‘I guess. Mom understands my reasons and of course I’ll visit.’
‘That’s good.’ She nodded to reassure herself. She might see him again. It just wouldn’t be every day. But his life was there and hers was here. She didn’t know what to say and was glad when Hudson filled the silence.
‘I hear Connor came to the rescue.’
‘How did you hear that?’ she asked, puzzled by the connection.
‘Sophie has been keeping me up to date. I wasn’t checking up on you. I was worried … Okay, you got me, I was checking up on you but she said Connor had it all covered and you two were …’
Anna clutched the phone. What had Sophie said about her and Connor? She wasn’t even sure herself. Connor had been brilliant over the last few days and still something was missing.
‘What did Sophie say?’ she asked.
Hudson cleared his throat. ‘She said he gave you what you needed right now. She said he’s reliable and good for you.’ The tone of his voice changed. ‘He sounds like a keeper.’
A weak smile rested on her lips. ‘I guess you’re right. I’ve a few work things I want to go over, do you want to call me back when you’re in the office?’
‘Sure thing. You have a nice day now,’ he said in an American drawl full of overenthusiasm.
‘You too.’ She was smiling when she put the phone down but that didn’t reflect the sadness inside. She couldn’t help feeling Hudson relocating to New York meant she was losing something very special indeed.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Anna left the office just before five and visited the hospital. It was a tonic to see her dad on a normal ward and no longer connected to a myriad of machines. He had more colour to his cheeks and was chatty. He’d turned a corner and a weight had lifted from her. She had never been so scared as when his life had hung in the balance. When visiting hours were over, Anna was tired from a long day but had one more stop to make before she went home.
Juggling two takeaway coffees and a gift bag Anna knocked an elbow on Bert’s door. She knew he was inside because she could hear the news blaring out.
‘Come in,’ said Bert.
‘Hiya, Bert, how are—’ But Anna didn’t get to finish the sentence.
‘Anna! You’re back. This is the most wonderful surprise. Sit down, and switch off that miserable bugger,’ he said, pointing at the newsreader. ‘Nothing but doom and gloom. Now tell me all about America.’ He shuffled himself upright in his chair.
‘Hang on a second, take this,’ said Anna, placing a travel cup in his hands, which contained his coffee. She waited a moment until she was sure he had hold of it.
‘What’s this?’
‘It’s a travel cup. It says I heart NY on it.’ It had a grippy bottom and non-spill top, which she hoped would be helpful too.
Bert chuckled. ‘Thank you.’
‘I got you this too,’ she said, putting the gift bag on his lap. Bert felt for his side table and put down the cup. ‘You shouldn’t have,’ he said, reaching in the bag eagerly. ‘It’s a key ring,’ he said, feeling it carefully with his fingers. ‘Does it have a picture of New York on it?’ he asked.
‘No, but it’s in the shape of a big apple. A red one. Press the little button on the side.’
Bert’s old fingers fiddled until he located the button. ‘It’s seven thirty-four. Good evening,’ said an automated American voice. Bert jumped and they both laughed.
‘That’s splendid. I often wonder what time it is. Thank you, Anna.’ Bert reached for her hand and squeezed it. She could see he was dewy-eyed.
‘You’re very welcome. What’s been happening here?’
‘Not a lot. There was nearly a punch-up over the bingo and Rosie and I had a little walk round the garden together. She was just watching I didn’t trip over, you understand.’ He gave a little cough and reached for his coffee. ‘Right, now I want to hear all about what you’ve been up to.’
It took Anna a while to go through everything she’d done in her short trip to New York and explaining it all to Bert without the use of her photos on her phone was like reliving every tiny detail. She checked her watch. ‘Bert, I have to go, but Maurice and I will visit soon.’
She stood up and Bert reached for her hand. ‘I’ve no right to be, but I’m so proud of you for getting on that plane.’
‘Thank you, Bert. I’m pretty proud of myself.’
‘And I’m glad you and Hudson had such a good time together.’
Anna was about to protest but Bert was right.
