Christmas in Peppercorn Street

by Anna Jacobs

  After another sniff at the biscuit he was holding out, she took it from him and as she swallowed it, he was able to grab her collar. Speaking soothingly, he walked her slowly towards his car and she came with him.

  He groaned aloud. That dog was very wet indeed, not to mention muddy, and he definitely didn’t want to let her into his car, which was only two months old. Unfortunately, there was no choice. When he opened the nearest rear door and gave her a push, she leapt inside and he shut it quickly. What that would do to the leather upholstery, he didn’t like to think.

  He drove off, praying the dog wouldn’t jump about and make it difficult for him to drive safely, but she settled down as if used to being in cars.

  The hospital was on the outskirts of the nearby town of Sexton Bassett and it took him twenty minutes to drive there at a modest pace and find a place to park.

  He left the animal sitting in the car with the window slightly open. There was an overpowering smell of damp dog already and muddy water all over the pale grey leather of his almost new Mercedes.

  He ran through the rain to the casualty department and found Gabby inside standing next to her teacher at the reception desk. She turned to look anxiously at him as he joined them.

  ‘I got Helly. I left her in my car.’

  ‘Oh, thank goodness!’

  The woman behind the counter consulted a list on a clipboard. ‘Mrs Small is being attended to now. Are you a relative?’

  ‘I’m Gabby’s teacher.’

  Luke moved forward to join them. ‘And I’ve got her dog in my car, so I need to see her too.’

  Miss Roberts looked up at the clock and then told the woman behind the counter, ‘I can’t stay. I have to go and pick up my elderly mother. Can Gabby wait for her mother here?’

  The woman frowned. ‘Isn’t there someone else who can pick up your mother? The child’s a bit young to leave on her own.’

  ‘No. My mother has dementia and she’s at the day care place. She wouldn’t go with anyone else but she still recognises me.’

  ‘I’ll sit with Gabby,’ Luke volunteered. ‘And the people can see her from here, so she’ll be safe. I can’t leave till I’ve asked her mother about the dog.’

  ‘Very well.’ The teacher turned and walked away.

  Another shiver reminded him to ask the receptionist about his jacket. ‘I used it to keep Mrs Small warm and I need it myself now.’

  She looked as if she was going to refuse to look into that, so he said, ‘Please! I’m really cold.’

  ‘Could you describe it, please, sir?’

  Impatiently he did so, enumerating the contents of the pockets as well.

  She beckoned to an orderly, who went off to look for it.

  When he looked round, there was no sign of the teacher.

  Gabby looked up at him. ‘Miss Roberts said I was to stay in reception and not go off with you in your car.’

  ‘Fair enough.’

  ‘Here you are, sir.’ A man held out the jacket.

  Luke took it back with relief. It was a bit creased but not damp on the inside, so he shrugged into it, glad of the extra warmth.

  He phoned Dee to tell her he’d be late, was about to explain why, when she said OK and broke the connection. With a sigh he put the phone away.

  An unconscious man was brought in just then and people came rushing with a crash cart.

  ‘Please wait over there, Mr Morgan, I’ll call you when the doctor’s finished with Mrs Small.’

  He gestured to some seats and the child sat down next to him.

  ‘Where’s Helly?’ she asked.

  ‘In my car.’

  ‘Did she come to you?’

  ‘Yes. But I had a biscuit.’

  ‘She doesn’t usually go to people, only the ones she thinks are all right. Mum says she has good instincts. I feel safe with you anyway. You have a nice smile.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  There was something about the child that touched him. He’d definitely stay with her till they’d finished with the mother, wanted to make sure she was all right. The A&E people were all very busy. Who knew how long Gabby would have to wait for them to finish with her mother?

  Anyway, there was still the dog to think about. He hated to think what she was doing to his car.

  Chapter Two

  After yet another glance at the clock on the wall, Luke noticed Gabby looking longingly at a machine dispensing drinks. He was about to offer to buy her something when a nurse came through a door to one side of the reception desk, checking it to make sure it was locked behind her.

