An Uncommon Sense (18 page)

He frowned. “He’s showing me the actress Mia Farrow…” His voice trailed off and he waved a hand at Mia. “Sorry, I know who that is.”

“Jeez,
I
told you Mia’s name.”

“Yes, Grace, I know.” He smiled then. “Your dad’s laughing and saying you don’t believe me. He’s calling you his ‘little sceptic’.”

Grace went hot. “You can tell him to stop being so bloody cheeky.” The crowd laughed and her cheeks burned even more. The truth was, the phrase meant more than he realised. Her father had called her that. She’d always been cynical, even before she’d lost her faith, determined to be a scientist from the age of eight, questioning and refusing to accept things at face value. It was a coincidence. There was no way he could have known that.

The odd thing was, even though she was determined to force him to prove it to her, she desperately wanted to believe him. She
wanted
concrete evidence that he wasn’t trying to trick her. She closed her eyes.
Help me, Dad,
she begged.
If you really are talking to him, tell me something he would never know
.

Chapter Fourteen

Ash continued to stop and look at the floor three feet in front of him between comments. “He’s showing me a motorbike.”

“Yes, he used to ride one.”

“You used to ride it with him.”

“Sometimes. I’m sure there’s a photo of me somewhere on the back with him.”

He started to walk up and down the stage. “He was a soccer fan, not rugby. He liked English football. He’s showing me the Arsenal strip.”

“Yes. His parents were English. He came over to New Zealand when he was six.”

“Impressed yet?” he asked.

“Nope. I’ve got an Arsenal scarf in my classroom. Jodi could have told you that.”

She realised she was divulging too much information to the thousand people watching and snapped her mouth shut, but she could see they were fascinated.

Ash paced again. “He liked singing in the choir.”

“Yes.”

“He was quite a religious man. He’s showing me the Bible.”

“Yes.”

“And so’s your mother.”

She snorted. “I told you that.”

He listened for a moment. Then he glanced briefly around the crowd. “I’m asking him to give me something I couldn’t have found out from the records office.” He gave Grace an amused glance.

“Go for it, boyo.” She was almost enjoying herself now.

He waited. “On your first day at school, you climbed a tree and got stuck up it. They had to call the caretaker to bring a ladder to get you down.”

She met his eyes, recognising the challenge in his gaze. “Yes,” she said slowly. “And I’m sure that’s been on Facebook.” The crowd laughed.

He thought for a moment. “I’m not telling her that,” he murmured.

“Telling me what?”

He shook his head and glanced up at her, giving her a strange look. Grace tried to think what he wouldn’t want to tell her. Something about her books?

“No,” he said, looking down again. He wasn’t speaking to her. “Something else.” He listened, then nodded and looked up. “Who’s Ben?”

Grace went still as he met her gaze. “You tell me,” she said.

He tipped his head. “I’m not entirely sure, but if I was a betting man, I’d say a Labrador/spaniel cross.”

Everyone turned to look at her. Her lips curved. “Yeah, okay, he was my dog. Are you going to tell me he’s here too?”

“He’s always around you. You were his favourite.”

Her throat tightened but she said nothing. It still wasn’t good enough. Any of her old acquaintances might have remembered her dog.

“He’s showing me a necklace with the word ‘Love’ on it. Like, the word ‘Love’ is hanging from a chain by two gold hoops. The chain’s gold too.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“You’re sure? You never had a necklace like that?”

“No.” Her lips twitched. “Looks like your source needs to sort out his facts.”

There was a rumble of laughter but Ash ignored it. “What’s the significance of the song ‘Brass in Pocket’ by The Pretenders? He’s singing it.”

“Um… That was the song he danced to with my mother at their wedding.” She frowned. How would Ash know that? An old friend of the family?

He was talking quickly now. “He’s showing me a picnic hamper. It has a blue-and-white-check tablecloth inside.”

Her heart was starting to pound. “Okay…we had one like that when I was young.”
 

“You used to wear the tablecloth like a cape.”

“It was a long while ago. I used to pretend to be Wonder Woman.” The audience laughed, and she smiled, but inside she was starting to get breathless. He must have spoken to one of her brothers. It was the only explanation.

He thought. “He’s showing me Steve McQueen in
The Great Escape
, you know, the one where he’s on a motorbike.”

“I’ve already confirmed he rode a motorbike.”

“But Steve McQueen has significance,” he said. “You used to look at your dad on the bike and call him Steve McQueen.”

She said nothing. She was breathing fast and shallow now.
He could have guessed that
, she thought, but it was a stretch, and she knew it. She could see people looking at her, nudging each other. It was hot under the lights and she knew she was sweating.

He was already moving on. “He’s singing ‘Silent Night’. He’s showing himself dressed in a Santa costume. He wore one once and sang to you and your brothers.”

“Yes.”
Christ, how’d he find that out?

He carried on, in full flow now. “You went to Christchurch once with him. He’s showing me the cathedral.”

“No. I’ve never been to Christchurch.” She felt a sweep of relief, followed instantly by a pang of disappointment. He’d got something wrong.

He frowned. “It’s definitely Christchurch. I can see the tram. And the cathedral. You were young. You were wearing a red coat.”

“No. That’s not me, Ash.”

He put his hands on his hips, stared at the floor. “Your dad’s wearing black. It was a funeral…an aunt, I think. It’s autumn—there are dead leaves on the ground. You walked through the leaves on the way to the cemetery. Your mum kept saying, ‘I can’t believe she’s dead’, and all you could think about was the dead leaves.”

“I…” Grace’s voice trailed off, and she only just stopped herself saying “fuck” out loud. How could she have forgotten? She was only five. It was her father’s sister. She’d had cancer. It was the only time she’d ever been farther south than Kaikoura.

