Chapter 23
At the hospital, Laila was sitting at the end of the third row of chairs in the waiting room, a lost soul among other lost souls.
One of her legs jiggled as she cradled her phone, but she seemed unable to concentrate on it or anything around her.
A baby in the front row was crying, which only added to the tension hovering around them.
‘Hey, kiddo,’ Nick said.
‘Hey,’ Laila said quietly.
‘Oh, honey,’ was all Phyllida could manage to say.
‘Any news?’ Gemma asked. They sidled past Laila to sit in the three seats beside her.
‘No.’
‘He’s in good hands now, so you don’t need to worry.’
‘It’s hard not to. He’s old, you know?’
‘He’s only in his seventies, isn’t he?’ Nick said.
‘Seventy-six. That’s nearly eighty,’ Laila said, as though her grandfather had entered his second century.
‘But he’s pretty fit and healthy for his age,’ Gemma said.
‘I guess.’
For a moment, they didn’t speak. The baby’s wails ricocheted off the linoleum.
As much as Gemma loved babies, she dearly wished this one would pipe down.
Phyllida, who’d been unusually quiet on the way there, seemed happier now that she’d started on her mini bottle of white wine, which she purchased from the corner store near the Tube station.
‘Anyone hungry?’ Nick asked.
‘Gosh, yes, we never got to have that pub lunch,’ Gemma said.
‘I think we need something to keep us going. I’ll go and see what I can find.’ Nick got up and sidled past them to find a vending machine.
‘Maybe some water too?’ Gemma called out.
‘On it.’
‘Laila,’ Phyllida said in between sips. ‘Are you going to call your mum to tell her what’s happened?’
‘Foster mum,’ Laila said curtly.
Phyllida looked taken aback, and Gemma realised that she hadn’t been privy to their conversation on the foreshore.
‘I know it hasn’t been easy between you recently,’ Gemma said. ‘But she does need to know. Timothy’s her dad.’
‘Yeah, but I don’t want to see her. Can’t we wait until we know what’s up with Gramps?’
Gemma looked at Phyllida. It was a fair point.
While Gemma didn’t know what it was like to fall out with a parent, she did know what it was like to fall out with a husband.
And right now, if she saw Adam and his pregnant girlfriend walk in, she’d scarper down the corridor in the opposite direction, pretending she’d been called to assist in an emergency.
Alternatively, she’d hide behind the vending machine Nick had found.
Because there he was returning with four chocolate bars and four bottles of water.
‘I wasn’t sure what everyone’s preferences were so I got a KitKat, a Snickers, a Mars and a Twix. Take your pick. Laila, you go first.’
Laila took the Snickers but left it in her lap. Gemma said she didn’t mind, even though her first choice was the Twix. Phyllida shook her head as if she wanted none of it.
‘Politeness isn’t part of the rules. Go on.’ He waggled the bars at Gemma.
She took the Twix. ‘Thanks.’
‘Phyllida? You have to have one.’
‘Well, okay, then.’ She sighed and took the Mars.
Nick stared at his lap. He looked sad all of a sudden.
‘Are you all right?’ Gemma asked.
‘Yeah.’ He sighed. ‘I just had a flashback to the last and only time I’ve ever called an ambulance. It was when Dad—’ He suddenly choked up. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said.
‘It’s okay,’ Gemma said.
He shot a glance at Laila who was looking at her phone.
Then he turned his back on her and, lowering his voice, continued.
‘I can’t believe how much I miss him. We had a connection, a bond, you know, that I hadn’t properly appreciated until he was gone.
There wasn’t even any warning that he was going to go.
It was bam! A heart attack. You can’t prepare for that.
’ He played with the KitKat bar absentmindedly.
‘I’ve even started smoking again. I thought it might make me feel better. ’
‘Oh, no, you don’t want to be doing that,’ Phyllida said. ‘But is it helping?’ Phyllida asked as if she was tempted to accompany her wine with a fag.
‘In the moment, but it’s a stupid habit, I know.’ He glanced back at Laila. ‘Anyway, enough about me.’
‘Are you all right, Laila?’ Gemma asked.
‘I’m okay, but hospitals are depressing,’ Laila said. ‘I can’t believe you want to work in a place like this.’
‘She wants to make people better,’ Phyllida said through a mouthful of caramel chocolate, which made the consonants sound squishy and gooey.
Clearly, she did want the Mars. ‘The thing is, Laila, we’re here for you and Timothy.
Why don’t we organise a roster of visits for him, assuming he’s going to be staying in here for a bit? ’
‘Even if he doesn’t, we could arrange visits and meal drops for him at home,’ Gemma offered.
‘Excellent idea,’ Phyllida exclaimed, waving the water bottle. ‘Hang on, I’ve got a notebook and pen somewhere in my bag. I’ll take notes.’
‘What do you think, Laila?’ Gemma said.
Laila nodded but she still looked as if she might cry again. ‘I’m just worried about Gramps in the future.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘It’s his stupid houseboat.’
‘I thought you liked it,’ Gemma said.