  When the receptionist pointed to them, the nurse walked across. ‘They’re just X-raying your wife’s shoulder and arm now, Mr Small. The doctor doesn’t think anything is broken, but her shoulder’s been dislocated and we have to be certain there isn’t a hairline fracture. I’ll fetch you when that’s been done and the shoulder strapped up, but she’ll be at least an hour, probably longer. They’re really busy in X-ray today.’ She smiled down at the child. ‘Goodness, you do look like your mother!’

  She turned and started walking briskly away before he could correct her mistake about him being Claire’s husband.

  Another shiver made him gesture to the drink dispenser. ‘Would you like something warm to drink, Gabby?’

  The child’s face lit up. ‘Could I have some drinking chocolate, please? It’s much nicer than tea or coffee.’ From the look on her face, she was hungry as well, so he bought them a packet of crisps each.

  ‘Mum and I can’t afford to buy crisps now,’ she confided, licking her lips. ‘I haven’t had any for ages.’

  She looked at the small, shabby Christmas tree next to the vending machine. ‘Isn’t it pretty? We have one at school, but Mum can’t afford one for home this year.’

  She ate half of his crisps as well as her own, then sat quietly beside him, swinging her feet to and fro, watching everything that was going on around them with great interest.

  ‘Do you have any relatives we could contact, Gabby?’

  The open expression immediately vanished. ‘No. And we don’t want any. There’s just us and Helly, and that’s a nice little family.’

  ‘Yes, but – well, you don’t know me and – maybe you’d be better with someone you do know.’

  ‘You mean like stranger danger. That was why my teacher brought me here, not you, wasn’t it?’ She looked up at him. ‘You don’t look dangerous to me and the policeman told my teacher he knew you.’

  Another long gaze at him, then, ‘You’d better dry your hair, though. It’s still soaking wet and it’s dripping all over your shoulders.’

  ‘Your fringe is dripping too.’

  She grinned and swiped at her forehead. ‘It’s nice and warm in here, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes.’ He found himself smiling back, enjoying the company of this child, who was treating him like a favourite uncle and telling him all sorts of things about how she and her mother managed without much money, things which would embarrass the injured woman big time, he was sure.

  Gabby was a great kid. She reminded him of what his own daughter had been like a few years ago.

  He was beginning to suspect that this child and her mother were on the run from the father, but in that case, why had they lumbered themselves with the dog? It didn’t make sense.

  By the time another nurse came looking for them, he’d bought them each a second cup of hot chocolate and found the ladies’ restroom for his companion.

  ‘Mr Small?’

  He shook his head.

  Gabby giggled. ‘This is Mr Morgan. I’m Gabby Small, though. He’s a friend and he brought me here to see my mum.’

  The nurse smiled down at her. ‘Well, you’d better come with me, then, Gabby. She’s asking for you.’

  Luke stood up. ‘All right if I come, too? I need to find out what she wants me to do with the child, and with her dog.’

  ‘Yes. But be warned. Mrs Small’s very groggy. She may not make much sense.’<
br />
  He was taken first to see a doctor, who spoke rapidly, with one eye on the clock. ‘The good news is that your wife’s arm isn’t fractured; she’d only dislocated her shoulder, which has now been put back in place. That area of her body will be very sore for a while, though, and she should use the arm as little as possible for the next few days. She’s been given strong painkillers so she’ll not be very coherent.’

  Luke was greatly relieved the injuries weren’t worse, because he still felt guilty about the accident.

  ‘Mrs Small ought to stay in here overnight but she’s insisting on going home, and I must admit we’re short of beds. But it’ll be best if she stays a little longer, so we can keep an eye on her recovery. If there are any problems after you take her home, don’t hesitate to bring her straight back. The nurse will give you some more of the painkillers for her.’

  As the doctor walked away, Gabby tugged Luke forward and they followed the nurse along a line of cubicles, all with other patients in them.

  The injured woman lay flattened against the pillows of the high, narrow bed, eyes closed. She looked like a limp rag doll. He felt sorry for her after talking to the child and realising how hard their life was.

