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Jamie chuckled. ‘Yeah, it is, isn’t it? Jess has younger brothers and between them things can get a little loud.’
‘Do you have brothers?’ Jess turned to Anna.
‘No, I’m an only child.’ Since this was an adult conversation, a little honesty was in order. ‘I had loads of adult conversation when I was your age. I often wished I had brothers or sisters.’
Jess considered the thought. ‘I like my brothers. Most of the time.’
‘How many do you have?’ Anna had seen Caroline with the baby and an older boy, and Caroline had joked that she was bringing the children to see their Uncle Jon in instalments so they could each get to know him on their own terms.
‘Three.’
‘The twins are five. And then there’s Joshua, he’s going to be a year old next month.’ Jamie elaborated.
‘That sounds like a lot of noise.’
Jess nodded. ‘Yes, it is sometimes. They’re not allowed in my room. Mum says that’s just for me.’
Anna imagined that Jess’s room would be neat and tidy, probably with a bit of pink and a lot of sparkle. Her special place. And she had her Uncle Jamie to take her for tea and some adult conversation. It was nice of him to think of doing that.
Jess had finished her drink and was sliding her book carefully into her backpack. Jamie grinned. ‘You’re going back upstairs to see your mum and Uncle Jon?’
‘Yes. Don’t forget what I told you, Uncle Jamie.’
Jamie spread his hand across his heart, in the expression of innocence that always made Anna smile. ‘No, of course not. You remember the way...?’
Jess rolled her eyes. ‘You don’t need to come with me, Uncle Jamie. I can go on my own.’
‘Yes, of course you can. I’ll just walk you to the door, then, I’m going to get some more tea.’ He flashed the hint of a wink at Anna.
She watched as Jamie lingered by the entrance to the cafeteria, obviously watching Jess along the corridor and towards the stairs that led straight up to Jon’s ward. He turned, pulling his phone from his pocket and speaking a few words into it, before going to the counter and ordering a cup of coffee. Presumably Caroline now knew to expect her daughter’s arrival at any moment.
‘That’s very sweet of you...’ Anna smiled at him as he sat back down.
‘You think so?’ That innocent look again. ‘I’m always up for a bit of adult conversation too. Jess has decided she wants to take me in hand.’
He pushed his half-drunk cup of herbal tea to one side and took a sip of the coffee. Clearly he and Jess had their own set of rules for tea drinking, which stipulated they should both have the same herbal blend, but Jamie preferred coffee.
‘She knows about you and Jon?’
Jamie shrugged. ‘She was old enough when the argument happened to know that something really bad was going on. Not old enough to understand it properly. That’s not easy for her.’
Anna’s own childhood had been full of carefully explained things, all of them age appropriate. She’d never had brothers and sisters, or uncles and aunts, whose actions were a mystery to her.
‘But you’ve explained things to her.’
‘She knows that her twin brothers argue, and then make up and turn into the best of friends again. I told her that when you’re grown up things sometimes get a bit more complicated, but that I’ll always love her and so will her Uncle Jon.’ Jamie quirked his lips down. ‘Caroline will make sure that Jon keeps to his end of that bargain.’
‘Not you?’
Jamie laughed suddenly. ‘You and Jess would get on like a house on fire. She’s made me a list of five things I have to do.’
‘She has? Good girl! I hope you’ve taken note.’
‘I did. I take note of everything you say as well.’ The humour in his eyes couldn’t conceal their warmth. ‘I told her that taking him shopping to get him a present wasn’t really our style, so we agreed on going to the pub for a quiet drink together. Although we’ll have to choose our spot if we don’t want to be besieged by Jon’s fans.’
Jamie’s easy relationship with his niece was nice, he was the protective adult who kept his niece from harm, but they could still talk as equals. Anna had been fascinated by the complex interactions of a large family when she’d been married, and she missed them. Now the only place she could find them was here, at the clinic, and she felt pretty much the same as Jess obviously did. If she could make peace, she would.
‘Your...um...name came up. In my counselling session.’ Jamie was staring into his coffee now.
