‘Not at all. I’m just worried about you. It’s not like you to shut yourself away. You and Mary have always gone places, done things.’
‘It changes you when you look death in the face, Patti. You should know that.’
‘I get that you don’t want to put yourself at risk, of course I do. But a day out sightseeing, a boat trip like we did yesterday, a day at the beach – what harm could it do?’
Keith fixed her a long look. ‘Do you know the full circumstances of my heart attack?’ he asked.
Patti shook her head. ‘Not really. Mary phoned me from the hospital to say that you’d had a stent fitted because you’d had a heart attack. But you’ve not really talked to me about it since. So that’s all I know.’ That call was embedded in her mind. It had been six thirty in the morning when Mary had phoned her, which would have been seven thirty in Spain. Apparently, Keith had taken ill late the previous night so Mary had taken him to hospital, they’d run a few tests and realised he’d had a heart attack. He’d been fitted with a stent a few hours later.
‘I had a few pains in my chest when we were getting ready for bed. They weren’t really painful, a bit like indigestion. I took a Rennie and was going to sleep it off, but Mary insisted I take anaspirin and took me to hospital.’ His eyes met hers. ‘I could have died if I’d got into bed and gone to sleep, Patti. I might never have woken up again.’ He choked. ‘I can’t risk that happening. And Mary had only just returned from a night out. I keep thinking, what if Mary hadn’t come home when she did? I don’t want to die.’
She reached out and squeezed his hand. ‘I understand your fear, and you’re right to be cautious, but the way I see it, you had a problem with your heart and it was dealt with. There is no reason why it should happen again.’
‘I can’t take that for granted. What if I don’t get a warning next time? Like Sandra’s husband. And don’t tell me it won’t happen because it does.’
‘Of course it does. People die unexpectedly – especially as you get older, like us. There’s no guarantees with life, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy it.’
A peal of laughter rung through the air as Mary and Sandra jumped into the pool.
‘You know, Sandra couldn’t even swim until a few weeks ago. We both wrote a bucket list of things we wanted to do while we were still fit enough to do them, and swimming was top of hers, so I encouraged her to take lessons and look at her now.’
‘What was top of your list?’ Keith asked.
‘After my tattoo, to get over my fear of flying and come here to visit you,’ she told him.
She saw him digest this information.
‘What about you? Have you got a bucket list of things you’d like to do while you still can?’ she asked softly.
He shook his head. ‘There’s only one thing I want to do.’
She cocked her head onto one side. ‘What’s that?’
Keith picked up his glass and finished his drink. ‘Stay alive.’
Patti watched worriedly as her brother got up and walked intothe kitchen. Keith really did have a serious anxiety problem. How was she going to help him through it?
After lunch, they all went to have a siesta. Patti and Sandra went to the casita, wanting to give Mary and Keith time alone. Patti told Sandra about her conversation with Keith. ‘He really is scared of having another heart attack, and I feel guilty about us all going out for the day and leaving him here but it’s not healthy for either of them to be like this, and poor Mary is desperate for some company.’
‘Is there somewhere we could go tomorrow that Keith will come?’ Sandra asked.
‘I don’t know. I mean the boat trip wasn’t that energetic, was it? It seems like he doesn’t want to do anything.’
They both went to their rooms for some quiet time.
When they joined Mary and Keith for the evening meal, Mary asked them to remind her again what was on their bucket list. Patti got the list up on her phone and showed it to her.
‘Look, they’ve already ticked a few things off,’ Mary said, holding out the phone to Keith.
His eyes scanned the list. ‘Going on a jet ski and up in an air balloon is a bit risky!’
‘I’m sure it’s quite safe. And there’s other more sedate stuff we want to do too. Such as sitting on the beach drinking fizz and watching the sunset,’ Patti said. ‘So we’ll definitely do that one of the days we’re here. Why don’t you and Mary join us? We can get a taxi there and back.’
‘Count me in! That would be fantastic!’ Mary said. ‘We could even do that tomorrow. There’s a beach at Fuengirola and it’s not far to drive. I’ll only have a small glass of fizz so I can drive us.’ She turned to Keith. ‘Please say you’ll come.’
He gave a mock shudder. ‘No thanks. I can watchthe sunset here without getting sand in my shoes.’ He picked up his phone and slid it open, tapping the screen. ‘It says here that the sun sets about ten to nine, so bear in mind it will be quite chilly by then.’
‘That’s okay, we can take a throw for our shoulders.’ Mary turned to Patti and Sandra. ‘What do you say we go out for about four, take a walk around the shops, have a bite to eat then wrap up a bit warmer to sit on the beach.’
