Lavender raised her eyebrows. ‘Spoiled, eh? A kept woman?’
‘Quite the opposite, really. That’s one thing I can say about her – she’s never asked Dad to keep her, but he always wants to. What I mean is, she’s determined and she has a way of making things happen that everyone else would think impossible. I don’t know how she’ll pull it together, but I wouldn’t bet against her making this Valentine’s wedding happen.’
Simon and Shabana halted their conversation and looked expectantly at Zoe.
‘Sorry to dash off,’ she said. ‘My dad was on the phone… A bit of family stuff, you know, but it’s all good. I’ll tell you about it when we have more time.’
Seemingly satisfied, Simon got up. ‘I have to go back to my room anyway. I’ve got some blood results to go through before the afternoon session begins.’ He gave Zoe a pointed look. ‘If you need anything at all, you know where I am. Don’t hesitate to come and see me.’
Zoe offered a smile every bit as grateful as she felt. When she’d first arrived, she’d felt so lucky to have Simon and Fliss as the resident GPs, both very different but both equally welcoming and considerate. Now Fliss had retired and Emilia was in her place. A far more reserved presence but just as kind. Simply knowing she could go to any of them with a problem was enough to make things automatically better.
‘So, how do you really feel about it?’ Lavender asked as Simon left.
Zoe turned to her. ‘About what? My dad? Fine.’
‘That’s not what your face is telling me.’
‘It’s just…’ Zoe noticed Shabana looking awkward. She realised their new locum nurse barely knew them and perhaps felt this was a personal conversation she shouldn’t be privy to. Zoe would have felt the same in her place. And so she forced a bright smile. ‘It’s lovely news. My dad is getting married,’ she added as she turned directly to address Shabana. ‘His partner is pregnant and they’re making everything official.’
‘That’s nice,’ Shabana said, and now Zoe noticed a change. A sort of…she could only describe it as a look of longing. ‘How far along is she?’
‘Do you know,’ Zoe said with some bemusement, ‘I haven’t a clue! Me of all people –you’d have thought it would be the first question I asked! But the news took me by surprise, and I totally forgot. She can’t be too far along because she wants to have the wedding before she starts to show.’
‘Have you got kids?’ Lavender asked Shabana.
The nurse shook her head, and her shoulders seemed to slump. ‘Not yet. Not for the want of trying, but…’
‘You lost your baby, didn’t you?’ Lavender turned to Zoe.
‘Oh, I haven’t lost one,’ Shabana said. ‘We just haven’t had much luck conceiving yet. We’re going to try IVF. But…’ she added, ‘I’m sorry to hear about your loss, Zoe.’
‘Thanks, I appreciate that. It’s hard and soul-destroying, trying to get pregnant and failing, isn’t it?’ Zoe said gently. ‘Especially when it feels as if everyone around you is having babies.’
‘Especially when it’s all we can think about,’ Shabana said. ‘Our lives seem to revolve around it these days. Sorry…’ She shook herself. ‘I’m sure you don’t want to hear about all that. Here I am, turning up the first day and burdening you with all my troubles.’
‘We asked,’ Zoe said. ‘And it’s kind of what we do around here anyway – support one another. If that’s what’s needed. Equally, if you want us all to butt out, all you have to do is say.’
‘That’s very kind.’ She put the lid on her lunch box and looked up at Lavender. ‘Could you show me where the supplies are kept? I need some things for the afternoon clinic.’
‘When lunch is over, I’ll be glad to,’ Lavender said – rather primly in Zoe’s opinion. ‘We take the full hour here.’
That wasn’t true either, clearly. Simon had already gone back to work, and Emilia hadn’t even joined them. But Zoe knew better than to point any of that out, especially to Lavender.
‘Oh…’ Shabana said. ‘I’ve finished my lunch, and I think, as it’s my first day, I’d like to get myself set up. I’m not quite sure what’s what yet, you see.’
Zoe pushed her plate away. ‘I’m finished here too, and I could do with starting back early myself. I’ve got some home visits to make this afternoon, and I think they’re going to be time-consuming. I’ll wash my plate up and come through with you, Shabana.’ She turned to catch a fleeting look of reproach on Lavender’s face. Lunchtime really was becoming a war zone, and it was a conflict the surgery could do without. ‘I’ll clear up today, Lavender. And don’t worry about rushing your lunch – I can pop back and do it before I go out on my house calls.’
‘I’ve got it,’ Lavender said heavily. She let her own cutlery fall onto her uncleared plate. ‘I’ll do it before I open up. No point in sitting here on my Jack Jones, is there?’
Afternoon visits had gone without a hitch until the final one. Lara, who was pregnant with her second child, had requested an extra consultation with Zoe, on top of her normal scheduled visits, with some vague problems. Zoe had long suspected that Lara’s biggest battles with her pregnancy were mental ratherthan physical. It meant that while Zoe had no particular worries about her health, she was extremely watchful of her mood and only too glad to be called over if Lara felt she was struggling – better that than suffer in silence as far as Zoe was concerned.
Today was no different in that Zoe suspected Lara just wanted to get things off her chest, and so she was mildly surprised to arrive there and receive no answer when she knocked on the door.
There was no car in Lara’s driveway either, and everywhere seemed to be in darkness when Zoe went around to look in the windows. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t be so persistent, but in the circumstances, she felt justified in being nosier than usual.
Puzzled, she got out her phone and tried to call Lara, but it rang off. She checked her schedule to make sure she had the right day then rang back to leave a brief message before going to sit in her car for a few minutes to wait. Perhaps Lara had been forced to pop out.
While she waited, she decided to check some emails and do what general admin she could do on her phone. But she was quickly distracted by her new screensaver – a photo of a garden outside a stone farmhouse, deep in snow, Alex and Billie standing next to a newly built snowman. The windows of the house had candles burning in them, and from branches heavy with more snow hung shining Christmas baubles.
