Chapter 14
14
It was another two hours before Carole’s father was discharged. A road traffic accident had brought new patients to the hospital who required urgent medical help and everyone else had to wait until the emergency admissions were dealt with, which meant a further delay before Frederick’s cast was applied to his broken wrist.
When Frederick and Nina appeared at last in the waiting area, Tom dashed off to collect the car, determined to get them all home as soon as possible.
Tom felt sorry for Carole’s father, who’d looked ashen faced ever since he was knocked to the floor by that idiot, Steven Weaver. Having to wait so long in A&E must surely have taken it out of the older man, who was already dealing with the aches and pains of the hard fall he’d suffered. It was now two-thirty in the morning, and Tom knew how tired he felt after the night’s events, which meant that Frederick must be beyond exhausted.
Once Carole and her parents were settled in the car, Tom followed her directions to where her parents lived in Hamblehurst. Inside the house, Carole hurried around turning on lights and boiling the kettle for tea and offering to make sandwiches. It was Nina who insisted that Carole had done enough already and that she ought to go home.
Carole protested, but with Frederick comfortable in his armchair and sipping from a mug of hot tea and already talking about getting upstairs to bed, and Nina all but shooing her daughter towards the door, Carole soon relented.
They all exchanged goodnights and hugs, and Frederick clasped Tom’s palm in his unencumbered hand from the comfort of his armchair, thanking him again for driving them to and from the hospital. While Carole and her mother hugged again on the doorstep, Tom started the car.
Minutes later, they were turning onto Foxglove Street, which lay still and quiet in the depths of the summer night. Tom braced himself for the challenge of finding a parking space at this hour and was amazed to see a gap just a few doors down from his house.
“This is a lucky find,” Carole said as Tom reversed into the space. “We must have a guardian angel looking out for us and who knows that after the night we’ve had, we don’t want to faff around in search of a parking spot.”
Tom smiled at the whimsical idea as he turned off the engine. “Do you believe in guardian angels?”
“Sure, why not?” Carole smiled and gave a shrug. “Although, if there are guardian angels out there, it would’ve been nice if they could put in an appearance earlier and stopped my father getting shoved onto the floor in the first place.” She smiled again and gave him an amused look. “Sorry, I’m knackered and talking nonsense.”
“It’s two-thirty in the morning and we’ve just spent the last five hours at Hamblehurst A&E. Talking nonsense is allowed.”
They got out of the car. Tom walked Carole to her door and waited while she searched in her bag for her house keys.
“Do you want to come in for a coffee?” she asked. “The least I can do is offer you a decent hot drink after all you did for us tonight.”
“Thanks, but you’re tired and I think you’ll be collapsing into bed the minute you walk through the door.”
“Probably. But I can still flick the kettle on before I’m out for the count.”
Tom shook his head. “We’ll have coffee and a debrief tomorrow and you can let me know how your dad’s doing.”
“It’s a deal. Listen, thanks again for everything you did tonight, Tom. You went above and beyond.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me.”
“I owe you big time.”
“No, you don’t. I’m just glad your dad is okay.”
Carole nodded, but then Tom suddenly saw her eyes well up as her hand flew to her mouth to stifle a sob. Alarmed, he reached out to comfort her.
“Hey, what’s the matter?”
She shook her head and wiped furiously at the tears rimming her eyes. “God, I’m so sorry, Tom. I don’t know what’s come over me. It’s just…”
Tom gently took the house key from her and unlocked the door. “Come on, let’s get you inside before someone sees you crying on your doorstep and thinks I’m menacing you and decides to phone the police.”
His words had the desired effect and turned her sobs into hitched laughter as he steered her through the door. Once they were inside the house, Carole turned on a lamp in the living room and snagged a tissue from a box on the coffee table. Wiping her eyes, she threw him an apologetic look.
