up beside me and drifted off to sleep.”
Granny hesitated, strain evident on her face. She drew in a ragged breath, as if forcing herself to go on. “’Twas then I saw yer Mam walking into the water. Having no doubt what she was about, I gave a shout to yer da, he, himself, the only one with hope of stoppin’ her.”
“No,” Arianna whispered, sensing what was coming.
“He went running after her, the poor divil, divin’ into the surf and gulpin’ seawater, beggin’ her not to do it, to come back to him.” Granny’s mouth set in a grim line. “Plain desperate’s what it was, but hadn’t yer mam her mind made up already. Before he could get to her, she was gone. Disappeared beneath the waves.”
Arianna covered her mouth with both hands. “Oh, my God, she drowned herself,” she whispered brokenly. “All these years....”
Her father’s deep dark secret had been his wife’s…Arianna’s own mother’s…suicide.
The truth... That her mother had abandoned her in the worst possible way, by choosing death over a life with her husband and little girl.
Suddenly, a sucking, strangled sound grated from across the table. Arianna’s startled glance in Granny’s direction found her hunched over, one hand clutching the table’s edge, the other plucking at her bodice. Her skin was mottled gray, as if lightly powdered with coal dust. She stared at Arianna, eyes wide with disbelief, stark with pain and fear.
“Granny? Granny!” Arianna pushed away from the table so violently her chair overturned and clattered to the floor. God, no! Not when I’ve only just found her again. “Granny, hang on now,” she said aloud, then whispered, “Please, don’t leave me.”
* * *
“Don’t leave me!” Her father’s words echoed from the past, waking her where she lay curled on a blanket on the sand. It was dusk. The acrid smell of smoke tickled her nostrils. She could hear the crash of waves, feel the cool sea breeze tousling her curls.
Granny gathered the tiny child protectively into her arms. Confused by the sudden tension in the air, she strained to see her da. Her eyes finally found him, slumped to his knees in the shallow water, dripping wet, surrounded by onlookers. His shoulders convulsing, heart-wrenching sobs ripped from his chest. Tears streaming down his face mingled with rivulets of seawater.
Tears that Arianna had never learned to shed….
* * *
As if trapped in a lucid dream, she ordered herself to back out of the vision...a rift in the fabric of time. Granny needed her now. Her distress had been an emotional dam bursting inside of Arianna. Floodgates overflowed, drowning Arianna in memories of the past. And all the love she had once felt for this precious woman.
“It’s gonna be okay, sweetie.” Arianna murmured nonsensical words as she eased the slight, slumped figure down onto the clean, tiled floor. Pulling her jacket off the back of her chair, Arianna bunched it into a lumpy pillow beneath the precious silver head.
Trying to recall the finer points of a Red Cross first aid course she had taken a couple of summers earlier at the Y, she knelt at Granny’s side and unfastened the first few buttons of her smock. She stretched across the semi-conscious woman and caught hold of the cord of the telephone on the wall. Giving it several short, hard tugs, she managed to dislodge the receiver from its cradle.
Hands shaking, she punched “911” into the keypad. And swore silently when the call failed to connect. “Dammit!” she muttered under her breath. What’s the emergency number for Ireland? Quickly disconnecting, she dialed Operator.
A European double-ring and a woman answered. “Operator. May I help you?”
“Please, I need an ambulance.” The controlled calm in Arianna’s voice was a façade, strictly for Granny’s benefit. “Hurry, please.”
Okay, they’ll want an address. Her eyes were scouring the room for a piece of mail... anything …when she remembered the slip of
Granny hesitated, strain evident on her face. She drew in a ragged breath, as if forcing herself to go on. “’Twas then I saw yer Mam walking into the water. Having no doubt what she was about, I gave a shout to yer da, he, himself, the only one with hope of stoppin’ her.”
“No,” Arianna whispered, sensing what was coming.
“He went running after her, the poor divil, divin’ into the surf and gulpin’ seawater, beggin’ her not to do it, to come back to him.” Granny’s mouth set in a grim line. “Plain desperate’s what it was, but hadn’t yer mam her mind made up already. Before he could get to her, she was gone. Disappeared beneath the waves.”
Arianna covered her mouth with both hands. “Oh, my God, she drowned herself,” she whispered brokenly. “All these years....”
Her father’s deep dark secret had been his wife’s…Arianna’s own mother’s…suicide.
The truth... That her mother had abandoned her in the worst possible way, by choosing death over a life with her husband and little girl.
Suddenly, a sucking, strangled sound grated from across the table. Arianna’s startled glance in Granny’s direction found her hunched over, one hand clutching the table’s edge, the other plucking at her bodice. Her skin was mottled gray, as if lightly powdered with coal dust. She stared at Arianna, eyes wide with disbelief, stark with pain and fear.
“Granny? Granny!” Arianna pushed away from the table so violently her chair overturned and clattered to the floor. God, no! Not when I’ve only just found her again. “Granny, hang on now,” she said aloud, then whispered, “Please, don’t leave me.”
* * *
“Don’t leave me!” Her father’s words echoed from the past, waking her where she lay curled on a blanket on the sand. It was dusk. The acrid smell of smoke tickled her nostrils. She could hear the crash of waves, feel the cool sea breeze tousling her curls.
Granny gathered the tiny child protectively into her arms. Confused by the sudden tension in the air, she strained to see her da. Her eyes finally found him, slumped to his knees in the shallow water, dripping wet, surrounded by onlookers. His shoulders convulsing, heart-wrenching sobs ripped from his chest. Tears streaming down his face mingled with rivulets of seawater.
Tears that Arianna had never learned to shed….
* * *
As if trapped in a lucid dream, she ordered herself to back out of the vision...a rift in the fabric of time. Granny needed her now. Her distress had been an emotional dam bursting inside of Arianna. Floodgates overflowed, drowning Arianna in memories of the past. And all the love she had once felt for this precious woman.
“It’s gonna be okay, sweetie.” Arianna murmured nonsensical words as she eased the slight, slumped figure down onto the clean, tiled floor. Pulling her jacket off the back of her chair, Arianna bunched it into a lumpy pillow beneath the precious silver head.
Trying to recall the finer points of a Red Cross first aid course she had taken a couple of summers earlier at the Y, she knelt at Granny’s side and unfastened the first few buttons of her smock. She stretched across the semi-conscious woman and caught hold of the cord of the telephone on the wall. Giving it several short, hard tugs, she managed to dislodge the receiver from its cradle.
Hands shaking, she punched “911” into the keypad. And swore silently when the call failed to connect. “Dammit!” she muttered under her breath. What’s the emergency number for Ireland? Quickly disconnecting, she dialed Operator.
A European double-ring and a woman answered. “Operator. May I help you?”
“Please, I need an ambulance.” The controlled calm in Arianna’s voice was a façade, strictly for Granny’s benefit. “Hurry, please.”
Okay, they’ll want an address. Her eyes were scouring the room for a piece of mail... anything …when she remembered the slip of
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