CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
That evening, Jamie and Ella said they wouldn’t be joining us for dinner, they were going into the village to dine.
‘Ella’s flying back tomorrow,’ Jamie told us sadly. ‘She has a great offer of work and we’re just taking a step back, working out if we both want the same thing.’
It was clearly his way of telling everyone they were parting. She’d stuck with the story of the reality show, and he’d believed it. I felt sorry for him, but Ella wasn’t who he’d thought she was, and in the long-term, she’d have only brought him more pain. I understood them wanting to spend their last night together without the family, but Ella didn’t even come into the sitting room to say goodbye. She waited in the hall, then I saw her fleetingly through the window as she and Jamie got into a taxi. All I felt was relief that we didn’t have to all sit round pretending everything was fine, with Joy making small talk and Ella making vicious remarks under her breath.
We spent that evening as we had the first few, Joy and I cooking, and eating outside. We were all so relaxed, chatting, remembering past holidays fondly, laughing with the children, just a family on holiday finally able to breathe – with no shadows.
But not for long.
I woke the following morning remembering immediately that today Ella was leaving. I wanted her to go, it made me happier to think she’d be out of our hair, but I was conflicted and felt on edge, because there was still a chance she might tell Dan everything on the journey there. Perhaps they’d already gone? Or had she and Jamie made up and she was staying – both now ensconced in the big white bed making up for lost time?
As the children were still asleep, I wrapped my cotton dressing gown around me, quietly opened the door and headed for Dan’s room.
I stepped out onto the landing. As always, I was drawn to the huge floor-to-ceiling window that looked down onto the pool and garden, the sea misty and glittering beyond. It was so high and full you could even see the winding, treacherous road edging the coastline. I thought of the woman from the granita van again and wondered if she was there now, warning people of trouble ahead.
It was then that I looked down onto the pool, my eyes trying to make sense of what I thought I saw in the water. Long hair billowing out, opening and closing slowly like a golden parachute, her body floating on the bright, bright blue.
It was Ella, swimming in the deep end, and my first thought was: So she lied about not being able to swim too?
I stood there just watching, trying to make out what she was doing. Then, to my horror, I realised that she wasn’t swimming, her face was underwater, her legs limp. I don’t remember running, but I must have, because seconds later I was in the pool, trying to haul her out and screaming for help.
I was suddenly aware that I wasn’t alone. Someone else was with me, desperately trying to pull her to the side – it was Dan. Where had he come from? And as we dragged her to the side, I was suddenly aware of Joy standing there, holding out her arms and yelling at Bob to hurry up. Then Bob appeared, rushing around the pool with some sort of stick.
Dan was now near the edge, propping himself up with one arm and holding Ella with the other, as I held her legs. That’s when Jamie appeared, wailing hysterically as he ran towards us, and hurled himself in like he didn’t care how he landed. And when he finally got to her he held her in his arms, refusing to believe she was anything but asleep. It was irrational and terrifying to hear him begging her to wake up. Dan was looking from me to Joy, who was extremely distressed, with both hands over her mouth. She was now kneeling down, asking Dan if Ella was still alive. It was all a blur, like it was taking place in slow motion. I remember the weight of water, the sheer brute strength, and the panic, the utter panic, just hoping there was a chance we might save her.
Eventually, between us, we managed to drag her out, but by the way her body slumped onto the tiles, I knew there was little hope. You could see by her skin, she’d been in the water a while.
Jamie was now on the floor, cradling her head, sobbing, kissing her like he might bring her back to life – a fairy tale turned dark. I had to move him away while I tried to give her mouth to mouth. The others stood over us, deathly silent, as I pushed up and down on her chest, blowing into her mouth. I couldn’t stop, just kept giving one more push, one more breath, like that might be the difference between life and death, but in my heart I knew, she was long gone.
It was a while before I finally let her go – I think it was Dan who said, ‘Stop now. No more, Clare,’ and gently pulled me away.