24
Milly
Milly paced the hospital corridor trying to stay calm and failing miserably. She kept reliving that moment when her mother had crumpled at her feet. Fortunately the ambulance had arrived quickly and so had Nanna Peg, who she’d called immediately after the ambulance.
“I’ll stay with Zoe.”
For once Nanna Peg hadn’t been smiling. “You go, pet. Follow that ambulance.”
Milly had done that and rushed to the hospital, breaking speed limits on the way.
The reception staff had told her that her mother was being seen by doctors and that Milly couldn’t see her yet because she was having tests.
What tests? And why couldn’t anyone tell her anything more?
In those last terrifying moments before her mother had collapsed on the floor Connie had been incoherent and confused. She hadn’t registered Milly’s presence. Judging from the speed with which the paramedics had whisked her to hospital, they hadn’t liked what they were seeing.
And Milly was beating herself up for not having noticed sooner how unwell her mother was. She’d been so lost in her own problems that when her mother had told her she was fine, she’d believed her.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. When was she going to hear something?
She’d drunk two cups of vile-tasting coffee, and in a weak moment she’d messaged Nicole, something she now regretted. Why had she done that? There was nothing Nicole could do, and Milly’s call would have worried her. Whatever had or hadn’t happened, Milly didn’t doubt her friend’s love for her mother.
Her eyes filled. She made yet another bargain in her head. Please let her be okay, and I will be a good person for the rest of my life.
But what if she wasn’t okay? What would she do if something happened to her mother? How would she ever cope?
She wished she could switch off her feelings or at least turn down the dial. Her mind spiraled to darker and darker places, and finally, after what felt like a lifetime, a doctor appeared in the corridor, and she rushed toward him.
“Do you have news about my mother? Connie Beckworth?”
“You’re a relative?”
“Her daughter.”
That word didn’t begin to sum up their relationship. What her mother meant to her. “Is she going to be okay?”
“She has a head injury and a couple of fractured ribs—”
Fractured ribs?
“The ribs will heal by themselves, but we’re not sure what other injuries she may have sustained so we’re doing some more tests. She will probably be discharged later, so if you’d prefer to go home in the meantime—”
“I’ll stay,”
Milly said immediately. “Can I see her?”
“Not yet. We’ll let you know when you can.”
The doctor strode away leaving Milly feeling more helpless than ever.
She sat down on one of the hard plastic chairs.
Next to her an elderly man was being reassured by his daughter.
The warmth between them intensified Milly’s feeling of loneliness.
She wished there was someone she could lean on, but she couldn’t call Nanna Peg because she was with Zoe, and anyway she didn’t want to worry her. Brendan?
She almost laughed. No matter how good a time they’d had on Saturday (Was it only Saturday? It felt like a lifetime ago), their relationship definitely wasn’t ready to survive a frantic phone call from a hospital.
She couldn’t call anyone from work because they needed to get on with their jobs.
She was on her own. There was no one she could call. But she’d cope because that was what she did. And when she was finally able to see her mother she’d be stoic and calm.
Tiredness and anxiety started to press down on her, and she was considering going outside for a breath of air when she saw Nicole hovering at the end of the corridor.
For a moment she thought she was hallucinating.
And then Nicole saw Milly, and her expression changed. She sprinted down the corridor toward her, and they met halfway. Milly found herself hugged and held, and she hugged back, marveling at how this one moment of human contact could do so much to restore her strength.
Eventually she pulled away. “What are you doing here?”
“You left a message. I would have come sooner, but I didn’t check my phone until this morning.”
“I didn’t mean for you to come. I just wanted to let you know.”
Milly sniffed and realized her friend wasn’t wearing a wig or any type of disguise. “You shouldn’t be here. Someone will recognize you.”
“Never mind that. How is Connie? How bad is it?”
It was a relief to no longer be on her own with it. To have someone there to share the anxiety.
“She fell off a horse and has a head injury and broken ribs.”
Milly told her what she knew, which wasn’t much. “How did you get here?”
“Joel.”
Nicole gestured over her shoulder. “He’s parking the car.”
“You came with Joel?”
