The Survivors, стр. 37
Out in the hall, Kieran had heard Verity in the kitchen. Her voice was a low murmur, and she stopped as Kieran entered. She was sitting opposite Brian, rubbing suncream into his arms, the way she had with Kieran when he was little. Kieran wasn’t sure what Verity had been saying, but from the look on Brian’s face, he wouldn’t have bet on him absorbing a word of it.
‘Mia has bruises from last night. She’s hurt.’
Verity frowned. Her palms were slick as she smoothed the cream into Brian’s skin. ‘Badly?’
‘Not badly, but she shouldn’t be hurt at all.’
‘Of course not. I’m very sorry.’
‘Jesus, I’m not looking for an apology.’ Kieran looked at his dad. ‘I’m saying he’s getting out of hand. Mia had Audrey with her.’
‘He wouldn’t have meant it.’
‘I know that, but –’
‘But what?’ Verity said, her voice suddenly hard, her hands still on her husband’s arm. ‘But what, Kieran? He didn’t mean it. Look at him.’ She lifted Brian’s hand. He held it out, obedient and childlike. ‘He doesn’t realise he’s done anything. So what is it you want? Do you think he should be punished? For something he doesn’t even know he’s done? Do you think that’s fair?’
Verity had stared at him until he’d looked away. Brian didn’t move.
Kieran hadn’t given her an answer. He didn’t know what he thought.
He reached a split in the cliff trail now and stopped. To the right lay the track up to the lookout, and to the left he could see the iron gates guarding the back entrance to the Evelyn Bay cemetery. Kieran felt Audrey move and settle against his chest. The walk had soothed her at least, if not him.
He wandered towards the gates. They were open, with a sign screwed to the post informing visitors the cemetery would be locked at sundown each day. Somewhat to Kieran’s own surprise, he stepped inside. The gravel path leading him forward was well cared for, with lush but tasteful shrubs planted alongside. Ash’s handiwork, Kieran guessed. He’d held the maintenance contract for a while now. It all looked different from how Kieran remembered, but then again he hadn’t been there since Finn and Toby’s funeral. He’d meant to come, a few times. He just hadn’t.
Kieran followed the pathway, realising with a stab of shame that he couldn’t remember where his brother’s grave was. He could picture the funeral, parts of it at least, but if he had absorbed any specific details of the burial location, he couldn’t remember them now. He wasn’t even sure where to begin. The cemetery layout was disordered, with generations of Evelyn Bay residents having chosen to see out eternity right there, and all with a slightly different idea of how they’d like to lie. Kieran knew he had made the journey to Finn’s burial with his parents by road, the car ride conducted in mute grief as they followed the hearses, and he turned now towards the main gates to the west.
He didn’t get that far. The entrance wasn’t even in sight when something flapping in the wind caught his eye. He stopped, recognising the colours straight away.
With one hand on Audrey’s back, Kieran stepped off the gravel and picked his way through the neatly mown grass until he found himself standing in front of a grave. A footy scarf in Evelyn Bay’s team stripes had been carefully knotted around the headstone. It wasn’t new, but had the worn clean look of something that had been machine-washed regularly over the years. Kieran reached out and moved the scarf to read the name on the headstone.
Toby Gilroy.
A memory Kieran had forgotten he even possessed shot to the surface, full colour and crystal clear. Liam Gilroy in his box-fresh funeral clothes, draping a football scarf across his dad’s coffin. Kieran wondered now if this was that same scarf, retrieved, washed and returned by Liam for the past twelve years. He involuntarily snatched his hand away, and Audrey whined in protest at the sudden move.
‘Oh. Good. It’s only you.’
Kieran spun around at the sound of the voice, his fingers still tingling from the feel of the wool. It took him a second to find the speaker among the headstones.
Olivia. Her hair was tangled from the breeze and she was wearing jeans and a rust-coloured jumper that Kieran suspected had been borrowed from her mum’s wardrobe.
‘I was looking for Ash and I heard someone.’ She was a little on edge and Kieran remembered the near-empty streets last night, and the waitresses refusing their shifts.
‘Only us,’ he said as Olivia came closer and leaned in to look into the baby carrier.
‘So this is Audrey. Wow.’ Olivia’s hair brushed against his shoulder and she straightened and took a small step back. ‘She’s beautiful.’
‘Thank you.’ He looked out across the quiet cemetery. ‘Is Ash around?’
‘I thought he said he would be. He’s not answering his phone, though.’ A shadow crossed her face. ‘He must be with a client or something. What are you doing here?’
‘I’m not sure.’
‘Not visiting Finn?’
‘I actually don’t know where his grave is.’
‘Oh.’ She frowned. ‘I’m not sure either. Ash could probably tell you. When he resurfaces.’
Ash probably would know, Kieran thought, and not only because he worked there. Ash and Finn had always got along well, especially after Ash had left school and was hanging around town a lot more during the days. At weekends, Finn would sometimes wander up and he and Ash would chat about stuff that had been going on while Kieran was stuck in class. Anything from small business tax breaks to tourist girl arrivals. Kieran would sit and watch and try to join in when he could.
‘Maybe I’ll have a look around.’ Kieran ran his gaze over the rows of headstones. ‘I feel a bit bad not knowing which one’s his.’
‘Don’t feel too bad,’ Olivia said as they started to walk. ‘Visiting somewhere like this doesn’t help everyone. Look at