Tiny Pieces of Enid

Alongside his accidental career in finance, TIM EWINS performed stand-up comedy for eight years. He also had a very brief acting stint (he’s in the film Bronson, somewhere in the background) before turning to writing fiction. His first novel, We Are Animals, was published by Lightning Books in 2021. He lives with his wife, son, dog and cat near Bristol. Praise for Tiny Pieces of Enid ‘A powerful and poignant story about love and loss, frailty and courage. Beautifully imagined and peopled with strong, endearing characters, this book both gripped me and touched my heart’ Hazel Prior ‘A poignant, poetically fractured tale of two women trapped by circumstance, the bittersweet circle of life and love. I found it strangely hypnotic and very moving’ Beth Morrey ‘One of the most beautiful portrayals of love I’ve ever read. I will always remember Enid and Roy’ A.J. West ‘A wonderful, poignant and powerful read. I absolutely loved it. There’s such tenderness there, and great clarity too’ Matson Taylor ‘Incredibly moving. The pages are filled with characters you can’t help but fall in love with. A heartfelt tale focusing on the realities of life with dementia’ Louise Hare ‘He’s done it again. Tiny Pieces of Enid is warm and moving and full of heart. If it doesn’t make you cry more than once, I don’t know what’s wrong with you’ Frances Quinn ‘Like a bird layering twigs to build a nest, Ewins has woven together past and present, memory and reality to create a startlingly beautiful novel with complex characters walking the fine line between fragility and strength. An absolute delight’ Laura Besley ‘A moving and thoughtful examination of memory and ageing, with a central character you can’t help but root for. A wonderful story about love, friendship and the “tiny pieces” that make us who we are’ Rebecca Ley ‘Compelling and sad and hopeful, but never sentimental. A warm hug of a book, as comforting as chicken soup and just as nourishing’ Polly Crosby ‘A poignant, warm and thought-provoking story’ Susan A. King ‘A beautiful, sensitive, lyrical portrait of the reality of living with dementia, and the twists and turns our lives take, up to the very end’ Victoria Scott ‘I was deeply moved by this delicate, beautiful book. A sensitive and poignant story’ Victoria Dowd ‘A powerful and moving story about dementia and love that lasts a lifetime. Unflinching and heartbreaking. I love it’ Nicola Gill ‘Moving and timely. Brilliantly evokes the drama of the everyday that may go unnoticed by others but, for those involved, takes on Titanic proportions. Superb’ Tom Benjamin ‘A beautiful book, its pages suffused with warmth and humanity. It truly moved me and will stay with me for a long, long time’ Louise Fein ‘This lovely book reminds us that character and love both outlast our lifetimes and these are the things we remember in the end’ Jacqueline Sutherland ‘Tim Ewins brings his own brand of quirky to something very different. If you don’t love Enid like a member of your own family after reading this book, Published in 2023 by Lightning Books Imprint of Eye Books Ltd 29A Barrow Street Much Wenlock Shropshire TF13 6EN www.lightning-books.com ISBN: 9781785633102 Copyright © Tim Ewins 2023 Cover by Nell Wood Typeset in Dante MT Std and Zona Pro The moral right of the author has been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. For my mum, and for her mum: Nanny Enid Contents PART ONE PART TWO PART THREE PART FOUR THE REAL NANNY ENID ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PART ONE TWIGS AND WEEDS 1 Enid lay motionless on the hospital bed with her eyes closed. She wasn’t sure if she could move; she hadn’t tried, and she didn’t want to. ‘Your mother hasn’t responded for over twenty-four hours.’ The voice was short but not unfriendly, not addressing her. Male and important. Enid couldn’t guess the voice’s age though. In fact, she found she couldn’t recall any numbers at all. ‘We’ll keep her where she is. We can monitor her through the night, and then do a few more tests in the morning.’ Enid hadn’t understood any of the words that the voice had said, but she had the distinct feeling that they had been about her, rather than to her. She wanted to know where she was, but her eyelids didn’t even flicker when she attempted to open them. Some parts of her body felt numb, and the other parts ached. She felt sure that she was positioned flat on her back with her arms by her sides, arranged like a corpse. It was not comfortable. ‘Alright, thank you. I’ll come back tomorrow. What time’s best?’ Enid knew that voice. It was her daughter’s. Always busy. She had such a fast-paced life. Enid didn’t recognise any of her daughter’s words though. It was like she was talking a foreign language. Enid wanted to say her daughter’s name, to ask for comfort, to ask for her husband, Roy, but her mouth didn’t move. What was her daughter’s name? She began to doubt that it could be her daughter at all. Or even that she had a daughter. ‘Visiting hours are 5.30 to 6.30.’ ‘Ugh,’ Enid’s daughter exhaled, short and busy. The abruptness frightened Enid. Where was she? Where was Roy? She seemed to be paralysed, but her