The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club(67)

‘We have only days to go, so no funny business now.’

‘Don’t you worry; I have every intention of being there. I’ll be expecting a round of applause at the very least.’ She laughed.

‘You’ll be lucky. I’d say half the women of the village will be far too busy covering over their peculiar bits to dare put their hands together.’

‘You’ll be surprised.’ Jo smiled and Elizabeth thought her heart would break because there was so much spirit left in her friend’s eyes even if the life was being drained from her body.

‘So, you must be over the moon about Lucy staying on.’

‘As are you, I’m sure.’ Jo cocked an eye on her. Then she looked out towards the window. ‘It’s the right thing,’ she breathed. ‘It’s the right thing for both of you.’ She closed her eyes. ‘I want you to look out for each other… when I’m gone.’

‘Stop it. Don’t talk about that now.’

‘No.’ Jo raised a hand that was almost skeletal. The skin hanging from her bones made Elizabeth want to wrap up her friend so nothing further could happen to her. ‘I have to say this to you. You’re going to need each other. The Ladies’ Midnight Swimming Club, you need to keep it going; you need to make sure that you’re both…’

‘We’re going to see each other every single day.’ Elizabeth tried to laugh.

‘You know what I mean. You need to talk to each other. She has an unhappy marriage behind her; she needs to meet someone new. It’s not too late for her to have a larger family. It’s what she always wanted.’

‘And you want me to find her a good husband? I’m hardly qualified to advise on that front.’

‘No, but you’re well placed to make sure she doesn’t marry another one like the one she married before.’ Jo shook her head. Elizabeth knew she’d never liked Jack Nolan no matter how much she tried to pretend that she did. ‘It’s not just that though, you’ll both need a good friend. I’ll do what I can from…’ She raised her eyes towards the ceiling.

‘Will you stop it? You know I’m going to look out for her…’ Elizabeth said and now the tears were much too close to say much more. Instead she looked out at the sea opposite. She loved it here.

‘Good. That’s as much as I’m going to ask you to do for me.’ She smiled then and there was no hiding that devilish sense of humour. ‘For now.’

‘Yes, all you have to do for me is turn up on the fifteenth when we’re all out there swimming in your honour.’

‘I’ll be there,’ Jo said softly and Elizabeth just prayed she would.





Part 5


August





28


Jo


It seemed to Jo that she woke before anyone else on the morning before they were due to launch into the water as the Ladies’ Midnight Swimming Club. There was no point being awake now though; it would be the other side of the day before she’d even think of getting out of the bed. She’d learned, over the last few weeks, that getting the most out of the time she had left was all about pacing herself.

She felt badly, because she could see in Lucy’s eyes the worry that some days she didn’t get up much further than raising herself onto an extra pillow at her shoulders. It was enough to watch the world unfold outside her bedroom window and anything more she needed to know was supplied by Niall and Elizabeth when they came to sit on her bed each day and fill her in on all that was happening in the village. Dan had taken to visiting her too, now that he had finished writing his book, during the day when Lucy was at the surgery. He would let himself in the side door and make them both a cup of tea, before depositing it on her bedside table. He’d sit and listen while she told him all she knew about village life when St Nunciata’s was up and running. Sometimes, if she hadn’t the energy to talk, he’d tell her about his life in London and how he’d found out about where he’d originally come from.

Jo wasn’t sure if he’d told anyone else in the village, and somehow, that made these visits from someone who’d been a stranger only weeks earlier when he’d brought Niall back that night, all the more special. Then, when he’d finished his tea and rinsed out both of their cups, he’d offer to take Dora for a walk along the beach. Later, Jo would hear the gate creak and know that the little dog had returned weary and happy after her excursion.

Like saving herself for the occasional swim at the cove, Jo had been shoring up her energy for this day. Honestly, sometimes when she lay here alone, she knew that if she could make it out into the water with the other ladies, she’d happily come back here and close her eyes and let that be the end of it all.

What more could she really ask of life? She’d had a great run of it, enjoyed every single moment, if she was honest, and that hadn’t stopped just because she was told that she was dying. She was still enjoying every day as much as she possibly could. She had a beautiful daughter, a grandson she loved the bones of and a friend who’d remained as loyal over the years as any husband could be expected to be. She was leaving behind a village that would miss her. From the very top of it to the bottom, she knew every single person and she also knew that in some way, she’d touched every single life here in her time.