The Shoestring Club by Sarah Webb Read Free Book Online

night I crept into Pandora’s bed. She was also wide awake. ‘Is Mum really going to be OK?’ I whispered.
    ‘I don’t know, Boolie. But you know Mum, she’s pretty determined.’
    I fell asleep there, warm and comforted beside my big sister.
    And Mum fought it all the way, until eventually, after a gruelling operation, and an intense bout of chemotherapy and radiotherapy she was given the all-clear. And life slowly went back to normal. Until almost a year later when Mum started getting crippling headaches and was rushed into hospital. Eventually, after a lot of tests, the doctors found cancer cells in her spine. This time the diagnosis was not so good.
    Mum insisted on telling us herself. Dad and Bird brought us into her hospital room and then Dad left. I don’t think he could bear to stay.
    ‘My darlings,’ Mum said, then broke off, her eyes welling up. She started sobbing, which set me and Pandora off. After a few minutes, Bird stepped in.
    ‘Kirsten, would you like me to tell them?’
    Mum nodded. ‘I can’t . . . I just can’t.’
    ‘I understand,’ Bird said gently. She turned to me and Pandora. ‘Your mum is very sick, girls. She’ll be coming out of hospital tomorrow, but to Sorrento House, not your own house, where your Dad and I will look after her. We’ll all live there, together, until, until . . .’ Bird stopped abruptly and pressed her lips together.
    ‘Until it’s my time,’ Mum added. ‘And we can spend lots of time together, as a family.’
    I looked at Pandora. She was biting the inside of her cheek, hard, trying not to cry. Our eyes met and I could see she was as scared as I was, which made me even more frightened. She blinked and then gave me a sad smile.
    ‘That sounds like a great idea, Mum,’ I said firmly. ‘I’ll help Dad and Pandora pack everything we need. Don’t worry. You need all your energy for getting better.’
    Mum and Bird exchanged a look. Pandora stared out of the window.
    ‘Boolie,’ Mum said gently. ‘I’m not going to get better.’
    I forced out a smile. ‘’Course you are, Mum. Don’t be silly. You’re always saying you won’t let a stupid thing like cancer stop you, you’re Kirsten Schuster. You nearly brought the government down.’
    Mum just sat there, looking at me, tears streaming down her pale, waxy face. ‘Oh, my darling girl,’ she whispered. ‘My poor, darling girl. Come here.’
    She held out her arms and although it must have hurt her, hugged me tightly to her chest.
    Eleven days after being discharged, Mum died. Dad did his best but he was in pieces, overwhelmed by grief. He’d been devoted to Mum, she was his world. He was the only dad I’d ever heard of who had allowed his children to take their mum’s surname. Mum, an only child, was so determined not to be the ‘last’ Schuster in Ireland after Bird died that she made it a condition of their marriage. Ironic that. Fifteen years later, Bird’s still going strong.
    Dad was bad, but I was worse. I went catatonic, couldn’t eat or speak, let alone cry. I was afraid to sleep because of the terrifying nightmares involving being lost in black caves, or finding myself shut in tiny dark rooms. Bird was so worried about me she called Daphne in to try and talk to me. Jamie came along with her and the minute I saw him, I threw my arms around him and started to sob, finally able to let it all out. After that I started talking and eating again, but the nightmares lingered. Bird held us all together, fed us, and, after exactly one week of grieving, made sure Pandora and I went back to school. At the time I thought she was heartless, but now I see that getting us back into some kind of normal routine, surrounded by our friends, who didn’t know quite what to say but were all being very kind to us, sharing their lunches and having us over to play, was vital.
    After six months we were still living with Bird, and Dad seemed reluctant to move back to our empty house in Deansgrange. He said