Beyond Death (The Afterlife Series Book 1) Page 7

  Val knew her daughter would pick-up the good news vibes. Well, her good news anyway. ‘The course is also a suitability test, and if I pass...’ she took a sip of coffee and picked up a biscuit deliberately keeping them in suspense and enjoying their anticipation.

  ‘Mother!’ said Carl, his patience wearing thin.

  ‘Have you heard of People Against Poverty?’

  They both nodded. Always on the scrounge for other people’s well-earned cash, thought Carl unkindly.

  ‘Well, if they like me and I like them, I’m off to Zambia to work for them as a volunteer. Food and board’s included of course.’

  ‘But you can’t,’ said Carl, ‘it’s in Africa and too dangerous.’

  Val sighed. ‘It’s not a war zone, Carl. I’ll be perfectly fine and I’ll be with a friend.’

  ‘I’m well aware it’s not a war zone, Mother, thank you,’ he harrumphed, exasperated. ‘They have malaria and other such diseases that we don’t have in this country.’

  ‘And I’m well aware of that, thank you, Carl,’ she adored her son but he could be damned patronizing at times. ‘I’ve already had the necessary inoculations in case I’m successful, you’ll be pleased to hear, and before you say it,’ Val raised a hand at her son to stop him interrupting. ‘I’ll come to no harm from having them.’

  Libby knew that for some reason her mother felt guilty about her father’s death. She also knew that this course and new career would do her the world of good. She could see where the conversation was going, they were so alike and often butted heads. As usual when her brother and mother were at loggerheads she played the role of mediator.

  ‘Good for you, Mum. I think it’s a great idea. And who’s the friend?’

  Carl interrupted before his mother had a chance to respond. ‘You aren’t serious, surely?’ He was in a strop now and Libby could see that logic wouldn’t convince him.

  ‘Carl, we have our lives ahead of us. We’ve lost our father but Mum’s lost her lifelong partner. Cut her some slack, please.’

  Val couldn’t cope with an argument with Carl and sank into the settee, huge sobs wracking her entire body.

  Carl rushed to her side and held her until the sobs subsided.

  ‘I’m sorry, Mum. It’s only because we worry about you.’ Val nodded in between the sobs.

  ‘It’s only for three months, and then I’ll decide what to do after that.’

  ‘When will you go?’

  ‘February if we pass the course.’ Now back in control of her emotions, she continued. ‘Will you come and look after the house while I’m away, Libby? You can bring a friend to keep you company.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Libby, ‘and who’s the friend going with you?’

  ‘Marion Sylvester.’ Said Val. The name didn’t ring any bells with Carl, but Libby knew she’d heard the surname before but the only one she could think of was the girl who’d died in her father’s taxi. She said as much to her mother.

  ‘That’s right. It is Claire’s mother.’

  Both her children looked at her and wondered whether she had lost the plot.

  ‘I’ll be able to come home for Christmas after all.’ Was the best that Carl could manage as he planned to tell his mates he wouldn’t be going away with them that year.

  Carl wasn’t the only one who was concerned. Ron wasn’t happy that Val was doing a course then going away, it was far too soon after his death as far as he was concerned, and she was still vulnerable. He’d been able to move Jay’s tablet bottle when he was with Claire and when he’d heard Val’s news had tried his best to cause a spiritual stir, to make them aware of his presence. He’d blown to create a breeze, had tried moving items by thought and had generally made as much noise as was possible in his current state. All to no effect. Ron shook his fists in frustration still shouting at Val not to go, even though he knew it was pointless. He’d need to find Claire and get her to assist him. If she refused, he would do his best to make her visits to the living world as difficult as possible.

  Chapter 5

  Ron had been calling for Claire on and off for days. He needed her help and was impatient to visit his family again.

  ‘Ah, you’re back,’ he said. ‘For a minute there I thought I’d lost you for good.’

  ‘How long have I been out of it?’ Claire stretched and yawned like a lazy lion.

