Drifting by Lyn Hemphill

Author:Lyn Hemphill [Hemphill, Lyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2022-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Tessa drew strength from Jet’s arm linked with hers as they walked up to the hospital. Logically, she knew Dad was fine; he’d just had a fall. That was common in dementia cases, and he’d been early onset. It shouldn’t be surprising that it was progressing to this point.

Telling herself didn’t seem to help, though. Hospitals would never be somewhere she was comfortable, not after the train. Not after stitches on her forehead from a nurse while somewhere else, doctors had huddled around her mum and brother, trying to revive them.

She assumed they’d tried. Nobody had ever told her. She’d been twelve, after all, and had been nobody’s priority right then. People didn’t tell twelve-year-olds things like that, certainly not in the nineties.

She found the entrance to the hospital and let Jet’s hand slip from hers as she approached the receptionist. “I’m here to see Tom Bordeaux. Someone said I might be able to see him out of visiting hours if he wasn’t in with the doctors.”

The receptionist clicked away at a computer. “Take a seat, love. The doctor will come out in a minute, I’m sure.”

“Tessa Bordeaux?” Tessa turned to see a small woman with a sensible bun and sensible shoes and a reassuring smile on her face. “I’m Amy, we spoke on the phone.”

Tessa took her hand. “Yes, of course, thank you. Is there any news?” She was aware of Jet approaching, standing beside her and a half step behind.

“He’s been for X-rays, and there’s no injury to his head. That’s always our first priority, though he said he didn’t think he’d bumped it on the way down. They think he might have a fracture in his ankle, but the film wasn’t quite clear. They’ve taken him in to have another look.”

Tessa let out a long breath, enough tension leaving her shoulders that a headache started to recede. She hadn’t even noticed herself getting one. “How is he in himself?”

Amy looked amused. “Very unimpressed with having to stay still. He does say he’s not in much pain, says it’s all a lot of fuss over nothing, but…” She shrugged. “Better to be safe than sorry.”

“Definitely. Can I see him, do you think?”

“As far as I know. He went for another X-ray about ten minutes ago, so he shouldn’t be long. Why don’t you take a seat?”

Tessa sagged, grateful for Jet’s arm tucking into hers again. “C’mon,” Jet said, tugging her over to the white plastic seats. “How are you doing?”

“Relieved,” she said. “Sorry I dragged you along.”

“Don’t be daft.” Jet held her gaze. “I’m happy to help if I can. You’re allowed to ask for help, you know?”

She laughed softly and looked away, unable to stand the sincerity in her eyes. “One of my colleagues said something similar recently. Must be the universe’s way of telling me that my human-disaster side is showing.”

“Or maybe it’s the universe’s way of telling you that you deserve support,” Jet said dryly.

She snorted, making a little psh sound. “As Sophie would say, sounds fake but okay.

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