“Tom, I’m so sorry. I honestly don’t know what came over me. Well, actually I do know. It’s just this whole night catching up with me. I know my dad is fine, and I know he has nothing more serious than a broken wrist and a bump on the head and some nasty bruising to deal with, but…”
She let out a breath and shook her head. “Seeing him crashing to the floor like that, seeing that stupid Steven knocking him over and then falling on top of him , it just frightened the life out of me. And when I saw the look on Dad’s face and that howl he let out when he tried to move…”
Again, she shook her head, as if she were physically shaking off the terrible memories. Tom moved closer and gently pulled her into a hug, wanting to comfort her. She stepped into his embrace and laid her head on his chest while wiping at her eyes with the tissue.
For a long moment, he held her in his arms, the house silent around them except for Carole’s muffled sniffs.
When she had herself under control again, she looped her arms around him and gave him a friendly hug in return before stepping away.
“Thanks, I needed that hug,” she said on an embarrassed laugh. “Jeez, what am I like?”
“You’re like someone who had to rush their father to the hospital because he was badly hurt. It’s okay to be upset about it.”
Carole scrunched up the used tissue and tossed it to the table. “At the time, you just react because you need to help the person who’s injured. But now that dad’s home and I’m home too and the emergency is over, it’s just sinking in how… vulnerable and sore and helpless he looked. It broke my heart a little.”
“Of course it did. He’s your father and you love him. No one wants to see something like that happen to someone they love. It’s a shock, even if his injuries turned out not to be too bad, thank God. It was still a terrible fall and an upsetting thing to see.”
“Sorry for blubbing like this.”
“Stop apologising.”
“Sorry.” She rolled her eyes and laughed. “I’m sure I’ll feel better after some sleep. I’m knackered. You must be too.”
Tom took this as his cue to leave. “You’re okay now?”
“I’m okay.”
“If you think there’s more tears coming, I can be here for that.”
Carole laughed. “You’ve more than fulfilled your wedding wingman duties, Tom. At ease, soldier.”
With a salute that made her laugh again, Tom turned for the door. “Let me know how your dad is tomorrow once you’ve chatted with him. Give him my best.”
“I will.”
He stepped outside. Light was already flickering on the horizon, and he realised it wouldn’t be long before the sun came up. Twenty-four hours ago, he’d only just collapsed into bed after driving home from his work trip to Manchester. He hadn’t expected this day to end even later than yesterday had. The unexpected turn of events at the wedding had the effect of twisting time and making it feel like that work trip and been weeks ago, instead of only hours.
He smiled at Carole, searching her face to make sure she was okay before he left. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Truly, I’m okay. I’m mortified I burst into tears right in front of you, but otherwise fine.” Her tone was amused as she waved him off. “See you soon and thanks again, Tom.”
He walked up the garden path and through Carole’s front gate, then did the reverse trip through his own front gate and up his own path. Carole was still lingering at her door as he slid his key into the lock.
“Night, Tom.”
“Night, Carole.”
Her smile was a mixture of embarrassment and exhaustion as she lifted her hand in a wave. Tom waved in return as she slipped back inside her house and closed the door.
He really hoped she was okay and that she’d sleep once she climbed into bed, instead of tossing and turning while worrying about her father and replaying his awful fall inside her head. Carole, he’d realised tonight, was a woman who cared very deeply about those she loved, and it stood to reason that what had happened to her dad would leave her upset and still reeling, even all these hours later.
When they’d been walking the hospital grounds and killing time, Carole had said she wished she’d punched Steven Weaver for his stupid behaviour. Tom wished he’d punched him, too. It was no more than he deserved for acting like a complete tosser.
Tom wondered what Carole could possibly ever have seen in the man. She was about as far out of his league as it was possible to get.
Pausing on his front step, he sucked in a lungful of cool air. From somewhere further down Foxglove Street, he heard the first notes of the dawn chorus as a blackbird began singing, the sweet music drifting on the breeze. A yawn escaped him as he stepped inside his house, tired and dazed and yet thoroughly happy that he’d been able to help Carole tonight.
And happy that he’d been the wedding wingman she could rely on.