  ‘Couple of months at least. After a while I was worried so kept calling Gabriella to find out what was going on.’

  ‘I thought she was too busy to, um, visit.’

  ‘She is.’ Ron chuckled. ‘After I got bored with my own company I kept shouting and she came and gave me a bollocking. Told me I was driving her nuts but answered a few questions anyway, before disappearing again.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Well, apparently you are one of the few who can contact people through dreams, so soon after your own death. It normally takes at least two years, and even then not everyone is able to do it.’

  ‘Aren’t I the clever one?’

  Ron shook his head at her smugness.

  ‘The downside, as you will have gathered, is that it takes a lot out of you. So use your gift wisely.’

  ‘Yes, Obi Wan.’ Said Claire and they both doubled up, laughing like they were alive again.

  When they’d laughed themselves out, Ron turned serious.

  ‘I need your help. Val’s about to do a course then go to Zambia and I don’t want her to go.’ He explained about the visit to his family while Claire had been sleeping.

  ‘But I want to see how mine are getting on first.’ She said, falsely confident and wondering how she’d react to seeing the people she loved carrying on with their lives without her.

  ‘Well I can tell you how your mother’s getting on. She’s going on the same course as Val and is going to work for the same charity.’

  ‘It’s even more important that I catch up with them then. What about my father, what does he have to say about it?’

  ‘Claire, we don’t have much time if I want to stop her from going. Can we do this first, please?’

  It was obvious how desperate Ron was so Claire reluctantly capitulated and they were in Val’s house in no time.

  It was the period between Christmas and the New Year. The first Christmas without her husband and their father had been dreadful for them all. Val had tried to make it jolly and had overcompensated by buying Carl and Libby lots of presents, going over the top with the decorations and too much food and drink. They’d braved Christmas Day, falsely. All three had pretended to enjoy themselves. Val recalled that it had been about 4 o’clock when Libby looked at the uneaten food and said that she couldn’t cope any more. She ran upstairs in tears. She’d re-joined her mother and brother later and opened a bottle of wine. Carl had taken that as an escape signal and had gone to visit an old school friend, assuring his mother that it hadn’t been pre-arranged. Val and Libby had drank until they both fell asleep watching an old movie. They weren’t actively watching it she recalled, but it had been on and it avoided the need to talk. Christmas time had heightened their loss and they were both on an emotional precipice, neither wanting to fall into the abyss below. It had been an unpleasant day that had lasted too long for Val’s liking. She hoped that next year the kids would spend the day with their friends or partners – if they had them by then – and she could sneak off and help those in greater need. She knew it was selfish but being busy would be less painful, and take her mind off the wonderful family Christmases that were now in the dim and distant past.

  Val stood up and shook herself. Her Line Dancing friends had invited her out on New Year’s Eve. She used to go twice a week, religiously, but hadn’t been since Ron’s death. It was good of them all to remember her and Val was looking forward to catching up. It would soon be the New Year and Val thought she’d better start sorting out the stuff for her course and also the clothes she’d need for Zambia should she and Marion be successful. Best to be optimistic because if this didn’t
come off, Val didn’t know what she was going to do with the rest of her life.

  ‘Now, Claire,’ said Ron. ‘I’ll count to three then we’ll blow my photo off the mantelpiece. She’s bound to see that as a sign. Okay?’ Ron sounded determined but Claire wasn’t sure this was a good plan.

  ‘Don’t you think it’ll scare her?’

  ‘She wasn’t frightened of me when I was alive, so why would she be when I’m dead?’

  That wasn’t quite how Claire saw it, but she could tell by his tone that she wouldn’t be able to talk him out of it. She reluctantly agreed and psyched herself up for the task.

  ‘Ready?’

  Claire nodded.

  ‘One, two, three.’ They blew as hard as they could and nothing happened. Val left the room and jogged up the stairs to her bedroom.

  ‘What happened? Why didn’t it move?’ Ron could see that Claire had exerted as much effort as he had.

