‘That’s not what I meant. But anyway, is it all okay now?’ asked Barry.
‘No issues at all. I went back to work today. I’m having my stitches out on Friday. How about you?’ She swallowed hard, braced herself for his response and wished Cameron would hurry up with the drinks.
Cameron had perfect timing as he handed round glasses and put down a bowl of water for Gazza. He sat down right next to Ros, so close she could feel the warmth of his thigh against hers. She was grateful for his presence. She feared this was the bad news she’d been expecting for some time. But to look at her father he appeared bright and well – it was like hope was taunting her.
‘I’ve got something to say,’ said Barry, picking up his wine glass. Ros reached for Cameron’s hand and it was there. Barry noticed the gesture and smiled. ‘I’ve not been entirely truthful with you.’ Ros found she was looking to her mother for some sort of clarification but her deadpan expression gave nothing away. Barry continued. ‘I mentioned to you, Ros, about a drugs trial I’ve been offered at the hospital, and I know you weren’t keen but I signed up anyway. I figured that maybe you were right that they just wanted guinea pigs, but if by being a guinea pig I could help someone else then what did I have to lose? Turns out I had everything to gain. Now don’t go getting excited because this is definitely not a cure but I’ve been on the medication for a few weeks now and the tests show that the cancer is currently under control. I don’t know how much time it will buy me but there’s a bloke in Australia who was the first to use it and he’s still here two years later, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.’
Ros went down on her knees, so she was the right level to give him the biggest hug and she held on tight to her dad. She’d never dared to hope for a miracle but here it was. She wasn’t one for tears but the ones now coursing down her face she couldn’t control. Happiness and immense relief came over her in waves. She wasn’t losing her dad, well, not just yet anyway. She had no idea what the future held but for now she was going to enjoy this moment of respite and be thankful that he’d not listened to her advice.
‘Brilliant news, Barry,’ said Cameron, shaking him warmly by the hand. ‘I’m made up for you.’
‘Thanks, lad. I didn’t like keeping if from you both but I didn’t want to give you any false hope.’ Barry pulled back a little from Ros’s tight embrace. ‘Cabbage, you okay?’
Ros sniffed back more tears. ‘Oh, Dad. I love you so much.’
‘I love you too, Cabbage. Now let’s raise a glass.’
Ros went back to her seat, blew her nose, and Cameron handed her her wine.
‘To the future, however long it may last,’ said Barry and they all clinked glasses.
***
Darla rolled over and for a moment wondered where she was, but Elliott’s warm naked body filled in the gaps. She grinned to herself at the memory of the previous night’s antics. She checked the clock, another hour before she had to get up. She turned over and an alarm went off. Elliott stirred, whacked the alarm and rolled over to face her. It was nice to see him smile for a change. ‘Good morning,’ he said.
‘It’s a bit early.’
‘Yeah, sorry about that. Farming is relentless. It doesn’t stop for anything, not even birthdays or Christmas.’
‘How about a quickie before work?’ she suggested.
‘Oh absolutely. Everything stops for that,’ he said, reaching out and kissing her.
Mid-kiss her phone started going off. At this time in the morning it was either a crisis or more hopefully her boss ringing to say the building had been demolished and she didn’t need to go in. Through the kiss she said, ‘I best see who it is.’
She reached for the phone whilst still trying to kiss Elliott, and must have inadvertently answered a video call from her parents because when she looked at the screen their confused faces were staring back at her while in the tiny box was the image of Elliott kissing her ear. ‘Oh sh . . . shalom, good morning, Mum. Dad. Just a second.’ She angled the phone down so hopefully all they could see now was the bed covers. She turned to Elliott. ‘I don’t suppose you can speak French,’ she whispered.
‘Mais oui, bien sur, ma cherie.’
‘That’s perfect. Strong on the accent.’
‘Oh, you like that?’
‘Shhhh. French only while I speak to my parents.’
‘What?’ She gave him a look. ‘Quoi?’
She flipped her phone back over. ‘Hi.’ She gave an awkward wave. ‘Sorry about that. I’m just here with—’
‘Bonjour, je m’appelle Elliott.’
Maybe this was a bad idea. ‘Anyway, what’s up?’
‘Elliott it would seem,’ said her dad with thunderous eyes. If he hadn’t looked so cross it would have been funny.
‘Oh no, he’s just popped by. He’s going now.’ She shooed a very confused Elliott with a wave of her hand. He responded by throwing back the covers and getting out of bed, and she had to bring the phone closer to her face to avoid him flashing her parents, although they seemed almost as alarmed by her early morning close-up. ‘Are you both okay?’ she asked while watching Elliott leave the room. He had a gorgeous bum.
‘We’re sorry to call so early,’ said her mum. She had a troubled expression, which Darla assumed was not solely down to seeing her daughter being kissed by a random stranger. ‘It is early where you are, isn’t it?’ asked her mum.
‘Yes, very. But that’s okay. What’s wrong?’
Her mum looked to her dad. Darla felt uneasy. ‘There’s no easy way to say this but we thought you ought to hear it from us rather than someone else—’
‘Or on the internet,’ chipped in her mum. ‘I got a message from a friend of Barbara’s who’d had a Facebook thingy from a friend of his mum.’
She loved them but, boy, sometimes they were frustrating. ‘Hear what?’ she asked.
‘Patrick has been arrested,’ said her dad.
His statement threw her. She should probably seem surprised so belatedly she gasped. ‘Oh dear. But he’s nothing to do with me anymore. We split up a long time ago.’ She feared her very bad acting would give her away.
‘He tried to kidnap someone,’ blurted out her mum, her hand rushing to her mouth.
‘No, he . . . I’m sure he didn’t mean to,’ said Darla.
‘How do you accidentally kidnap someone?’ asked her dad, still looking cross.
‘I don’t know. But it’s nothing to do with me so that’s good.’ What was she saying?
