‘Me too, it’s getting warm, isn’t it? I think it’s going to be a hot afternoon,’ Sandra said, taking a tissue out of her pocket and wiping the sweat off her forehead.
‘Just the right weather to spend by the pool,’ Mary said.
They had crusty rolls and salad for lunch, on the back terrace, then changed, putting their swimsuits underneath their shorts, and did a bit of sunbathing. Patti kept a thin cotton shirt over her swimsuit and wore a big sun hat. The cancer had gone but she still had to be careful.
‘I think I’ll go for a dip, anyone want to join me?’ Mary said after a while.
‘I will,’ Sandra said. ‘I need to keep practising.’
They both slipped off their shorts and jumped into the pool.
‘You don’t fancy joining them?’ Keith asked.
‘I will in a while, I have to limit my time in the sun,’ Patti told him.
‘Yes, of course.’ Keith glanced over at the pool where Sandraand Mary were racing across to the other side, Sandra doing the breaststroke and Mary the crawl. ‘Sandra’s nice, easy to get on with,’ he said.
Patti nodded. ‘She is. I’m so pleased that I met up with her again. I was starting to feel a bit lonely and wondering if I’d done the right thing moving back to Worcester but then I bumped into Sandra and she’s been such a support.’ She pushed her sunglasses back up on her nose a little. ‘Actually, we’ve supported each other. Her husband’s death really devastated her and her son is rather dominating. I know it’s with the best of intentions, he’s trying to look out for her, but she’s anxious enough without him flapping around her putting doubts in her mind.’
Squeals of laughter floated through the air as Sandra and Mary both stood on the side of the pool then jumped in.
‘I’m going for a swim. Coming?’
‘Sure. Race you to the pool!’
As they ran over to the pool and dived in, Keith in the lead by a few seconds, Patti thought how much happier he looked than when they first arrived. He’d gone into a shell, she realised, like she had when she’d first been diagnosed with cancer, and Sandra had when she lost Brian. And now he was scared to come out of that shell and start living.
Well Keith might not have a bucket list, but she had added one more to hers. She was going to help her brother live his life again.
31
‘Time to blow up the toys,’ Patti said, they’d all come out of the pool for a drink and to top up their sun cream. ‘Shall I fetch your donut ring, Sandra?’
‘Yes please, it’s on the chest of drawers in my bedroom.’ Sandra poured some sun cream onto her hands and rubbed it onto her face and neck.
Mary disappeared into the house to get her Pegasus.
‘I’d better get my electric air pump to blow those up,’ Keith said, looking amused when they returned with their inflatables.
He soon had them all pumped up. The unicorn and Pegasus were huge. ‘I can’t wait to see you all trying to get on those!’
‘I’d forgotten quite how big they were,’ Mary said.
‘Who’s going in first?’ Patti asked.
‘Me!’ Sandra threw the big pink donut into the pool then jumped in with a huge splash. She reached out for the donut and scrambled into it, perching herself across the hole in the middle, her head on one side and legs dangling on the other. ‘Come on you two!’ she called.
Patti and Mary picked up their inflatables and carried themover to the pool, placing them on the water where they immediately floated off. They both jumped in, swam over to the inflatables and tried to climb on. After several unsuccessful attempts where they ended up falling off into the water, they finally managed it.
‘Let’s have a race!’ Patti shouted. ‘You too, Sandra!’
Sandra paddled with her hands to move the ring across the pool whilst Mary and Patti paddled furiously with their feet. The huge blow-ups glided majestically over the water, with Patti and Mary clinging to their necks.
‘You’re going to crash into me!’ Mary shouted. ‘Change direction!’
Patti paddled faster but her unicorn refused to turn and continued heading towards the Pegasus. ‘I can’t!’ she shouted.
She reached out to push the Pegasus away but toppled off into the water, the unicorn on top of her, swallowing a mouthful of water in the process.
