Peg pulled the door a little wider. ‘Would you like to come in?’ Something must be wrong, because the perfectly turned out, immaculately dressed woman Peg had met after the carol service looked nothing like the version in front of her now. ‘Has something happened?’
‘It’s Henry,’ blurted Sofia, pulling a phone from her coat pocket and jabbing at the screen. She seemed a little relieved by what she saw, or perhaps didn’t see. ‘There’s been an accident and he…are you and he…? Perhaps you just ought to come with me.’
Peg frowned, her mouth working as she tried to fathom what Sofia was struggling to tell her. ‘Okay, so you’re talking about Henry…’ She trailed off, realising she didn’t even know his last name. ‘Your father-in-law?’
Sofia nodded.
‘What’s happened?’
Sofia’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘They had an awful row, and then…It was my fault. I shouldn’t have shouted at him, but he flew out the door and we didn’t even think anything of it at first.Adam said he was probably just in the front garden, or walking up and down the street and we should leave him to cool off. Adam was furious as well and…It was only when half an hour had gone past that we realised Henry’s car wasn’t there.’ Sofia stared at her, her eyes wide, searching for answers she wasn’t sure Peg had. ‘He doesn’t know anyone else who lives out this way, so he must have been on his way here. And he’s been asking for you, too. He was in so much pain, and Adam thought it might help if he saw you. He didn’t know if you…well, if you and Henry…’
The penny dropped with a dull clank in the pit of Peg’s stomach. ‘No, I…we hardly know one another but, where is he?’ She could hear the pitch of her own voice begin to rise. Why would Henry be asking for her? Why would he have been coming to see her? Today of all days. It didn’t make any sense. ‘Tell me what’s happened.’
‘We don’t know,’ said Sofia. ‘He hit a tree but, other than that, we’ve no idea. The police didn’t think anyone else was involved, but his car’s a wreck and—’ She broke off, looking as if she were about to cry. ‘It’s Christmas Day, he can’t die today. Adam would never…’
Suddenly aware they were still standing on the doorstep, Peg held out her arms and pulled Sofia into the warmth of her kitchen, hugging her tight. She wanted to tell her it would all be okay, but she couldn’t. And she wouldn’t. Everyone had told her that about Julian, and she’d said the words to herself like a mantra, over and over – he’ll be okay, it’ll be okay – but he hadn’t and it wasn’t.
Her own fear sparked her into action. ‘Where is he, Sofia? Which hospital?’ She pulled off her slippers and began rooting for her shoes. Why could she never find them when— She thrust her feet into them and snatched up her phone from the table.‘Just give me a minute,’ she said. ‘I need to sort a couple of things.’
Sofia nodded. ‘I’ll wait outside.’
Moments later, Peg joined her, looking anxiously at her ashen face and the silent tears sliding down her cheeks.
‘My car’s this way,’ said Sofia. ‘I didn’t know where you lived.’
Peg took one look at the monstrous size of the vehicle by the kerb and steered them towards her own little hatchback which sat on the gravel to one side of her cottage.
‘I’ll drive,’ she said. ‘There’s no way you should be behind a wheel, and I’m not getting in that thing. Just tell me where we need to go.’
‘He’s in Cheltenham, the hospital by the?—’
‘I know it,’ said Peg as she started the engine. She knew it only too well. Seconds later, they were on their way.
Peg didn’t know what to say. Clearly, Adam had thought there was more to her relationship with Henry than there was, but what would have given him that idea? Not unless Henry had said…It had been lovely bumping into him again after the carol service yesterday evening and, had he been on his own, it’s quite possible she would have invited him in, the thought was certainly there, but…Thankfully, Sofia kept her eyes glued to her phone for most of the journey and Peg didn’t need to talk much other than to ask questions about what might be happening at the hospital.
Thankfully time was on their side. Visiting hours didn’t start until the afternoon, and with no clinics running today, the car park was mercifully quiet. She had driven round and round it on so many occasions in the past, panic mounting as the minutes ticked by and she was no closer to finding a space. No closer to seeing Julian. She had wanted to shout at people, to accuse them of not understanding. Didn’t they realise how critical time was for her? Surely someone would have given her a space ifthey knew her situation, allowed her to park anywhere under the circumstances. But then she knew, deep down, that so many other people there were just like her, feeling every second slipping away from them, terrified that they would be too late. She prayed for Sofia’s sake, for Adam’s sake, that today would not be that day.
The accident and emergency department was always busy. It made no difference that a tinselled tree stood in the corner of the waiting room, or that the television hanging on a wall showed a choir singing mute carols, the words running in a stream across the bottom of the picture. It was less busy than when she had last seen it, however, and for that she was grateful. Sofia hurried to speak to a receptionist and, within moments, they were escorted down a long corridor and shown into another. A single figure was sitting in the middle of a row of seats. Adam jumped up as soon as he saw them.
It was awkward. Peg didn’t know these people. She knewofthem, but that wasn’t the same thing, and what little she did know wasn’t particularly complimentary. But it was Christmas, a time when bad things should never happen, so she hugged Adam as he came towards her and mumbled that she was sorry.
He nodded. ‘Thank you for coming. I’ve been told to wait here,’ he said. ‘I don’t really know what’s happening. One of the nurses said something about theatre but there’s someone else with Dad just now.’ He pointed to a curtained area some distance away. ‘He’s through there.’
Sofia clutched at his hand and sat down beside him. ‘That’s good then,’ she said. ‘If he’s got someone with him. It means they’re doing something.’ She nodded several times, studying her husband’s face to see that he agreed with her.
Peg took a seat, smiling a little. ‘I’m not sure why I’m here,’ she whispered, her stomach tight with anxiety. ‘I’m not sure what I can do.’
Adam’s face looked pinched and his hair stuck up on one side as if he’d been repeatedly running his hand through it. ‘Because Dad was saying your name over and over,’ he replied, his voice scratchy. ‘He couldn’t breathe, and he was in so much pain. Everything has already gone wrong today. If he…’ He swallowed. ‘If he dies, I didn’t want it to be without seeing you first. In case it matters.’
Peg nodded. ‘Okay,’ she murmured. Adam would expect her to reassure him, to say how certain she was that his dad would pull through, but she’d made a bargain with herself never to promise that again. It wasn’t a promise anyone could keep.
The curtain twitched open and two people appeared – a nurse and another man in normal clothes, their heads bent together as they looked at a clipboard the nurse held in his hands. Walking towards them, the nurse looked up and smiled.
‘Are you Peg?’ he asked.
Heart in her mouth, Peg nodded.
The other person smiled now, his gaze taking in all three of them. He held out his hand. ‘I’m Mr Hemmingway, consultant thoracic surgeon. And you are?’