  ‘I really don’t know, because that was exhausting.’

  Not one to give up, Ron insisted they keep trying. They followed Val around for most of that day, unsuccessfully attempting to knock over or move various items. By the time Val retired for the night, both spirits were spent and they returned to Cherussola, trying to figure out why they’d been able to move Jay’s tablet bottle, but nothing belonging to Val.

  Claire was resting after their tiring day and on her way to oblivion while thinking pleasant thoughts of Jay. Since his botched overdose attempt she knew he’d suffered for being unfaithful and had now forgiven him for it.

  ‘I’ve got it!’ Shouted Ron and Claire jumped in fright.

  ‘Bloody hell, you scared the life out of me.’ Ron’s look was a question.

  ‘Yes, I know I’m already dead, but it’s only a figure of speech.’ She sighed.

  Ignoring her remark, he was eager to share his theory. ‘Maybe it’s only if someone is in trouble. Jay was on the verge of taking his own life so we were able to stop him. We have to find people in trouble or danger and then see if it works. What do you think?’

  Claire had no idea if Ron’s theory was correct. She did know that she couldn’t attempt anything until she was properly rested and revived.

  ‘We can certainly give it a go, Ron.’

  ‘Come on…’

  ‘To know whether it works we have to have all out strength so I’m sorry, but it’s going to have to wait.’

  He knew she was right so they both relaxed lost in their own thoughts until taken to the strange Cherussola world where dead people rest, but not in their final resting place.

  *****

  She didn’t know how much later it was when she opened her eyes. Ron wasn’t about so Claire decided to visit her own family, before he reappeared and tried to put his needs first.

  Marion knew that Val had told her children their news before Christmas, but as Graham had not yet told the boys about his other family, she knew this task fell to her. She decided to wait until the New Year, rather than make Christmas even worse for all of them. The twins said they’d be home for Christmas and Marion had lied to them and told them that their parents would be spending Christmas with friends, as they couldn’t bear to be in the house at Christmas with only memories of Claire. This hadn’t seemed right to the twins and when they tried to speak to their father during the Christmas break, their mother told them that he was busy or had returned to work early. The twins had now been summoned to Yorkshire at their mother’s request.

  ‘I don’t know why she wants to see us,’ said Jim, answering his brother’s unasked question. Others including their long-standing friends often thought their telepathy was weird, but they’d had the uncanny ability to read each other’s minds since they were very young, and neither found it strange.

  Tony parked in the driveway and looked at his brother. ‘Me too.’ He said as he opened the door, knowing that Jim also had a bad feeling about the visit.

  Although their lives would never be the same without Claire, they had all tried to settle back into some sort of routine during the six months since her death. The way the twins had coped was to immerse themselves in their work and sport when they weren’t working. Between that and finding time to see their girlfriends, they didn’t see their parents as often as they wanted. They made a point of calling their mother every week but important issues were never discussed and she always said that she was doing okay. The twins were therefore surprised to see that their mother had lost weight and dyed her hair. She’d also had the house decorated and it looked more modern than it had before. There was an air of new woman about her and the twins felt that she’d turned a corner and was trying to get on with her life.

  ‘You look great, Mum.’ Said Tony and Jim nodded in agreement. They kissed and Marion brought the boys tea and sandwiches. They were surprised that cups and saucers had been dispensed with and replaced with mugs and gave each other a questioning look.

  ‘The house looks brill too,’ said Jim. ‘What does Dad think about it all?’

  ‘That’s one of the things I want to talk to you about.’

  Both sons knew they weren’t going to like her explanation.

  ‘When did you last speak to your father?’ asked Marion as she raised her cup to her lips. Her sons were comforted by the fact that their mother still used a cup and saucer.

  ‘We speak to him during the week, Mum, the same as you.’ Said Jim.

  ‘Why are you asking? He must have told you.’ Tony added and looked at his brother. They spoke to both parents during the week and knew they had each other for company at the weekends so left them to their own devices.

