Love, Rosie (233 page)

ring
me?

Mum
called
me
just
a
minute
ago
in
tears;
Dad
has
had
a
massive
heart

attack
and
has
been
rushed
to
hospital.
She’s
in
huge
shock
but
she
told
me

not
to
travel
over
to
her
because
my
first
exam
is
starting
tomorrow.
I
don’t

know
what
to
do.
I
don’t
know
how
serious
it
is,
the
doctors
won’t
tell
us

anything
yet.
Can
you
maybe
ring
the
hospital
and
see
what’s
going
on,
you

understand
all
that
stuff.
I
don’t
know
what
to
do.
Please
get
this
e-mail
on

time,
I
don’t
know
who
else
to
call.

I
don’t
want
to
leave
Mum
on
her
own,
although
Kevin
is
going
over
to

her
now.
I
don’t
want
Dad
to
be
alone
either.
Oh
this
is
so
confusing.

Oh
god
Alex,
please
help.
I
don’t
want
to
lose
my
dad.

346

from
:

to
:

subject
:

Alex

Rosie

Re:
Dad

Cecelia
Ahern

I
tried
calling
you
but
you
must
be
on
the
phone.
Just
stay
calm.
I
rang

the
hospital
and
had
a
word
with
Dr.
Flannery
in
the
hospital,
he’s
the
doc-

tor
looking
after
your
dad
and
he
explained
Dennis’s
condition
to
me.

What
I
suggest
you
do
is
pack
a
bag
for
a
few
days
and
get
on
the
earli-

est
bus
you
can
to
Galway.
Do
you
understand
what
I
mean?

Forget
about
your
exam,
this
is
more
important.
Keep
calm,
Rosie,
and

just
be
there
for
your
mum
and
dad.
Tell
Stephanie
to
come
home
too
if
she

can.
Keep
in
touch
with
me
during
the
night.

chapter
43

k

Alex,
he’s
gone.
I
can’t
believe
he’s
gone.

Oh
Rosie,
I’m
so
sorry
for
you.

I’ll
book
a
flight
today
and
I’ll
be
in
Ireland
at
the
weekend.

Dear
Alex,

Coffin
sizes
can
be
no
wider
than
76cm;
can
be
made
of
chipboard
with

approved
veneers
and
plastics
for
cremation
purposes.
Did
you
know
that?

Ferrous
screws
are
acceptable
in
small
numbers
and
wood
braces
will
give

extra
strength
but
must
only
be
placed
in
the
inside
of
the
coffin.

The
coffin
must
have
the
full
name
of
the
deceased
on
the
lid.
Wouldn’t

want
to
get
anyone
mixed
up
I
suppose.
The
thing
that
I
really
wished
I

hadn’t
learned
was
that
the
coffin
should
be
lined
with
a
substance
known
as

“Cremfilm,”
or
use
absorbent
cloth
or
cotton
padding
because
apparently

fluid
can
leak
from
a
body.

I
didn’t
know
any
of
this.

There
were
forms.
Lots
and
lots
of
forms.
Form
A,
B,
C,
F,
and
all
the