Trust Me - Sheryl Browne Page 0,16
wouldn’t kill him.
His mind made up, he turned his attention to Edward. ‘Looks interesting,’ he commented, nodding at the bottle of wine he was wrapping up in old Christmas paper, doing his bit for recycling.
‘Aye, it is that,’ Edward said with a wink. ‘It’s water.’
Perplexed, Jake knitted his brow. ‘That should make sure no one’s drunk while in charge of their ducks. Might be a few disappointed winners, though.’
‘No, they’re all getting into the spirit of it,’ Edward quipped, adding the bottle to a row already wrapped and picking up another. ‘It’s a good fundraiser, this. It’s called Water into Wine. The winning ticket gets a nice little …’ He paused, squinting to read the label at arm’s length. ‘Sauvignon Blanc. And everyone else is happy in the knowledge that all proceeds are going towards maintaining the sports centre.’
‘Fair enough. Count me in.’ Managing to locate his jeans pockets under his dungarees, Jake fished out some cash. Handing over a ten-pound note, he marvelled at how Edward kept smiling despite his wife’s recent illness and his accountancy business going under last year – something he hadn’t told his wife, he’d confided. There was also his recent dementia diagnosis, which he really did need to tell Joyce about, though Jake guessed it wasn’t going to be an easy thing for him to do. Joyce and Edward had been together for forty-five years. They weren’t joined at the hip, both of them determined to stay independently active, but he’d noticed how close they were, always holding hands whenever they were out walking together, which was a sure sign of a strong relationship.
A stark image of his mother seared itself on his mind, reminding him how devastating the psychological consequences of feeling trapped in a bad relationship could be. He drew in a sharp breath. Jesus. Where had that come from? In his nightmares he couldn’t avoid it, but during waking hours he tried hard not to think about the day he’d walked in from school to find his mother’s body hanging limp and lifeless in the hall. Her eyes had been bulbous, bloodshot and haunted, looking right at him. He drew in another breath, tried to shake the image from his head. He’d been frozen, paralysed with fear and incomprehension. He hadn’t cried. Eventually backing into the furthest corner of the hall, he’d sunk to his haunches. He’d been shaking, he remembered that, trembling incessantly, but he hadn’t shed a tear. Because deep down somewhere he’d expected it. Even as a teenager, he’d seen the signs that his mother was becoming unbalanced after discovering the extent of his father’s adultery. Now it seemed as if his own wife was behaving erratically, which was obviously down to him, and it scared him. He wondered how to broach the subject, try to get to the bottom of what she was thinking.
‘Here you go,’ Edward was saying, offering him a raffle ticket along with his change, Jake realised. ‘You never know, it might be the winning ticket.’
‘That’s okay, Ed. You can keep the change.’ Feeling hot and clammy suddenly, Jake wiped away the perspiration dotting his forehead. The dungarees were a bad idea with the temperature soaring. ‘The raffle ticket too. You might as well sell it on. The more funds, the better,’ he added, arranging his face into a smile. ‘I’ll catch up with you in a minute. I just need to have a quick word with Emily.’
‘That’s very generous of you.’ Edward smiled delightedly. ‘You’re a good man, Dr Merriden.’
Yeah. Pity his wife didn’t seem to think so. She’d definitely been off with him. He had to find out why. Glancing towards her again, he gave her a minute to finish serving a customer, then headed in her direction.
His progress was impeded, however, by Steve Wheeler, who ran the DIY store, and whose wife he’d recently treated. ‘All right, Jake?’ he asked, stopping in front of him.
‘Yes, good, thanks,’ Jake replied, one eye still on Emily. ‘How’s Jennifer?’
‘Better. Much,’ Steve said, a relieved look on his face as he glanced towards her.
Jake followed his gaze to see Jennifer bending to talk to one of her pupils from the primary school she taught at. She looked better, smiling and relaxed as she chatted to the little boy and his mother. Jake had been extremely concerned for her at one point. After losing her mother closely followed by the child she and Steve had both desperately wanted, he’d been sure she might be heading for