Chapter 76
Chapter seventy-six
Imogen gently knocked on the door, and when there was no response, she twisted the knob and opened it wide enough to look in and see her Gran still sleeping.
Waking her up felt mean, but she knew her Gran would want to be at the hospital the moment visiting hours permitted.
“Gran,” she said in a half-whisper. The last thing she wanted was to startle her. “Gran, I’ve got you coffee.”
Meredith stirred, a smile on her face as she came out of a deeper sleep. Her eyes remained closed, but she stretched under the covers.
“Imogen?”
“Yeah, it’s me, Gran. I’ve got you a coffee.” She placed the mug by the side of the bed, then perched on the edge of the mattress.
Sleep-heavy eyes flickered open and revealed a drowsy stare. “Is that really you?”
Imogen sniggered. “No, I’m a ghost.”
Meredith smiled. “Now I know it’s you, cheeky thing.” She pushed herself up. “When did you arrive?”
Leaning in for a hug, Imogen said, “Late last night—well, early this morning, actually. You were asleep, so we didn’t wake you.”
“I’m dead to the world once I take one of those pills. I’ll be groggy for a bit.” She blinked rapidly, trying to wake herself up. “A good cup of coffee will help, though. Thank you.”
She reached for it just as Billy tapped and pushed the door open.
“Knock, knock,” she said as she entered the room. “I spoke to the hospital and he had a good night. Nothing to be concerned with. They’re still running a few tests, but he’s awake and talking and looking forward to seeing you.”
“Oh, goodness,” Meredith cried. Tears spilled out unchecked. “I need to get dressed and we need to be there.”
“It’s not even nine. Visiting’s at ten—plenty of time for coffee, breakfast, and getting dressed,” Billy said.
She turned to Imogen. “I called Carl and asked if he’d take you out on the slopes later, if you were up to it.”
“I’d rather be at the hospital.”
Billy nodded. “That’s fine. I’m just letting you know the option is there if things get too much and you want some space.”
“Thanks. But I think I just want to be here with everyone else,” Imogen said, feeling Meredith squeeze her hand. “And I want to see Grandpa.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Billy said. “I’ll be downstairs. Rosa said hi.”
Meredith smiled and waited until Billy was gone.
“Anything happening with them?”
Imogen shrugged. “I can’t tell. They’ve been trying to get on better for my sake since we got home. We have started to have family dinners and stuff, but I never catch them holding hands or gazing at each other, you know, like—couple-y.”
Meredith’s smile softened. “Oh, I know,” she said. “It’s a start, though, right?”
“I guess. I like it. If this is the best opportunity I get to have a proper family, then…” She shrugged again. “I would take it over where we were before.”
“That’s a good way to look at it.”
Imogen nodded. “Yeah. I never thought I’d see Mum involving Ma so much, but like even this morning they were talking about how to go about this weekend.”
“They’ve been up a while then?” Meredith sipped her coffee.
Imogen nodded. “I woke up to use the loo and Mum wasn’t there. She was in with Ma, talking.”
“In with?” Meredith kept her voice neutral.
“In Ma’s room.” Imogen stood up. “I guess they didn’t want to wake anyone up. It was a late night.”
“That was thoughtful of them.” Meredith pressed her lips together before taking another sip of her coffee.
“I’ll let you get up and dressed. I’ll be downstairs. Shout if you need anything.”
“Oh, I will.” Meredith finally smirked.