Marla is sitting up in her hospital bed.
Kelly-Anne shakes her hand
hello
and when I see in Marla’s eyes
that she has forgotten me
I shake her hand too
and say,
Did they hard-boil your egg again?
Hard-boil it?
They baked and varnished it.
Probably cos of salmonella.
Kelly-Anne smiles.
They’re just trying to needle me.
I overheard a nurse saying I was tricky.
Anyone would think I was a magician.
Tricky?
They wouldn’t know what to do if
I got difficult.
Is that a baby you have in there
or did you have a big feed for breakfast yourself?
Kelly-Anne doesn’t seem to hear.
She leans back into the chair suddenly and
whistles, her eyes wide.
She breathes hard through clenched teeth.
No, I say. No, not now, please.
Now isn’t that tidy?
If we were in a film you’d roll your eyes.
Marla presses the call bell.
Make sure they give you plenty of drugs.
Don’t be a hero.
Kelly-Anne starts to cry.
I’m so alone, she says.
We all are, I say.
But now we’re alone together.