. Has Matthew said anything?”

“He said he’d like to see Bett again, too.” The words tasted awful in her mouth.

“Good. I’d hoped as much. I’ll leave it up to you to arrange it. The sooner the better, I think.”

Carrie turned away before Lola saw her expression.

Lola had just gone back to her crossword after Carrie’s departure when there was another knock. A dark curly head poked around the door. “Lola? Are you okay?”

Lola smiled at her. “Bett, darling, shouldn’t you be at the rehearsal, too?”

“I’m on my way. I got delayed with a late arrival at reception. I just wanted to check if you needed anything or if you wanted to come up and watch.”

“I couldn’t bear the pain.”

“Oh, you poor thing. Shall I move one of the big armchairs in from the bar? You could rest your arm on that, if you liked.”