‘He wouldn’t have called an ambulance unless he was worried about you. What are your symptoms – ’

‘Ah! At last you’re here.’ She looks beyond me and flaps her hands outwards, exasperated palms exposed. ‘About time, too. Where were you until this hour?’

Jake’s hair is ruffled, the collar of his shirt turned in on one side.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I came as soon as I got the message.’

‘But where were you?’ Eleanor repeats. ‘Why didn’t you answer your phone? I had to depend on Nadine to leave her bed to come here. With all the free time you have these days I thought I could depend on you to look after me.’

‘I was with friends.’ He’s tight-lipped, embarrassed, avoiding my eyes.

He came from her bed. That much is clear. She might as well have scrawled her lipstick across his forehead, attached strands of tumbleweed hair to his jacket. Not my business… not my business… it’s highly inappropriate to be wondering whose bed my husband occupied, and if it’s still warm, when his mother could be dying in front of our eyes from ‘a sudden turn.’ But, unlike behaviour, our thoughts are not controlled by a moral code and I search for signs that will betray him. Nothing except a shirt collar turned in and the buttons out of kilter. He looks around for a doctor to consult. A nurse arrives and fixes Eleanor’s oxygen mask back into position.

‘Please don’t touch this again, Eleanor,’ she warns. ‘This mask has a function and should not be treated like a snorkel.’

Eleanor heaves with impatience and Jake follows the nurse, who is hurrying towards an elderly man about to fall from his trolley.

‘They’re monitoring your blood pressure,’ Jake says when he returns. ‘It’s on the high side but your ECG is okay. They’re waiting for the results of blood tests.’

‘How soon can I be discharged?’

‘First they need to discover the reason you’re here.’

Two hours later we’re still waiting in Emergency. The ward fizzes with bad temper, exhaustion and lack of space. An elderly woman in the next cubicle yells ‘Nurse… Nurse… Nurse’ with agonising repetitiveness.

I find a coffee dispenser and return with two cartons for myself and Jake.

‘Overcrowding in our hospitals. You should make that the main issue for debate at your party conference,’ says Jake. ‘

Eleanor snatches the oxygen mask from her face. ‘We’re a one-issue party, Jake, as you very well know. Tell one of those children I want to be discharged immediately.’ She points to a line of young doctors standing before a bank of computers. Steam hisses from the mask when she places it back into position.

‘I certainly will not,’ Jake replies. ‘You heard the nurse. You must wait until your blood results come back.’

Eventually, when the results have been checked and Eleanor is on her feet again, we’re called into a consulting room by a doctor with gritty eyes and the ashen pallor of an insomniac. He looks younger than Sam.

‘I’m Doctor Noonan.’ He waits until we’re seated in front of his desk before continuing. ‘All your tests are clear, Eleanor, except for your blood pressure, which is elevated. We’re organising a blood pressure monitor over a twenty-four hour period. Have you been acutely worried about anything in the recent past?’

‘Acute is an understatement, Doctor.’

‘My mother is actively involved in politics,’ Jake explains. ‘That creates its own tensions.’

‘Allow me to speak for myself, Jake.’ Eleanor turns back to the doctor. ‘Politics is child’s play compared to my family life but that is neither here nor there. What exactly is the matter with me?’

‘We intend booking you in for some further tests but it seems clear that you’re displaying classic symptoms of panic and anxiety. Do you have a previous history of stress?’

‘She thrives on stress,’ says Jake, before Eleanor can reply. ‘It’s embedded in her psyche.’

‘The dangers of stress cannot be undermined.’ Dr Noonan frowns at Jake’s flippancy. ‘I’m aware of your political background, Eleanor. You’ve reached an age when it’s advisable to take things easier…’ He falters when he sees my mother-in-law’s expression. ‘I’m thinking of your health, Eleanor.’

‘Mrs Saunders, if you don’t mind. I’d appreciate some gravitas if you insist on discussing my advancing years.’

‘Mrs Saunders, I urge you not to ignore my advice.’ He glances nervously at his notes and draws courage from the written word. ‘I’m going to prescribe blood pressure tablets and a mild sedative to alleviate your immediate symptoms. This is just a short-term measure but the overriding issue that brought about this episode needs to be addressed. Otherwise, you’ll be prone to another attack and that could have more serious consequences.’

‘Thank you for your advice, Doctor.’ She glances from Jake to me and nods. ‘I’m sure my son and his wife will do everything in their power to ensure that my life, political and personal, is kept free from stress from now on.’

Chapter 25

Jake

Protecting Marriage in a Dysfunctional Society was written in red on a banner above the stage in the Orbit Hotel. Cora Reynolds, whom Jake had known since he was a boy, escorted him and Nadine to the front row.

‘This weekend has been amazing,’ she whispered as she removed two Reserved signs. ‘We’ve had wonderful speeches from our international guests and the workshops have been so energising. We’re zapped up and ready to rock.’

‘You always were a rocker,’ said Jake. He liked Cora, who used to bring him sweets whenever she came to his house for First Affiliation meetings. She was different to the other activists, the women with sanctified faces and intractable hearts and the colourless men in dark suits that draw any remaining vitality deep into the seams. Did she know the truth about his marriage? If so, she was the only member of the party who did.

‘I’m so glad you could both make it.’ Cora continued her furtive whispering. ‘Eleanor has prepared an inspiring speech. She’s going to knock the socks off that lot.’ She rolled her eyes towards a group of smartly dressed younger members seated a few rows back.

These days First Affiliation had a new dynamic. He had noticed it at Rosanna’s funeral where the younger members formed a separate group from the older ones still surrounding Eleanor. Their leader-in-waiting, Lorna Mason, with her swinging pelmet of brown hair and modulated tones, would project a softer, more media-friendly image than his mother’s usual combative approach.

‘Are they giving her a hard time?’ Jake whispered back.

Cora nodded. ‘Let’s just say Eleanor knows how to keep them in their place.’

‘What does she use?’ he asked. ‘Rubber bullets or water cannon?’

‘Oh, Jake, you are a scream.’ Cora stifled a short, sharp giggle. ‘Sit down there now and enjoy the rest of the evening.’

The conference room filled with anticipation as the audience waited for their leader to deliver her keynote address. Eleanor’s appearance roused them to a standing ovation. She allowed the applause to reach a certain momentum before silencing them with a graceful wave.

‘Thank you… thank you… my dear friends,’ she said. ‘I’m sure you’ll all agree that the weekend has been an inspiring and stimulating experience for each and every one of us.’ The applause that greeted this statement was again silenced after a suitable interval. ‘Our distinguished panel of speakers left us with much to consider as we go forward into the next stage of our action campaign. But it is your attendance here, all of you united in our common core values, that has made this conference such an extraordinary success. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. I also want to thank my family, my son Jake and his beloved wife, Nadine, for their unwavering support over the years and for the years to come.’