‘No, of course not,’ she replied. ‘I won’t go to bed until you get back, no matter how long it takes.’
‘Thanks, Laura,’ he said, and was gone.
She’d been to have a peep at Abby and found her fast asleep, so settled herself on the sofa in her apartment with a magazine and prepared to wait.
After a while she heard a soft footfall on the landing and it seemed that Abby wasn’t as deeply in dreamland as she’d thought. She appeared in the doorway with the teddy bear that she slept with in her arms and asked sleepily, ‘Where’s Daddy, Laura?’
She patted the sofa beside her and as Abby came over and cuddled up close Laura told her, ‘He’s at Grandma’s, sweetheart. She has a water pipe that has burst and he’s sorting it out for her.’
‘Can I stay here until he gets back?’ she asked, and when Laura nodded, and put her arm around her small shoulders, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep with a contented smile on her face.
At that moment Liam appeared, having heard voices. On seeing Abby asleep, he promptly snuggled up on the other side of his mother and followed suit. As Laura looked down at them, so trusting, so precious, she knew that whatever lay ahead she could never do anything that wasn’t in their best interests.
After a while her own eyelids began to droop and she succumbed to sleep herself.
It was another day, another dawn, when Jon came back from what should have been a short absence, and when he checked Abby’s bed and found it empty he knew where to look.
None of the three of them had moved. Laura and the children were still asleep on the sofa. She still had an arm around each of them, and as he took in the sight he thought it was the loveliest he’d ever seen. All the chaos of the mess that he and his mother had just coped with was as nothing if he could come home to this.
The first thing he’d done when he’d seen the state of his mother’s kitchen had been to paddle through the water to turn off the stop tap. Then had followed a phone call to the emergency services employed by the firm she was insured with to get the leak repaired, and while they’d waited for their arrival he’d begun the mopping up process.
His mother had been remarkably calm while it had all been going on, which was always her way of dealing with worrying matters, and hours later when it had been sorted she’d refused his offer to come back to the apartment with him while it all dried out, telling him that she would be fine and that the fan heaters she’d switched on in the kitchen would soon dry everything up and that he ought to be getting back to Laura and the children.
‘All right,’ he’d agreed, ‘but I shall be round first thing in the morning to make sure you are all right.’
She’d smiled and pointed to the breaking dawn. ‘It is first thing in the morning now, my dear. Go home to those you love, and Jon, thank you for being your usual caring self. One day Laura will know herself to be a lucky woman.’
He’d sighed. ‘I wish I had your confidence, Mother.’
And now he was back, and in front of him was a reminder that it was he who was the lucky one. He hesitated over whether to wake her up so that she could ease herself off the sofa to stretch her cramped limbs without disturbing the children, but couldn’t bear to break up the moment and went to make himself a pot of tea and some toast.
He was seated across from them having the first food he’d had in hours when Laura opened her eyes and gazed across at him, startled. Then feeling the weight on her arms, she looked down at the children and began to slide carefully from under them. When she was upright, still in the dress she’d worn for Roger’s cocktail party, she flexed her arms slowly and he said softly, ‘How did that come about?’
‘Abby came looking for you, and wanted to stay with me until you came home, and Liam heard us talking. Need I say more? But tell me, what’s the situation at your mother’s?’
‘It’s been a long, wet night,’ he told her wryly, noting that she had been quick to change the subject. ‘But it’s sorted and Mum’s place is drying out.’
‘Good. Have you got time for a nap?’
He shook his head. ‘It isn’t worth it. It will soon be time for the surgery and we know what Monday mornings are like, don’t we? But Laura, before we go any further, thanks for being there for Abby. I don’t know what I would do without you.’
For a moment he thought he saw hurt in her eyes, but her voice was casual enough as she said, ‘You would manage, Jon. You did before.’
That was before you came back to turn my world upside down, he wanted to tell her, but didn’t, because a small voice was asking from the sofa if it was breakfast time.
While Jon was getting showered and changed after the night’s events, Laura gave the children their breakfast and then went to get ready for the day ahead herself, wondering as she did so if he remembered those moments behind Avril’s aspidistra.
If he had he wasn’t saying anything and she thought that this was how it was going to be. Their physical need of each other flaring up and then dying down because the attraction between them wasn’t equal.
But Monday mornings brought with them other matters to see to besides a busy surgery, like sorting out dinner money and making sure that Abby and Liam had got their swimming costumes and towels. It was the morning when their respective classes went to the baths. By the time that was done Jon was ready to go down to the surgery, and she was preparing to walk the children to school. Another day in their lives was underway.
In the middle of the morning Laura found herself facing George Lacey and she observed him in surprise.
‘I know what you’re thinking,’ he said, noting her expression. ‘You’re wondering why I’m not consulting Jon. I’ve been holding back from coming and then, when I do make up my mind, he’s booked up for the rest of the week.’
‘So what’s the problem?’ she asked with a smile for the kindly old man.
‘I’m having trouble swallowing. Can’t get the food down. It’s as if there’s something blocking my throat.’
