Love Deleted
by Paul Indigo
Genre: Women's Fiction, Light SciFi, Love Story
"A masterpiece" PH ... "Absolutely amazing" BA ... "The coolest idea ever" JK ... "Brilliant" EF ... "Not like anything else I've ever read..." AC ... "Exceptionally unique" RA ... "Good luck putting this one down" EN ... "I'm amazed it's a debut novel" KK ... "I loved it so much I'd invite the characters to dinner" BT
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO ERASE YOUR LOVE?
This is an impossible love story…
Cooper came home unexpectedly early that day. The day her world collapsed. The day she heard things she shouldn’t have. Saw things she shouldn’t have.
Now Cooper is running away. Driving recklessly. Blindly. A broken heart spiralling out of control after witnessing an earth-shattering scene.
Then Cooper discovers the website. Speaks to the doctors. Can they help her? Can they give her the treatment she desperately wants? Yes they can. They can do something mind-blowing.
They can surgically erase her love for her husband Jethro.
Only what appears to be the perfect solution sets off a devastating chain of events not only for Jethro and herself. But one also involving their teenage son Daniel in ways she can’t imagine.
A life-shattering moment. A rash decision. An easy solution. This isn’t just a love story. Not when a heart isn’t just broken, it is irreversibly silenced.
This
is an impossible love story.
*Amazingly, this novel was inspired by the latest in genuine, cutting-edge medical technology.
THE CALL COMES when Harriet’s at home in front of the daytime TV programme Loose Women, blowing her nose and feeling utterly rotten about her stupid cold. She’s been off from work as Head of Marketing for her husband’s fleet of garages recovering and wanted a bit of gossipy television for once.
On TV they’re talking about how happy, child-free couples are. How some want to revel in the freedom, how some suffer while others only pretend. Harriet doesn’t know if she’s pretending or revelling any more.
Her mobile vibrates on the coffee table and pirouettes.
Harriet mutes the TV, checks the phone. Cooper’s name flashes up. Strange. Cooper doesn’t usually call until the evening. Harriet answers.
“Well that’s a first, sis, calling during the working day. Eddsy ask you to give me some tea and sympathy?”
Harriet waits for Cooper to reply but there’s just hiss.
“Coops?”
Harriet hears something. Faint noises. It dawns on her Cooper’s phone has unlocked itself in her bag or pocket or something and it called the last number dialled. She calls out.
“Cooper?”
Nothing comes back. She shouts.
“COOOOOOOPERRRRRRRRRRRR.”
“I’m here,” Cooper says.
Her voice is so close it’s like breath against Harriet’s ear. Harriet instantly knows something’s wrong. On the TV screen the presenters giggle at some joke. One presenter covers her mouth with her hand like she always does when she laughs.
“Coops, what is it?”
“Can I come over?”
“What’s going on?”
“Can I come over?”
Harriet’s not even sure it IS Cooper. She checks the face of the phone again. It definitely says Cooper.
“Cooper that is you, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s happened?”
“Can I come over?”
“Of course you can come over but what’s going on?” Harriet suddenly realises Cooper’s crying. She hasn’t heard Cooper cry in – what? – years. Not years. This is bad news. Bad bad news.
“Cooper you’re scaring me.”
“I just—”
“Is Daniel okay?”
Cooper’s son.
“Yeah.”
“And Jethro?”
Cooper’s husband.
Hesitant.
“He’s okay.”
“Oh my god, are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Coops, you don’t sound sure. What’s wrong?”
When no answer comes Harriet tries again.
“Something is clearly wrong Coops. Where are you? Are you in your recording studio?”
“I’m in the car.”
“Wait. You’re driving?”
“Yeah.”
“I hope you’re hands-free.”
Cooper doesn’t respond.
“Oh Coops you should get one of those hands free things.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Cooper’s not only crying, her whole manner is odd. Cooper’s a feisty, pixie-sized, thirty eight year old tomboy, always in cargos and T-shirts with spiky dark blonde hair. It’s all to tone down the delicate China beauty of her face and fresh as water green eyes.
“Cooper, I want to know where you are.”
“I don’t know where I am.”
“You’re in your car, right? You said so.”
“Yeah.”
“So you’re driving over?”
“Yeah. Guess so.”
Harriet really doesn’t like this one bit.
“Oh Coops, you’re not making sense.”
All sorts of thoughts race through Harriet’s mind now. Maybe Cooper had a bad day at work or a friend is ill or dead or maybe Daniel’s done something silly. But that’s hard to believe because Daniel’s an intelligent sensible nineteen-year-old. Maybe… maybe she’s been to the doctor and it’s— god she hopes it’s not bad news from the doctors. Harriet keeps her voice as steady as she can.
“Cooper, what’s your sat nav say?”
“Hold on.”
Beeping sounds come from the phone. Cooper’s pressing icons whilst driving. It means Cooper’s eyes aren’t on the road.
“Cooper, pull over first, don’t do that while you’re driving.”
The beeping continues.
“Hey I said pull over first.”
But there’s no response. Cooper can’t hear. All Harriet can do is pray and wait. She thinks to when mum and dad brought baby Cooper home from hospital. Harriet thought wow forget all the plastic dolls this is the real thing. It’s got warm spindly arms and legs and opaque eyes that can’t quite track you if you move suddenly. Harriet learned to change Cooper’s nappy, feed her, watch her grow, fascinated by her neat tiny fingers. She loved the tiny flat nose you could squish and golly those huge, huge green eyes. Cooper still has a squishy nose. Still has huge, huge green eyes. Harriet can’t imagine them crying. Not tomboy Cooper’s eyes.
Cooper makes a sudden oh no and Harriet’s jolted back. The banshee shriek of brakes, a horrific silence then an explosion of metal-crunching chaos. Then that terrible hissy silence once more.
Harriet stands up.
“Cooper?”
Nothing just silence.
“COOPER?”
More silence.
“COOPER!!!!!!!!!”
I'm a British author who loves page-turners. It doesn't have to be a thriller. It can be anything, I just want to feel that desperate urge to turn the page. And if it grabs me on the first page...or the first paragraph...or the first sentence...Well! All the better.
I worked in the television industry for many years. However, though I’ve worked with words all my life, I’ve only recently decided to do something with it. I have a love of radio dramas and audio books and my writing has been heavily influenced by both.
I live on the English coast and love sea and nature reserve walks whenever I get the opportunity (at least once a week, sometimes more). I also love to wake early, long before the rest of the world has caught up with me.
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This sounds very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really incredible read.
ReplyDelete