Bella (27 page)

  
“
They will when I get
a second opinion. Surely you have enough money to have had a second opinion
Caroline?
”

She just looked at me in shame.

  
“
You can't just have
someone locked up like this and throw away the key. Because that is how it
seems to me, she is like a prisoner here, not a patient.
”
I walked away from her to make a call to my
lawyer and explained the situation.

He told me that I had to get a second opinion as soon as
possible because the way he saw it, they had no right to keep my mother locked
up.

I calmed down and told Caroline I needed to speak to my
mother alone.

When I entered her room she was sat up in bed crying. She
told me that as soon as I
’
d left yesterday my
grandmother arrived and told her she would never see the outside again.
Apparently mother had become hysterical so grandmother told the doctor my
mother had attacked her and they sedated her.

 
“
Don
’
t worry mother.
”
I told her.
“
I
’
m going to get a second opinion and see if I can get you
transferred to a hospital in Lighthouse Cove.
”
She stopped crying and smiled.

I took her for a coffee and a piece of cake. I thought a
change of scenery would do her good. Caroline was still waiting in the
cafeteria. I wasn
’
t sure about
Caroline, she seemed nice but I was starting to have my doubts.

She ate it When I put the cake down in front of her gobbled
it up like she hadn't eaten in ages.

  
“
How often do you eat?
”
I asked. I noticed how thin and pale she was.

  
“
They do feed me.
”
She said.
“
But the food here is disgusting so I end up
leaving it.
”

After mother had finished her coffee and a second slice of
cake, I got a wheel chair and took mother to the garden by the lake.

  
“
I never come outside,
no one will come with me and I am not able to come alone.
”

We both talked about my grandmother and Caroline.

  
“
Caroline isn't all
bad you know. Don
’
t blame her. She just
won't stand up to your grandmother.
”

  
“
It seems to me that
grandmother rules the roost.
”
I told her.

   After I took her back to her room and promised her I
would sort this out once and for all.

It was late afternoon when I got back to the hotel. I
decided to have a shower and eat out that evening. I didn
’
t particularly feel like staying at the hotel
and I needed to make a few calls.

I found a nice little Italian restaurant overlooking Sandy
Cove. I called a friend of mine, who is a psychiatrist who is the same doctor
that helped me when I had my nervous breakdown.

He listened attentively while I explained my mother
’
s predicament. He told me he would try and come
to Sandy Cove as soon as he could.

   After a restless sleep I showered and went to have some
breakfast. My grandmother was at the reception sorting the books out. She
looked up and gave me a false smile.

  
“
How is your mother
Simon?
”
She asked in a
sarcastic tone.

  
“
You know damn well
how she is! Don
’
t pretend you don
’
t.
”
I could feel my blood boiling. She looked at me her eyes
narrow like snakes eyes. The venom that spills out her mouth is poison. I
ignored her and went to look for Auntie Caroline. She was in the kitchen making
some cakes ready for afternoon tea.  She looked at me and could see I was
angry.

   
“
Are you ok Simon?
”
She asked.

   
“
No I am not alright,
I just bumped into mother
…
. that woman is false
and poison. Auntie Caroline laughed.

   
“
She will never change
Simon; we are used to her now.

Wait for me to finish in here and we can go and do a bit of
shopping in town, maybe you could buy a gift for your mother.

Caroline was waiting for me in reception. She was talking
to her mother and I knew they were having words.

  
“
Come on Simon lets
go.
”
The town she took me
to was a few miles from Sandy Cove. There was a huge shopping centre with
everything under one roof.

I decided to buy my mother an MP3 player and put some music
on it for her. Caroline told me she liked Neil diamond, and the Carpenters.
Then I got her a huge box of chocolates and some flowers.

My thoughts wandered to Bella and wished she was with me
right now.

I could remember her sweet words.
“
I can come to you anytime night or day
.
”

After we
’
d finished shopping,
Caroline took me to a cake shop. The cakes were beautifully displayed and made
my mouth water. I decided to have a milkshake topped with whipped cream and
marshmallows and a huge slice of New York cheesecake. Caroline had a strong
coffee and a vanilla slice. It was a beautiful day so we sat outside. Caroline
asked me about my life. I told her about Bella and the love I had felt for her
over the years. And thinking she could never be mine because we were brother
and sister. Caroline listened.

