The other thing that bothered her was that she could always tell when he was speaking to Virginia because he’d become secretive about it. He’d disappear into another room, or outside, or he’d be cagey about who was on the phone when asked. Zoe wanted to believe they were past suspicion, and Alex had certainly been attentive enough since she’d called him out. It was far more likely that he simply hadn’t wanted to draw attention to something that had been the cause of so much strife between them, but, much as she hated it, she had lingering doubts, and his behaviour wasn’t helping.
The letter from her consultant and the letter to Alex, telling him that the legal case against him had been dropped, arrived on the same morning. Zoe opened hers first, having noted the NHS logo on the envelope and already guessed what was inside.
‘That’s great news,’ he said as he tore open the one addressed to him. ‘I’ll make sure I have time to come with you…if that’s all right, I mean. If you’d rather go on your own…’
His sentence tailed off as he became engrossed in his own letter, and then he broke into a broad smile.
‘What is it?’ Zoe asked.
He looked up at her, waving the letter in the air. ‘They’ve dropped the case! I’m not getting sued! The claimant has decided to withdraw, it says here…I don’t know what V’s friend did, but I could bloody kiss him!’
‘That’s amazing!’ Zoe said. ‘You can relax now, right? They won’t come back and try again at any point?’
He was suddenly troubled. ‘I don’t know. Do you think they can?’
‘Maybe you should ask Virginia.’
‘I will,’ he said but made no move to get his phone from where he’d left it lying on the table.
‘I don’t mind if you want to do it now,’ Zoe said. ‘If it will put you at ease.’
‘I’ll do it later,’ he said. ‘I am at ease…’ He looked at the letter again. ‘This is the news I was dreaming of. I can finally move on without this cloud hanging over me.’ He looked up to see her smiling. ‘Over us, I mean. Because we’re a team, aren’t we?’
‘I hope so. Because if we’re not, I’m going to stop cleaning those pods with you.’
He chuckled as he folded up the letter and put it back into the envelope. ‘It’s a sign. Things are looking up again. When did you say your appointment was?’
‘I didn’t. It’s in July.’
‘July? But that’s ages!’
‘That’s the NHS,’ Zoe said mildly as she folded her own letter up.
He shook his head. ‘We can’t wait that long.’
‘We can’t do much else. I have to get in line, like everyone else.’
‘But you work for them!’
‘It doesn’t make any difference. And besides, I don’t work for this consultant or at this hospital. It’s different asking Simon for a cheeky consultation, but I don’t get any perks like that anywhere else.’
‘We’ll pay then.’
‘We’ve been over this,’ she said with patience she didn’t have. ‘Much as I love that you’re willing to spend all your money on this, I don’t want you to. We need what we have for important things.’
‘This is important. And now that we don’t have legal fees hanging over us, we’ll have some spare.’
‘No,’ Zoe said. ‘No we don’t. I’m happy to rely on the health service I work for just like those I look after. In fact, I’d rather.’
‘You can be so stubborn sometimes. Nobody is going to think badly of you if you hack the system from time to time.’
‘I never said they would. It doesn’t change the way I feel about it.’
He let out a sigh, and she could see new tension in his shoulders as he went to his office with his own letter. They were better, but Zoe realised they weren’t out of the woods yet.
In the end, Billie had decided against the alpaca trek. Zoe could tell she’d been tempted, but given her recent mental health struggles, it was clear she’d come to the conclusion that she wasn’t quite ready for socialising with a load of strangers. In fact, socialising with strangers had never really been one of Billie’s strong suits, though she’d stated her intention to start making the effort so she could help with the camping pods once Louisa was a little older and a little less needy. But this morning was far too soon, and Zoe had to respect that, even if she was disappointed that she wouldn’t have Billie’s company.
She’d have Victor, though, and his alpaca, and the forecast had been for a beautiful morning, so she was sure she’d have a lovely time regardless. In fact, it was probably just what she needed to alleviate some of the stress and general irritation she’d been plagued by over recent weeks, and it would be good to get out of the house and create some distance for respite. Zoe understood that Alex had been through a lot, but she’d found his gloom draining to live with all the same, especially as she had enough worries of her own.
