Where the Light Gets In by Zoe Coyle

Author:Zoe Coyle [Zoë Coyle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ultimo Press
Published: 2022-02-07T00:00:00+00:00

Jack is smoking one of Vivian’s cigarettes at the kitchen bench as Delphi makes tea.

‘Jack, what are we going to do about Pilot? I’ve called all of Mama’s friends but no one can take him and no one has answered our advert.’

Her brother inhales the last drag of the cigarette and stubs it out in a large silver ashtray.

‘I called Michael Cooper.’

‘Who’s that?’ Delphi takes a cigarette from the packet and puts it between her lips. She lifts the lighter but is unable to hurdle the implications of smoking.

‘Pilot’s vet. Mum liked him. He’s a sort of Peter Pan man.’

Delphi puts the cigarette back in the packet and shakes her head. She envisions a man-child dressed in green tights swinging a stethoscope about like a lasso.

‘No, I don’t know him. What did you say to him?’

‘I told him about the Queen Bee dying and how Pilot won’t come out from under her bed. That he won’t eat or drink and, well, Cooper said he’s seen this before. Pilot is pining. No surprises there.’

‘What can we do? Can he prescribe antidepressants? Did you tell him when we’ve got Pilot and shut him out of the room how he howls?’

‘Del, try to keep your cool, but I think we need to put Pilot down. It’s the kindest, most humane thing we can do. He’s beyond miserable.’

Delphi can see how dire the situation is with Pilot but to kill him, to not be able to save him feels like a travesty. A faithless torching of duty of care.

‘Del, he can’t live with me in our tiny apartment in Paris. And you don’t know where you’re going to live and wouldn’t be able to keep a plant alive, let alone a dog.’

His words lacerate. Death is hounding them. Vivian used to say tragedy comes in threes. Delphi had concluded the dark trilogy to be Arthur, the divorce and Vivian. Maybe, horrifyingly, it’s actually Vivian, Pilot and Delphi’s undeclared baby.

Jack comes around the counter to his sister. He stoops to look closely at her crumpled face.

‘Sorry, Passion Fruit, I didn’t mean to make you cry.’

Internally, Delphi is racing away from herself, feet slipping out from under her as she hurtles around floodlit corners.

‘Can’t we try harder to find him a new home, Jack?’

‘Cooper doesn’t think rehoming Pilot is an option.’

Jack worries at a pimple on his cheek.

‘Del, he’s not a young dog. He’s a very old boy whose had a great life with Mama. It’s pretty clear he wants to follow her out. It would be a kind act. Putting him out of his misery.’

Delphi attempts to marshal thought out of the turbulence. Pilot is deteriorating fast and she can’t save him. She reaches up around her brother’s neck, the only life buoy available to her, and clings to him.

‘Jack, this is vile.’

‘I know, Del.’ He kisses the top of her head.

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