‘I knew he was hurting her. I tried to make her leave but she wouldn’t.’ Grace started to cry.
‘Why didn’t you tell us, Grace? Jesus,’ spat Carlotta at her sister.
‘She made me promise, said she didn’t want it blown out of proportion. I thought it was just slapping and yelling, but not this serious.’
‘You should have fucking told us,’ yelled Carlotta. ‘Slapping is still abuse, Grace.’
Grace raised her voice back at her sister. ‘You were closest to her, you live on the estate. Why didn’t you call in and see her more? Then maybe you would have found out. You could have gone and seen her this morning but instead you were out on a horse, as usual. So don’t blame me.’
Violetta sat between them. There was no way she was going to admit she was fucking someone while her mother was lying naked on a cold bathroom floor for hours.
‘Listen, we are here now,’ she said, ever the peacemaker with her sisters, and wondering how long she had to stay. She had promised Adam she would go to a party with him later.
‘Mom is being cared for and we have to hope she improves soon. The last thing we have to worry about is Leon.’ She spat her father’s name out as though it left a bad taste in her mouth. ‘Mom will get through this and when he returns from wherever the hell he has gone, then the police will deal with him,’ she said, convincing herself more as she spoke.
Silence hung heavily over the sisters and then Grace looked at Violetta.
‘What are you wearing?’ she asked, looking at Violetta in a short silver-sequined T-shirt, skin tight black jeans and high heeled purple boots. ‘Did you come straight here from a nightclub?’
Violetta looked down at herself. ‘Why do you give a shit about what I’m wearing, Grace?’
‘Well, I thought you might have worn something a little less conspicuous,’ said Grace tartly.
‘Right, well you worry about my clothes while I worry about our mother, how’s that for you?’ said Violetta acidly.
Violetta had grabbed the clothes on the floor when she had finally heard the message from Thea. Granted, they weren’t standard issue hospital visiting wear, but she didn’t really care about the stares she received when she ran into the hospital.
Grace was silent and Carlotta glared at her.
‘Well, I have to get back to Connecticut as soon as possible, so I hope this doesn’t drag on,’ Carlotta said to no one in particular.
‘I’ll be sure to tell Mom that you send your regards then, will I?’ Grace asked, without looking at her sister.
‘Fuck you,’ said Carlotta.
‘Charming,’ Grace answered.
‘Shut up, you two,’ Violetta said angrily, deciding to blow off the party. Adam would understand, she thought. ‘We all have our lives to get back to but I think you are forgetting that Mom doesn’t have one at the moment, so I would suggest you rethink your priorities.’
She stood up. Surprisingly, she felt in control even in the face of uncertainty.
Grace and Carlotta were chastened enough to nod in agreement and they left the waiting room and went back to Birdie’s bedside. The doctor and a nurse were standing over her, looking at the display on the machine next to her. The doctor looked up at the sisters.
‘How is she?’ asked Grace, reaching down to take her mother’s hand. Her short nails were perfectly manicured, as always, and it softened Grace’s heart as she held onto the lifeless fingers.
‘She’s not doing so great. We are about to take her for an MRI scan,’ he said. ‘That should tell us more.’
‘What can we do?’ asked Carlotta.
‘I suggest you stay here, perhaps take it in turns to sit with her. This could be a long wait to find the outcome we are all hoping for,’ the doctor said. He turned to Violetta, who was silent. ‘Talking to her is good. Reading, telling her about your lives will help to bring her out. She is in a coma right now, but once we see the results of the MRI then we can create a plan of action.’
Violetta looked at the doctor, her eyes filled with tears. ‘Can she hear us?’ she asked.
‘I think she can. I like to believe my patients can hear their loved ones. I have read many instances when people have come out of comas and have remembered their treatment and the words from their families.’
The girls were quiet as he spoke. He had a sense of calm that they needed to grasp onto in this destabilising time.
Violetta reached down and took Birdie’s free hand. ‘Mommy, it’s Letty. We are all here, the trio is back. We came and we will stay here until you wake up, OK?’
