Chapter 27
27
Libby shivered, despite being sat next to the fireplace in the lounge of Harriet and Joe’s cottage on Railway Lane.
It had only been two hours since the disaster of the Halloween train. But it turned out that a greater disaster had been waiting to reveal itself.
She had been watching Ethan after he had climbed down from the driver’s cab and had been wondering what she could say to cheer him up about the passengers being so disgruntled about having their journey cut short. But suddenly he had rushed over to Eddie, who had collapsed onto the ground with his stricken-looking family surrounding him, and everything else had been forgotten.
Not wanting to interrupt them but desperate to know that Eddie was okay, Libby had headed over to stand with Harriet and Joe, who were quickly joined by Flora and Nico, along with Grams, Flora’s grandmother.
‘Stroke or heart,’ Grams had whispered, her eyes still on Eddie. ‘I’d put money on it.’
Grams had known Eddie since their school days, both born and bred in Cranley, and was suitably upset by seeing her friend so stricken.
Libby could only look on anxiously whilst they had waited for the paramedics to arrive. She had found her eyes seeking out Ethan, who was drained of all colour as he crouched down next to his grandfather.
When the paramedics had arrived, they had appeared to confirm Grams’ diagnosis of a stroke before carefully taking Eddie away on a stretcher. Bob went with him in the ambulance, whilst Ryan, Katy and Ethan were to take their car to the hospital.
Katy and Ryan had received brief hugs from their friends before they’d sprinted upstairs to grab the car keys. Ethan had waited downstairs on the platform, his face set in stone.
Libby had gone over to where Ethan stood a little away from everyone else and took his hand in hers.
He had given a small start as he felt her touch and looked down at her in a daze. But as Katy and Ryan had returned to head off to hospital, Libby had felt him give her the briefest of squeezes with his own hand before letting go and rushing off with them.
Words weren’t necessary, thought Libby. That was Ethan’s way of thanking her and she was grateful to have brought him some kind of temporary respite.
She knew that hours of waiting lay ahead for him, as she too had endured the long wait that Ethan would now be trying to get through, knowing that life wouldn’t ever quite be the same for Eddie or the family ever again.
Everyone left behind had then silently dismantled all the Halloween decorations inside the train and on the platform, as if nobody could bare to look at them any more.
‘Here,’ said Flora, pressing a hot mug of tea into Libby’s hands. ‘You look done in.’
‘I’m okay,’ said Libby briskly. ‘Just a little cold.’
She wasn’t okay, of course. Eddie’s stroke was bringing back all sorts of bad memories as to when her dad had suffered the same trauma. But she was grateful for the furry warmth of Paddington the dog, who had just wandered over to sit right next to her and place his heavy head on her legs. She was pretty certain he just wanted to hog the heat from the fire, but the dog was a welcome comfort nonetheless.
She moved the mug to one hand so that she could stroke Paddington’s soft head with the other.
‘Hmmm,’ said Flora, giving her friend a look of disbelief, but she didn’t say anything. Instead she checked her phone one more time. ‘So, it sounds as if Eddie’s going to be transferred to a ward later tonight,’ she said.
‘That’s good,’ said Harriet, who was sitting on the nearby sofa looking upset. Whereas Libby could hide most of her innermost feelings, Harriet was the complete opposite. Sitting next to her was her fiancé Joe, who wrapped his arm around Harriet and pulled her into him.
Grams sat down next to them and patted Harriet’s hand with hers. ‘He’s in the best place for now,’ she said.
‘Should we do something? Send something?’ asked Nico, Flora’s boyfriend.
Grams shook her head. ‘The best thing we can do is give them all a little space as they try to come to terms with it all. It’s been a shock for everyone, least of all Eddie, of course.’
Nico nodded. ‘We can help out when he comes home,’ he said, with a firm nod.
Grams nodded her agreement. ‘That’s what friends do. Rally round where they can. I’ll start whipping up a few dishes that he and Bob can pop in the microwave for ease.’
‘A bit of your home cooking is medicine all by itself,’ said Nico, giving Grams a soft smile.
Grams’ cooking was excellent and she had rustled up a box of her home-made biscuits from somewhere. She held out the box towards Libby.
‘Sugar is always good for a shock,’ she said.
But Libby shook her head. ‘And absolutely no use for my skinny jeans unfortunately,’ she replied. But even she could tell her tone was too bright, too loud as it betrayed her shaky frame of mind.
‘Then take a couple home for your dad,’ said Grams gently. ‘You can both enjoy them later. They’ll keep for a few days.’
‘Thank you,’ said Libby.
She had updated her dad on Eddie’s condition before heading to Harriet’s cottage, and right now she just wanted to head home and give her dad a hug.
So, after quickly downing her sweet tea, she went home.
She thought her dad might have gone up to bed, but instead she found him waiting in his armchair, over an hour after his usual bedtime.
As they locked eyes, she realised that the evening’s events had triggered bad memories for them both. His soft blue eyes held tears as he looked at her.
There were so many things she could have said in that moment, but all she could think of was to tell him how much she loved him as she rushed across to kneel next to his armchair and wrap her arms around him.
She was grateful for his head on her shoulder, for the pat on her back with his good hand and for the murmured I love you in return.
As they held and comforted each other, Libby wondered how much the stroke would impact Eddie. Would it change his life completely as it had done for her father? She sincerely hoped not. After all, surely lightning couldn’t strike the same place twice, could it?
Then her thoughts turned to Ethan and her heart went out to him as she knew how upset he would be. She realised that it didn’t matter about their disastrous secret marriage, nor even the prom any more. It didn’t matter about her pride or even a broken heart. Nothing was more important than a loved one and she wished that she could take away the pain that he was surely in at that moment.