The house was almost peaceful. Dave was in the shower and Sophie was putting the finishing touches to her make-up. She looked good and she felt good too, a little tired from the night feeds but Dave was doing two nights a week, which was definitely helping. Karen was due to arrive for babysitting duty in twenty minutes and they had a dinner reservation at the gastro pub a taxi ride away. Date night had become sacrosanct and they both looked forward to it. The children were generally in a better routine, which made escaping the house easier and Karen took pride in always being able to cope with whatever the children threw at her, even if sometimes that was literally.
Sophie was putting in an earring when the doorbell went and she hurried downstairs. The Kraken was early. She opened the door wide and was surprised to see Liam standing on the doorstep.
‘Oh. Hi, Liam.’ She didn’t want to invite him in but couldn’t think of a suitable alternative. ‘We’re about to go out. I thought you were the babysitter but do come in.’
‘Sorry, Sophe. I went to Anna’s but she’s not in.’
Sophie wondered if he’d come to complain about her not passing on his last message. ‘Probably at her parents’. They’ve …’ She felt she shouldn’t share too much detail about their accident – it wasn’t any of his business any more. ‘They’ve not been too well. Did you want me to give her a message?’ Sophie fiddled with her other earring. She always struggled without a mirror.
Liam pulled a face. ‘It’s not really a message, more of a warning.’
Sophie stopped fiddling with her earring, straightened her shoulders and gave him her best Paddington Bear stare. ‘And what does that mean?’
Liam waved his hand. ‘No, it’s nothing like that. I opened some of her post, by mistake, and there was an invite to a university reunion. I know how she can be about anything to do with the place.’
‘Another one?’ Sophie checked her watch. The Kraken was arriving in T minus ten.
‘Here it is.’ He seemed somewhat reluctant to hand it over.
‘Is this you playing games?’ Sophie narrowed her eyes and Liam pulled his head back slightly.
‘Honestly, Sophe, I wouldn’t intentionally upset Anna. I’d like to think maybe one day we could get back together so I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise that.’
Sophie was running out of time. ‘Apart from your little confession the other night.’
Liam looked uncomfortable and stared at Sophie’s midriff. ‘When’s the baby due?’
So many reasons why she’d never really liked him. ‘Five weeks ago. You take care now, Liam. Bye.’ And she shooed him out of her house.
It was Saturday night and Anna opened her door to Sophie wearing Dave’s large winter coat but with her pyjama bottoms clearly visible underneath. ‘I’ve escaped for an hour,’ she said, pulling a can of gin and tonic from the pocket of Dave’s coat and opening a cupboard to get out a glass. ‘Now I know you’ve told me some of the New York stuff but I need more details. Did Hudson try and get some booty?’
Anna was shocked. ‘No! Sophie, you’re outrageous. And your mock American accent is equally appalling!’
‘Don’t protest too much. You know you want to.’
‘I do not. We’re just friends and—’
She waved away Anna’s protests. ‘And now you’ve missed your chance for wild unencumbered animal sex with him because he’s staying put in America.’ Sophie sighed.
‘I know,’ said Anna, feeling downhe
arted. ‘I’m really going to miss him.’ The truth was she was already missing him.
‘I’m going to miss that tight backside of his and that smile. Oh my, that smile. I can feel my knicker elastic loosening at the very thought of it.’ Sophie stared into space.
‘You’re wearing pyjamas.’
‘Pyjamas have elastic too,’ said Sophie. ‘Come on, one hour of girly chat and then you need your beauty sleep and lots of it. You look like Dot Cotton after an all-nighter.’
‘Thanks, pal.’
‘Oh and Liam keeps dropping round. He brought you another uni invite.’ Sophie pulled it from her pocket and handed it over.
Anna was about to put it straight in the recycling but something stopped her. ‘Another one?’
‘Yup,’ said Sophie, sipping her drink and closing her eyes as she swallowed. ‘I love being able to drink again.’
Anna studied the invitation. ‘This is different to the other one. Different venue, different date.’ It also looked more official than the previous one. Something didn’t add up.
