Read Online The Sun in Her Eyes by Paige Toon - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Paige Toon
Ads: Link
giving me a quick hug before turning away.
I watch from the doorway until he’s out of sight.
‘Here she is at last,’ Liz says nonchalantly when I appear at Dad’s bedside a few hours later. ‘How’s your head?’ she booms, making me wish
I was a turtle so I could retract said head back into its protective shell.
‘Fine, unless I’m being shouted at,’ I reply pointedly. ‘Hi, Dad.’ I smile sweetly and go over to kiss his cheek. ‘Ooh, I need to give you another
shave,’ I add, stroking his stubble.
‘Liz wanted to,’ he slurs slowly. The effort to speak is still immense, but he’s getting easier to understand. ‘I said no.’
I laugh under my breath. ‘Good one, Dad. You know I won’t cut you.’
Liz tuts, but I don’t look over my shoulder to see if she’s smiling. If she doesn’t know by now when Dad is teasing her, tough.
‘Shall I make a start now?’ I ask, opening his bedside drawer to check his shaving kit is inside. It is.
‘No. Something to show you,’ he says.
I stare at him with confusion before glancing at Liz to see her nodding with encouragement.
His limbs shake as he moves, painfully slowly, off the bed, then to my joy and amazement, a few minutes later he is shuffling his way across the room, with only the use of a walking stick to aid
him.
‘Oh Dad,’ I cry, beaming at Liz to see that her eyes are shining, too. Our earlier run-in is all but forgotten.
Chapter 8
It’s supposed to rain on Tuesday, but on Monday afternoon the skies are clear. We should be able to see the stars from the park tonight.
I’ve been having words with myself about Ethan. Obviously I know that I shouldn’t be feeling like this for a man who isn’t my husband and, in the cold light of day, I feel
guilty.
If our roles were reversed, I wouldn’t want Ned to go tonight, but I can’t bring myself to cancel. The truth is, on Friday night I felt like I got the old Ethan back – my
friend, Ethan. And I’ve missed him.
I love Ned, and even though we’ve been arguing a lot lately, I know in my heart that we’re good for each other. He has absolutely nothing to worry about, just like Sadie had no
grounds for concern when Ethan and I were younger.
I may have fantasised about Ethan for years, but at the end of the day it’s harmless, because nothing is ever going to come of it.
‘What’s the deal with the E-Type?’ I ask him when we walk outside to see a grey Golf GTI pulled up on the road. ‘Josh said your dad gave it to you as an engagement
present.’
‘He did.’ He flashes me a wry look over the car’s roof. ‘Think he regrets it now. Not because of Sadie and me,’ he clarifies as we get in and shut the doors.
‘He just wishes it was still his.’
‘I remember when he used to let us play in it as kids.’
‘I remember that too,’ he says fondly as he starts up the ignition. I avert my gaze from his toned, tanned arms. ‘I’ll have to take you for a spin in it
sometime.’
I try to ignore the thrill that his comment spikes.
We park as close as we can to Botanic Park, which adjoins Adelaide’s beautiful Botanic Gardens. Ethan told me earlier to bring a jacket, but he said he’d sort everything else. I
spent most of this afternoon with Dad in the Rehab Ward, so I appreciated not having to think about anything organisational.
Yesterday he went to the toilet by himself, which was an incredible achievement. He’s still suffering from hemiparesis – weakness – on the right-hand side of his body, but with
help from a walking aid he can go a small distance on his own.
His doctors think that he might be able to return home by next weekend. The thought makes me feel both elated and terrified in equal measure. I think, for once, Liz and I might be on the same
wavelength.
It’s only seven thirty when Ethan and I arrive at the park, and the film starts closer to nine, so we find a decent position about halfway back from the screen and lay out a rug. Ethan has
I watch from the doorway until he’s out of sight.
‘Here she is at last,’ Liz says nonchalantly when I appear at Dad’s bedside a few hours later. ‘How’s your head?’ she booms, making me wish
I was a turtle so I could retract said head back into its protective shell.
‘Fine, unless I’m being shouted at,’ I reply pointedly. ‘Hi, Dad.’ I smile sweetly and go over to kiss his cheek. ‘Ooh, I need to give you another
shave,’ I add, stroking his stubble.
‘Liz wanted to,’ he slurs slowly. The effort to speak is still immense, but he’s getting easier to understand. ‘I said no.’
I laugh under my breath. ‘Good one, Dad. You know I won’t cut you.’
Liz tuts, but I don’t look over my shoulder to see if she’s smiling. If she doesn’t know by now when Dad is teasing her, tough.
‘Shall I make a start now?’ I ask, opening his bedside drawer to check his shaving kit is inside. It is.
‘No. Something to show you,’ he says.
I stare at him with confusion before glancing at Liz to see her nodding with encouragement.
His limbs shake as he moves, painfully slowly, off the bed, then to my joy and amazement, a few minutes later he is shuffling his way across the room, with only the use of a walking stick to aid
him.
‘Oh Dad,’ I cry, beaming at Liz to see that her eyes are shining, too. Our earlier run-in is all but forgotten.
Chapter 8
It’s supposed to rain on Tuesday, but on Monday afternoon the skies are clear. We should be able to see the stars from the park tonight.
I’ve been having words with myself about Ethan. Obviously I know that I shouldn’t be feeling like this for a man who isn’t my husband and, in the cold light of day, I feel
guilty.
If our roles were reversed, I wouldn’t want Ned to go tonight, but I can’t bring myself to cancel. The truth is, on Friday night I felt like I got the old Ethan back – my
friend, Ethan. And I’ve missed him.
I love Ned, and even though we’ve been arguing a lot lately, I know in my heart that we’re good for each other. He has absolutely nothing to worry about, just like Sadie had no
grounds for concern when Ethan and I were younger.
I may have fantasised about Ethan for years, but at the end of the day it’s harmless, because nothing is ever going to come of it.
‘What’s the deal with the E-Type?’ I ask him when we walk outside to see a grey Golf GTI pulled up on the road. ‘Josh said your dad gave it to you as an engagement
present.’
‘He did.’ He flashes me a wry look over the car’s roof. ‘Think he regrets it now. Not because of Sadie and me,’ he clarifies as we get in and shut the doors.
‘He just wishes it was still his.’
‘I remember when he used to let us play in it as kids.’
‘I remember that too,’ he says fondly as he starts up the ignition. I avert my gaze from his toned, tanned arms. ‘I’ll have to take you for a spin in it
sometime.’
I try to ignore the thrill that his comment spikes.
We park as close as we can to Botanic Park, which adjoins Adelaide’s beautiful Botanic Gardens. Ethan told me earlier to bring a jacket, but he said he’d sort everything else. I
spent most of this afternoon with Dad in the Rehab Ward, so I appreciated not having to think about anything organisational.
Yesterday he went to the toilet by himself, which was an incredible achievement. He’s still suffering from hemiparesis – weakness – on the right-hand side of his body, but with
help from a walking aid he can go a small distance on his own.
His doctors think that he might be able to return home by next weekend. The thought makes me feel both elated and terrified in equal measure. I think, for once, Liz and I might be on the same
wavelength.
It’s only seven thirty when Ethan and I arrive at the park, and the film starts closer to nine, so we find a decent position about halfway back from the screen and lay out a rug. Ethan has
Similar Books
