Where the Memories Lie

 

 

I heard her chatting and laughing with Ethan but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I was too busy deciding how to 23

 

Sibel Hodge

 

broach the subject of what Tom had said. In between swigs of wine I chewed on the skin at the side of my thumbnail until I drew blood.

 

Fifteen minutes later, Anna padded gracefully into the kitchen like a dancer, all skinny long limbs and perfect posture. Not like some of the kids in her class who slouched all over the place. I wanted to tell them they’d end up with neck and shoulder problems later in life. She handed me the phone and padded out again.

 

‘Hi, sexy,’ I said to him, watching Anna’s retreating back.

 

Anna glanced over her shoulder and pulled a face at the word ‘sexy’, miming sticking her fingers down her throat.

 

‘Hi, darling. How’s everything going?’

 

‘I’m going to take this upstairs.’ I slid off the stool, picked up my wine and went up to our bedroom, shutting the door firmly.

 

‘Oh, sounds ominous. What’s Anna been up to that you don’t want her to hear? Did she get caught shoplifting? Or try to get served at the Kings’ Arms with a fake ID?’

 

I laughed but it sounded flat. ‘No, it’s nothing to do with Anna.

 

It’s Tom.’

 

‘Dad? Why? What’s happened?’ His voice rose with concern.

 

I lay on my side on our king-sized bed, head propped up with one hand. ‘I don’t know how to say this, but when I got to the nursing home today, Mary said he’d been having some bad dreams and acting agitated afterwards.’

 

‘I thought you were going tomorrow, not today.’

 

By then, I’d completely forgotten what Nadia had told me before about Lucas and his possible affair. I wanted to tell Ethan about that, too, ask his opinion, but I’d promised to keep her secret.

 

‘Well, Nadia was tied up with some stuff so I said I’d go. Anyway, Tom’s been acting strange after these dreams, they said.’

 

‘He’s got Alzheimer’s. He’s been acting strange for years. And he’s had bad dreams for a long time. What do you mean by strange?’

 

I stared up at the ceiling and took a breath.

 

24

 

Where the Memories Lie ‘Liv?’

 

There was no easy way to repeat what Tom had told me so I just blurted it out. ‘He said he’d killed someone called Georgia.’

 

Silence on the other end. Then, ‘What do you mean? Killed someone?’

 

‘Just what I said. Tom’s been dreaming about someone called Georgia. Afterwards, he gets very upset and agitated, so much so that Mary asked if I knew anyone called Georgia because Tom told her she’d disappeared.’

 

‘Disappeared? Well, who is this Georgia?’

 

‘I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to explain. I asked him about her and he said she was haunting him. That she wouldn’t leave him alone. And then, when I took him outside for a walk and some fresh air, he told me he’d killed her.’ My head throbbed.

 

Probably with the wine, but maybe from anxiety, too.

 

‘Don’t be ridiculous, Liv!’

 

‘I’m not being ridiculous. I’m not being anything. I’m just repeating something Tom told me and the staff.’

 

‘Well, it doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t even know anyone called Georgia. Neither do I. He’s just confused. I mean, last week he came out with a really obscure story about walking along the Great Wall of China, and he’s never even been there!’

 

I rubbed my forehead. ‘I know, I know. I’ve been thinking of all the strange things he’s talked about lately that either didn’t happen or didn’t happen like he’s remembering them. It’s just . . .’

 

‘Just what?’

 

‘The look on his face. He really believed it, I’m sure. He believed he’d killed her.’

 

‘Liv! This is Dad you’re talking about. The man who traps field mice in humane traps so he can relocate them back outside and not have to kill them. The man who gets dogs from the rescue centre because he can’t bear to see them alone and unloved. The man who 25