“It’s a long story.”
Milly still couldn’t believe she was here. “About what I said yesterday—”
“Let’s talk about it later.”
Nicole gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you last time you needed me, but I’m here for you now. If you want me, that is.”
If?
Milly knew she should probably encourage her to leave right away. She’d spent enough time with Nicole to know that her presence was unlikely to go undetected.
And yet, even knowing that, her friend was here.
“Don’t cry.”
Nicole pulled out a tissue and rubbed a smear of mascara from Milly’s cheek. “You’re emotional because you’re tired. You’ve always been the same. If you don’t get your eight hours, you’re a mess.”
“Says the woman who has been making me get up at five in the morning to run.”
Milly took the tissue from her. “You, on the other hand, look stunning as always. Why didn’t you at least wear a wig or something?”
“It didn’t cross my mind. I was thinking of you and Connie. Don’t worry about it. The place is pretty empty, and everyone is too worried about their ailments or their relatives to notice me.”
The doctor appeared again. “We’ve transferred your mother to the ward, so you can see her now. She’ll be able to go home later today or tomorrow.”
He gave them directions to the ward and then hurried back to the department.
There was no sign that he’d recognized Nicole, so Milly wondered if maybe she was right and that people here were too focused on other things.
Joel appeared next to them, having parked the car. “What news?”
They gave him an update as they headed to the stairs.
“I think you should take Nicole home,”
Milly said as they took the stairs two floors.
Nicole shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Think about this.”
Milly caught her arm. “Eventually someone is going to recognize you. Call the press.”
“And if they do, we’ll figure it out. I’ll stay in the room, which will make it less likely.”
Nicole pushed open the door that led to the ward, and they were directed to a side room.
“Connie doesn’t need a room full of visitors. I’ll go and find you both some coffee,”
Joel said and strode away down the corridor leaving the two of them to go into the room together.
Connie lay in the bed, the bruise on her face darker than it had been when Milly had seen her earlier.
“Mum!”
She flew across the room and then stopped next to the bed. “I want to hug you, but you have broken ribs. Are you feeling terrible?”
“I feel foolish.”
Connie tried to sit up. “Brian wanted to take me to the hospital yesterday right after it happened, and I refused. And instead I gave you a scare. You poor thing.”
Scare didn’t cover it. It had been the single most terrifying moment of her life.
“Don’t worry about that.”
The only thing she cared about now was that her mother was going to be okay. The relief was indescribable.
It was funny to think that only yesterday she’d been so wrapped up in the drama and distress of learning the truth about Nicole. It had dominated her world, and then her mother had collapsed, and suddenly all her other worries had shrunk to nothing. The horror she’d felt in that moment had put everything into perspective.
As long as my family are well, she thought, that’s all that really matters.
Richard, Avery—all of that was stressful, but compared to the really important things in life it was nothing. How had she lost sight of that?
Her mother reached out and touched her face. “You look exhausted, honey. Have you been here all night on your own?”
Her gaze shifted, and she saw Nicole hovering in the doorway. “Nicole!”
She looked at Milly with a question in her eyes, and Milly nodded.
“I left her a message, and she came here to be with me.”
“Hi, Connie. You look like an extra in a fight movie.”
Nicole stepped forward and kissed Milly’s mother gently on the forehead.
Connie leaned back against the pillows, the smile on her face showing that she knew what such a gesture would have meant to Milly. “Thank you for coming. It’s good that you’re here.”
Milly squeezed her hand. “Get some rest. We’ll be here when you wake up.”
Nicole sat down on the other side of the bed. “And when you wake up I want to hear all about this man Brian. Is he hot?”
Connie laughed and then winced. “Don’t make me laugh. Oh, it’s good to see the two of you here together. Like the old days.”
Not really like the old days, Milly thought, because back then no one would have cared who Nicole was.
But now they did care, and this gesture of support was probably going to cost Nicole privacy and piece of mind, but she’d done it anyway because that was what friends did. And Milly felt bad that Nicole had put herself at risk like that, but also good because she’d done it for Milly, and with that one gesture she’d fixed what Milly had thought could never be fixed.