Olivia’s sides ached from laughing and melted chocolate streaked her cheeks as she finally managed to nab the mint and munch it triumphantly. Simon, of course, was a dab hand—no pun intended—at it, managing to get mint from brow to mouth in a mere nine seconds.

“You could be in the Guinness World Records book,” Olivia marvelled while he shrugged modestly.

All in all, Olivia couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun, or felt so happy. As they clinked glasses of Prosecco over the remains of the turkey, she exchanged smiles with both Tina and Simon, thinking if she could keep this moment intact in her memory forever, holding it in her hands like one of the glass baubles on the tree, she would be perfectly content—no matter what happened or went wrong.

Chapter Fourteen

Alzheimer’s. The word was familiar and yet utterly strange. Olivia sat in the doctor’s office at the memory clinic, after Tina had gone through a memory test and the results of her blood tests, and now they were listening to the expected and yet suddenly startling result.

“There’s no definitive test or diagnosis,” the doctor explained gently. “Only ruling out other options. We can refer you for a CT scan of the brain, which may help, but judging from what I’ve read in your file and seen today, I think this is the most likely outcome.”

Tina nodded stoically, her chin tilted at a proud angle. “I expected as much.”

The doctor glanced at Olivia. “There is loads of support available here in Witney,” she said. “Groups and memory clinics and we can look into different medications and foods that help alleviate some of the symptoms.” She placed several colourful brochures on the desk in front of them. “You can read through the literature and we’ll schedule an appointment for you to come back in a few weeks, and discuss any questions or concerns, as well as how you want to go forward.”

“There’s no fighting it, you know,” Tina told Olivia once they were back in her flat, and Olivia was putting on the kettle for a much-needed cup of tea. “It’s not like cancer. It’s not something you can beat.”

“But you don’t have to give up, Mum.” Olivia felt shaky, even though the diagnosis had been entirely expected. She’d texted Simon to let him know the news, but he hadn’t responded yet.

“I’m not giving up. I’ll eat the superfoods and take the supplements or whatever medication will help. And I’ll enjoy my life while I have it. But I just want you to be prepared, Olivia. Decline is inevitable.”

“Oh, Mum.” Impulsively Olivia threw her arms around her mother, hugging her tight, wanting to imbue her with her love and strength. “I love you so much, you know. I don’t tell you often enough...”