‘Nothing.’ Suzanne let out a long sigh then, straightening her shoulders and tilting her head back. She closed her eyes for what felt like too long, then opened them again, smiling determinedly at me. ‘Anyway. I brought you something.’ She reached into her pocket and pulled out a necklace, which she held out to me. When I took it, I realized what it was. ‘Oh no, I can’t have this.’ I tried to push it back into her hands, but she held them clenched against her chest. ‘It’s yours.’
Writing this scene, I was of course so aware of what was really going on, and how important it was to balance the scene between the reality of why Suzanne was there and what Caddy thought was happening (drug-addled and post-trauma as she is). As a writer, the temptation is to try to be too clever, to foreshadow too hard or put big neon signs around the hints, but I wanted to be true to Caddy's perspective and not do that. I do always wonder with this scene in particular at what point, if any, the reader catches on to what Caddy hasn't realised, or if they don't have the revelation until she does. I think this moment is probably the strongest clue. That and Suzanne saying, "I came to say goodbye."
