CHAPTER 58
The delivery man waved through the window as Rosa was coming down the stairs to open the shop.
‘Rosa Larkin?’
‘Yep, that’s me.’
‘I’ll have to park up the road a bit as the back alley’s blocked.’ He was back in minutes, carrying a massive flat box, wrapped in sausage-dog paper and adorned with a big red bow.
‘Birthday girl, I assume?’ he grinned.
‘It was recently, thank you. Do I need to sign?’
‘No, that’s all right. Can you manage, love, it’s a bit heavy?’
‘Yes, thanks, I’ll be all right.’
Rosa put it down, quickly locked the front door, then carried the parcel very carefully upstairs. Hot was running around in and out of the wrapping paper as she ripped it off and threw it on the floor. She was delighted to see that it was a shiny new HD television, a perfect size for her living room. Half-hoping to find a note from Joe, gushing with apology, she scrabbled through the paper on the floor and saw a pink envelope addressed to Rosalar in black ink. Ah. She smiled as she opened it.
Birthday girl!! In all the commotion, I drove off and forgot to give you this. What a bloody mess. Will call you soon, promise. Cuddles for Hot. Slap on the arse for you. Your Joshx
Rosa held the card to her heart. ‘My Josh.’
She went to the kitchen to get a knife to open the box, then cursed in pain as it was her turn to stub her toe on the bronze sausage dog that had been mysteriously left on her doorstep, the night of her birthday.
With everything that had been going on, she had completely forgotten about the beautiful sculpture. Hurrying into the bedroom, she went to her bedside table drawer and pulled out the ring with its crumpled note. Thank heavens that was still safely there. Holding out her hand, she admired the sparkle of the stones as it sat snugly on her fourth finger. It was as if it had been made to measure. She picked up the note and read aloud the words in capital letters.
‘DON’T QUESTION THIS GIFT, FOR YOUR HEART IT WILL LIFT. I WILL REMAIN BY YOUR SIDE, HOWEVER HIGH THE TIDE. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR ROSA
The shop had been Ned and Dotty’s for so many years, there just had to be a connection. It was time for Mary Cobb to spill some of those magic beans of hers.
The TV set-up would just have to wait until later. Rosa was carrying the box downstairs to put in the recycling when she heard the key turn in the front door lock and Titch was shouting her name in panic.
‘I’m here, I’m here!’ Rosa called back. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I am, but they’ve just carted Mary off in an ambulance from the Co-op; she had an oxygen mask on her face and everything. Blue lights and sirens too. I’m surprised you didn’t hear something.’
Rosa was stricken. ‘Titch, are you busy?’ she asked. ‘Can you manage the shop for me for a while and keep an eye on Hot?’
‘Just go, girl. I’m on it.’
Rosa waved Jacob off, who had given her a lift, then headed straight to the A&E Department of Ulchester General. A friendly-faced receptionist greeted her.
‘I’m here for Mary Cobb,’ Rosa said, flustered.
‘Are you family?’
Rosa started to garble. ‘Er . . . no, I’m a friend, but she’s just lost her gran, and she’s got a cat called Merlin, and I need to know if she’s going to be all right, and whether the cat needs feeding or not, and . . .’
‘Right. OK, calm down, love. Miss Cobb is in Resuscitation at the moment, but I will make sure somebody lets you know as soon as we have some news for you. Take a seat, and there’s a coffee machine in the corridor.’
‘Thank you so much.’
Rosa went and sat down. Resuscitation? She’d watched enough medical shows to know that it was serious then. She couldn’t settle so went outside and phoned Josh. The call went straight to message without even ringing. She texted Titch to say she could be a while, then went back inside and started flicking through the pages of magazines she’d never think of picking up normally. She was halfway through an article about growing your own chillis in Gardening Times, when somebody called her name.
A tall, bald consultant ushered her to a room to the side of the reception desk.
‘Hi, Rosa. You’re Mary’s friend, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, she doesn’t have any family of her own, I don’t think.’
‘Well, the good news is, she’s out of the woods.’ Rosa breathed a sigh of relief as the doctor continued: ‘She has a condition called COPD – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - and it was a nasty attack this time. A respiratory tract infection set it off.’
‘It’s serious then?’ Rosa had never heard of this COPD, but she knew that Mary coughed most of the time.
‘Like today, it can turn nasty. We recommend “rescue drugs” to be on hand ready for an attack, but Mary obviously didn’t have these at home. We have stabilised her breathing and started her on steroids and antibiotics. We will also increase the dose on her inhaler before she goes.’
‘OK, thanks so much. What causes this condition?’
‘In Mary’s case, years of smoking. Those warnings on the cigarette packets aren’t gruesome without good cause, you know.’