‘Let’s have a look then, George,’ she said, and seconds later told him, ‘I’m going to make an appointment for you to see someone. There is something there. It’s difficult to tell how big it is as I can only see so far down your throat. I will tell the hospital it is urgent, and in the meantime keep to nourishing liquids as much as you can. If it gets any worse, get back to us straight away.’
‘Don’t worry, I will,’ he told her. ‘I like my food. Eating is one of the few pleasures left for folk of my age.’
When he’d gone she thought that eating might be denied him for quite some time if it was a tumour in his throat. She had a feeling that was what it might be and if it was, some speedy surgery would be required before the passage was blocked completely.
George had been great that night on the riverbank and she’d smiled afterwards at the way he’d remembered Jon and herself scrumping his apples.
He’d looked like a hale and hearty eighty-year-old then, and it had been clear to see that he had been glad of the company.
But today he didn’t look anywhere near so well and she knew that Jon would be concerned about him when he knew why he’d come to the surgery. When she’d rung the hospital and asked for an urgent appointment for him, Laura went into Reception to find another patient’s records that she was chasing up an appointment for, and found Kelvin from the fish and chip shop coming out from a consultation with Tim.
‘Hi, there,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a rash on my hands and face. The doc says it’s impetigo and very catching, which means I can’t work in the shop until it clears up. My wife will have to take my place and Donna has enough on her hands just looking after my mother, and I won’t be able to help with that either. I’m going to have to keep away from both of them. Dr Gosforth’s given me some antibiotic ointment and says it should clear up in a week or so.’
‘So how about a carer for your mother while you have this problem?’ she suggested.
‘Yeah. Dr Gosforth says he will get onto
Social Services to see if they can help.’ He gave a rueful smile. ‘These are the times when it isn’t a bundle of laughs, being in business. But enough of me. What about you, Laura? Are you back with us permanently?’
‘I’m not sure,’ she amazed herself by saying, and thought suddenly that maybe she would be better away from Jon completely as she’d been before, instead of pining all the time for what wasn’t there.
She had her back to the door of his room and hadn’t heard it open until his voice said from behind her, ‘So, aren’t we frying today, Kelvin?’
‘’Fraid not,’ their schoolfriend of long ago said wryly. ‘Laura has the details. I’m off to the chemist.’
Had Jon heard what she’d said about not being sure what her plans were, she wondered wretchedly? He’d gone back in and closed his door without making any comment, so she had no way of telling.
It had been said without thought in a moment of low-spiritedness and now she was regretting it. There was no way she would take Liam away from Abby. The two of them were inseparable.
Behind the closed door Jon was rigid with dismay. Surely Laura wasn’t thinking of disappearing again. Why, for heaven’s sake? Abby would be heartbroken if she did…so would Liam…and so would he.
The vision of her asleep with the children curled up close came back to taunt him. It had been a moment of pure joy to see them. So why had she told Kelvin that she wasn’t sure if she was going to stay? Whatever happened, he wasn’t going to let her leave him again. Even if he and Abby had to go and live in Cornwall.
It wasn’t as if they had nothing else in common other than the children. They sparked off tenderness and desire in each other, but it was always a fleeting thing.
She broke into his deliberations by coming in to tell him about George, and when she’d explained what the problem was he frowned. Like herself, he sensed something serious and asked if she’d made him an appointment to be seen at the hospital as soon as possible.
‘Yes, of course,’ she told him, not meeting his glance and went back to her patients.
Laura was on edge as she prepared the evening meal after she’d picked the children up from school. Had Jon heard what she’d said to Kelvin, she wondered, and told herself she would have a better idea when he came up to join her and the children at the end of the day.
When he came upstairs he appeared to be his normal self on the face of it and she gave a sigh of relief, but he didn’t come across for his usual bedtime drink later and after waiting for what seemed like an eternity she went to bed with the uneasy feeling that he had heard what she’d said and was keeping silent until he’d decided what to do.
It was the morning of Roger and Monique’s wedding, and at the other extreme the day that old George was due to be operated on for cancer of the throat, and as they dressed for the big event it didn’t stop Laura and Jon’s thoughts going to where he was facing a life-and-death operation.
October had arrived, with cooler mornings and darker evenings. Yet the sun was shining in a bright blue sky as the four of them walked to the old village church.
When Laura had appeared before them in the blue dress and the big hat it had been Abby who’d told her how lovely she looked. Jon had turned away to stop himself from taking her into his arms and kissing away her doubts and uncertainties. He had too many of his own to lay to rest before he felt equipped to do that.
He hadn’t said anything about having overheard her talking to Kelvin, and Laura hadn’t mentioned it in case she was wrong and it made life even more complicated. On his part he would be keeping a keen lookout for any signs of her making plans to leave.
They were friendly enough in front of the children, but when Liam and Abby weren’t there the atmosphere was strained and she wondered how much longer she could bear the uncertainty of not knowing if he’d heard her.
He still wasn’t joining her for that last drink of the day which had been one of their most companionable times, but instead of asking him why she kept hoping that there was another reason less upsetting that would soon be revealed.
