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“Already?” she says a little loudly. The receptionist looks up at us briefly, face tight. “It’s only been two weeks.”
“Eleven days, actually.” I chew my fingernail. “Do you see what I mean?”
“When does he want you to meet her?” she whispers eagerly, throwing a quick glance at the receptionist.
“Tomorrow.” I twist my lips, cringing. “I said yes because, well, he kind of cornered me.” It was during our second bottle of Laurent-Perrier Rosé at The Flask last Tuesday. I’d have agreed to marry him naked on Brighton Pier if he’d asked. “It was a spur of the moment thing, but I’m having second thoughts now. It just all seems to be happening a bit too fast.”
Tina raises her eyebrows. “Well, he must really like you, then. Maybe he just wants to make sure you and his little girl get along before, you know, anything develops.”
“Hmm…” Perhaps Tina’s right. I hadn’t thought of that. Although there’s no way I want another serious relationship. It’s too soon for that. “Anyway, I’m child-minding Florian tomorrow – a last minute thing. I promised Vicky.” A nurse bustles past us and we both draw our legs in. “So, I’ll have to ask him for a rain check.”
“How old is his Princess?”
“About four, five?” I stare at the window blithely. The rain is unforgiving. I wonder if Nick had the sense to wait inside the café.
“Oh, you don’t know, then?”
“Not exactly, no. I never thought to ask. Daniel doesn’t really talk about his family.” I incline my head thoughtfully. “But when I saw her on the beach in Cyprus she looked about that age.”
“So, take Florian with.”
“Nah, he’ll probably get bored. He’s going through that ‘all girls smell’ period.”
“Or are you just making excuses?” She pivots in her chair and grabs my hands. “Audrey. Look at me, look at where we are.” She gazes around her. “Life is short, damn it, don’t let chances pass you by. Daniel sounds like a lovely bloke. I wouldn’t push him away if I were you. I mean, look what happened with me and Ronan.” I feel my face redden. Does she still have feelings for Ronan? I run my tongue against my bottom lip. I wonder if I should confess about the kiss. Surely, it wouldn’t bother her. She’d understand that it was a moment of madness when I explain. I bet she’d even find it funny. I mean, it’s not as if she was going out with him when I threw myself at him on my doorstep. I open my mouth to speak but the radiologist appears with another file clutched to her chest and we both look up at her expectantly.
“Rosemary Frost?” The lady opposite with the black oversized bag raises her eyebrows at me as if to say “here goes”. I mouth “good luck” and she smiles as she gets to her feet. Tina and I deflate back into our seats and the moment has gone.
“So, are you going to shag him tomorrow?” Tina says after a while, tapping my foot with her white slipper playfully.
“Tina!”
“What?”
“No! We’ll have the kids, remember.” I shake my head. “That’s if I go.”
“Not all night you won’t.” Tina looks at the window. “It’s bucketing down. Do you think Nick’s still there?”
And before I can answer a voice calls out, “Tina Hunt?” We both shoot to our feet. We trot behind the nurse along the dark corridor, veering off to the left at the end.
Dr Hill is a quirky, well-spoken woman in her late forties who uses short, snappy sentences to get her point across quickly. Of course, I can sit in, she tells me, waving a hand. Her thick, dark bob bounces around her shoulders as she moves around the room, “It’s no problem at all.” She smells of luxurious perfume but I’m not quite sure about the grey pinafore dress she’s wearing, very officey, I was expecting her to turn up in scrubs.
I sit stiffly in the corner, facing Tina, my fingers and legs tightly crossed for her, my heart pounding in my chest, stomach, ears. The dark room, illuminated by the glare of the computer screen, is thick with tension.
“Right,” she trills as if we’re all going on an adventure, “let’s see what’s happening.” Her thin eyebrows knot in concentration as she slides the scanner vertically, then horizontally over Tina’s skin, eyes glued to the screen.
“Just as I thought,” she says after a while. My bum finds the edge of the seat, my eyes widen. “You’ve got cysts,” she announces triumphantly.
“What? You mean more than one?” Tina is staring at Dr Hill in horror. “Am I going to die?”
“No, of course not,” she laughs, “They’re perfectly harmless.” We all breathe a loud sigh of relief. It takes all the strength I have to stop myself from getting up and kissing Dr Hill. Hard on the lips. “How old are you, Tina?” She glances at her notes, “Oh, thirty-six.” She shakes her head and her brown bob dances around her face, “Yes, they’re very common in women your age. And the mammogram looks clear too. Right. Do you want me to aspirate them for you?”
Tina is dressed and we’re ready to go. The rain has stopped and the sun is streaming through the windows.
“Come on,” I say, with glee, “I’m buying.”
“It’d better be a bottle of prosecco,” she warns, as she slides an arm into her brown leather jacket, “Each.” We both laugh, although I’m sure she means it. “Thanks for today, Audrey.” She yanks her long, auburn curls out of her jacket then pulls me into her arms. “You’re the best friend in the world.” We rock from side to side in a tight bear hug, then suddenly she pulls away. “Oh, shit, I almost forgot.” We disentangle quickly and she rushes to the window. I watch as she frowns down at the street, craning her neck, hands on the ledge, then suddenly she grins widely and holds up her thumbs.
I shake my head as I make my way towards her. Nick’s still here. I knew it. Stubborn as ever. But if he thinks he’s going to catch me off guard as I walk out of the hospital, force me into the pub for a drink and a chat, then he’s more deluded than I thought.