Anna didn’t get a good night’s sleep. Having shown Sophie all her photos and gone through the New York trip again, she was thinking about Hudson. When she closed her eyes he was all she could see. She was groggy with tiredness and although she knew it probably wasn’t wise she snatched up her mobile and called his number. She ran her fingers through her bed hair and tucked the wayward bits behind her ear, which was a waste of time because she wasn’t FaceTiming him.
‘Hey, Anna. You okay?’ There was concern in his voice.
‘Can’t sleep. Thought I’d call the only other person who I know is awake.’
She sensed his smile down the line. ‘You want me to sing you a lullaby? I warn you I sound a lot like Kermit the Frog when I sing.’
She giggled. ‘No, I don’t really know why I called.’
‘You don’t have to have a reason. It’s good to hear your voice.’
She was cradling the phone against her face. ‘I miss you.’ There she’d said it.
There was a muffled noise on the line. ‘Sorry, Anna, what was that?’
Anna could hear someone else’s voice in the background. She’d assumed he would be on his own. She checked the clock – three twenty-seven. It was almost eleven thirty at night in New York. ‘You’re busy, aren’t you. I should have checked …’
‘No, it’s fine, it’s Emily we’re—’ Anna didn’t wait to hear any more. She ended the call and switched off the phone. She wished she’d never called. She put the phone on her bedside cabinet, nudged Maurice over slightly, hunkered down under the covers and tried to ignore the tears that came.
Sophie loved Mondays. This was a whole new experience for her but since she and Dave had employed a cleaner it was now her favourite day. All she had to do was get herself and the three children out of the house for a few hours and when she returned it was like a fairy godmother had waved her wand and miraculously everything was clean and tidy again. The challenge was getting three young children fed and clothed and out the door in time to deposit Arlo at school before the teacher was shaking her head and locking the gate. But unlike before it was a challenge Sophie relished because there was the big prize of the nice clean house at the end and now she’d found a playgroup for the other two with bearable other mums and tolerable coffee it made for a good start to the week.
‘The baby ate my homework!’ yelled Arlo, his face turning a violent shade of red as he clenched his fists. If he’d been a cartoon he would have jetted off like a rocket.
‘Which one?’ Sophie squinted at Reuben who, at barely six weeks old, wasn’t capable of much, other than crying, burping, farting and pooping.
‘Petal. She ate my homework.’
Sophie was relieved. Petal’s digestive system was already well tested having eaten worms and dirt in the garden, sand, a raw potato and a variety of other odd but fairly harmless items. ‘If you will leave it lying within her reach then she will eat it. It’s how little ones learn.’ Almost as an afterthought Sophie added, ‘What has she eaten exactly?’
‘My pirate’s head!’ Arlo thrust what was left of the Play-Doh model masterpiece under Sophie’s nose. It wasn’t recognisable as anything vaguely human anyway so the loss of its head had minor impact.
‘Now he’s a headless pirate,’ she said, whilst trying to shoo him towards the hall. Arlo seemed to consider this, giving Sophie time to scoop Petal from the high chair, remove the piece of blue Play-Doh she was still chewing and deftly deposit her in the double buggy in front of a sleeping Reuben.
‘Cool. Willoughby Newell won’t have thought of that.’
‘Right. Let’s go!’ said Sophie, triumphantly exiting the house on time.
Sophie dropped Arlo at school with moments to spare. She grinned inanely at the teacher heading towards the gate and took pride in the woman’s surprised expression when Petal beamed a blue toothy smile. It was a twenty-minute walk to the playgroup, which was enough time to call Anna and have a quick post-weekend chat, assuming Anna wasn’t ensconced in meetings.
Anna answered on the third ring. ‘I’ve messed up, Sophie,’ she said, her voice monotone.
‘Karl will cover for you. He plays the chauvinist that well you can almost forget there’s a decent bloke inside.’
‘No, not at work. With Hudson.’
Sophie didn’t like the sadness in Anna’s words. ‘What have you done?’
