A Mommy to Make Christmas

by Susanne Hampton

  ‘Hell, can anything else go wrong? I mean, I didn’t know that I’d be in pain for ever and then get arthritis. Damn—if I’d known all this I’d nevah have taken Bazza’s twenty-buck bet to walk on his ledge with me eyes closed.’

  Phoebe used all her composure to refrain from rolling her eyes at the idea of risking life and limb for twenty dollars. ‘There are always risks, but I would say that in your case, if you give up smoking immediately, the risks are outweighed by the benefits. What line of work are you in, Evan?’

  ‘I’m a sparkie.’

  ‘So you work with fire crackers?’

  ‘Nah!’ He laughed. ‘Not a sparkler—a sparkie...an electrician.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’ She smiled at her confusion. ‘Well, you will need extended sick leave to heal, and then you should be back to work without this affecting your capacity to earn a living in your profession.’

  ‘So there’s, like, no complications other than pain for the rest of me life and arthritis? Like that’s not bad enough.’

  ‘I can’t say none, as there are always potential complications associated with anaesthesia, and of course there’s infection, damage to nerves and blood vessels, and bleeding or blood clots. But I can say that in all of my time as a surgeon there has been none of these when patients follow my pre and post-operative instructions.’

  ‘Like quittin’ the smokes?’

  ‘Yes, definitely like giving up cigarettes,’ she replied as she completed the notes on her computer so that she could send a report to the referring doctor in an email. ‘The most common complications are problems with the skin healing and nerve-stretch. Most wound-healing complications can be treated with wound care. Sometimes—and only sometimes—further surgical treatment may be required if a deep wound infection develops. But most times it is cleared up with antibiotics, and nearly all nerve-stretch complications will resolve over time.’

  ‘So do the plates and screws need to be removed later on?’

  ‘No, they don’t need to be removed. They stay there—unless they are causing pain or irritation. Then we can talk about removing them. But we’d make sure there was enough fracture-healing before even considering that, and I’ve not needed to do it up to now.’

  ‘Let’s book it in, Doc.’ Evan sat back in his chair and looked down at his injured foot. ‘Thanks, Bazza. Your harebrained idea’s gonna cost me a hell of a lot more than twenty bucks.’

  Phoebe nodded and then completed the paperwork, so that Evan could have the result of his bucks’ night antics repaired.

  * * *

  Tilly had left and Phoebe was just finishing up some replies to emails and wondering where Heath might be when he appeared and answered her question.

  ‘So, how was your day, Dr Johnson?’

  Phoebe turned to see him leaning in her doorway. He looked as ridiculously handsome as always, but he seemed to have a sparkle in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. There was still a slight reservation to his manner, but now she understood the reason behind it and it didn’t annoy her—in fact it was the opposite.

  ‘Very nice, Dr Rollins. And I have tomorrow off, because apparently your father liked to play golf every second Friday and he has no patients booked in. So I’m looking forward to staying up late and having a sleep-in.’

  Heath had been looking forward to seeing Phoebe again. All day he had had her in his thoughts. There were so many things about her that made him want to spend time with her. And she made him see life a little differently. He wasn’t sure how long the feeling would last, but at least for a little while he thought he felt whole again.

  ‘Then, since you have no curfew, would you like to join me for dinner? Not at my dad’s or at Tilly’s. Just you and me.’

  ‘I’d need to pop home and change. Will it be like when we went to Hahndorf last week?’

  Heath didn’t want it to be anything like Hahndorf. He wanted this night to be so much more.

  CHAPTER NINE

  AFTER A QUICK SHOWER, Phoebe put on a pretty mint-green cotton dress and high strappy sandals.

  ‘Finally ready,’ she said, passing Heath the car keys he had left on the kitchen bench while he grabbed a cool drink and made himself comfortable on the sofa. ‘Sorry I took so long.’

  Heath looked at the woman standing before him and knew he would have waited for much longer. He loved being with her. And even being in her home brought a sense of serenity and belonging to him.

  ‘I’m not in a hurry.’

  And he meant it. He didn’t want their time to end. He knew it had to. He would be heading back to Sydney in a few weeks but tonight he didn’t want to think about it. He wanted to forget the past and not contemplate the future. He wanted for the first time in many years to feel alive in the moment. And he felt more than willing to break another rule.

  Heath opened his hand to collect the keys and her skin brushed softly against his. He felt the warmth of her touch and his weakening willpower disappeared completely. He wanted more. He didn’t want to wait any longer. He wanted Phoebe. Right there and right then. Gently but purposefully he pulled her down towards him.

  ‘Why don’t we stay here for a while? The restaurant isn’t going anywhere.’

  Phoebe swallowed, and her heart and her head began to race when she sat down beside him and the bare skin of her arm touched his. Their faces, their lips, were only inches apart.

  Phoebe felt powerless to spell out the consequences and risks to her heart at that moment. Giving in to the feelings she had tried to ignore was imminent and she felt a pulse surge through her body.

  She wanted Heath and from the look in his eyes focused so intently on her, she knew he did too.

