Grumpy Will was in danger of making an appearance.
‘I would never have bothered my son with this. And you shouldn’t have either.’
Grace held her head high.
‘He’s come all this way now. You’re not going to turn him away, are you?’
Will shook his head in mock despair and turned away. But Grace had seen the glimmer of a smile.
‘Are you?’
‘Grace, you go too far sometimes.’
She decided to leave while she was on a roll and headed for reception. Will’s son was easy to spot. He had the same tall frame, but his hair was a dark blond.
‘Jack!’
He held out his hand.
‘Hi, you must be Grace.’
He had a nice firm grip, like his father. And big strong hands. Well, not quite like his father… but that way madness lay.
‘Grace?’
‘Sorry, yes, that’s me.’
She took him to one side and spoke quietly.
‘Can you just go along with whatever I say to reception, please. I’ll explain later.’
‘Okaay.’
Grace approached the desk.
‘This is Will Lancing’s son, my nephew. I’m taking him in to see Will, if you could give him a visitor’s badge.’
‘Certainly.’
Jack’s face was a picture. But he kept his cool. Definitely his father’s son. Grace explained in the lift, which elicited a smile. She left him at the door to Will’s room. Jack planned to stay in Athens for the weekend, and the two of them needed to have bonding time without her.
‘Can you please tell your father I’ll be back in tomorrow? We can liaise on timings, so we don’t both go in at once.’
Jack leant in to give her a peck on the cheek.
‘Of course, auntie.’
Yes, those two would get on very well, thought Grace, however long it had been since they’d seen each other.
Will looked miles better when she saw him the next afternoon, and even healthier the one after that. The colour had come back into his cheeks, and the hospital gown had been replaced with a navy T-shirt and shorts, which she presumed his son had sorted out for him. Grace herself had caved in and bought another T-shirt from the hotel reception, green this time, and a pack of extremely fancy lace pants that were practically see-through– the only underwear for sale. They were a bit of a cliché, and she wondered if the ordering had been done by a man.
When Grace reached Will’s room, the same nurse had his T-shirt halfway up his chest and was doing something with his dressing. Surely she had other patients to see? But at least Will’s smile held no trace of the pain of the first day. He beckoned her in.
‘Sis, welcome. Your nephew has just left to go back to England. He was sorry to miss you.’
She was getting a bit sick of this one. The nurse gave Will a final sunny smile and closed the door behind her. Grace took the seat next to his bed and he reached for her hand.
‘Seriously, though, I want to thank you again for contacting Jack. It could have backfired spectacularly.’
