AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 19
Mitch sat at Sidney’s bedside. listening to him wheezing. He was hooked up to oxygen which the local hospital had set up for them. Sidney had not travelled well and had been in bed for most of the time they’d been in Essex. Magda had been brilliant and nursed Sid all week, but Mitch had sent her off to catch up with her relatives. She would be staying with them overnight. It was not a long journey into London from the farm as Braintree was within the commuter belt.
Sid stirred and opened his watery eyes, which were near translucent, the rims, red.
‘I’m here, Sid.’ Mitch placed his hand on top of his great-uncle’s and squeezed it. He knew how much he meant to Sid, and that he had always seen him as more than a great-nephew. He was his heir, although the farm was included in Booth Farms Limited, it was the thought that counted and Sid had left him his possessions in his will.
Sid groaned.
‘You’ve been asleep for some days. Travelling wasn’t good for you was it?’
Sid moved his head slowly to the side. ‘Home.’
‘Yes, we’ll get home as soon as the doc says you’re strong enough to travel. I’ll get a larger hire car this time, and we’ll stagger the journey if you like. With more stops.’
‘Don’t want to die here.’
‘Don't talk like that.’ Mitch rubbed Sid’s hand. ‘The doctor said you’re improving. We have to stay put until you can breathe without the oxygen. They reckon that’ll be about three to four days.’
‘Good lad.’ Sid closed his eyes and appeared to be sleeping again.
Mitch breathed out a long sigh. He hoped Sid would regain his strength, he would hate for him to die here and not have his final wish of passing away at home in Eversley. He had gone to great lengths to find Magda, someone who was prepared to live in, so they could avoid placing Sid in a care home. He heard the door open and his sister, Shona, walked in.
Mitch turned, speaking in a whisper. ‘He woke up for a short while. Hopefully he’s on the mend.’
Shona placed her hand on Mitch’s shoulder. ‘Did he speak?’
Mitch nodded his head. ‘Let’s go to the kitchen.’
Picking up the portable baby monitor from the bedside, Mitch switched it on as he followed Shona out of the bedroom. The monitor was a godsend, he had borrowed it from his cousin. It meant they could keep an eye on Sid from the rest of the house.
The Essex farmhouse was much different from the one in Eversley, it was a sprawling single-storey property, built in the sixties when his grandfather moved over from Somerset. It was split into two living areas, one where his mother and father lived and the part he used to live in with Vanessa. He passed the partition door leading to his ex-marital home but did not go in. He could not face it – not yet. He was staying in his parents’ area.
Once in the kitchen, he prepared coffee. ‘Sid was asking to go home.’
‘I feel mortified about dragging him over here for my engagement. Especially as he was too ill to come to the party.’ Shona shook her head as she opened the fridge to retrieve the milk. ‘In fact, I feel totally selfish.’
‘He wanted to come.’
‘Maybe he wanted to say goodbye to us. We should have all come to Eversley instead. That would have been a lot more considerate.’
‘He probably wouldn’t have liked that. He might have felt he’d have to get the place ready for you all,’ Mitch said as he topped the cups with milk and passed the bottle back to Shona.
‘I’ve not been down for years; it would have been nice.’
‘Come in a few weeks’ time. You could stay in the village if you want to bring Steve. They’re doing bed and breakfast at The Eversley Arms now.’
Shona took a sip of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. ‘Have you been in touch with Holly yet?’
‘No.’
‘You’ll have to tell her you’re delayed.’
‘I’ll text her,’ he said, looking out of the window at his parents’ wide landscaped garden.
‘Text? She’s looking after your dog.’
Mitch took a sip of coffee without comment.
