The Beachcomber (37 page)

The ambulance ride was a nightmare. Mabel lay apparently lifeless on the stretcher, while the ambulance man tended to her, trying to get some response. Kathy was deeply worried.

At the hospital, Kathy waited nervously while the doctors assessed Mabel.

It was over an hour later that the doctor sought Kathy out. “She has no broken limbs, but apparently she’s taken a bad tumble. She has some nasty wounds, which will need treatment, and she’s suffering from shock and bad concussion. But she’ll be all right.” Curious as to how Mabel received such injuries, he asked, “Have you any idea how it happened?”

“Not really. It looked as if she might have fallen down the stairs, but I can’t be sure.” It was on the tip of her tongue to say how she suspected Mabel’s husband of hurting her, but then thought it wise to say nothing until she was able to speak with Mabel. “Can I see her?”

He nodded. “Matron will take you. But don’t stay long.” Gesturing to the matron who had been waiting close by, he turned on his heel and went.

As she walked Kathy to the ward, Matron had a few questions of her own, such as, “Were you with her when it happened?” and “Do you know of anyone we should contact?”

Kathy was wary. “I think you might ask Mabel that,” she suggested.

“Oh, we have, but of course she is still concussed … not quite thinking straight just yet.”

Matron threw open the door to the ward. “Perhaps you could have a word with her? Oh, and no more than a few minutes. She’s very weak.”

It was a small ward with only four beds in it; besides Mabel’s, only one other was occupied, by a young woman who looked very ill.

As Kathy went in, the nurse came out. “You mustn’t stay long,” she warned, adding with a smile, “Give her a week or so, and she’ll be fine.”

Mabel appeared to be asleep, but when Kathy softly called her name she opened her eyes. Covered in bruises, they seemed swollen to twice their size. She looked at Kathy, and for a minute didn’t seem to recognize her. “It’s me … Kathy.” It was painful to see her friend like this.

Slowly, agonizingly, Mabel reached out her hand. Quickly, Kathy took it in her own. “They tell me you’ve got no broken bones or anything like that,” she imparted fondly, “but you’ll need to be here about a week.”

Mabel continued to look at her through those sorry eyes. Suddenly, the eyes moistened and the tears ran away down to the pillow. “Don’t … don’t …”

Her voice was so small, Kathy had to bend close. “What is it you’re trying to say?”

It seemed as though Mabel had exhausted what little strength she had, because now she closed her eyes and fell silent. Close to tears herself, Kathy spoke to her, and in a minute Mabel was looking up again. “Don’t …”

“What is it, Mabel?” Leaning forward, Kathy asked in a whisper, “Don’t tell them it was your husband? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

When Mabel gave a feeble squeeze of the hand, and what appeared to be a nod, Kathy knew she had guessed right. “Did he do this to you, Mabel?” she asked. “Was it him that threw you down the stairs?”

Again that slight nod.

“And you don’t want me to say anything … to anyone? Not even the doctors?”

Again, the nod.

Kathy’s voice dropped a tone. “Not even to
him
?” He was the lowest of the low, to hurt his wife like this.

Now, at her suggestion, Mabel’s eyes flickered with fear. “It’s all right!” Kathy promised. “I won’t say a word to anyone … not even to him.” She smiled. “But I’d really like to throw
him
down the stairs, if only you’d let me.”

At Kathy’s vehemence, Mabel’s eyes crinkled into a twisted smile. Her hand squeezed Kathy’s; it was a sign that, despite her injuries, the old spirit was still there. Kathy almost read her mind. “I know,” she chuckled, “you want to throw him down the stairs yourself, is that it?”

Mabel’s eyes sparkled and her mouth opened, as if trying to smile. Then the eyes closed and she appeared to have fallen asleep.

Just then the matron returned. “I want you to leave now,” she told Kathy. “The doctors need to tend her.”

Kathy voiced her concern at Mabel falling asleep like that. “Is she all right?”

