Page 26 of Somewhere Only We Know

‘Well done. Circle your shoulders?’

Diane did what she was told and after a few more breaths, I could see her getting on top of the fear. ‘Are we nearly there yet?’

‘Are we nearly there, Mummy?’ Brontë’s face was pressed up against the window of the train. Her first trip to London. Her exuberance as she told the lady opposite exactly what the day held in store had given the other passengers around us so much joy that I’d been filled with pride.

Diane squeezed my hand hard, and I snapped back into the present.

‘We are, Diane, yes.’

‘Maggie?’ Tiff poked her face around the seat. ‘Sit down. You’re going to miss it.’

I stood up slowly, bringing Diane with me, and guided her into the seat beside her husband. Then I swung myself into the seat beside Tiff, keeping one hand on her arm.

‘I’ve got you, Diane,’ I said, ‘I’m right behind you.’

‘And here we are,’ said the stewardess, proudly, gesturing towards the window. ‘That is Mount Everest.’

‘Yes, sir.’ Tiff nodded gently, a smile of bliss on her face. ‘That’s what I’m talking about.’

‘Absolutely breathtaking.’ I gazed out of the window in awe.

I was looking at the roof of the world, the highest point on our planet. It felt like such an important moment, such an achievement, a privilege, one I’d only got to experience because of Brontë. Everest stood regally above its neighbours, crowned with snow that sparkled in the sunlight as if it were coated with diamonds. Brontë’s birthstone: an April baby. My heart twisted; I would have given anything for her to be on this plane instead of me. Anything. But this was the best I could manage.

‘This is where you belong, darling,’ I murmured. ‘On top of the world.’

‘Champagne?’ Our stewardess appeared with a tiny trolley.

‘Yes please,’ replied Tiff and I together.

It was the quickest hour of my life and before I knew it, we were almost back at Kathmandu. Diane and Steve returned to their own seats for the second half of the flight and so did I.

As we prepared to descend through the clouds, Tiff plonked herself in the seat beside me.

‘That was impressive, what you did back there with Diane. You almost missed seeing Everest yourself. That would have been quite a sacrifice for a stranger.’

‘It was nothing. I was worried she’d have a full-blown episode and we might all miss it. And her husband wasn’t helping.’

‘He should never have brought her on this flight. Selfish people like that who are unaware that they’re spoiling it for others make my blood boil.’

‘I know. You made that perfectly clear last night, when I was planning to trek to Base Camp,’ I reminded her.

‘Yeah, well, I take that all back now.’ She smiled sheepishly. ‘You’re a cool dude, Magnolia.’

I grimaced. ‘Only my mother calls me that. I’m Maggie. Please.’

‘Sure,’ Tiff said, holding up her hands. ‘Sorry. Are you really medically trained?’

I looked across at Diane, who’d calmed down and appeared not to be speaking to Steve. ‘No, I work in sales for e-commerce systems. But I have got my first-aider certificate.’

She laughed. ‘It worked anyways; you talked her round. What a trip. Glad you came?’

‘Absolutely. It’s a big tick on Brontë’s list, and now I can move on to the next.’

‘More importantly, you loved it. I saw it in your eyes,’ she said with a grin.

That wasn’t the most important thing: fulfilling Brontë’s dreams was my one and only goal. But I let it go. She wouldn’t understand and it wasn’t worth arguing about.

The plane landed soon afterwards. Once we were decanted onto the tarmac and into the terminal, the group began to disperse. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Diane blowing her nose and Steve shaking his head impatiently. The two men were nothing alike physically, but I suddenly thought of Kevin Armstrong and his odious attitude.