Emma: It was… well-intended.
…
Look, it was bad. I don’t feel any happiness telling you that – but it was what it was. People were quietly going about having their evening meal and, from nowhere, two young girls got up and started singing a terrible song. The twins might have just got away with it if their singing was any good but… they were eight years old.
It wasn’t great. It was like two cats being strangled.
Sorry…
Julius: Everyone loved it. Mum was clapping along and I think there was probably a tear in Dad’s eyes.
Chloe: We didn’t know the song. Daddy showed it to us and helped us with the words.
Amy: There were a lot of people.
Chloe: I don’t want to be a singer when I grow up. There are too many words to learn.
Emma: Dad was in the chair and he’d wheeled himself a little away from the table to be able to see the stage properly. When the girls finished singing, he was definitely in tears – and banging his hands together, shouting ‘More, more, more!’.
The reaction from the other tables was… muted, for want of a better word. A few people clapped, but I think most were relieved it was over. Nobody had paid thousands to come on holiday and listen to that on an evening.
Even though the singing had been bad, it was hard not to be touched. It was a classic thought-that-counts moment. The twins came down from the stage and weaved around the tables before they got back to Dad. They perched on either side of his chair and he gave them a huge squeeze. Mum was crying too.
Geoffrey: One of the best moments of my life – which was soon to be followed by one of the worst.
Emma: After Dad let them go, Amy and Chloe went back around to their seats and everyone sat again. Dad kept saying things like ‘wonderful’ and ‘superb’. He said it was the best recovery present he could have hoped for – and that the girls could have as much ice cream as they wanted.
Julius: Dad had been through a lot and I know it meant a lot to him. I was so proud of them.
Emma: Dad held both hands up in the air and said: ‘Let’s eat!’ It was like a rallying cry – and he immediately shoved his fork into his food and started to eat.
I can’t remember what was on my plate. I didn’t eat much on that holiday – but, whatever it was, I started to eat, too.
I remember the next bit in slow motion. I can still picture it now. Dad reached for another forkful of rice and then he started to choke. He grabbed his throat and, within a second or two, he was starting to turn purple. He was trying to talk – but the words were stuck as he gasped for air.
Mum reached towards him – and I think I probably did, too – but that’s when he toppled sideways out of his chair onto the floor. There was a crack as his skull hit the ground and then a second of silence where it felt like the world had stopped and nobody seemed to know what to do.
Julius picked up a chunk of fish from Dad’s plate and turned to me. His eyes were wide as he shouted…
Julius: ‘What did you do?’
Chapter Thirty-Seven
THE REAL-LIFE MAGIC
Emma: Dad has an allergy to shellfish. He’s lived with it his whole life and it’s something that was drummed into us as kids. Julius and I both knew about it – as did more or less everyone he knew.
There were two plates of paella at that buffet: one with pork, the other with a mixture of fish.
Julius: The staff rushed across as Dad continued to choke. I honestly thought he was going to die in that moment. Amy and Chloe were crying – but it felt like everyone was.
Mum dumped out her bag on the table and was hunting through everything inside. I didn’t realise what she was doing at first, but she grabbed Dad’s EPI pen, dropped to her knees and then injected it into his chest.
It was… surreal. Like real-life magic happening in front of your eyes.
Emma: Dad started to come around almost instantly. He took this really big, husky gasp and then started to breathe properly. His face went back to its normal colour and, aside from him being on the floor, it was almost as if it never happened.
Julius: One of the staff members helped me get Dad back into his chair. He was still breathing really heavily, plus there was obvious distress and disorientation. Nobody could believe what had just happened.
Daniel was on his feet and thanking people for their concern. He was telling everyone that it was all OK now. It was good of him – someone needed to do that. Dad needed space.
Daniel: I don’t want any credit. I did what needed to be done.
Julius: The manager was by us at that point, but Dad managed to croak that everything was fine. Daniel thanked the staff for their quick reactions and told the rest of the diners that he hoped they enjoyed their meals. He really proved himself in those moments.
Daniel: Beth was the real hero that night, with that pen-thing. I dread to think what would have happened if she’d not been there.
Emma: When I think of it now, it all must have happened so quickly – but I also see it as this long, drawn-out moment. I remember all the facial expressions and all the small movements people made. I can still see Daniel on his feet, calming people down when it felt like things could get hysterical.
Julius: There was finally a moment of calm as I nudged Dad’s chair back to the table. He was still breathing heavily and his face was swollen. He looked to the girls and assured them he was fine. He tried to make a joke of it – ‘A cliff didn’t get me, and neither will a fish!’ but nobody laughed. The girls were terrified.
Emma: Julius picked up the plate that was in front of Dad and passed it to a waiter. The waiter was momentarily confused, wondering why someone was giving him a full plate – but he took it anyway.
It was after he left that I realised everyone around the table was looking at me.
Julius: There was a slow, dawning moment. I wanted to shield the twins from it – but they’d seen it the same as everyone else.
Emma: It was Mum’s stare that hurt the most.
Julius: Daniel spoke first.
Daniel: I said: ‘You’ve been causing trouble all week.’ I think I was speaking for everyone when I said that.
Julius: There was a feeling of sadness more than anything else. Dad was blank and Mum looked broken-hearted. She was very quiet when she spoke – but we all heard it. She looked directly at Emma and said: ‘You know your father is allergic to shellfish.’
Emma: I’d obviously seen what happened – and heard Julius’s: ‘What did you do?’ – but it was only then that it properly sunk in.
They thought I’d deliberately poisoned Dad.
Julius: Everyone around that table knew what she did.
Daniel: She knows what she did.
Liz: I don’t think there was any doubt about what Emma tried to do to her father. She should have been prosecuted.