  He glanced sideways and saw that Gabby’s lips were quivering and she looked as if she was fighting back tears. Before he knew it, he’d held out his hand and she was clutching it again.

  She leant closer to whisper, ‘Mum looks so pale. And why is she still asleep? Will she be all right?’

  ‘Of course she’ll be all right. She’s just resting.’

  When he looked down at their joined hands, a strange feeling shivered through him, as if it was right to hold her. He hadn’t been able to hold his own daughter’s hand for several years; Dee was too old for that now.

  Angie had been openly hostile to him when they broke up, as if it was all his fault, when she was the one who had initiated it to ‘find herself’. She’d only let him have Dee for a day here and there since then. What made him furious was how she seemed to have poisoned Dee’s mind against him – or was it against all men? And how cunning Angie had been about changing the arrangements for him to see Dee at the last minute.

  He’d tried lawyers’ letters but she always had an excuse for cancelling.

  And then after years of rubbing it in his face that she had custody, Angie had dumped the girl on him without warning. Not that he’d have refused to have Dee, of course he wouldn’t, but he’d have appreciated a bit of notice. He’d only just moved into a new house and hadn’t even had a spare bed that first night, had had to sleep on the sofa.

  He realised the nurse was talking to Gabby and got annoyed with himself for not paying better attention.

  ‘Your mother’s a bit sleepy from the anaesthetic and painkillers, dear, but she’ll be all right.’

  As if she’d sensed her daughter’s presence, Mrs Small opened her eyes and looked sideways. ‘Gabby.’ Her voice was a croak and her cheeks were colourless, but her loving smile lit up her whole face. ‘You all right, love?’

  Gabby let go of him and went to clutch her mother’s hand, leaning on the bed beside her. ‘I was worried about you, Mum, but my teacher brought me here and Mr Morgan found Helly. He’s been looking after me and bought a drink of hot chocolate. No, two drinks.’

  Claire stared at Luke. ‘Who on earth are you?’

  ‘I’m the guy who knocked you down.’

  ‘Ah. Yes. I remember now. You held my hand. But the accident was my fault, not yours. I didn’t look where I was going. We don’t need to call in the police, do we?’

  ‘They’ve already attended the scene of the accident. They breathalysed me and took statements from witnesses. I don’t know whether they’ll want to speak to you, too, but I don’t think there will be any charges or need to follow things up. And my car doesn’t seem to be damaged, maybe a scrape or two on the paint, which can easily be fixed.’ Though not cheaply, but he could easily afford it and she couldn’t.

  ‘Thank goodness.’

  Gabby tugged her mother’s hand to get her attention. ‘Helly’s outside now, waiting in Mr Morgan’s car.’

  ‘Thank you. That’s such a … relief.’

  Luke watched as Claire tried desperately to stay awake. Her eyes closed slowly, then snapped open again, but she looked as if she was having trouble focusing properly.

  He went to the end of the cubicle and beckoned to the A&E nurse, who came across and checked the patient. ‘Is she all right? She keeps falling asleep in the middle of saying something.’

  ‘She’s fine, Mr Morgan, but she’ll be in and out of consciousness for a while as she recovers from the anaesthetic, and the painkillers make you dopey too.’ Someone called and she yelled, ‘Coming. You can wait with her here, if you like, as long as you don’t make a noise. These curtains aren’t soundproof.’ She indicated the blue curtains surrounding the cubicle as she hurried away.

  So they sat there for a few minutes, then a sudden scream nearby made Claire jerk awake again and stare at him as if she didn’t know where she was.

  ‘You’re in hospital,’ he reminded her. ‘You’ve got concussion. You need to rest.’

  ‘Oh, yes. Sorry. Thank you for looking after Gabby, Mr …’ Her voice trailed away and her eyelids began to droop. ‘Just give me a little time to recover, darling, and then we’ll go home.’

  The nurse had just come back and overheard that. ‘You really ought to stay in hospital overnight, Mrs Small.’

  ‘No! No, I can’t!’

