Page 102 of When We Were Young

Emily reached for the bedside phone and dialled Ed. He told her where to find the medicine and how much to give. Will took the tablets, and as she settled beside him on the bed, he handed her a torn-off page from the notepad.

I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you at the airport. I wanted to run towards you in slow motion with my arms open.

She smiled. ‘This isn’t quite how I imagined it would be after all this time.’

He mouthed ‘sorry’ and started scribbling again.

Thank you for coming. I hope Ed didn’t freak you out when he called and told you I was ill.

‘He told me they’d signed you off work for two weeks and you’d kill him if he didn’t arrange a visit. But I think he just wants a babysitter.’

You’re probably right. Sorry about that. Where’s your nurse’s outfit?He wiggled his eyebrows.

‘Ed wouldn’t allow any funny business, even if you were up for it.’

I’m up for it.

‘No you’re not. Look at you, you can’t even hold your head up. You should sleep.’

It’s not fair. I hadn’t planned on sleeping much once you got here.

But he didn’t resist when she took the notepad and pen from him.

As she slipped under the covers, she realised this was the first time they had ever been in a double bed together. Thespace was a luxury she didn’t want. She preferred it when they were closer. Everything was strange.

‘Goodnight.’ She kissed him on the forehead.

‘Love you,’ he squeaked. He sounded like Micky Mouse on helium.

Emily had six days in New York, and Will was in bed for all but the last two. Whenever Will was sleeping or had doctor visits, she would go out and explore the city, documenting her days with her camera or in her sketchbook.

She took most of her meals in the room with him, but occasionally he would insist she went to a restaurant with Matty and Reu while Ed stayed behind to babysit.

It was a relief when he showed signs of improvement, but even when he was allowed to talk, he was told to use his voice sparingly.

On her penultimate day, Will had a long scribbling argument with Ed about going out for the day with Emily. Ed eventually agreed to a short walk in Central Park. It was only two blocks away, but Will was tired by the time they got there, so they found a bench by a pond and watched the world go by.

He wanted to take her to the Museum of Modern Art before Ed called out a search party, so they hailed a cab, though it wasn’t far. When they got there, he was running on fumes.

‘What do you want to see the most?’ his voice was husky. He didn’t sound like Will.

‘Van Gogh’sStarry Night,’ she said without hesitation, so they headed straight for it. The painting was popular. They had to sit on a nearby bench until the crowd thinned out. They got the painting to themselves for maybe two whole minutes, but those two minutes were magical.

‘Have you ever been anywhere where you’ve seen stars like that?’ she asked him.

‘Uncle Brian’s,’ he croaked.

‘I saw the most amazing stars on holiday in Malta when I was a kid. It felt like they were right there, not millions of miles away. And if you tiptoed, you could touch them.’

‘I love the swirls,’ he whispered, threading his fingers through hers.

‘The paint looks like icing on a cake. You can almost taste it.’

Will cleared his throat. ‘He only sold one painting, right?’

‘That’s the legend – that he only sold one painting in his lifetime. The truth is, they don’t know exactly how many, but he did sell a few and some he exchanged for food. But that was only a tiny portion of his almost one thousand finished works. So yeah, he never got the recognition he deserved. Wasn’t around to see his success.’

Will eyed the painting, solemnly. ‘Imagine creating something so beautiful and no one wanting it,’ he rasped. ‘How could you keep painting?’ Since he’d started to recover, he hadn’t spoken so many words at once. It seemed to take it out of him.