Chapter 54
Gemma woke up early because of the sun streaming in through the thin curtains. Stretching out diagonally, she slowly opened her eyes. And then remembered!
Had she dreamed it? Or had Barry really scooped her up outside her door and carried her in? She glanced down at her left hand. Clearly she hadn’t dreamed the bit about getting engaged. She adjusted the sapphire ring, which was slightly tight on her finger.
Gemma knew what Bella, who was an expert on engagement rings, would say about it. In Bella’s view, diamonds – preferably large ones – were the only suitable kind of stone, since they ‘went with everything’. But it was the man who was important, wasn’t it? Not the ring.
Just at that moment the door opened and Barry walked in, fully dressed. ‘You made me jump,’ said Gemma, instinctively holding the sheet against her chest.
Barry came and sat on the edge of the bed. ‘Sorry. I didn’t think about knocking.’ His hand caressed her shoulders. ‘Not after last night.’
He kissed her lips lightly and Gemma tried to respond, but it simply didn’t feel right. Just as it hadn’t really felt right last night. It was all coming back to her now. Gemma had never been one for talking about sex to girlfriends, but both she and Kitty had always agreed that if you didn’t feel fireworks the first time, it wasn’t a good sign.
Gemma hadn’t felt fireworks with Barry. She should have done. He ticked all the right boxes: attentive, steady, loyal, good son, hard worker, fantastic looking. And she’d definitely been attracted to him before last night. So why didn’t she feel the same way now?
‘Hope you didn’t mind me leaving you in the middle of the night.’ Barry was cradling her in his arms now, which made her feel slightly trapped. ‘The bed’s too small for the two of us, don’t you think, and besides I always get up at 5 a.m. to do my exercises.’
He smiled in a slightly preening way, clearly expecting a compliment along the lines of ‘how dedicated’ or ‘you don’t need to work out’.
Indeed, it was on the tip of Gemma’s tongue to say something polite, but just at that moment her mobile went.
Barry raised his eyebrows. ‘A phone call? At 7 a.m.? Who’s ringing my beautiful fiancée at this time?’
He said the words ‘beautiful fiancée’ loudly, as though he wanted everyone in the house to hear. That was a thought. Had Joe heard everything last night through the thin walls? She didn’t like the idea of that.
‘It’s a missed call from an unknown caller.’
‘Really?’ Barry leaned over to look at the screen.
Part of Gemma wanted to say that it wasn’t any of his business, but maybe he was just being caring.
‘There it goes again,’ he said unnecessarily. ‘Aren’t you going to answer it?’
‘Hello?’
‘Is that Gemma?’
The caller was well spoken and sounded familiar.
She also sounded distressed.
‘Yes.’ She was feeling worried now. Had something happened to Mum? ‘Who is this?’
‘It’s Patricia, dear. Sam’s mother. I do apologise for ringing so early. Nancy asked me to call before you left for school. She felt you should know, after everything you’ve done for us.’
Her voice was cracked and wobbly, as though it was walking on a tightrope and trying desperately not to fall. Yet her words were coming out quite clearly, without her usual mistakes. ‘It’s Danny. He’s taken a turn for the worse and has been rushed into the operating theatre. Unfortunately he seems to have rejected your bone marrow, so they’re trying another match.’ There was a silence, as though she was about to fall off the rope. ‘If that doesn’t work, there’s not a great deal of hope.’
Gemma’s eyes filled with tears. ‘What’s wrong?’ Barry kept saying.
She waved her hand to shush him. ‘I’m so sorry. Please tell Nancy and … and Sam that I’m thinking of them. Would you ring when he comes out of theatre? Thank you.’
She turned to Barry. ‘Did I hear you mention Sam?’ he asked coolly.
Gemma nodded, tears pouring down her face. ‘Oh, Barry. Poor Danny’s rejected my bone marrow. He’s been rushed into theatre.’ Weeping, she buried her head in his shoulder. ‘I’m terrified he’s going to die.’
‘There, there.’ Barry patted her gently on her back. ‘You had me worried there. For a moment, I thought it was a relative or close friend.’
Gemma lifted her head. ‘What do you mean? Danny’s special. He’s one of my children.’
‘Sure he is, Gem.’
Gem? No one called her Gem! Gemmie, yes, but that was only close friends and family. Still, Barry now fell into that category, didn’t he?
‘But it’s not like he’s your real child, is it?’ Barry stood up. ‘And I must say that now we’re engaged, I’d rather you distanced yourself from his parents.’ He looked at her carefully. ‘Sam is past history now, isn’t he?’