  ‘We don’t have to go anywhere at all if you don’t want to,’ she said a little breathlessly.

  He answered her with a kiss. And without hesitation she responded, and with equal desire her lips met his and her arms instinctively reached for him. It felt so right.

  He pulled her closer and his hands caressed the curve of her spine, before climbing slowly to the nape of her neck. His lean fingers confidently and purposefully unzipped her dress, letting it fall from her shoulders to reveal her lacy underwear. He lowered his head and gently trailed kisses across her bare skin. She arched her back in anticipation and he stopped.

  ‘Are you sure about this, Phoebe?’

  Searching her eyes for permission to forgo dinner and seduce her for the rest of the night, he found his answer as she smiled back at him between kisses. He wasn’t waiting a moment longer, and he led her to the bedroom.

  He was not leaving before the sun rose. He didn’t care that he was breaking another rule. He wanted to wake with Phoebe in his arms.

  * * *

  Phoebe woke from a beautiful dream. Then, feeling her naked body being held tightly in Heath’s strong arms, she realised it wasn’t a dream.

  She couldn’t remember feeling so happy. She felt as if she had just come to life. Like a flower in full bloom on a perfect spring day. She had shed her fears and found something wonderful. It was as if before Heath had made love to her she had been merely existing—not living. Her body was still tingling as she felt the warmth of his gentle breathing on her neck, and she remembered the feeling of his moist kisses discovering her naked body.

  She didn’t want to stir and wake the man sleeping soundly beside her—the man who had made her feel more wanted than she’d thought possible. The security of being wrapped in his strong embrace was like floating in heaven. And she wanted to stay in heaven for a little while longer.

  She closed her eyes and listened to the steady rhythm of his breathing. She drifted off to sleep again, knowing that she had made love with a wonderful man. A man who just needed help to heal. A man who had broken one of his rules when she’d met his son. And if he was there in her bed when s
he woke, then he would have broken another rule. Perhaps all that she had overheard in the changing room would now be in the past.

  * * *

  Phoebe heard the shower stop and moments later heard footsteps coming purposefully towards the kitchen, where she was preparing breakfast. She felt happier than she’d thought possible. And her breath was taken away when Heath appeared in the doorway in a low-slung towel.

  His smile was borderline wicked.

  And they both knew why.

  ‘So tell me, Dr Johnson, how did I get to be so fortunate? What crazy man would make you leave Washington and head to Adelaide?’ Heath asked as he moved towards her, kissed her neck gently, then picked a grape from the bunch on the table and slipped it into his mouth.

  ‘Let’s forget the man and call it serendipity.’

  ‘For me it is—but for you I sense there was something a little more serious.’

  ‘Let’s leave it at serendipity—it has a nice ring to it.’

  Heath was looking at Phoebe intently, a little concerned. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to tell me? He didn’t hurt you physically, did he? Because if he did and I ever meet him I’ll kill him.’

  Phoebe saw how upset Heath had become. They had shared a wonderful, blissful night together, and she wasn’t sure that Giles’s name and his abominable behaviour should be raised, but she didn’t want Heath to think it was more than it was—and after what he had shared she suddenly didn’t want to hide anything from Heath. She didn’t want to lie to the man who had shared her bed.

  With a knotted stomach, she flipped the spinach-and-mushroom-filled omelette and mumbled quickly, ‘It was a broken engagement that made me leave Washington.’

  Heath’s earlier admiring glance at Phoebe, in a short satin wrap with nothing underneath, suddenly became serious again.

  ‘Seriously? You were engaged and you left him to come here?’

  ‘We weren’t suited.’ Her response was matter-of-fact and somewhat awkward as she struggled with knowing how much to say and how to discreetly gloss over the embarrassing parts.

  ‘How long were you engaged before you realised you weren’t right for each other?’

  ‘A few months. But we were two different people with completely different views on life and on the meaning of commitment,’ she said, hoping that that would sum it up and they could move on to something more pleasant—like spending more time together.

  ‘So just how close were you to getting married?’

  Phoebe bit her top lip. He wasn’t going to just walk away from this conversation. She knew it would sound bad, no matter how it came out. If she didn’t tell Heath the entire story he might think her views on marriage were flippant—as she’d dumped her fiancé the night before the wedding—when he had lost his wife so tragically. But retelling the story of the bridesmaids sleeping with the groom would be humiliating.

  She weighed up which was the lesser of the two morning-after-the-first-night-together information evils. Only telling him half of the story might scare him, but the full story might make him feel pity for her.

  Her stomach was still churning and her heart had picked up a nervous speed. Neither was a great option, so she decided to omit the most debasing details.

  ‘It was close to the day—but honestly it was for the best. Do you prefer your tomato grilled or fresh? I’m more grilled in winter and fresh in summer...’

  ‘How close?’

  Phoebe paused. Heath wasn’t making it easy. He had been widowed, which was a tragedy, but she had been cheated on—which was pitiful. And the circumstances made it even more embarrassing. She had no option. She had to tell him the whole shameful story.

