Chapter Twenty-Seven
Thursday 12th December
Ashleigh – 34 Tilgate Road
Ashleigh spent the night dozing off and then waking up at the smallest of sounds, paranoid that it was her nan calling out. When she did get off to sleep, her dreams were full of Olivier and they were all muddled up with the past and the present. She could feel him all around her…his arms, his scent, the warmth of his eyes as he looked at her, his gentle voice saying things that made her laugh, made her heart skip…and then she’d wake up, cold in her bed from tossing the covers off as she fidgeted in her sleep.
She gave up at six and pulled on her dressing gown and big slippers, shuffling quietly across the hall to listen at Nan’s door. It was quiet so she pushed it open a little and found it dark apart from – of course – the glow from the Christmas lights she’d forgotten to turn off last night because of Nan’s fall. Inching closer to the bed, she could hear Simon snoring from where he was curled on the runner across the foot of it, but no noise from Nan.
Chest tight, she crept nearer and peered over the bed.
‘I’m not dead, if that’s what you’re wondering.’ Nan’s dry voice splintered the quiet and Ashleigh shrieked and jumped back.
‘Blimey, Nan, I was just checking on you.’ Ashleigh gulped in some air and lowered her voice. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Achy. Old,’ she grumbled and nestled down into her duvet some more.
‘I’ll call the surgery when it’s open shall I?’
‘Thank you.’
Ashleigh left, Simon on her heels as he thought there might be a chance of early breakfast. As Ash was boiling the kettle she realised that all her pattern stuff was next door. Her mood lifted for a moment as she thought of going over and seeing Olivier again, but the excitement dulled under the weight of worrying about her nan, and the argument last night where she’d said Ash should move out. First and foremost, she needed to make sure Nan was okay and look after her. She could deal with whether the moving was still required – or even possible… God, what if something was really wrong with Nan? What if she was seriously ill?
Dates with Olivier were definitely going to have to wait until she knew what was going on with everything else.
She sat at the kitchen table after feeding Simon and started making calls.
It turned out she couldn’t get an appointment with the GP for over a week. They advised her to go to A&E if her nan started showing any signs of concussion or deteriorating in any other way. So, Ash called James and asked if he wouldn’t mind coming over. Then, she called her boss at the farm to tell them what had happened and that she wouldn’t be able to make it in. Julie Baxter was so understanding and kind about it, Ash almost felt like shehadbeen on the phone to Mrs Christmas.
Finally, she tried to call her mum. She supposed it was the middle of the night over there in LA, which might explain why she was getting no answer. In the end, she just sent a message asking her mum to call her back urgently.
‘Is she okay?’ she asked James after he’d arrived and gone upstairs to take a look at nan. She’d made him a black coffee and held it out to him, noticing that her hand was shaking a little.
‘She is. She should really go to see her GP anyway to get checked out officially, especially if the dizziness hasn’t gone by the time the appointment comes around, but it sounds like she’s just got an ear infection that’s been putting her off balance. And she was really lucky with the fall.’
‘So how long will it take for her to be up and about again?’
‘Well, normally I’d say for her to start moving around to avoid stiffening up, but with the dizziness she needs to take it easy until it improves. Shouldn’t be too long though. A week maybe.’
‘But it’s most likely to be an ear infection, yeah? Nothing more serious.’
‘Most likely.’
‘Thank you so much for coming over. I’m sorry to ask you to work on your time off.’
‘It’s no problem, Ash. I became a doctor to help people – and you and your nan aren’t just people are you? We’re practically family.’
‘Romesh is so lucky to have you.’
‘He is, isn’t he?’ James joked and gave her a one-armed hug, still holding his coffee.
‘Speaking of families, have you heard anything yet?’
James sipped his drink and shook his head. ‘It’s driving us insane. I’m lucky my job’s more distracting; Ro’s mind wanders at the office. I know he’s putting a brave face on it but it’s hard.’
‘God, I’m sorry. It must be agony – having your future in the hands of a panel of experts.’ She squeezed his arm. ‘Are you on nights again this week?’
‘Yes.’