  Marion sighed and returned her cup and saucer to the table. She joined her hands together in her lap and leaned forward. Sensing a bombshell, her sons nervously awaited her news.

  ‘There’s no easy way to tell you this.’

  ‘For Christ’s sake, Mum. Just spit it out would you? You’re driving us nuts.’ Tony blurted and his brother nodded.

  ‘Your father and I are in the process of getting divorced.’

  ‘Oh, right.’ Tony had calmed down and felt his pulse steadying. They had both thought that one of their parents may be terminally ill so although the news wasn’t good, it was better than anticipated. They also knew that sometimes the death of a child could either make a marriage stronger or break it apart, so although sad, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

  Jim walked to his mother’s chair and sat on the arm. He lifted her hand and held it. ‘I’m sorry, Mum, it must be awful for both of you. If you need anything...’

  ‘That’s not all of it.’ She interrupted and took back her hand. Marion was trying to find the right way to tell her sons about their father’s double life and she stalled, lifting her tea and taking another sip. The twins waited trying to be patient but their pulses started racing once again.

  ‘Please, Mum?’ said Jim. ‘Just take your time and tell us what’s going on.’

  ‘Your father,’ she looked at each of them in turn. ‘Your loving, bastard father...’

  Both sons sucked in air at their mother’s use of a word they would never have imagined her using. It would be like the Pope telling someone to fuck off thought Tony.

  ‘...has been leading a double-life for at least fifteen years.’

  Marion sat back nodding, and waited for a response.

  ‘What, he’s a spy or something?’

  ‘Don’t be stupid, Jim. He’s not a bloody spy. He has another family.’

  ‘What!’ said in unison. The twins looked at their mother as if she were from another planet.

  When they calmed down and stopped firing questions at her Marion explained.

  ‘I hired a private investigator and discovered that your bastard father has been having a long-term relationship with a woman named Carol. And they have a daughter who’s nearly fifteen, named Mel.’

  The twins were initially dumbstruck. When the information sank in, they were annoyed and also curious.

  ‘I can’t an
swer your questions and I only know what the private investigator has told me about your half-sister, which I’ve already shared with you.’ She folded her hands together again in her lap. ‘I’m sorry your bastard father has been cowardly and hasn’t told you.’

  Although Tony was preoccupied with his mother’s new title for his father, it sounded to Jim as if his mother was still holding something back.

  ‘When did you and Dad split up?’

  ‘Does it matter, Jim? I’ve told you what I know and it’s your bastard father who’s in the wrong here. You should be grilling him and not me.’

  They looked at each other and Marion sensed that they were sharing thoughts as they often did. She waited for Tony to ask the next question.

  ‘How long have you known and when did you break up, Mum?’ He folded his arms and eyed his mother suspiciously.

  ‘I’m not on trial here, and, as I said, you need to speak to your bastard father. Now if you’ll excuse me,’ she looked at her watch. ‘I have a train to catch and you can either give me a lift to the station or I’ll get a taxi. I’m not bothered either way.’

  The twins had expected to stay overnight. They didn’t want their mother to be agitated more than she already was, so didn’t argue when she requested a lift on the condition that they wouldn’t ask further questions about the disintegration of their parents’ marriage, or their newly discovered half-sister. On the way to the station there was another revelation, surprising but less shocking.

  ‘Where are you off to, Mum?’ asked Tony, trying to lighten the mood.

  ‘I’m going on a course. Your sister always said there was more to life than Yorkshire and that I should travel more, so that’s what I’m doing.’ With the drama of the revelations, it was the first time that afternoon that Claire had been mentioned and Marion wiped a few tears from her eyes. It was still massively raw and painful but she was trying her best to think and speak about Claire without sobbing her heart out each time. Sometimes she succeeded, others not. She wouldn’t wish this pain on her worst enemy and on some of the dark lonely nights had wondered how she could possibly carry on with the rest of her life.