Checking her patient, the matron put Kathy’s mind at rest. “Your friend was concussed in the fall,” she explained, then, with a hint of suspicion, she asked, “She
did
fall, didn’t she?”

“Down the stairs as far as I can make out.” Kathy had answered the question wisely, without giving anything away.

“Mmm.” Matron explained how Mabel had muttered something about falling down. “And of course the injuries are consistent with that. Poor thing.” She had another question. “Are there any relatives that you know of?”

Kathy merely shook her head. “I haven’t known her all that long.” Again, she had answered the question without actually lying. “I’d best go now … let her rest.”

She gave Mabel a kiss, and promised she would be back to see her in the morning.

On the way back to West Bay, she said a little prayer of thanks for the promise of Mabel’s quick recovery. “And maybe you could give that big bully what he deserves!”

By the time Tom arrived to collect her, Kathy was ready. It had been a terrible rush, but she made a special effort, and now, as she glanced in the hallway mirror before going out to him, she mimicked Maggie to a tee. “For Gawd’s sake, stop fretting! You’ll pass, gal.” The thought of Maggie made her smile.

When she opened the door, Tom thought she looked especially lovely. She had on a smart little brown two-piece, and the cream-colored blouse wonderfully complemented her light-brown shining hair, which tonight was brushed into an attractive bounce. “My! There won’t be a man in the room able to keep his eyes off you.” Flinging his arms about her waist, he swung her round. “Your chariot awaits.”

Now, as he gestured to the curb-edge, Kathy was surprised to see a taxi. “Such extravagance!” she chided lightheartedly. “I suppose now I shall have to pay for your dinner as well as my own?”

“Hmh! You’d best mind I don’t take you up on that, my girl!”

Laughing, they got into the taxi and set off for Dorchester.

On the way, Tom noticed her quiet mood. “Penny for them?” Sliding his arm around her shoulders, he drew her face around so that he could see her eyes. “You’ve gone quiet all of a sudden. What’s wrong?”

“It’s Mabel.”

“What … the old lady who works in the Bridport café?” He smiled. “The one you’ve adopted as your own?” She had spoken often about Mabel, and he had come to know all about her. “Don’t tell me she’s been rowing with her husband again?”

Not wanting to spoil their evening, Kathy tried to close the subject. “I’ll tell you later. Not now, eh? You’ll be leaving on Tuesday, so let’s not spoil tonight.”

“If you’re sure?”

“Yes.” There would be time later to talk about Mabel. “I’m sure.”

As they drew up outside the restaurant, Kathy gave a gasp of delight. “Oh, but it’s so pretty!” In mock-Tudor style, with oak beams and lovely old lanterns at the porch, it was like something out of a fairytale.

Inside was breathtaking: rose-chintz curtains at the lead-lighted windows; thick burgundy carpets on the floor; pink tablecloths on the intimate round tables, and a vase holding a single red rose in the center. There were old-fashioned lanterns hanging from the ceiling and walls, and soft music playing in the background. “Oh, Tom, it’s just lovely!” Kathy was thrilled.

That evening was the best of her life. They ate and drank and toasted the future, and when the meal was finished they danced until the early hours.

At two o’clock in the morning, Kathy and Tom finally left to climb into their waiting taxi, and the waiters breathed a sigh of relief.

The journey back to West Bay was a quiet one.

Leaning back with Tom’s strong arms around her, Kathy thought she would never be happier. At the back of her mind, Mabel’s predicament threatened to throw a shadow over her joy, but she refused to let it. Mabel would be all right, that’s what they had told her, and this was her special night – hers and Tom’s. “I love you.” Shy of the taxi-driver, she whispered in Tom’s ear. “I’m going to love you forever.”

Her face uplifted, she observed his strong, chiseled features and that soft, full mouth. Intrigued, she traced her finger along it. “Kiss me.”

Smiling, he bent his head to hers, his dark eyes searching Kathy’s. In that precious moment, his love for her was like a raging storm inside him.

When he bent to kiss her, she felt her heart soar. The kiss went on and on, hearts merging, their love like a shield around them; as though nothing could ever come between them. It was a magical experience.

