Page 73 of Mistletoe and Mulled Wine at the Christmas Campervan

Another dawn, another day, and after taking Daisy for a fresh-air blast of a stroll on the beach, with a maze of memories stirring of her and Jack there on the sands, Lucy was back at Jack’s bedside the following morning. The emotional impact of the past two days was still ricocheting through Lucy. An echo of fear lingering, reminding her of how fragile life could be. No doubt Jack was feeling it too.

Sat at his hospital bedside, holding his precious hand, Lucy could still feel the full force of those emotions; the dread at the thought of losing him. Looking at him there beneath the hospital covers, an ache of love surged within her.

‘Sorry to have put you through all this, Luce,’ Jack’s voice was soft, filled with regret. ‘And Mum and Dad … ah …’ Words failed him then. He choked up.

‘We’re all just glad you’re going to be alright. That’s all.’ She stroked his forehead gently, avoiding the stitched cut.

‘I don’t think my mother’s going to let me out of her sight when she gets me back home, is she?’ The plan was that he’d go to his parents’ from the hospital to convalesce, which made sense. ‘It’ll be like being a kid again.’ He pulled a face.

‘Hah, most likely.’

‘But hey, I think I’ve put them, and you, through enough these past few days,’ Jack continued. ‘I’ll have to just toe the line for now.’

‘Hah, you’d better.’ Lucy gave a smile. ‘Oh, by the way, the mobile catering crew’s grapevine has been all go. I’ve had a call from Emma, who sends her love, and promises to send over some chocolate supplies to keep your spirits up.’

‘Ah, that’s nice.’

‘And Ellie and Joe, they’ve sent a message from the whole castle team, sending hugs and a huge get well soon.’

Jack smiled. ‘Yeah, I’ve had message from burger van Bob. And there’s a card from Carrie. She’s baking get well cupcakes to bring over for me, apparently. Word of my misadventures must be out on the circuit.’

‘That’s lovely. Nice to know you’ve got that support. They’re a great bunch.’

It was good to know these newfound friends had their backs.

The two of them chatted on for a while. Lucy ended her visit with a gentle ‘goodbye for now’ kiss. Jack’s after-shave and his smell filling her senses, with a teeny back-note of hospital bedlinen. She couldn’t wait to get him out of here and back fully into her arms.

That afternoon, Lucy dropped by at Becky’s, wanting to thank her for her caring phone call offer of help. Hoping for a mug of tea, some girlie chat, and a bit of downtime after the high emotions of the hospital, she rolled up at her friend’s front door.

Becky appeared almost as soon as the doorbell had chimed. ‘Hi Luce. How’s the patient doing, then?’

A crumpled-looking Lucy tried to smile, but as Becky folded her into a hug on the front step, that small act of support was enough to let out all the tears Lucy had been keeping back.

‘Oh Luce, hun, what’s been happening? Is Jack going to be okay?’ Becky’s face had paled with concern.

‘Ah … yes … he’s okay, well, he will be soon …’ Lucy’s shoulders heaved. ‘And I’m alright, honestly,’ she blubbed. ‘It’s just … I’ve been holding everything back.’

‘Oh, thank God. Come on in, petal. There’s tea, Jammy Dodgers, whatever you’d like. There’s bound to be a Dairy Milk or a Crunchie sneaked away in the back of the fridge, too.’

Lucy had to smile. Becky nearly always had a bar of something stashed away from Darren’s chocolate-craving clutches. She followed her bestie through to the kitchen-diner. It was bliss just to give in and sink down onto one of Becky’s dining stools, while her friend popped the kettle on. The tension of the past couple of days finally beginning to dissolve.

With tea and biscuits to hand, Jack’s diagnosis and recovery discussed, and the world put to rights between them, Lucy then remembered her concerns about the state of Becky’s relationship with partner Darren. ‘So, did you two ever have that talk?’ Lucy asked.

‘Well, I tried. Last night I finally plucked up courage and broached the issue of his distance. It’s like even when he’s here, he’s not, if you know what I mean. His head’s been all over the place.’

‘And … what did he say?’

‘He seemed a bit distracted at first. Still insisting it was all to do with work. It just didn’t add up, though. I still couldn’t help but wonder if he was having some kind of fling. I never imagined that me and Darren would ever get to this. But relationships can change so quickly. It’s been a bit scary.’

Lucy nodded in empathy, ‘Oh, Becks.’

‘And well,’ her pal continued, ‘I persevered, I asked him outright if he was having an affair, and he looked kind of stunned … then it all came spilling out. As well as work being crazy busy, with loads of pressure on him, his brother has been having some tests. Well, I knew Sam had had some dizzy spells, and it was obvious he’d been losing a bit of weight lately.’

‘Oh no, sorry, I hadn’t realised, that must be so worrying for you all.’

‘Anyway, his brother had made Darren promise not to tell anyone until he’d got the results from the latest brain scan … until he knew what he was dealing with. But, thank God, there doesn’t seem to be anything too scary. He finally heard this morning, it’s most likely viral, no sign of any tumours or anything.’

‘Phew, but God, that must have been so tough for Darren, not knowing before that.’