Chapter 21

MANDY

‘I’m sorry,’ Mandy mumbled, overcome with feelings of nausea. ‘I really need to go.’

Suddenly the last place she wanted to be was at the remembrance service for a man she’d never met. She’d never expected to be questioned by his sister as to why she was making up anecdotes about him.

She felt the walls closing in on her and regretted coming. But as she was about to hurry away, Richard’s sister, Chloe, grabbed Mandy’s arm.

‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘You need to tell me who you are and why you’re lying about you spending time with my brother when it never happened.’

‘I … I …’ Mandy stuttered.

‘Were you even friends with Richard?’

Mandy said nothing.

‘I thought not. You’re, what, ten years older than him? So you didn’t go to school together. Are you one of those horny older women he trained at the gym who kept trying it on with him? Or are you some weirdo who gets her kicks from crashing funerals for people you never knew?’

‘No!’ Mandy was eager for Richard’s sister not to think badly of her, though she understood how it looked. ‘I’m none of those things.’

‘Then who are you and why are you here?’

Mandy closed her eyes tightly. ‘We were DNA Matched.’

‘What?’

‘I did the Match Your DNA test a few weeks ago, and I found out my Match had also done the test. But when I … wanted to meet him.’

Mandy paused, feeling like an idiot. ‘He’d … he’d died. It was Richard.’

Chloe paused and eyed Mandy up and down. ‘You’re lying again.’

‘I promise you, I’m not. Look.’ Mandy opened her handbag and showed Chloe a printout of the email confirming their Match.

‘Why are you here?’ Chloe’s tone softened as she digested the information before her.

‘It sounds daft when I say it out loud, but I wanted to say goodbye to him. I’ve spent the last few weeks mourning a man I’ve never met and I wanted to find out more about him. Everyone here has these great memories of your brother and I have nothing, just a name and some pictures I found online. When I was listening to them talk about him, I got carried away and made up my own story. I’m sorry, it was silly and thoughtless, and I’m old enough to know better. I didn’t mean to upset you.’

‘I think I get it,’ said Chloe, taking two glasses of wine from the table and passing one to Mandy. ‘So what do you want to know about Rich?’

Mandy’s cheeks reddened. ‘Now I’m talking to you, I don’t really know where to start.’

‘That’s our mum over there, let me introduce you …’

‘No!’ said Mandy, panicking. ‘I don’t think I’m ready for that.’

‘Well, why don’t you leave me your contact details and we can stay in touch for when you are.’ Chloe handed her phone to Mandy.

‘Maybe you could come round to the house and meet her some time?’

Mandy nodded, and apprehensively typed her telephone number.

‘I should be going,’ she said. ‘It was nice to meet you. And I’m so very sorry about Richard.’

‘I’m sorry too,’ Chloe replied. ‘I’m sorry for the both of you.’

Mandy kept her head down as she passed Richard’s mother on her way out of the church and hurried back towards her car. What had begun as a way to learn more about her late Match was supposed to have given her closure.

Instead, something told Mandy it was only the beginning.