Page 39 of In Just One Day

‘Good.’ Flora wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, whether the subject was closed or whether the affair was over, but for now it was enough.

‘Fine, so see you at the weekend? Saturday? I’ll bring lunch.’

‘Lovely, see you then. Bye.’

Robin put the phone back in its cradle. Monty sat at his feet, looking up at him. ‘Right, shall we see if we can get her to eat something?’ Monty wagged his tail. ‘You’d better come with me. Maybe you can persuade her.’

Kate heard them coming up the stairs. She pulled the covers up higher, almost covering her head. Slowly, Robin opened the door, pushing it with his elbow. He walked carefully across the bedroom, placing a tray with some toast and marmalade on his side of the bed.

‘Darling, would you like something to eat?’ He gently stroked the top of her head, her curls escaping across the pillow.

‘I’m not hungry.’ Her voice was muffled.

‘Please have something, Kate. You haven’t really eaten properly for days.’

‘I’m said I’m not hungry.’

Robin noticed the untouched cup of tea on her bedside table. He quietly sighed. ‘Well, I’ll just leave it here, then. It’s there if you want it.’

‘Thank you.’

‘But, Kate, please talk to me. I want to help but I don’t know what to do.’

‘There’s nothing you can do. He’s gone and that’s it.’

Robin closed his eyes. ‘I know. I miss him too.’ He tried to keep his voice even.

‘Please just go away, Robin. You can’t help.’

He stood for a moment, unsure what to do. He so wanted to be able to make her feel better, make her see that life had to go on. She turned her back to him. He sighed quietly, then left the room.

* * *

A few days later Kate sat in the waiting room at her doctor’s surgery. Robin sat beside her, flicking through an out-of-date car magazine.

‘I really don’t think I need to do this.’

‘It was Flora’s suggestion. She told me she’d gone to her doctor for something to help her sleep and it really helped. She thought it might help you too.’

‘Did she? Well, I’m sleeping fine, actually. It’s the living part I’m having trouble with.’

‘Kate, please don’t say that.’ Robin looked at her. ‘Let’s see what Dr Harris says.’

As it turned out, Dr Harris asked lots of questions. She asked Kate if she was able to talk to her family or to a friend about how she was feeling. Kate had said that, no, she couldn’t talk to her husband because everything felt broken. Their family, their marriage, everything. And once Kate started talking, she couldn’t stop. About how angry she was at Billy’s death.

How angry she was at Robin for, she suspected, being in love with someone else. And especially how the latter made her feel so guilty, the fact that she was even thinking about her husband’s infidelity when she’d just lost a son.

Dr Harris listened intently, gently, then wrote down a number. ‘Kate, you need to talk to someone. Properly, I mean. Give them a call. It’s a local counselling service. I think it’ll really help. If it doesn’t, come back and see me again and we can go from there. And in the meantime, these will help you with your sleep and with your mood.’ She handed Kate a prescription.

Robin quickly stood up from his chair when he saw Kate walk back through the doors.

‘What did she say?’

Kate looked at him, his face so familiar. She noticed how tired he looked, realising she hadn’t really seen him, not properly, for weeks.

‘I’ve got something to get me over the bump.’ Kate held up the prescription. She decided not to tell him about the counselling suggestion for now.

‘Ah, right. That sounds like a good idea. Well, let’s get home, shall we?’

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