Another Night, Another Day by Sarah Rayner

Author:Sarah Rayner [Rayner, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Psychology
ISBN: 9781447264705
Google: 301UAwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00JAGUSA2
Publisher: Picador
Published: 2014-07-16T23:00:00+00:00

26

‘Hey,’ says Lillie. ‘When I was home at the weekend, I heard something really bonkers.’

‘What?’ Karen and Tash lean forward.

‘There’s a new family moved into the same apartment block as me and my sister and guess what their kids are called?’ Lillie grins. ‘You’ll love this, Michael—’

Karen glances over. Michael looks unconvinced.

‘Firstly, there’s a girl; she’s called Infinity.’

‘Bit hippy,’ says Rick.

‘Oh dear,’ says Karen. ‘That’s not terribly fair on the poor child, is it?’

‘Hope she’s good at maths,’ says Tash.

‘But—’ Lillie splutters, ‘ – the best one is the son. You’ll never guess what his name is—’

‘What?’

‘Box,’ she says, deadpan.

‘Box?’

‘Yup. B-O-X. Box.’

Rick guffaws.

‘You’re kidding,’ says Tash.

‘Oh my goodness. Brighton parents can be a bit peculiar, can’t they?’ Rita, who lives in more conventional Worthing, looks concerned.

But Abby and I are Brighton parents, thinks Karen. Though she knows what Rita means.

Michael coughs. ‘Good job they didn’t call his sister Cardboard,’ he says.

That’s the first time I’ve heard him crack a joke, Karen notices, as their laughter fills the room.

‘My, you sound like you’re all having a good time,’ says Johnnie, striding into the room and folding his long limbs onto a chair at the opposite end of the lounge. He beams. ‘Welcome, everyone. I believe we’ve all met before.’

What a difference a week makes, thinks Karen, recalling her fear seven days earlier. Even so, when Johnnie says, ‘Let’s start with check-in and goal-setting,’ she has a flurry of nerves.

‘I went home at the weekend,’ says Lillie. ‘It was weird to be back after so long in here.’ She scans the group. ‘I hung out with my sister and played with my nephew Nino and I love doing that. The lithium dosage seems to be working so I’m more level – I didn’t feel manic at all. It’s good.’ As she shakes out the spirals of her hair, Karen is reminded of her daughter. ‘The only downside is my appetite has increased. I’m definitely putting on weight.’ Lillie pinches the teeniest bit of flesh disparagingly. If only I had that amount of fat to worry about, thinks Karen. ‘Anyway, my aim is to leave this Friday and become a day patient for a bit.’

‘That’s great to hear, Lillie. Who’s next?’

Off they go: Rick has cut back on caffeine and has a thumping headache; Rita is still having panic attacks but vows to meditate more; Tash is feeling better knowing she has the safety net of being a day patient; Colin has finished with his girlfriend.

‘Worrying about her dumping me was doing my head in,’ he says. ‘I’ve decided to focus on getting myself better first.’

There’s a pause and Karen is poised to speak when Michael cuts in. ‘I had a chat with my wife at the weekend – or rather, she had a chat with me.’ He cracks a laugh. ‘She suggested I should – how did she put it? “Talk to people, Mickey!”—’ he adopts an exasperated voice, ‘ – so I’m trying hard to do that.’

‘He’s been doing pretty well.’ Abby nods at him.

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