Page 36 of Common People

‘Thanks, Joe.’

‘Me too,’ said Anita, who gave Max a long hug. ‘Grief is one of the hardest things, but the truth is that it does get a little easier in time. After Ravi died, for months and months, I couldn’t even think about him without bursting into tears, but now whenever I think of him, it’s usually with a smile. It will get easier, Max, I know it.’

‘Thanks, Anita.’

‘Right, let’s get running!’ said Hope. ‘There’s only four weeks until the half, let’s really try and ramp up the miles, and increase the pace!’

As they started running, Bethan moved in next to Max. She looked at him and he looked back at her. ‘Good job today.’

‘It was time.’

‘Yeah, but still not easy, I’m sure.’

‘It’s never easy, but Anita’s right, it’s beginning to feel a little easier.’

‘Well, I, for one, am super proud of you.’

‘Thanks,’ said Max, and then she nudged him with her arm, winked at him, and then she sped off at her own pace, which made Max smile to himself. He knew her secret, which she still hadn’t shared with the group, and it must have been on her mind as he spoke to everyone. He wasn’t sure if she would ever tell them, but that was up to her. Max also wanted to tell her about what had happened with Emma.

After Emma returned from the toilet, they had finished dinner, and he had gone back on the tube with her to her flat, they had said goodbye, and it had felt like a moment. She had laid her cards on the table, and he felt awful for telling her about Bethan, but it was the truth and he had owed her that. It wasn’t his fault, or hers, but just timing. If Emma had come back into his life before Bethan, perhaps they could have given it another go, but with his feelings towards Bethan, he knew he couldn’t start something new with Emma. She was crushed, and he felt for her, but he also knew it was the right thing to do. Perhaps after their run, if Bethan had time, he would tell her all about it.

With the Clapham Half just four weeks away, everyone was really pushing it. Charlie was determined to run a sub two-hour half-marathon, and he was flying around like his life depended on it. Even Max started jogging just that little bit faster. He didn’t have a time in mind, he just wanted to finish, but he liked having a goal to aim towards. Bethan was ahead of him with Eve, and Hope was running between them all, giving them words of encouragement. After a mile, Max found himself running with Anita.

‘Where’s Joe? Don’t you two usually run together?’

‘Oh, he’s off trying to beat his personal best. I can’t keep up with him these days. He’s like a man possessed!’

‘I’ll run with you. I’m just trying to finish the Clapham Half. I have no time in mind.’

‘Me either. For me running is the perfect distraction, and it gives me something to do. You know, it’s one of the hardest things about getting older, Max, especially when you’re a widow and all your children are gone. It’s filling the days.’

‘I imagine it must be difficult. What else do you do apart from this?’

‘I belong to a book club, a cooking club, and I have friends, family nearby, but there are so many hours in the day I can’t fill. It’s those hours when I miss Ravi the most. We had so many plans for retirement. Ravi had always wanted to go to America, and we were going to rent a car and do a road trip through California, but I won’t do it without him. We were going to do so much, but then he died, and now I’m on my own, and to be honest, I hate it.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s OK, you have enough things to be getting on with yourself. I am sorry about what happened to you. I know with Ravi, it was the speed at which he died that was the worst. It felt like one moment he was fine, we had a normal life, and then it felt like he was gone. It must have been even more difficult for you.’

‘I just wish I’d had the chance to say goodbye.’

‘I know, and for that, I will be eternally grateful,’ replied Anita, before they settled into an easy jog around Clapham Common, both with their own thoughts in their mind. It felt like a weight had been lifted, telling everyone in the group about his parents. With the Emma situation over with, he could focus on the sandwich shop, and maybe Bethan too. With work going well, and the Clapham Half in a month, Max felt like his life was finally coming together. He had plans for the future, and things to focus on in the present.

As they rounded the last bend towards the finish, it was then that Anita and Max saw everyone else standing aroundsomething on the ground. They slowed, trying to work out what was going on. Hope was standing next to the group, talking animatedly on her phone. Then Max saw Bethan in tears, Eve with her arm around her, and then Charlie turned and saw them. Before they could get any closer, Charlie walked towards them, his face as white as a sheet, and then they saw what was on the ground. It was Joe, and he wasn’t moving.

The waiting room

The ambulance arrived and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. It appeared that Joe had a heart attack while pushing himself for the Clapham Half and had collapsed, metres from finishing his run. Charlie appeared first on the scene, and fortunately he was trained in first aid and immediately administered CPR. They were all terrified and no-one knew what was going to happen next. Max hadn’t been there when his parents had died, but he imagined the ambulances arriving on the scene, and the paramedics getting out and doing their best. He watched as they put Joe into the back of the ambulance, and then the lights and the sirens started, and they drove him off to the hospital. He was still breathing when he left, which was a good sign, but poor Joe had suffered the same fate as his father. Despite all his good intentions, the one thing he was terrified of happening had come to pass.

Max felt outside of himself as he watched the ambulance drive away, a sickness swirling inside of him at the horrible possibility of Joe dying. It was so surreal, it felt like it couldn’t actually be true, but it was. His head felt light and faraway, his stomach a whirlpool of anxiety, but fortunately Hope was there to keep everyone focused on the only thing that mattered.

‘Right, we need to call Joe’s wife, so we can meet her at the hospital.’

‘Do you have her number?’ asked Anita.

‘I do. Right, is everyone going to the hospital? You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, or can’t, it’s just—’

‘We’re all coming,’ said Eve, a hand on Hope’s arm. ‘It’s Joe.’