Epitaph by Shaun Hutson

Author:Shaun Hutson [Hutson, Shaun]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Hachette Littlehampton
Published: 2010-10-07T06:00:00+00:00

43

Gina Hacket sat on the end of the bed staring at the array of stuffed animals propped on the pillows there.

The teddy bears, the pandas, the dogs and the cats all gazed back blankly with their beady, blind eyes. Gina could see her own reflection in the blank glass orbs.

More stuffed animals and dolls stared down at her from the shelves on the wall beside her. On the floor near the bed there were more toys, board games and even some furniture from a doll’s house. Gina bent and picked up the tiny table and chair and crossed the room to the doll’s house itself where she gently placed the furniture inside, her hand shaking slightly. She moved back to the bed, this time sitting among the stuffed animals. Gina reached out and picked up the smallest of them.

It was a little Dalmatian. No more than four inches high.

Laura’s favourite.

As Gina held it before her she began to cry softly, tears rolling down her cheeks and dripping on to her jeans.

She gently kissed the little stuffed dog.

Dummy dog, they had called it. Laura had christened it herself because, when she’d finally given up her dummy, she’d been bought the little animal as a reward. It had taken the place of her dummy so she had called it dummy dog. Gina felt more tears rolling down her cheeks and, when she held the dog close to her face, she could smell her daughter on it.

How she wished she could have held her in her arms now. She would have given her soul to be able just to look at Laura again. To see her smiling face and hear her laugh, but she knew only too well that joy was now to be denied to her for ever. For the rest of her life. The realisation brought fresh tears but Gina made no attempt to brush them away.

She got to her feet and crossed to the white chest of drawers close to the bed. Sliding the top drawer open, she pulled out a pink T-shirt and opened it up to display the design on the front. It was a cat with a top hat and the legend beneath proclaimed: COOL CAT.

Gina kissed it and held it against her lips, inhaling. Breathing in the scent of her child.

She took a step back and found the bed once more, seating herself on it and digging in the pocket of her jacket for a tissue. Finding one, she dabbed at her nose and sat motionless in the gloom of the bedroom.

Outside, she heard the floorboards creak and the door opened slightly. She looked up to see her husband standing there. He was holding a steaming mug in his hand and he advanced slowly into the room, almost apologetic that he had intruded upon her grief.

‘I brought this up,’ he said, holding the mug out before him as if it were some kind of offering. ‘I thought you might want it.’

Gina let out a deep breath.

‘We always think that things can be made better with a cup of tea, don’t we?’ she said, smiling.

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