“Gillian,” he said, naming her aunt, looking up and meeting her eyes.

“Yes.” She didn’t have to say any more. The look on his face told her he knew she understood. He’d known and she’d forgotten.
How the hell is that possible?

The crowd began to murmur, but he cleared his throat and moved on. “You don’t like cut flowers. He keeps saying, ‘No flowers.’ You don’t like it when they die.”

“No.”

“So he’s handing you shells. Seashells, all different sizes and colours. He used to collect them for you.”

“Yes.” Grace’s head was spinning.

“He made you a necklace from them.”

“Yes.”

“He made you one each holiday, and you kept them. You have them in a box somewhere.”

“Yes.”
Shit, shit, shit.
Her palms were damp, but her lips were terribly dry, and she had to keep moistening them.

He carried on, relentless. “He bought you a ring for your thirteenth birthday. It was shaped like a bow, with a diamond in the middle.”

“Yes.”

“You lost it, just before he died. He forgave you, but you’ve never forgiven yourself.”

“Yes.” She’d started to shake.

“What’s Sirius?” he said. “And why’s he showing me a Dalmatian?”

Grace’s heart seemed to stop. She felt all the blood drain from her head.
How did he know?
Mia squeezed her hand and Ash said something, but she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
How did he know?
 

“Grace?”

She heard him say her name and put her hands out as she felt the floor drop away, but the world was already turning black.

When she came to, she was in a small room and a short Asian man with grey hair was leaning over her. He smiled as she opened her eyes. “Hello, Grace, my name’s Dr. Patel. Don’t try to get up. Just lie there for a moment.”

Grace blinked, trying to make sense of what he was saying and where she was. She turned her head and saw Mia holding her hand, looking extremely worried.

“I’m okay,” Grace croaked. “What happened?”

“You fainted,” said Freya, appearing from behind Mia. Her eyes were bright with excitement. “Ash leaped off the stage and ran to you and picked you up. He carried you out.”

“You’re in his dressing room,” said Mia.

“Oh Christ.” Grace groaned and closed her eyes, covering them with a hand. She’d fainted. In front of a thousand people.

“What was it?” said Freya. “What did he say that made you faint?”

“Just a minute, please,” said Dr. Patel firmly. “She’s had a shock. Let her recover before you fire questions at her.”

“I’m okay.” Grace pushed herself up.
 

Dr. Patel helped her, then handed her a mug of tea. “Have a sip, my dear.”

She did so, the hot, sweet tea grounding her and getting rid of her lightheadedness. “Oh, that’s nice.” She looked around the room. It was like a living room, with a dressing table and mirror to one side, a couple of armchairs and a sofa, where she was currently sitting.

She gave the doctor an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry.”

He waved his hand. “I happened to be sitting near you. I always come to Mr. Rutherford’s Wellington shows.”

“Oh God.” She’d thought he worked at the Centre. “Please, I’m fine now. You must get back.” The poor man had paid for a ticket.

“It’s okay, the show’s finished,” said the doctor. “You’ll be fine now, my dear. But stay sitting down for a few minutes—and make sure someone’s with you for a few hours.”

“Thank you,” she said, and he smiled and left the room.

Grace’s eyes met Freya’s, then Mia’s. “I’ve got to go,” she said, pushing herself to the edge of the sofa, but Mia pushed her back and sat beside her.

“Ash wants to see you when he’s finished,” she said. “He had to go back and say goodbye to everyone, and he’s just signing a few books, but he promised he’d be back as soon as he could.”

Grace leaned her head back and covered her eyes with her hands. “I can’t believe I fainted!” she wailed. “How embarrassing.”

“What happened?” Freya sounded as if she was dying from curiosity. “What did he say, Grace? You’ve got to tell us!”

Mia didn’t say anything, but as Grace removed her hands and looked at her, she could see the interest in Mia’s eyes.

Grace bit her lip. “He was talking about a book by Dodie Smith called
The Starlight Barking
. It’s the follow-up to
The Hundred and One Dalmatians
. The dogs wake up one morning, and all the humans have been put in a deep sleep by Sirius, the dog star. He wants the dogs to join him in space. My dad read the book to me one summer holiday. Both my brothers were away with my mum for some reason, I can’t remember why, and my dad and I were on our own, which hardly ever happened.” Her head throbbed and she massaged her temples. “We read the whole book, and we loved it. We spent ages talking about it, but nobody else would ever have known about it. I never told anyone, and as far as I know, neither did he.”

She had begun to shake. Now, as she suddenly realised the implications behind her final statement, tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over.

“Oh, Grace.” Mia put her arms around her and hugged her, while Freya sat on the other side of her and did the same.

Grace buried her face in her hands.
Ash spoke to him.
The words kept spinning around in her head.
Ash spoke to my dad. He really spoke to him.

There were voices from outside the door, and Mia and Freya jumped up. Grace tried to wipe her face, but she didn’t have a tissue, and anyway, the tears wouldn’t stop coming.

The door opened and she put her face in her hands.

There was a murmur of voices. She heard Ash’s low tones as he talked to the girls, asking them how they’d travelled to the Centre, and telling them he’d take them home shortly, if they wouldn’t mind waiting. She heard him tell them he’d be happy to offer them both a free reading at his house, if they were interested, and that he was very pleased to meet them. Then she heard him asking if they would mind waiting outside while he spoke to her.

The door opened and then shut again. The room was silent but she couldn’t look up. She heard him move around, and then the sofa dipped as he sat beside her. He pushed a tissue into her hand and tentatively put a hand on her back.

Grace turned and curled up against him, and he sighed and wrapped his arms around her.

She sobbed into his shirt.