What You Left Behind Read Online Free PDF Page B

steps, to the historic performances it housed. She loved seeing Stella so inspired and made a promise to book tickets more often.
    “It’s going to be great,” Lorraine whispered once they were seated. “But you’ll have to concentrate.” She flipped through the program. “It’s not always easy to follow.”
    “I’ll try,” Stella replied.
    Lorraine felt a pang of satisfaction. She doubted that Grace would have shown much interest in seeing A Midsummer Night’s Dream , let alone sit still inside for several hours when the weather was so nice. Grace would be having a much better time at her athletics camp.
    Moments later, the lights dimmed and three actors appeared on stage, their voices loud and commanding. Other characters entered across bridge-like walkways on either side of them, making Stella spin round in wonder, taking it all in. It was instantly magical; they felt as if they were part of the story in the intimate, tiered theater. Stella’s fingers crept onto Lorraine’s lap, clasping her hands. Shelooked across and winked at her daughter. It was a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

    “M UM ?” S TELLA SAID when the play was over and they were outside. The sun flashed from behind huge white clouds that were reflected in the surface of the River Avon flowing slowly through the town. Brightly colored narrow boats were moored against the bank, several of them queuing to enter the lock. It was a colorful spectacle. “Was what happened to Pyramus and Thisbe in the play the same as what happened to that boy in Aunty Jo’s village?”
    Stella stopped and turned round. The expanse of lawn ahead, cut up with neat block-paved pathways, was crammed with tourists crowding round a street performer. Lorraine noticed the look of wonder on her daughter’s face as she spotted the juggler’s fiery batons flying into the air. But then she looked back up at her mother and Lorraine recognized the telltale furrows of worry and inquisitiveness on her daughter’s brow. She put her arm round her slender shoulders and drew her close.
    “What boy, love?”
    “I know the story of Pyramus and Thisbe is a play within a play. But when Pyramus kills himself, thinking that a lion killed his girlfriend, and then she kills herself because she is so unhappy, is that like when suicide becomes contagious? Like what happened to that boy in Radcote? Will I catch it?” Stella tugged the strap of Lorraine’s shoulder bag. “Mum?”
    Lorraine wanted to take a moment to think about this, to formulate a suitable reply. She didn’t know what to say.
    “Anyway, I need the loo,” Stella said when Lorraine remained silent. “I’ll meet you over there in ten minutes.” She gestured toward a bench and walked briskly back toward the theater, leaving Lorraine grateful for the reprieve.
    She waited for Jo, who was watching the juggler, to catch up. They walked on slowly together and sat down on the bench. The surrounding lawns were neatly mown and the sun was warm on their backs. A swarm of gnats hovered in the late-afternoon heat. It was a typical summer’s afternoon, perfect for a day of not thinking about work.
    “Stella just asked something a bit odd,” Lorraine said, squinting at the waterfront, watching the tourists as they ambled alongside the river. She heard all kinds of accents, but mainly American and Japanese. She smiled to herself as a large coach party swapped cameras to get an assortment of shots.
    “What’s she got on her mind now?” Jo said, smiling.
    “It was a bit grim, actually. She was asking about suicide.” Lorraine paused. “And she mentioned Radcote.”
    Jo sighed. “Welcome home.” The irony was palpable. “People haven’t forgotten yet.”
    “But that was eighteen months ago, wasn’t it?”
    The sudden cluster of teenage suicides had shocked the local community to the core. What had begun as a tragic, isolated death when a seventeen-year-old girl hanged herself in her bedroom quickly turned into