The Lives We Touch
Page 28
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And all through the ward, there were smiles and some tears. The neurosurgeon who’d saved Rosie’s life went home happy to her husband and children, and held them a little closer. Praj decided he would finally ask Zara out for a drink, because life was short, and sometimes miracles happened. The surgical nurse decided to stay on in her role, because there were good days now and again, days where you made a difference, and the following week she saved the life of a child who was choking to death on a pea. Dot – who really was a cleaner and really wasn’t dead, just sometimes invisible because of what she did – smiled and nodded: she’d known it all along. The anaesthetist got promoted and was able to bring his brother over from Nigeria. Caz, weeping at the news of Rosie’s recovery, gave the performance of her life that night, inspiring everyone in the theatre to be a little kinder and love a little more freely. Daisy thought about Adam’s offer to meet up, and decided: why not? Happiness was in short supply, so you had to grab it while it passed through your hands and hold on tight. Scarlett decided she was going to become a brain surgeon when she grew up, if being a dinosaur hunter didn’t work out for her. Rosie’s mother had already made up her mind to ask John to move in with her and see if he couldn’t work his magic on her rose bushes. Ella and her boyfriend would get married, now that Luke seemed OK and her guilt had eased, and have more beautiful shiny-haired babies. Charlie would be happy to have two dads, and two sets of toys. And as for Rosie and Luke, well, their story was definitely not over yet.
They say in our lives we’ll meet something like eighty thousand people. Most of them just in passing, sitting beside them on a bus, buying a latte from them, overtaking them too fast on the motorway. Others will become friends, lovers, family. Some will stay in our lives for ever, and some will be swept away by the flow of life. But we touch all of these people in some way, tiny or huge, making more of a difference than any of us can imagine. Because, as Rosie’s grandma had said, none of us can do it without each other. And even if she was, technically speaking, just a memory, it’s what we leave behind us when we go, the way we live on in other people, that matters the most.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to everyone who helped whip this book into shape, especially my fantastic agent Diana Beaumont. I’d also like to thank everyone at Sphere and Harlequin US/Graydon House, especially Maddie West, Thalia Proctor, Margo Lipschultz, and Melanie Fried. And huge thanks as well to everyone who has been involved in copy edits, cover design, marketing, publicity, and more.
I’ve been truly overwhelmed by the messages I received about my previous book, How To Be Happy, so I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who read it and took the time to get in touch. I hope you enjoy this one too! I’d love to hear from you if you’ve read this book.
I’m on Twitter @inkstainsclaire, Instagram @evawoodsauthor, and online at www.evawoodsauthor.com. Drop me a line!
Lots of love,
Eva x