  Luke frowned. That was definitely fear on Mrs Small’s face and panic in her voice. The child was looking anxious too. What the hell were they afraid of? He knew Bartons End – the worst things you usually met there were problems with parking, and a few drunks in the evening, who were usually fairly cheerful about the world. He’d enjoyed living in a village, had only moved away when Angie left him and they’d had to sell the house as part of their divorce settlement.

  ‘I can’t stay here. I have to look after Gabby. Have to …’ Claire’s eyes closed and she sighed into sudden sleep again.

  ‘I can sit here next to the bed till Mum’s more awake,’ Gabby volunteered. ‘I won’t be any trouble.’ Then her face fell. ‘Oh, but what about Helly? She’s still shut up in your car.’

  ‘Hospitals don’t usually let people sleep in their chairs, especially children on their own. Maybe you have some friends you could go and stay with tonight? I could drive you there.’ Oh, no. He’d better not. The police hadn’t wanted him to do that.

  ‘We’ve only just come to live in Bartons End. We don’t know anybody in the village. That’s why we went there.’

  What a strange thing to say! His guess must be right and they were running away from someone. ‘Where does your mother work, then?’ Though wherever it was would probably be closed by now.

  ‘At home. On her computer.’

  ‘Oh.’

  The nurse exchanged glances with him. ‘We’d better call social services to help with the child.’

  ‘No!’ Claire exclaimed.

  She must have heard the last bit. He watched her struggle in vain to sit up.

  ‘Please don’t try to call anyone. Give me an hour to rest and I’ll be all right, then my daughter and I will go home. We can get a taxi. I’m feeling much better already. Really I am!’

  ‘If you have no other adult at home, you’ll definitely need to stay in overnight, Mrs Small,’ the nurse insisted. ‘You need someone to watch you. It’s important.’

  ‘I can’t stay here.’

  Luke looked from mother to child and saw that both had the same expression on their face. Fear. Definitely fear. He tried to tell himself not to get involved, but he couldn’t help feeling that he had a responsibility to look after them, because he was the one who’d knocked Claire down. Though he had more than enough on his plate at the moment with his daughter and the new house, without taking on anything extra.

  The trouble was, he wanted to protect and co
mfort them both, because he hated hearing fear in a child’s voice, especially a delightful little girl like Gabby, who was looking at him now as if she trusted him to solve the problem.

  If the mother was with them, no one could complain of him giving the child a lift in a car. Besides, there was one large wet dog waiting outside as well.

  A tear trickled down Claire’s face, silver on white. That tear tipped the scales.

  ‘Look, there’s no problem, nurse. They can come both home with me. I’m a friend of the family and my daughter lives with me, so she’ll help as well.’ Well, he was a friend now, he hoped. And surely Dee would lend a hand.

  The woman in the bed looked at him in puzzlement, but without fear, at least.

  The nurse was shaking her head, so he dealt with her first. ‘I’ve done a first aid course, so I have some idea of what to look for after concussion.’

  ‘Well …’

  He turned back to Claire. ‘Is that all right with you?’

  ‘We’re not your responsibility.’

  ‘He’s kind. I like him.’ The child beamed at him and that warm feeling ran through Luke again.

  ‘I have a large house and you won’t be any trouble,’ he said. They would cause him some extra work, of course, but not much. Well, he hoped not much. ‘And my garden is fenced in properly, so the dog won’t be able to get out.’

  On second thoughts, he wasn’t sure he placed much reliance on that, though he didn’t say so. Helly looked intelligent and he’d bet she came from a long line of escapologists. But hey, that was a minor consideration. Christmas was coming. Peace and love and all that jazz.

  He glanced at his watch. Damn, he was very late. Not that Dee would be worrying where he was now he’d phoned her. She’d have her headphones on and be listening to something weird and loud. He and his daughter definitely did not share the same taste in music. Or in anything else, it seemed. He sometimes felt as if she’d built a fence around herself, a fence he was desperate to knock down.

  ‘Look,’ he said to the nurse, ‘leave us to talk it over for a few minutes, will you? You’re obviously busy. We’ll work something out, then I’ll come and find you.’