‘Of course he is.’ Gemma felt hurt. ‘He’s got nothing to do with my feelings for Danny.’
Barry nodded as though satisfied. ‘That’s all right then. Now hadn’t you better get ready for work? I’ll leave you to get on.’
How could he not have understood? It wasn’t as though they had just had a one-night stand. Barry knew how important her Puddleducks were to her. Yet he had brushed off her distress about Danny with a crass comment about past history. Was it because he was jealous of Sam? Maybe she should have tried to reassure him more about that. Meanwhile, poor Danny’s life was hanging in the balance again. Poor, poor Nancy. It wasn’t fair.
Still weeping, Gemma went out of her bedsit, locking it behind her. As she did so, she could hear movement inside Joe’s room. So he hadn’t left yet? Impulsively, she knocked on his door.
‘Gemma! What’s wrong?’
She could see his eyes taking in her tear-stained face. ‘Come in.’ He shut the door behind them, speaking urgently. ‘Has someone hurt you?’
Shaking her head, she told him about Danny. As she spoke, Joe’s arms closed around her. It felt so good. So safe. Joe was one of the few people who would understand. And right now, still bruised by Barry’s reaction, she desperately needed someone who would understand.
‘He might not live,’ she ended, as they finally drew apart and she fumbled in her sleeve for a bit of loo roll. ‘How would his poor parents cope if he died? I feel so helpless, don’t you?’
He nodded, handing her a proper handkerchief from one of his drawers.
‘Thank you.’ She blew her nose, noticing in his mirror that she looked really piggy-eyed and puffy. ‘I’m sorry but I knew you would understand.’ She almost told him that she’d also told Barry, but then she squashed that idea. Perhaps she wasn’t being fair to the man who was now her fiancé. It would take him time to understand her job and all that came with it, just as it would take her time to understand his.
‘I’m sorry,’ she repeated. ‘I didn’t mean to be silly.’ As he shook his head, she could see there were tears in his eyes too. ‘You’re not. And actually, there is something we can do.’ Joe’s voice sounded firm and reassuring. ‘We can be strong together. If anything does happen to Danny, we need to help the other children through this. I had some experience of this at my old school when a boy died. It affects everyone.’
That was true. She liked his honesty. It was solid, like the rest of him.
He gave her a smile. ‘My bike’s got a puncture. That’s why I’m still here. I had to dash back to get some more change for the bus. I don’t suppose there’s any chance of a lift into school?’
She sniffed and nodded. ‘Of course.’
As they walked out of the house together, towards her car, she felt Joe glancing down at her left hand. ‘I heard Joyce last night,’ he said in a cooler voice than the one he had used when comforting her earlier. Gemma’s heart raced. What else had he heard?
Those walls were so thin!
‘I believe congratulations are in order,’ he continued evenly.
She nodded. ‘It’s all a bit sudden.’ She felt an over- whelming need for him to know that she wasn’t the kind of woman who would jump into bed with a man whom she hardly knew. ‘I haven’t even had a chance to ring my parents yet.’
Joe made an understanding face. ‘Sudden can be good,’ he said. ‘You never know when you’re going to meet the right person, do you?’ His eyes were fixed steadily ahead. ‘If you’re not brave enough to make a commitment, that person could just slip away.’
He was right. Maybe that was why Barry had been jealous about Sam. He just didn’t want to lose her. So he wanted to make a commitment to make sure that she didn’t slip away or go back to her old love. In some ways, that was rather flattering. Wasn’t it? Or slightly controlling? The fact that she couldn’t decide was unnerving.
They didn’t say much during the short drive to school. Joe looked as though he had as much on his mind as she did, even without the added worry of Danny. Then, as she was about to ask his advice on the seating arrangements for the nativity play, his mobile rang.
Looking apologetic, he answered it. ‘Ed!’ he said in what was clearly a relieved tone. ‘I’m so glad you rang. Listen, I can’t really talk at the moment. May I call you back in exactly three minutes?’
Clearly he couldn’t wait to leap out of the car as soon as she’d parked. ‘Thanks for the lift,’ he said, dialling a number on his phone. ‘See you later on, I expect.’
Well, thought Gemma wryly as she made her way towards the Puddleducks building, it just went to show, didn’t it? No wonder Joe had made that comment about the right person slipping away. From the sound of it, he might just be getting back together with his ex-wife.