In the mirror, the taxi-driver saw their love and it made him think about his own youth, and the many loves he had found and lost. “Cherish what you’ve got,” he murmured quietly. “Don’t ever let anything spoil it.”

He had never married. Long ago, through his own stupidity, he had lost the only woman he had ever really loved. Even now, after all this time, that loss was a heavy cross to carry.

When they arrived at Barden House, Tom walked Kathy to her front door. Neither of them said a word. Instead they held each other, and kissed again … and again, holding onto each other a moment longer before Tom walked away.

At the gate he turned to gaze on her one more time before climbing into the taxi.

Kathy watched the car drive away. She saw him looking out of the window at her, and knew exactly what he was feeling. “I love you too,” she said.

She watched until the taxi had gone out of sight, then she went inside, ran straight upstairs and undressed for bed.

Lying in her bed, she thought of Tom; her love for him was like an unbearable ache inside her. “Please, God, don’t let me lose him, not now,” she whispered.

She said a prayer for Mabel, and in minutes she was fast asleep; a contented sleep that augured well for the future.

The following morning, bright and early, she went to see Mabel. “She’s had a good night,” the nurse told her. “You can help feed her if you like.”

Kathy said she would like that. When the broth arrived, she actually persuaded Mabel to take a sip or two – but that was all, before Mabel pushed it away. “Never mind.” The nurse had seen it all before. “We’ll try again later.”

Though Mabel could not hold a conversation, Kathy kept her interested by telling her all about her night out with Tom, and how he was going away on Tuesday and she didn’t know how long he would be gone.

Mabel listened awhile, then she slept awhile, then she squeezed Kathy’s hand and looked sad when Kathy said she had to leave, but, “I’ll be back to see you soon as I can,” she promised, and Mabel’s eyes lit up.

She gave her a kiss and a hug; even before she got across the room, Mabel was sound asleep again.

On the way home, Kathy sat on the bus thinking about everything. It was good talking to Mabel. She was like a mother to her. Sadly, neither she nor Mabel had another woman to confide in. But they had formed a bond now, and Kathy knew without a shadow of doubt that the friendship she and old Mabel had found would remain strong throughout their lives. It was a warm, comforting thought.

On arriving in West Bay, she didn’t go straight home. Instead, with everything churning in her troubled mind, she felt the need to walk the cliff top, much as Tom did whenever he was troubled.

The wind in her face was uniquely refreshing, and the salty tang of the sea air was cool and invigorating on her skin.

More content now, she sat for a time on the edge of the cliff. “It’s like sitting on the edge of the world!” she whispered. “I can see why you love to walk these beaches,” she murmured, with Tom in mind. “They have a way of calming the soul.”

From here she could see the harbor. The many boats within it were jangling together, heaving up and down with the waves. Tom wasn’t there. “I expect he’s got more important things on his mind for the minute.”

After a while, when the wind picked up strength, and when her toes and nose grew cold, she started back. “Best get some milk,” she muttered, coming into the harbor. “I used the last of it on that stray cat this morning.” The cat was a skinny little gray. For some reason it had taken root in her shed and, though she had tried to entice it inside, it refused. Sometimes it went away, and after a few days it was back again.

It was a bit strange. Who did it belong to? And why was it hanging around the house? And, if it really was lost, why did it go away at intervals and come back again, as if it had a plan? Kathy had given up wondering. All she could do was feed it when it came back, and forget about it when it went away. Like her own life, she had little control over it.

Amy Tatler, the little shopkeeper, smiled to see Kathy come through the door. “Don’t tell me,” she said. “You’re out of milk because you’ve been feeding that cat again!”

Kathy laughed. “Is there
anything
you don’t know?” Like Jasper, she had grown fond of Amy.

“Ah! There’s one thing I know that you don’t,” came the crafty reply.

Kathy was intrigued. “Oh, and what’s that then?”

“You’ve got a visitor!”

Taken aback, Kathy asked, “
What
visitor?”