I met Mary, oh, it must have been six years ago now, at a GIY meeting, but she quickly became more than just a fellow hobbyist and we've been thick as thieves ever since. I tell her pretty much everything, and though I promised to tell her if anything like this happened again, I'm not looking forward to this call.
“I've killed another one,” I blurt out, as soon as she picks up with her usual sing-song “Hello, Mary speaking” greeting.
“Oh Nuala,” she says, but I press on before she can continue. If I don’t tell her all the details straight away the shame will stop me going on.
“I left my precious baby alone when I went away for that conference this week,” I explain quickly. “I really couldn't miss the conference,” I add, pointlessly trying to build some sort of defence for myself.
“I thought I’d left her enough of everything to make it through the week, but boy was I wrong," I rush on. "You remember how I killed her older sister last year by smothering her? Well since then I've maybe been trying to balance those tendencies by really holding back with the basics like food and water. I just didn't want to overwhelm her. I thought she’d been looking peaky of late, but I never for a second imagined that she’d die!
“When I came back late last night I went to see her straight away, but I knew immediately it was too late - there was no saving her.”
“Oh Nuala, we've been over this a million times,” Mary says, and I can tell she’s annoyed even though she’s trying not to sound it. “Orchids are really particular. I can’t stand by and let you kill any more of the beauties; perhaps from now on you might just accept you and orchids are not compatible and stick to spider plants and peace lilies instead.”
