Lane's End by Jill Paterson Read Free Book Online Page A

in the shape of an eagle’s head.’
    Ben’s shoulders slumped and his hand grabbed the banister.
    ‘Are you all right?’ asked Joanna in alarm. ‘You’ve gone all white.’
    Ben shook his head. ‘It’s jet lag. I haven’t had much sleep. You’d better drive us to the hospital.’
    ‘Okay. Are you going to leave Emma a note?’
    ‘No. I’ll keep trying her phone.’
     
     
    Laura Carmichael sat alone in the small waiting room, her hazel eyes sunken, her face pale. Even so, when she saw Ben standing in the doorway, a certain warmth transcended her sorrow. ‘Ben, I’m so glad you’re here at last,’ she said, getting to her feet.
    Ben caught Laura’s trembling hands before putting his arms around the woman who had been a mother to him since he was a small boy. ‘How’s Dad?’ he asked.
    ‘Not good, I’m afraid. The doctors don’t expect your father to survive.’ Laura Carmichael’s voice broke and she collapsed back into her chair. ‘They’ve been forthright and I do appreciate that. They say his heart is far too damaged.’ Silence ensued until Laura continued, ‘You must both go in to see him while there’s still time.’
    Ben sat down in the chair next to Laura while Joanna hovered nearby. ‘Do you think that’s wise? You know how it is between Dad and me. The last thing I want is to upset him at a time like this.’
    ‘You won’t upset him, believe me,’ replied Laura. ‘Make your peace with him, Ben. Even if he’s unable to respond, you need to resolve your troubles, for your own sake if not his.’
    Ben glanced up at Joanna. ‘You go first, Jo,’ he said, before his thoughts drifted back to his last meeting with his father when the rift between them had been fuelled, yet again, by his refusal to invest in the property market. It all seemed so trivial in the face of what was now happening. He felt Laura’s hand on his.
    ‘Here’s Joanna now. Go make your peace.’
     
     
    Ben walked the short distance to the Intensive Care Unit. At the door, he hesitated, the years of recriminations between him and his father pouring through his mind. Tentatively, he opened the door and walked into the hushed atmosphere where those in attendance moved silently between patients in their constant vigil. His father’s form lay still, his body monitored by machines, their steady beeps the only sound. Ben placed the palm of his hand over his father’s. As he did so, Richard Carmichael’s eyes fluttered. ‘It’s okay, Dad,’ he said softly. ‘You don’t have to speak. I’ll just sit here with you for a while.’
    Richard Carmichael’s lips moved. Ben bent over to listen to his whispered words. ‘He told me you s... I’m sorry...’ Tears glistened in Richard Carmichael’s eyes as they closed.
    Perplexed, Ben patted his father’s hand. ‘I’m sorry too, Dad.’
     
     
    In the early hours of Sunday morning, Richard Carmichael slipped from this life, and as the sun appeared on the horizon, Laura, Ben and Joanna emerged from the hospital lost in their own thoughts.
    ‘Are you sure you wouldn’t like to come and stay with me for a few days, Laura,’ asked Joanna as they reached her car.
    ‘Thanks for the offer,’ replied Laura, her face pale with sadness and fatigue. ‘But I’d sooner be at home. I’ll feel closer to Richard there with all his things around me.’ She looked to Ben and caught his arm, concern on her face. ‘Joanna told me about Emma. Have you been able to reach her yet?’
    ‘No, but I’m sure it’s because her phone’s run out of battery.’ As Ben said the reassuring words, a surge of anxiety went through him because he knew that Emma’s fastidious nature would not allow that to happen. ‘She’ll be at home, I’m sure.’
     
     
    In the growing humidity, Ben watched Joanna’s car disappear into the traffic before he turned to make his way through the garden to the front door. In the light of day, he saw the junk mail spilling out of the letter box at the