‘I do. But he’s got so much stuff. He likes collecting and hates throwing things out. What if he has another fall and no one’s around to help him? Even I tripped over his pile of Antique Collecting magazines last week and I wasn’t even drunk.’
‘You drink?’ Phyllida asked as if shocked.
‘Don’t tell anyone,’ Laila whispered.
‘But you should have said so before!’ Phyllida exclaimed. ‘I’d have bought you a wine as well.’
‘Phyllida!’ Nick said.
She snort-laughed.
‘Geez, can you drink some more water? Anyway, back to Timothy’s houseboat. Is it really as bad as you say, Laila?’
‘Yeah, it really is.’ She nodded. ‘It’s hectic.’
‘Do you think he’s not coping living on his own?’ Gemma asked.
‘He’s fine. He just can’t be bothered cleaning and tidying. It was when Grandma died, you know …’
‘I get it,’ Gemma said. ‘Still, it’s not ideal.’
‘I reckon we should add declutter Timothy’s houseboat to the list,’ Nick suggested.
‘Another good idea!’ Phyllida said.
‘But he won’t like us throwing out his stuff,’ Laila said.
‘We don’t have to throw anything out. Just tidy and rearrange.’
‘We certainly don’t want to do anything to upset Timothy, do we, Nick?’ Gemma added, giving Nick a look that said, let’s try not to rock the boat, okay?
Nick nodded. ‘We only want to help.’
‘That’s right, we only want to help,’ Phyllida repeated gently.
‘Do you think we could check absolutely everything so that nothing’s a hazard? And maybe we could get him one of those bracelets with an emergency button in case he has another fall?’
‘Good idea,’ Gemma said. ‘Let’s make his home as safe as possible.’
‘Okay,’ Laila agreed. Finally, she opened the Snickers bar. ‘I’ve had enough, now. How long are these people going to take?’
As it happened, it took the length of time that Laila needed to finish eating the chocolate bar before a doctor appeared and called her name.
Laila jumped up and went over to the doctor. They all followed. ‘How is he?’ she asked.
‘He’s stable but he has a broken ankle and a badly sprained wrist. He’ll need to stay here for a few nights. But his age means—’
‘See, I told you.’ Laila shot the three of them a look.
‘And you are?’ The doctor looked questioningly at Nick, Gemma and Phyllida.
Gemma was about to say ‘friends’ when Laila spoke. ‘They’re family,’ she said assuredly.
Gemma looked at Laila and for a split-second pictured her as Gemma’s daughter. Or perhaps a younger sister. Either would have been nice. Nick and Phyllida, thankfully, didn’t dispute their pretend familial status, and the doctor nodded.
‘Can we see him?’ Laila asked.
‘I’m afraid he’s sedated. I suggest you go home and get a good night’s sleep. You can come back in the morning.’
The doctor gave a perfunctory smile before leaving.
‘Poor Gramps,’ Laila groaned. ‘He’s going to hate it.’
Gemma didn’t like to say that that was probably why he’d been sedated. ‘Come on, let’s get you home,’ she said instead.
Then Laila started crying. ‘Is he really going to be all right? What if something bad happens to him?’
Nick looked as if he was about to put his arm around her before deciding it wasn’t appropriate.
‘He’s in the best place he could be right now,’ Gemma said. ‘He’ll be home before you know it.’
‘Give me a hug, right now.’ Phyllida, clearly feeling none of Nick’s awkwardness, opened her arms wide and pressed Laila to her bosom. ‘Everything’s going to be just fine. I know it, in my heart.’
A muffled thanks came from the direction of Phyllida’s chest.
As they walked to the carpark, Gemma tried to recall the state of the spare bedroom.
There was a bed, of course, but it was unmade and covered in random things – ironing that needed doing, the manual to the vacuum cleaner which last week started playing up, and a couple of coats she planned to list on Vinted.
Nothing that couldn’t be sorted at a moment’s notice.
‘How about you stay with me tonight?’ she suddenly said to Laila. ‘I don’t think you should be on your own. Or maybe, you’d prefer to be on your own … Either way, the offer’s there. You can stay for as long as Timothy’s in hospital.’
‘There you go again, Gemma, another good idea!’ Phyllida said.
‘Are you sure?’ Laila asked.
‘Of course.’
‘Well, yeah, thanks.’
Nick looked at Gemma and nodded respectfully. But was it that admirable to offer a bed to a teenager whose guardian had been rushed to hospital? If Gemma was being honest, it was getting a little lonely being in the house on her own.
‘Don’t you need to get approval from your foster parents?’ Nick said.
Laila groaned.
‘True,’ Gemma agreed. ‘And Jodie needs to know what’s happened to her father.’
‘But what if she says no?’ Laila asked.
‘I’m sure she won’t. I can talk to her.’
‘Will you?’
‘Yes, of course. I’ll explain everything and tell her who I am and all that.
’ Gemma sounded more confident than she felt.
Because did she really want to get involved with a family she knew little about when she was still wrestling with her own parental issues?
What if Jodie took umbrage and Gemma inadvertently made Laila’s situation worse?
‘Thanks, Gemma.’ Laila smiled at her appreciatively.
Oh, God, it was too late to back off now.