  The pathetic bride-to-be who couldn’t keep her man happy so he found love in the arms of another woman...or in her case women.

  ‘Your omelette cook broke off her engagement the night before the wedding but I had good reason. Very good reason. But I did do it less than twenty-four hours before we were due to walk down the aisle.’

  ‘I’m certain you had a very good reason. I wouldn’t take you for the type to change your mind or your heart on a whim. Whatever happened, it must have seemed that you had no choice.’

  Phoebe swallowed, and then fidgeted nervously. ‘I didn’t have a choice. It’s an incredibly humiliating story...but, in short, I found out that my fiancé had cheated on me the weekend before the wedding. The best man told me and my fiancé didn’t deny it. And to make matters worse—not that I thought it could be worse—it wasn’t just the once. He cheated twice over the same weekend. But please don’t feel sorry for me. It’s pathetic and embarrassing and I really didn’t want to tell you... But I didn’t want to lie to you either...’

  Heath crossed to her in silence, turned off the gas under the frying pan and spun Phoebe around towards him. He kissed her passionately and without another word scooped her up in his arms and carried her back into the bedroom. Gently he stood her beside the bed, undid the tie on her robe, slid it from her bare shoulders and let the silky fabric fall to the ground.

  ‘The man was a fool...but I’m not.’

  * * *

  Heath stayed until just after eight, when he left Phoebe with a kiss at the door and the promise that with her permission they would do this again—very soon. He had a full day’s surgery, but hoped to be home by six, when they would go out for the dinner he had promised her the night before.

  Phoebe was so happy she could burst. She wasn’t sure what the future held, but she had a very good feeling about it. Heath was so much more than she ever dreamt possible—as a man and as a lover. And she realised that if she had stayed with Giles she would have been cheated out of knowing true happiness.

  Her body tingled when she walked past her bedroom and saw the bed with its sheets tangled from their early-morning lovemaking. And then she saw her dress on the living room floor and thought back to how he had carried her into the bedroom the night before.

  As she soaked in a bubble bath she closed her eyes and thought back over everything that had happened. She thought there was nowhere in the world she would rather be this Christmas. Then she remembered the beautiful tree that was still waiting to be decorated, so she stepped out of her soapy resting place and wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel to dry off, before slipping on some shorts and a T-shirt and beginning the glorious job of putting up her very first Australian Christmas tree.

  But first she needed to drag the boxes back out into the living room and then find just the right place for it...

  It was almost an hour later that she’d finally finished. It was a huge tree, and filled a whole corner of the room, and the decorations were stunning. Red and gold baubles, tinsel, twinkling lights and hand-painted figurines. And there was also a miniature tree in the box. Perhaps her father had wanted her to have one beside her bed, but immediately she knew a better place for it. The practice—to brighten the faces of the patients.

  She had keys, so she would drop it in later and surprise Heath and Tilly.

  She stood back and admired the beautiful tree in her living room for a moment longer, and thought to herself how everything was finally right again in her world. Actually, more right than it had ever been. And she hoped in time that she could make things right in Heath and Oscar’s world too.

  * * *

  The telephone rang as she was folding the cardboard boxes and putting them by the recycling bin, and when she picked it up she discovered it was Ken.

  ‘I’ve looked over the paper we were discussing the other night, Phoebe, and I think I can shed some light on those questions you asked me. If you’d like to come over I can elaborate on those areas of research that you raised.’

  ‘That would be wonderful. I can be there in half an hour.’

  ‘Perfect.’

  Phoebe changed into a blue and white striped
summer dress and flat sandals. Her hair was back in a headband, away from her face, and she slipped on her sunglasses and climbed into a cab, stopping briefly on the way to drop the baby Christmas tree in to the practice. She put it on the reception counter and then locked the door again. She liked the idea of sprinkling the festive spirit around—particularly with her own newfound happiness.

  She spent an hour talking with Ken, while Oscar watched his favourite cartoons. Ken explained the benefits of the new process that had confused Phoebe with its invasive and somewhat controversial approach.

  ‘You’re a natural teacher, Ken. You should think about doing more of that while you’re out of action—and definitely when you’re considering retiring in a few years,’ Phoebe told him. ‘You have a gift for explaining things in an engaging manner, and the medical profession can’t afford to lose your knowledge.’

  ‘That’s very kind of you, and food for thought, but to be honest I’m not having much luck engaging with Oscar this morning.’

  ‘Is everything all right with him? He is a little quiet today. Has he been watching television all morning?’

  Ken looked over at his grandson. ‘Yes, he hasn’t wanted to do anything else. He’s been a bit down in the dumps. It may have something to do with Heath’s talking about returning to Sydney the other day. Oscar wants to stay here,’ he replied as he lifted his leg to the ground. ‘If only I could find a way to make that happen...’

  Phoebe wanted them to stay too.

  She looked over at Oscar and lowered her voice. ‘Do you think perhaps it would be okay for me to take him into town for the rest of the day? We could have lunch, go to the museum—just get out of the house for a while.’