Chapter 26
26
Hours later, Ethan still couldn’t believe what had happened. One moment they were preparing to commiserate with each other after the disaster with the Halloween train. The next, his grandad was being taken in an ambulance to the hospital after a suspected stroke.
Eddie was still having the medical checks and scans required, so Ethan and the rest of his family were sitting nearby in a waiting area of the local hospital, anxiously waiting for the results.
‘Here you go,’ said Katy, arriving back from the vending machine with some plastic cups of tea. She handed one to Bob, who was sitting next to Ethan. ‘I’m not sure it’ll taste very good, but at least it’s vaguely warm.’
‘Thanks, love,’ said Bob, with a grateful smile.
Katy handed Ethan the other cup before sitting down next to Ryan on the only other available chair. Ethan watched as Ryan immediately put his hand in hers and squeezed it.
Ethan had always been grateful as he had watched Katy make his brother so happy, but that night he was even more thankful. As soon as she had seen Eddie collapse, Katy had been straight on her mobile phoning for an ambulance, while the rest of them had been too shocked to think straight. Then, once they had got to the hospital, she had conjured up a flannel from somewhere so that Ethan and Bob could clean their faces and hands of all the soot and dust from the train. She had also packed away their dirty overalls in a carrier bag.
Ethan glanced at his dad, worry etched on his face as he slowly sipped his tea.
‘You were right,’ Ethan told Katy after taking a gulp of the hot drink. ‘It does taste pretty dreadful.’
She gave him a tremulous smile at his half-hearted joke. But nobody was in the mood for talking. Katy looked at her phone and told them that all their friends back in Cranfield were sending their love.
To Ethan, it felt as if Cranfield, and even the steam train, were a long way away. His world had suddenly contracted into the small area he was sitting in, waiting anxiously for the results.
He had always been close to his grandad. Eddie’s enthusiasm for all things to do with trains had been evident for a very long time, ever since he was stationmaster. Ethan had seen the photographs, although he had been too young to remember those days. Eddie looking so proud in his stationmaster uniform with the buttons shining so brightly and the cap set at exactly the right angle, his hand full of the flags ready to signal the safe departure of the train.
The trains were in Eddie’s soul. They were a part of him and had inspired Ethan’s own love for engineering. Together they had built their own train sets and even, to his mother’s horror, a go-kart with an engine, which had resulted in a sprained wrist and a few bruises for the young Ethan, as well as a ticking off for Eddie.
But Ethan hadn’t cared. He had loved tinkering with the engines, something that he now realised he had lost along the way with his work. Creating light shows still interested him, but he wasn’t getting his hands dirty the way he had done on the steam train these past few weeks.
He glanced at his hands, where his nails still showed traces of the soot from the coal. Had it only been a few hours ago that the train had puffed its way through the countryside, tooting its whistle as they went? It seemed like a lifetime ago.
For a brief while, he had relished in standing alongside his dad and grandad in the driver’s cab. They had all worked hard to ensure the steam engine had run properly and he had felt both grateful and proud of what they had achieved together. It had been a brand new happy memory for him to cherish, a reminder of the strength that his family had through their love for each other.
As he looked around at his loved ones at that moment in the waiting area, he knew that it would be that strength and love that would be needed more than ever in the coming hours and days.
A short while later, the nurse led them back into the curtained cubicle where Eddie was lying in bed.
Katy immediately headed over and kissed him on the forehead and Ethan was grateful to see his grandad sleepily give her a somewhat lopsided smile in reply. Looking teary, she stepped out of the way so that Bob could go over and squeeze his father’s hand.
Then the consultant came into the small area and Ethan found that he was holding his breath, braced for any bad news.
‘The scans have shown that Mr Connolly had a blood clot which caused a small bleed on the brain, causing the stroke,’ he began.
Ethan gulped.
‘The good news is that we think that the bleeding is contained and has been stopped,’ carried on the consultant. ‘We’re going to keep him here for a few days for observation, but we’re happy that he’s stable and out of immediate danger.’ He paused and looked around the family. ‘The result of the scans does give me cause for optimism regarding his recovery.’
Everyone took a moment before seemingly sighing their relief in unison.
‘Thank you, doctor,’ said Ryan, stepping forward to shake the consultant’s hand.
‘We’ll get him transferred onto a ward just as soon as we can,’ replied the consultant.
After he and the nurse had left, the family exchanged tearful smiles.
‘Well, Dad,’ said Bob, giving Eddie’s hand another squeeze, ‘it sounds like you’ll be back on the trains before you know it.’
Eddie smiled in response, although his eyelids closed almost immediately and he seemed to drop off to sleep.
‘I was reading online and it says that being very tired is normal after a stroke,’ whispered Katy.
Bob nodded but stayed still, holding his father’s hand.
Ethan watched as Ryan turned to look at Katy with tears in his eyes and she swiftly drew him into a hug to comfort him.
Watching his brother lean on his girlfriend’s shoulder, for a brief moment Ethan felt very lonely. He had been single for so many years, resolutely determined to be independent. But right then, he would have given anything to have someone to lean on. And the only person he yearned to have their arms wrapped around him was Libby. On the platform earlier, he had felt a hand squeeze his and he had looked around to find it was Libby. Then the moment had passed, but it had been enough for him to draw comfort and he was grateful for her support.
Ethan looked at his grandad asleep in the bed once more. His grandad had proposed to their grandmother on that steam engine. It had been his dream to see it carry passengers once more and Ethan had failed. He should have stepped up more. He should have given more and the guilt weighed heavily on him.
He couldn’t leave for America now. There was no way he would leave his family at this awful time.
That meant that he would stay in Cranfield until probably Christmas at the earliest. But he had a sudden determination. That the Christmas train would run. That he would fulfil his grandad’s dream.
Now Ethan understood why Ryan had stayed on to take care of their dad when his parents’ marriage had fallen apart the previous year. The responsibility of his family was all encompassing. But it was time for Ethan to step up too.
The bad memories were still there in Cranfield. But he had to stay and help take care of his family. Perhaps it might just help him face up to the past as well.