From the way Jen’s face brightens, I’ve hit another of her sweet spots. ‘We have our scrubs specially made up here in the village.’ She smooths down her own tunic. ‘Mine’s Fairyland.’
‘So it is.’ More fool me for thinking she was in operating-theatre pink earlier. Now I’m close up I can see it’s covered in delicate woodland flowers and tiny winged creatures.
‘Tanya’s got it in blue. She’s coming now with the drinks.’
From the way Nell and Diesel are both looking up three chairs along, they’ve heard the clink of china way before the trolley trundles into the room.
‘Tea’s up!’ Tanya grins around as she dips and pulls on the brake. ‘And there’s a visitor for you, Walter.’
Talk about being caught off-guard. It’s the total wrong place for Ross to turn up, and the total wrong time. But as I look up and see his figure by the tea trolley, that’s not the worst of it. Because the way he’s standing behind the nurse in a pale blue uniform is like an exact recreation of the scene twelve years ago, the day he flew in from America and took me by surprise at the hospital. As my insides collapse to nothing, the breath goes out of my lungs, and as my head spins the words are echoing in my ears.
‘But I told you I could do this by myself.’
‘I’m here because I want to support you.’
‘You’re way too late.’ As if he could just switch on the caring, months down the line. And there I was,still stunned by how ferocious the labour had been. ‘There isn’t going to be a baby after all.’
As for now, I don’t know what to do first: throw up, or slide down on the floor. But then as the voices in my head quieten I catch sight of Ross’s wide-eyed blinking. The way he’s blowing out his cheeks, I reckon I might have the edge in the surprise stakes this time round. And that thought acts like a blast of rescue remedy.
As my sagging spine stiffens, I swallow hard, and try to sound super-bright. ‘Ross, you’re visiting Walter! You must be here to say goodbye?’
Ross’s jaw is still hanging open, but Walter’s straight in there.
‘I’m not dying that quick, Mrs Cakeface.’
I’m cursing silently at how wrong that went. ‘I’m talking about Ross leaving, not you, Walter.’
Ross’s eyes disappear into his head, but at least he’s got his jaw into gear. ‘And the bad news is, I’ll be around for a while longer.’ He pulls in a breath as he turns away. ‘Walter, you’re in the lounge, how about taking your hat off?’
Walter lets out a loud laugh. ‘You know my motto, lad. Cap on at all times – unless I’m getting my leg over!’
Nell’s spluttering into her hand. ‘Walter, what are you like?’
Walter grins at her. ‘Being in here gets my hopes up on an hourly basis.’
Nell’s heading him off. ‘Cressy’s the one who made the brownies Ross brought you, Walter. She was wondering if you liked them. Seeing she’s here, why don’t you tell her yourself?’
With Walter as he is, I’m bracing myself for his reply.
‘Baking that tasty? I’d say you need to put a ring on it, pronto, Ross.’
Now I’ve heard it all. But it was worth it, if only to see the look of horror on Ross’s face. As for me, seeing there are no available holes to crawl into, the only option is to play this for laughs.
I grin at Nell. ‘And to think I thought a bad hair day was the worst it could get.’
Nell laughs. ‘He’ll have to catch her first, Walter. Cressy’s got very high standards, she won’t say “yes” to just anyone.’ She winks at Ross. ‘Not even the hottest vet in St Aidan.’
It’s as if her wink makes Diesel notice Ross for the first time. His nose quivers and his ears prick up, then he’s leaping to his feet, claws scratching on the polished pine floorboards. Two huge bounds later, he crashes past the tea trolley and comes to a halt with a front paw on each of Ross’s shoulders.
Nell sighs as she walks across to Jen and me. ‘Something tells me that’s the end of our calm therapy-dog for today. Poor Diesel, he’s still getting used to Charlie being away.’
I’m feeling so guilty for hoping he’d do this. I’m also truly grateful he’s saved me from a long afternoon sitting in the same room as Ross. It’s out before I know what I’m saying. ‘We’ll come back and do bun icing later in the week.’
Jen’s straight back. ‘Thursday would be lovely.’
I just hope that’s enough to keep them happy, because that’s definitely the most I can offer. And I’ll have to have a word with Nell to make sure Ross is at the other end of Cornwall that day.
6
