‘Come in.’ He almost leapt in to ask whether this was about Marianne, but he held off.
‘I’m here to collect an iPad. Does that make sense?’
‘Oh, yes, I’ll go grab it.’ It was in the kitchen with its charger and he brought it through to Bess. ‘I got her a reconditioned one; her phone is basic rather than a smartphone so this will be good for her. She insists on paying for it but please remind her there’s no rush.’
‘She’ll want to pay for it; it gives her a sense of achievement.’
He smiled. ‘I like that she tells you things.’
‘She’s been really good to talk to about my own problems.’
‘I’m glad.’
‘You are?’
‘Of course. And being at your place has been good for her.’ He didn’t miss the relief on her face. ‘I mean it.’
‘She’s working very hard, picking up extra shifts.’
‘She’s a new woman.’ He put a finger against his own forehead. ‘You’ve got a bit of dirt right here.’ He hadn’t noticed it until she hooked her hair off her face and behind her ear.
She swiped at it with her hand, rubbed until he let her know it had all gone. ‘Thought I’d got it all. I’ve been helping a couple of the elderly residents on my street, dragging Christmas trees outside and I caught my hair in the branches more than once.’
He reached out and pulled another pine needle from her tumble of curls, almost hoping he’d see another and another. ‘Here.’ He handed her the iPad. ‘Thanks for collecting it.’ He was glad to see her. Any time.
‘I needed the walk. I’m no longer a member of the gym on account of saving money so it’s pounding the pavements for me from now on.’ She registered him standing there, the way he’d gone out to the kitchen. ‘You’re walking without a stick.’
‘Only short distances for now. My physio just left and I’m progressing well.’ He gestured to the lounge. ‘Can you stay a while? I can make us a coffee?’
‘I can’t today, got a few chores to do and then I’m on the late shift. And then tomorrow, it’s the Christmas tree collection day so all hands on deck.’
Even from the confines of his hallway, they didn’t miss the sound of a helicopter flying overhead. ‘You’re wondering who that is and where they’re going?’ he said.
‘Don’t you do the same when you see or hear a fire engine?’
‘Guilty. I think it’s in our nature, isn’t it, to want to leap in and help? And on the hardest of jobs, when we achieve an unexpected positive outcome, that’s the best feeling ever.’ He was losing himself in his own thoughts, his own passions now.
‘I’m sorry if you thought I was being nosy, by the way, when I mentioned Norm’s comment about your doctor’s visit.’
He wished they were having this conversation over coffee, that she could hang around. ‘Please don’t apologise. There’s no need.’ And it was nice that she cared.
‘You seem positive today, though.’
‘I am, mostly. I really want to get back to work but I’m in a good headspace. And if I’m not going to go back to climbing ladders, I’ll have to think of something else.’
‘Good for you.’
‘What would you do? If you couldn’t be a critical care paramedic?’
She thought about it. ‘Bitch, moan, scream.’
That had him chuckling. ‘Sounds like me.’
‘I’d have to think of something else that involved helping people. I’d need the interaction, even if I couldn’t quite do the same job. I’d miss it too much, I think. What about you? Is there anything else you’d think about doing?’
‘I’ve no idea what else is out there. I’m going to have to consider my options in the next month or so, as I get more mobile. I can already see me going stir crazy without a focus.’
Although he could focus on her. That might make the time more bearable.
