The Dress Read Free

grand...’
    His body felt limp and lifeless in her arms. Panic rose up through her chest and she screamed, ‘He’s not breathing! He’s not breathing!’
    Then Gareth was there again, trying to resuscitate the old man, pumping his chest, and breathing into his mouth, while Lily looked helplessly on. She put her shaking hands up to her face to disguise her fear. Where was the ambulance? He couldn’t be dead, he just couldn’t be. Gareth’s foot knocked the coffee holder and the liquid spilled across the pavement in a creamy puddle, flowing along the gutter. Lily leaned across and grabbed the bag of records so they wouldn’t get spoiled. Grandad Joe would want them when he came around.
    But he did not come around, and the paramedics shook their heads as soon as they saw him. One of them put his arm around Lily and she collapsed against the heavy plastic of his jacket, sobbing. Gareth picked up the bag of Jim Reeves records and said, ‘Do you want me to come with you?’
    She wanted to say yes, but she didn’t know how, so she shook her head.
    The paramedic closed her grandad’s eyes and kept him uncovered in the ambulance so that Lily could sit beside him and say goodbye. Lily rubbed his hands and talked to him. Even though he was gone, she wanted to let him know that he wasn’t alone.
    â€˜You’ve had a shock,’ said the paramedic, and seeing Lily was shivering, he put a blanket around her shoulders.
    â€˜How will I tell my parents?’ Lily said. ‘I don’t think...’ I don’t know how...’
    â€˜Give me their number and I’ll do it for you, if you like.’
    â€˜Can you do that?’
    â€˜Of course,’ he said, ‘it’s my job.’
    Lily wrapped the blanket tightly around herself and put her hand on her grandfather’s cheek. He felt cold now and Lily knew there was no point in talking to him. His spirit was elsewhere. He was truly gone.
    Lily’s mum, dad and grandmother picked her up from the hospital and took her home with them. It was the first time Lily had experienced grief and she was surprised at how overwhelming it was. Her grandfather had been very old, and she knew he couldn’t live forever (although sometimes, with the twinkly eyed old imp, it seemed as if he just might), but even so, the next forty-eight hours passed in a haze of shock. Lily felt as if somebody had scooped her insides out. She kept bursting into involuntary sobs. ‘It has to be gone through,’ her mother said. ‘Cry yourself out, there’s a good girl.’ Yet Lily could not believe how many tears she had inside her.
    *
    Sally Thomas was art directing a catalogue shoot across town when she got the call. She was Lily’s best friend and had been getting texts from her all day asking advice about the shoot. The last one was a picture of an old radio and it said, Urgent opinion! Found this in Old Times. Wotcha think?
    Sally sent one back saying Perfect! and when Lily didn’t reply straight away she assumed her disorganized friend had just let her battery run low. Now she picked up her iPhone and, as soon as she heard the voice of Lily’s mum, she knew something was wrong.
    â€˜Holy shite!’ was her first reaction to the news of Old Joe’s passing. ‘Jesus, I mean, sorry, Mary.’
    Subtlety was not her strong point, but Mary Fitzpatrick had known her only daughter’s best friend since they were children. Sally had a bit of a mouth on her but she also had a good heart.
    Sally was there within half an hour. Mary opened the door and brought her into the sitting room, where Lily was curled up on her parents’ sofa, with her feet up under her chest. She looked about ten years old. Sally put her arms around her, and said, ‘Right, what needs to be done?’
    â€˜There’s the shoot tomorrow, I can’t cancel...’
    â€˜You won’t have to. I’ll take care of