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It took Rachel three days to organise her surprise. Would Esther be well enough to participate? Timing was tight. The palliative care nurses had promised Esther would be dressed and in a wheelchair ready to go.
“What’s going on?” Esther said. “Are you taking me out into the sunshine for a picnic?”
“We can do that afterwards if you still have energy.”
“Well, come on then. Giddy-up.”
“Should I give you a whip?” Rachel asked.
Esther laughed then doubled up with a hacking cough. Blanche’s knuckles were white on the back of the wheelchair.
They manoeuvred the wheelchair across the road and through the gate.
“Why are we going to the hospital?”
“Patience, patience.”
They pushed the chair right through the hospital grounds. “There’s nothing back here except the hydrotherapy pool,” Est
