He’d been living there for the last few days, with nothing but a mattress on the floor and a few boxes of possessions. No wonder he was spending all his time with her…although Olivia knew it was more than that. She laughed aloud and sent back a photo of the snowflakes outside her window. See you soon?
Be there in ten.
Still smiling, she got out of bed. Tina was still sleeping and so Olivia took the opportunity to shower and prep the roast dinner they’d be having later. She also put her presents under the tree—a book of sudoku puzzles for her mum that were meant to help cognitive function, as well as a deliciously soft cashmere throw, since her flat was a bit cold. For Simon she’d bought a new Aran jumper in a deep hunter’s green, since his old one had a seriously unravelled hem. Excitement mixed with a few nerves fluttered in her stomach as she thought of him opening it.
“Good morning.” Tina emerged from the bedroom in her dressing gown, looking a lot more like herself.
“Morning, Mum. How are you feeling?”
“I’m well, thank you. Shall I make coffee?” As her mum bustled towards the kitchen, Olivia realised she had no recollection of her blank memory moment last night, and she decided that was okay. They could just go with it. Take the good moments as they came, along with the bad.
Simon arrived a short while later, and they all had coffee and croissants before opening their presents. Tina was thrilled with both the book and the throw, and Olivia held her breath while Simon opened her present, letting out a little sigh of relief when he exclaimed how delighted he was with it, and in typical Simon fashion, insisted on putting it on right then and there.
Then it was her turn, and she opened a flat, rectangular-shaped present from Simon, wondering what it was.
“It’s lovely,” she exclaimed when she saw the buttery-soft leather cover. She flipped through the pages, noting the plastic pockets for photos and the blank, lined pages.
“It’s for your recipes,” Simon explained. “Since you’ve made up so many wonderful ones for the cupcakes. I thought you could put them down for posterity.”
“I love it, truly.” She was so touched he’d got something properly thoughtful, and not just the typical perfume or scarf. “It’s perfect.”
And the rest of the day was perfect, as well—Tina was in good form, and Simon carried them along with his humour and boyish enthusiasm for everything, from being in charge of the Yorkshire pudding batter, to fashioning odd shapes from the linen napkins. He introduced them to a game from his own family—putting an After Eight mint on your forehead and trying to get it into your mouth without hands, by simply wiggling your eyebrows and mouth.
Olivia’s sides ached from laughing and melted chocolate streaked her cheeks as she finally managed to nab the mint and munch it triumphantly. Simon, of course, was a dab hand—no pun intended—at it, managing to get mint from brow to mouth in a mere nine seconds.
“You could be in the Guinness World Records book,” Olivia marvelled while he shrugged modestly.
All in all, Olivia couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun, or felt so happy. As they clinked glasses of Prosecco over the remains of the turkey, she exchanged smiles with both Tina and Simon, thinking if she could keep this moment intact in her memory forever, holding it in her hands like one of the glass baubles on the tree, she would be perfectly content—no matter what happened or went wrong.
Chapter Fourteen
Alzheimer’s. The word was familiar and yet utterly strange. Olivia sat in the doctor’s office at the memory clinic, after Tina had gone through a memory test and the results of her blood tests, and now they were listening to the expected and yet suddenly startling result.
“There’s no definitive test or diagnosis,” the doctor explained gently. “Only ruling out other options. We can refer you for a CT scan of the brain, which may help, but judging from what I’ve read in your file and seen today, I think this is the most likely outcome.”
Tina nodded stoically, her chin tilted at a proud angle. “I expected as much.”
The doctor glanced at Olivia. “There is loads of support available here in Witney,” she said. “Groups and memory clinics and we can look into different medications and foods that help alleviate some of the symptoms.” She placed several colourful brochures on the desk in front of them. “You can read through the literature and we’ll schedule an appointment for you to come back in a few weeks, and discuss any questions or concerns, as well as how you want to go forward.”
“There’s no fighting it, you know,” Tina told Olivia once they were back in her flat, and Olivia was putting on the kettle for a much-needed cup of tea. “It’s not like cancer. It’s not something you can beat.”
“But you don’t have to give up, Mum.” Olivia felt shaky, even though the diagnosis had been entirely expected. She’d texted Simon to let him know the news, but he hadn’t responded yet.
“I’m not giving up. I’ll eat the superfoods and take the supplements or whatever medication will help. And I’ll enjoy my life while I have it. But I just want you to be prepared, Olivia. Decline is inevitable.”
“Oh, Mum.” Impulsively Olivia threw her arms around her mother, hugging her tight, wanting to imbue her with her love and strength. “I love you so much, you know. I don’t tell you often enough…”
“Yes, you do, darling,” Tina said gently. “But you can always tell me again, just as I’ll tell you.