She heard Anna’s sigh. ‘I called him in the middle of the night and told him I missed him.’
‘Ah. And what did he say?’
‘He was busy with his ex-fiancée, stepmother Emily woman. I hung up. He’s left a couple of messages but I can’t call him back. I’m too embarrassed. Karl has fielded a call for me already today.’
‘What now?’
‘They’re confirming the job appointments next week but it’s a formality. Hudson will lead the New York team and I’ll lead the UK project.’
‘There, what’s wrong with that?’ said Sophie, gripping the buggy with one hand and manoeuvring it quickly out of the way of someone careering towards her on a bike. ‘Get off the pavement!’ she yelled. ‘Sorry, suicide cyclist.’
‘I’ll still have to speak to him. The projects are running side by side; we need everything to be joined up.’
‘When you said you missed him. Was it like you miss Love Island when it finishes or more like someone has removed a vital organ?’ Sophie adroitly caught Petal’s shoe as she kicked and flung it high above her head whooping with delight.
‘I feel like …’ Anna paused. ‘I feel like I’ve lost something important.’
‘Ah, like when you can’t find your purse?’
‘Sort of, but worse, because I know with Hudson he won’t turn up rammed down the back of the sofa.’
‘You never know. We once had a sofa bed that was very good at swallowing people whole.’
Anna gave a tinny laugh.
‘It sounds like you’ve made your choice and so has he. Maybe it’s time to move on. You’ve got lovely Connor.’ There was silence from the other end of the line.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The rest of the week went by in a blur for Anna. Work was manic and she was helping her mother get ready for the big anniversary party but truth was she was keeping herself ultra busy in an attempt to stop thinking about a certain American. She still wasn’t convinced her dad was well enough for something as tiring as a party but they were both adamant everything was going ahead. Anna had decided to stop asking and get stuck in to helping them, which was how she found herself in the local pub’s back room tying knots in balloons.
‘Penny for them?’ asked Terry.
‘Nothing really. I think Mum’s overdone the sausage rolls.’ Her lips made a line.
Her father’s look told her he didn’t believe her. ‘You can never have enough sausage rolls. You shouldn’t be worrying about us. You know we’re both fully recovered.’ Anna glanced at the crutches. ‘I’m ninety-ni
ne per cent there. These will soon be on the fire.’
Anna paused with a balloon end wrapped around her finger. ‘You and Mum. How did you know? I mean really know you were always going to be happy?’
Her mother appeared at her shoulder with a tray of cling-film-covered crisps. ‘He liked Bruce Springsteen and Marmite. Perfect match.’ She disappeared again in a flurry of pinny and cling film.
Anna turned to her father and he lowered his balloon pump. ‘I’d been out with other girls. Quite a few actually but when I started seeing your mum …’ He let out a slow breath and his lip curled up. ‘She went straight to the top of my to do list.’
‘Dad!’ She was hoping for a serious answer. Anna let the balloon go and it whizzed off around the room, making a farting sound.
‘Not like that.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘I mean she was the most important thing. Whatever plans I thought I had or whatever I wanted to do with my life I knew she would always be the person I wanted to share them with and if I couldn’t share them with her then what was the point?’
‘Isn’t that more like a best friend than a wife?’
‘I fancied her too,’ he added quickly. ‘She had this low-cut top and when she leaned—’
‘La, la, la. Not listening,’ said Anna, thrusting her fingers in her ears.
‘You and your Connor still going strong?’
‘He’s coming later.’
‘Wasn’t what I asked.’ Her father fixed her with a stare.
‘It’s fine. Really.’ She patted his arm and hoped he’d leave the interrogation for another time.
By seven o’clock Anna had changed into a simple knee-length black dress. Elderly relatives were arriving as if on a conveyer belt, or perhaps they’d been bussed in, but they were all there bang on the dot of seven. Anna settled them away from the speakers and went to deposit coats on the rail by the toilets.
‘Hello,’ said Sophie, pulling Anna into a hug. ‘You look fab-u-lous!’
‘You look … happy.’ It was obvious Sophie had already been drinking.
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