Beyond Death by Deb McEwan Page B

Jay?’ She couldn’t help herself but he didn’t stir.
     
    He was walking down a country lane and the sun was shining. He looked to the woman standing next to him and smiled. It was Claire. She was back and she hadn’t died. Jay woke up and the stark reality hit him. His head was pounding. He needed the bathroom and Claire was still dead. He relieved himself and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Two painkillers later he still didn’t feel human. If only the tablets could take away the pain that had become a constant companion since he’d viewed her broken body. He looked at the bottle and Claire watched him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. She looked at Ron and he could see her distress. They reached an understanding without saying anything to each other. Concentrating hard their efforts paid off.
    Jay opened the bottle. Before he could empty the tablets into his hand the bottle flew from him and landed on the floor. He went to pick it up and it moved. His confused brain told him that the bottle shouldn’t be moving unaided but he was still drunk and focused on trying to retrieve the tablets. He attempted to pick up the bottle a further three times before giving up.
    ‘What the fuck,’ he said before returning to the living room and lying down to sleep. He hoped he’d have another lovely dream about Claire. Even in his drunken stupor it had felt so real.
    Jay’s hope was in vain though she did come to him again in his sleep. He was sitting on a bench in the park not far from his home. Claire walked towards him and he smiled. She reached him and sat down next to him. He could see she wasn’t happy but didn’t know why. She slapped his face.
    ‘You two-timing bastard.’
    That was all she said before she stood up and walked away. Jay woke sobbing his heart out. That had been an awful nightmare and he went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face hoping it would bring him round. He took a step back in shock when he saw the red mark on his face. He studied it intently, sobering up instantly. The handprint was clear and there was no way it could be anything else. Then his hung-over brain recalled the tablet bottle moving of its own volition and realization dawned. He knew for a fact that Claire had been there to stop him killing himself even though she knew he’d slept with Tash. He’d let her down. He also knew that she wouldn’t want him to waste his life. From now on he’d stop wallowing in self-pity and make the most of his life. That was the least he could do for her. He made himself a strong black coffee and took a pen and notepad out of the drawer. For the first time in ages he noticed the build-up of dust on all the surfaces, the dishes stacked in the sink and the unpleasant smell in his flat. Clean up was the first thing he wrote on the list and he walked to the kitchen and filled the sink with hot water. Dishes first followed by everything else. Claire wouldn’t want him living like this.
     
    ‘So, your ex-fiancé is suicidal and you think that visiting him in a dream, calling him a two-timing bastard and slapping him is the way ahead?’ said Ron when they were back at Cherussola.
    Claire was exhausted and keen to end the conversation.
    ‘I didn’t know that he’d see me. I thought about it to make myself feel better and it just sort of happened.’ She yawned. She had no idea how she’d made herself appear in Jay’s dream but now she knew she could do it she was determined that it wouldn’t be a one-off.
    ‘And anyway, it’s made him pull himself together and I’m not so worried about him now.’ Claire couldn’t say anything else. She struggled to remain with Ron but lost the fight. She drifted, trying to claw her way back to no avail. Then oblivion took her.
    Ron watched as Claire slowly disappeared. He was relieved that Jay was feeling better but knew there’d be a time when he’d have to rein in Claire’s impulsiveness. He wasn’t looking forward to that