Rosa raised her eyes to the ceiling. ‘That’s awful.’
‘That’s reality. We do need to keep an eye on her for tonight, but she can go home in the morning. She will need a bit of nursing if you can manage to keep an eye on her.’
‘Can I see her now?’
‘She is very tired and will be for a few hours, so please don’t stay long.’
Rosa was given the name of the ward and was directed to a private room off a corridor. A drip was feeding clear liquid through a canula into Mary’s hand and she was being fed oxygen through her nose. Her head was turned to the side and in her deep slumber a small trail of dribble had run from her mouth. Rosa went to her side and gently wiped her mouth with a tissue. She then sat down next to her and held her free hand.
She felt Mary squeeze it slightly, then saw her half-open her eyes and glance at the ring, which Rosa hadn’t had time to take off her finger.
‘Rosa?’ She managed a little smile.
‘Ssh. You need to sleep.’
‘Queenie was beckoning me, but it isn’t my time, not yet, is it, Rosa?’ Mary whispered.
Rosa bit her lip. ‘No, Mary, not yet.’
Mary shut her eyes again and her breathing became deeper. Letting go of her hand, Rosa stood up, careful not to disturb the sick woman. Poor Mary. She wasn’t even that old, but it seemed life had aged her before her time.
Once outside, vowing to never touch another cigarette or even have another puff of a joint again in her life, Rosa sucked in a massive breath of fresh air and went to get the bus back to Cockleberry Bay. If she was lucky, there was one due in twenty minutes.
After a full text update from Rosa on the bus, Titch was waiting in the Corner Shop’s downstairs kitchen with hot cups of tea and bourbon biscuits.
‘You’re a good ’un, you are,’ Rosa sighed gratefully. ‘Thanks for holding the fort - has it been busy?’
Titch shoved down two biscuits in as many minutes. ‘Trust me to get cravings for something unhealthy.’ She spat biscuit crumbs as she added: ‘A lot of visitors have been passing through on their Easter holidays, so the shop bell has been ringing constantly. I do wish Hot wouldn’t bark each time.’ She grinned. ‘Oh, and cue for a drum roll, please.’
Rosa bashed her hands on the counter. ‘Not the Versace tie?’ she said disbelievingly. ‘But the price was exorbitant!’
‘Yes! What’s more, I thought the dogs’ heads on it were hideous - but some city slicker will be prancing around wearing that in the office on Monday.’
‘Hilarious! That’s Jacob for you - he insisted someone would love it and he was right. But great, that can go towards my washing-machine fund.’ Rosa opened the till and handed Titch a twenty-pound note. ‘And that’s towards the Titchy Titch Fund. I’ll do your wages as normal at the end of the week, but I really appreciate you stepping in today.’
‘Thanks, Rosa - are you sure?’
Rosa thought back to all the awful bosses she had encountered during her shaky employment history. ‘Course I’m sure. The Titchy Titch Fund needs filling too. Now get up the hill to Mumma Whittaker and rest those little legs of yours.’
Titch was just going out of the door when Rosa called her back. ‘Would you do me a massive favour, so I don’t have to go out again? I forgot to get a door key off Mary. Can you just take this bowl of crunchies and put it outside the back door of Seaspray for Merlin, please? He’ll be all right with that until tomorrow.’
At the end of a busy afternoon, Rosa shut the door behind her last customer, locked it and turned the sign to Closed, then made her way slowly up the stairs. Hot was sleeping in his bed in the front room. He opened one eye and then with a little yap of a hello, closed it again. Suddenly feeling completely drained from the day’s events, Rosa went to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine.
She tried Josh and was surprised that her call went straight through to answerphone again. He hadn’t even replied to her earlier text thanking him for the TV and telling him about Mary; it wasn’t like him at all. Maybe he was just busy at work or had his phone on silent, so he didn’t have to suffer the wrath or hormones of Juicy Lucy?
Drink in hand, she flopped down onto the sofa. The TV sat opposite her, all ready to be set up, but she didn’t even have the energy for that. Try as she might, she couldn’t get the vision out of her mind of poor Mary lying in that hospital bed, all alone. They were similar in the fact they had both lost a mother, albeit in very different circumstances, but that was where the line was drawn. But for some reason which Rosa couldn’t put her finger on, she was very fond of Mary Cobb, with her quirky ways and spiritual doings.
Growing up without a mother’s love had made Rosa resilient, independent and somewhat streetwise in one way, but it had also made her reckless and insecure. But those were the cards she had been dealt. Now, thanks to the miraculous inheritance of the Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay, and the gifts that had come with it, her life had been transformed.
There and then, Rosa vowed to find out who was responsible. Once Mary was better, her quest would begin – in earnest.