‘I absolutely would,’ Amy said.
For a moment they simply stood, eyeballing each other. Grace gave in first, as Amy had hoped– not least because she didn’t have Barbara’s phone number.
‘There was a minor accident,’ Grace reluctantly acknowledged. ‘Dr Novak described it as me “having a fall”, if you can believe it– like I’m some feeble old dear who can’t be trusted to walk in a straight line.’
Amy felt the ground beneath her wobble– or perhaps it was her legs.
‘You fell over?’ she asked.
‘I tripped on some uneven pavement and stumbled on the high street,’ Grace said. ‘Barb was with me and I was seen to straight away– she and Dave took me to the hospital and I was discharged a few hours later. It was barely worth mentioning.’
‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,’ Amy said, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice.
‘I didn’t want you to feel like you had to come rushing back here in a panic,’ Grace said. ‘You have your own life to live … your job, your friends. And I know you much prefer being in London.’
Grace was simply being truthful, not trying to wound– but the words cut Amy anyway.
‘I had a right to know,’ she said, indignant but also painfully aware that her gran’s motives weren’t selfish.
‘When did this happen?’ Amy asked.
‘About six weeks ago,’ Grace replied, inspecting something on the lino.
‘SIX WEEKS?’
‘Yes.’
‘But … If it was that long ago, why are you still …?’ How could Amy put this? Unstable? Unsteady? In pain?
Grace sighed again.
‘It seems that knocking my left leg has indeed caused my arthritis to flare up,’ she explained. ‘When they scanned my hip at the hospital to check nothing was broken, they were concerned by what was rather charmingly called the “excessive wear and tear” on the joint. That, plus the pain I’m still in, is why they’ve put me on the waiting list for a hip replacement.’
‘A hip replacement?’
‘Yes. Is there some problem with your ears?’ Grace asked, knitting her eyebrows sarcastically.
‘Don’t make jokes!’ Amy cried. ‘This is serious. A hip replacement is a big bloody deal!’
‘Donotswear at me, Amy,’ Grace instructed. ‘You might be an adult and I may be temporarily infirm, but I’m still your gran. I am well aware this is major surgery and that it’ll take me a while to get back on my feet after it’s done.’
‘And when will that be?’ Amy asked.
‘I don’t have an exact date yet,’ her gran said, ‘but Dr Novak seems to think it could be within the next couple of months.’
‘And …’ Amy could hardly believe she was about to say this, but she knew she had to: ‘if I hadn’t ended up coming here this weekend– if things hadn’t kicked off between Hugh and me– would you have told me when your appointment came through? Would you have let me know what was happening then?’
Grace was silent, but consternation was written all over her face.
Amy struggled for the right thing to say and came up with nothing.
‘Sorry,’ Kit suddenly interjected. ‘I’ve been ages. I love a nose around a new bathroom … Are you ready, Amy?’
Amy realised she still had Bertie’s lead in her right hand, which she’d long since bunched into a fist. The dog was sitting next to her, whining and staring up at it plaintively.
‘Yes,’ Amy said, slightly shrill. She knelt down to wrestle Bertie into his harness, trying to shake off the conversation she’d just had with Grace.
‘Do you want anything brought back from the village, Gran?’ she asked, her voice flat and thick.