  
“
The worst thing
Caroline is she isn't my blood sister. After all those years of loving her to
find out I could have been with her.
”

  
“
Whatever has happened
so far has happened for a reason. If you and Bella still have the same feelings
then go for it.
”

  
“
But I still feel she
is my sister even though we are not blood related.  I love Bella, but still can
’
t believe we are not brother and sister. It's a
lot to take in. That's why I needed time and chose to come looking for mother.
”

After we finished our cakes we went to the hotel. I quickly
put some music on the MP3 player. Caroline told me to put my mother
’
s favourite song on from Neil diamond,
‘
Hello again
`. I had to admit that it was also one of my favourite
songs. It always made me think of Bella.

We arrived at the hospital late afternoon because the
traffic was horrendous. Mother wasn
’
t in her room when we got there. We went straight to
reception and asked where my mother was.

  
“
Your mother was moved
last night.
”

   
“
What?
”
I said. Now I was fuming.
“
Where is she?
”

   
“
Don't worry!
”
I recognised the voice and when I turned round,
my psychiatrist Ryan Jones came up behind me.
“
When you called me last night, I decided if I
was going to examine your mother, I would rather do it at my hospital in
Scarborough. As I told you before, when you were recovering in New York, I work
six months there and six months here. I decided to come up here and get a bit
more background on your mother.
”

  
 
“
How long will she be at your hospital?
”
I asked. 

  
“
Two or three days.
”
He replied.

I decided to drive up there I knew it would take me some
hours but I needed to be with her. I gave the flowers to Caroline, there was no
point taking them with me. They wouldn
’
t survive the journey. Ryan told me he would meet me there.
After a few hours of driving I felt really tired and desperately needed some
sleep. It was early hours of the morning so I decided to stop off for a short
break. I thought that a few cups of coffee would wake me up. I must have nodded
off at the table. I nearly jumped out of my skin when  my mobile suddenly rang.
Auntie Caroline was on the other end and she sounded desperate.

  
“
Simon something
terrible has happened; your mother had a terrible panic attack last night. At
first they thought it was a heart attack, but luckily it wasn
’
t.

I could feel hot tears on my cheeks.

  
“
How is she Auntie
Caroline?
”
“
I called a while ago they told me you are not to
worry, she is comfortable.
”

I wished now I had kept my mobile switched on whilst
driving but I turned it off so I could concentrate on the journey. Auntie
Caroline told me she was on her way to the hospital.

  
“
I`m not far from
Scarborough now and should reach there in about an hour. Where are you?
”

   
“
I
’
m in Hull.
”
I told her.
“
I felt tired so I stopped off for a coffee to
wake myself up and I fell asleep. I woke up when you called. I will leave
straight away. I should arrive in Scarborough in a couple of hours. I will meet
you there. Thanks for coming, I appreciate it.
”

 I called Ryan to find out exactly what happened.

  
“
Hello Simon, I have
been trying to get hold of you to tell you not to worry, your mother will be
fine.
”

“
Thank God! I was so worried when Caroline
called. She is on her way here too Ryan.
”

  
“
If you can meet me at
the hospital at three, I will have some more information for you. Your mother
is comfortable now and we are going to do a few more tests on her.
”

  
“
Thank you Ryan, you
are a gem. See you there.
”

Feeling better that
my mother was ok and also being back near my home town. I decided to take a
stroll on the beach. The weather was glorious and I needed some time alone.

Taking my shoes and
socks off and feeling the warm sand between my toes felt really good:

The sea was calm and
a there were a few whispery clouds in the sky. All I could hear were the waves
and the seagulls.

I walked towards the
sea and felt somewhat calmer, the water felt like ice between my toes:

It's been a while
since I
’
ve done this. Last time, I was with Bella.
I thought

Feeling better and
hungry, I realised I had missed breakfast; my belly was growling '
feed me. 
There
were quite a few fish and chip shops in the area so I went to get a takeaway.

 I decided to eat
them sitting on the bench overlooking the sea. It was a tradition Bella and I
used to share, sitting on this bench and eating out of the newspaper, it tasted
so much better. Bella told me that she used to eat it often like that with
mother too. Maybe that
’
s why we liked it so much.

My fish and chips
were drowning in salt and vinegar, but they tasted Devine.

My phone rang, it
was Bella..

  
“
Hello Bella, you
’
ll never guess where I am, I`m sitting on our bench eating fish and
chips.
”

  
“
Yes I know you are. I can see you.
”
she revealed. I turned round squinting and tried to shade my eyes with my hands
because the sun was blinding me. There stood my Bella, waving and smiling at
me. I stood up, put my fish and chip paper in the bin and she ran to me. I
picked her up and spun her round.

   
“
You don't know how happy I am to see you. How come you
’
re here Bella?
”