Chapter Nine

Off the Cliff Edge 

It was an unhappy week for Mildred Pierce. Her tennis racket was shot, and Sally hadn’t kissed her for days. Mildred slept in her own room the night of the play. She said to herself, ‘She needs space.’ She was sure that Sally would come around sooner or later. Mildred had a niggling suspicion though that Sally was slowly pushing away from her. She was also aware that by worrying that Sally was pushing away from her, she was inadvertently pushing Sally away too. Mildred had hoped the night of the play would be an opportunity for them to bond again, but once again Mildred and Sally had been disrupted by that hot-headed Darrell Rivers. Mildred looked at it like a double edged sword. Sally and Darrell seemed to come as a pair, and whatever happened between them, they seemed to be drawn back to one another. Mildred took her broken racket and left. 

    The snow had only lasted a few days. Rain had set in around St. Andrews. Mildred was meeting Simon, a boy from the Shakespeare company, for a game of doubles with two of his friends. It would be a good distraction. ‘Where have you been?’ Mildred had inquired, sitting in the living room, waiting for Sally to walk through the front door. ‘I thought you’d be home. I was worried about you. I am worried about you.’ Sally said she didn’t want to talk about it. She went to her room. Mildred sat in the living room for a while longer, and just before she went to bed herself, she saw Darrell come home. Mildred might as well have not been there. Darrell’s neck was turned to the floor. Mildred thought her hair looked very ridiculous since Samantha cut it. 

    ‘Yes,’ Mildred thought, ‘tennis for me.’ Surely, Mildred considered, greeting Simon and his friends in the gym, Sally will have no choice but to never speak to Darrell again. The things her boyfriend had said at the bar last night were so upsetting. 

    Mildred served. 

    ‘Out,’ Simon shouted, on the other side of the net. ‘That was out.’ 

    ‘No it wasn’t,’ Mildred shouted back, smiling. She didn’t feel like smiling, but she had to, as she couldn’t face a conversation with these people about why she might be feeling upset. ‘It was an ace!’ 

    Mildred and Anthony won the first set. Beads of sweat formed on Mildred’s brow and she felt better for it. She was exercising. This was good. Maybe she’d buy Sally a present or some flowers. ‘Turkish Delight,’ Mildred thought, as she returned Simon’s backhand shot. ‘She’ll like that. And some roses. You can’t confuse roses; they scream romance.’ Simon and Jenny won the second set, and the friendly match went on in this back and forth fashion for about an hour. By the end of it, Mildred was exhausted. She felt the blood pumping through her body. She left the gym and went to the sweet shop by the beach to buy Sally her present. 

    As she paid the shopkeeper for the box of Turkish Delight, Mildred’s mind drifted back to one of the first real conversations they’d had. 

    ‘You know, she might become jealous of the two of us.’ 

    ‘Let me tell you a story,’ Sally had said, ‘about when I first met Darrell at school. Daffy was only three months old. I was frightened my mother would forget about me and only remember to love my little sister. I used to have nightmares about it and everything. So, I pretended I didn’t have a sister. I was adamant about it. “I don’t have a sister, I don’t, I don’t!” I would go on like that if anyone tried to tell me the truth. Now, Darrell knew. She knew I had a sister. And eventually, all the girls in North Tower knew too. Darrell said I shouldn’t worry, she was sure my mother would love me just the same, and my sister might even become a friend in the future.’ Sally stopped. ‘So, I think you can share love.’ 

    ‘Are you saying you love me, then?’ 

    ‘Rather! I’m saying I’d like to kiss you again.’ 

    Mildred snapped herself out of this happy memory when she walked into the living room and saw Sally in tears. Sally was bent forward in the oversized armchair. She was clutching her hankie. Darrell was sitting cross-legged by the roaring fireplace. The room had a warm orange glow. 

    ‘What’s wrong?’ Mildred went to Sally and ignored Darrell completely. Darrell Rivers bit her fingernails. 

    ‘It’s Aunt Mary,’ Sally said. She scrunched her face. This stoppered the flow of tears. ‘She’s dead. She threw herself off a cliff.’ Sally put her face in her hands. She rubbed her eyes hard. ‘My mother called this morning. They’re throwing a funeral together on Friday. I didn’t know you could have a funeral on a Friday. It doesn’t seem right, you know, to have a funeral on a Friday afternoon.’ 

    ‘Don’t worry,’ Mildred said, after a pause. ‘I’ll tell my masters about it. They’ll let me off. We can go together. We could get the train if your mother isn’t already picking you up.’ Mildred desperately wanted Sally to ask her to the funeral. She knelt by the armchair. ‘I’m here for you.’ 

    ‘I’m going alone,’ Sally said, firmly. ‘What’s that you’ve got?’ 

    ‘Turkish Delight,’ Mildred said. ‘I know you like it.’ 

    Mildred handed her the Turkish Delight, kissed her forehead, then left to have a shower. 

    Darrell heard Samantha cough in her bedroom. ‘The weather’s been bad for her constitution,’ Darrell thought, warming her hands by the fire. 

    ‘Darrell,’ Sally said, ‘you’ll come with me to the funeral, won’t you?’