When they arrived at the church Jon went to sit in a front pew with Roger, and the wedding ring was passed over into his keeping with a nervous smile from the bridegroom.
Laura and the children sat just behind them and as the place filled up with Monique’s relatives and almost everyone from the village, she thought that if she didn’t belong to Jon she did at least belong to this community, and to think of leaving it again was lunacy.
She had only realised how much she’d missed Heathermere and its charismatic GP when she came back, and no matter what happened in the future between Jon and herself, she was there to stay. What she’d said to Kelvin had been said in a moment of despondency and if she could have taken the words back she would have done.
As she looked around her Laura saw Avril Jameson sitting regally in the front pew dressed in burgundy brocade, and she gave a gracious nod.
The bride was wearing a wedding gown that had a touch of Paris in its style and design, and as Roger turned to watch her walk up the aisle towards him Laura hoped that the petite Frenchwoman would be happy in the Cheshire village that her husband was bringing her to.
As they made their wedding vows before the altar, Laura’s glance was fixed on Jon, standing just behind the bridegroom, and she wondered what was in his mind as the ceremony continued in the old church where they’d both been christened.
Would they ever stand in front of the vicar to be bound together in matrimony? she thought achingly, and felt tears prick. As she lifted her hand to brush them away Abby said in a loud whisper, ‘Why are you crying, Laura?’
‘I’m just happy for Roger and Monique,’ she snuffled, praying that Jon hadn’t heard what his daughter had said.
It was a vain hope. He turned quickly and on seeing the tears on her lashes groaned inwardly. Were they because Laura was remembering her wedding day to Freddie? he wondered. She only mentioned him rarely but he got the impression that she’d been happy enough with him.
By the time the ceremony was over and the wedding party was posing for photographs outside the church, the tears had gone and Laura was smiling when the photographer shot the four of them together.
It would be something to remember her and Liam by if she decided to go back to where she’d come from, Jon was thinking. But he was not going to let that happen. If she made any moves in that direction Laura was going to have to accept that he and Abby were going with her, whether she wanted them to or not.
Apart from those few melancholy moments in the church it was a happy day for all concerned, with a reception at The Brambles, a hotel on the outskirts of the village, and in the evening further celebrations at the hall, where a buffet had been laid on.
All in all the occasion had been organised in accordance with what the lady of the manor saw as fitting for their status in the village, and Avril had actually been smiling at the assembled company.
At the evening reception there was dancing, led by Roger and Monique, and then the rest of the guests joined them on the dance floor. Laura was smiling at Abby and Liam trying to cope with the intricacies of a wedding waltz when Jon appeared in front of her.
His duties as best man had kept him occupied so far but now he was taking her hand in his, raising her from her seat and saying, ‘We’ve never danced together before, have we, Laura? It will be a first.’
As their steps matched and he held her close, he said, ‘So why were you crying? Was it for Freddie?’
‘No,’ she said in a low voice.
‘So why then? Because of us?’
She nodded and he groaned.
‘I’m sorry you are upset,’ he said regretfully. ‘But it is just that every time I think we are making up for all the wasted years, something happens to take the ground from under my feet.
‘Apart from that lovely lad of yours over there, trying to steer my daughter around the room, you haven’t had much joy in your life over the past few years and I
do so want to make up for that, Laura…if only you’ll let me. We were great together once, weren’t we?’
‘Yes, we were, but circumstances…’
He sighed. ‘We’ve been over all that a thousand times. We need to move on and that is what concerns me.’
‘How?’
‘You doing another disappearing act on me. Is that how you are planning to move on?’
‘No, of course not,’ she said quickly. ‘I’ve kept wondering if you heard me that day. It was said in a downbeat moment. I have no intention of doing any such thing. For the children’s sake, if for no other reason. They are like brother and sister.’
But we aren’t like husband and wife, he thought as the moment lost some of its sparkle, but at least they’d cleared the air and he was grateful for that. He’d had enough of long silences and false heartiness in front of the children ever since he’d heard her say she might not be staying. He wanted Laura on any terms other than that, and if this was as far as they were going to progress he would accept it…for now.
CHAPTER NINE
THE children were asleep. Abby was still in the dress she’d worn for the wedding. She hadn’t wanted to take it off, and Liam who’d nodded off while he’d been getting undressed, was half in and half out of his pyjamas.
The blue hat and dress had been put away in the wardrobe and Laura was waiting to see if Jon was going to do what he used to do and join her for a bedtime drink.
Leaving the catch off her door she waited, but he didn’t appear. She was on the point of going to bed, having decided that she’d read too much into their conversation at the wedding reception, when he tapped on the door and asked in a low voice if she was still up.
He looked tense and said immediately, ‘George asked me before he went into hospital if he could name me as next of kin as he has no one. Needless to say, I said yes, and they’ve just been on to say that he had a cardiac arrest in the middle of the operation. He’s seriously ill and could go any time.’
In that moment they weren’t doctors first and foremost. The old man was a friend as well as a patient.
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