Profile K by Helen Fields

Author:Helen Fields [Fields, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2024-04-05T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

During a lengthy cup of tea with Doris, while Midnight tried to hide the sound of her tapping heel and the fact that she was looking at the clock every two minutes, Dawn had a wonderful time. Doris didn’t ask what was ‘wrong’ with her, didn’t condescend, and wasn’t the least bit worried about the mess Dawn made eating her cake. On any other day, Midnight would have loved it. Doris lit up the room. She reminded Midnight of her father’s mum – the much-loved Granny Apples, named for her tiny orchard that had been Midnight and Dawn’s favourite place in the world when they were toddlers. Granny Apples had died shortly after their fourteenth birthdays, and left a hole in their world, or perhaps she’d always filled the hole that their parents failed to plug after her death.

Midnight liked Doris’s laugh, as loud and vibrant as her clothes. She saw the way everyone who came and went in the cafe smiled at her, whether they knew her or not. More than anything, she liked the way Doris chatted non-stop to Dawn, patting her hand and making her sister giggle. Dawn, in her own unique world most of the time, had come alive in the older woman’s presence, as if she’d always been waiting for her. By the time they were ready to leave, they’d exchanged phone numbers and addresses, and promised to meet up for another cuppa soon. Dawn demanded multiple hugs from Doris before she could bear to let her go, so Doris slipped out, very quietly as Midnight was paying, to avoid upsetting her.

As they were exiting, Dawn began waving and pulling Midnight back towards their table.

‘No, honey, we’re leaving now. We have to get home,’ Midnight said. ‘I promise I’ll bring you back next week. It’s a nice place, isn’t it?’

She tried to manoeuvre Dawn towards the door but her sister was having none of it, pulling even harder for their table. Midnight caught a glimpse of something bright pink under the table.

‘Doris’s scarf!’ Midnight said. ‘That’s what you were going back for. Hold on, I’ll get it.’ She leaned down to pick up the length of patterned cloth from beneath the chair.

‘Dos!’ Dawn said, pointing at the scarf. Midnight’s heart leapt. Dawn spoke so rarely, and she almost never learned names, certainly not those of people she was unfamiliar with. She looked at her watch. Doris only lived around the corner, and whatever else she wanted to get on with, if her sister was so captivated and happy, then that moment had to be treasured and prolonged. They could walk there, though she was grateful for the wheelchair which would make the journey faster. ‘Come on. We’ll take it back to her now.’

They made their way down a few side streets until they reached Hedgerow House. Never had a building been so inappropriately named. Doris had explained that it was made up of flats with a warden who could be called on in an

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