Read Online When You Walked Back Into My Life by Hilary Boyd - Free Book Online
Authors: Hilary Boyd
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dumb things like status and appearance. So I do too. I play the game.’
Flora smiled. ‘But you like the clothes too.’
‘Yeah, I suppose I’ve come to like them … quite a lot, I’m afraid,’ he admitted with a shy grin.
‘Nothing wrong with that,’ she said. And as she spoke he reached for her, laying his hand against her cheek in a gentle caress.
‘Is it OK if I kiss you?’ he asked.
*
The light from the uncurtained window woke her. Jake’s clock read five past seven. For a moment she stared at it, blinking. Then she stared at Jake, who lay beside her, his face childlike in sleep, his light curls crushed into the pillow. She remembered the sex almost with surprise. Surprise that it had happened at all, and surprise that she had enjoyed it, drunk as she was. Jake had made it fun, lighthearted,just two people getting together for mutual pleasure. But for Flora it was much more than that. Not because she thought herself in love with him, but because he was the first person she’d had sex with, the first person she’d kissed, or even touched in that way since Fin.
She pushed the duvet back and began to slide carefully out of bed, not wanting to disturb Jake. She would be late for work if she didn’t hurry. Her uniform was in Dorothea’s flat, but she couldn’t go to work looking this wrecked. She went through to the bathroom and tried to make the shower work. But the state-of-the-art controls were beyond her in her dazed state, and she gave up, just sluicing her face with some water and borrowing Jake’s comb to tidy her hair.
‘You weren’t going to leg it without saying goodbye again, were you?’ Jake stood leaning on the bathroom doorway in his boxers, rubbing his eyes.
‘I was, actually.’
‘Very bad manners,’ he said. ‘Won’t you even have some coffee before you go?’
Flora shook her head. ‘I have to be on duty at eight, and I’ve got to run home and change first.’
Jake shrugged. ‘Couldn’t you pull a sicky and come back to bed?’
Flora shook her head. That was the trouble with private nursing, the sense of obligation you developed for yourpatient. If she didn’t show, the people who would suffer most would be the night nurse, who had to hang around until a replacement was found – and Dorothea.
For a moment they stood and looked at each other in silence.
‘Thanks … thanks for last night,’ Flora said. ‘I had fun.’
‘Yeah, me too.’ He moved aside to let her go.
*
As soon as Mary saw her, she raised her eyebrows, giving an amused smile.
‘Rough night, eh?’
‘Is it that obvious?’
‘Perhaps not to most. But I’m from a family of professional drunks, me. Curse of the Irish. I’d recognise that jazzy look about the eyes at forty paces.’
Flora sat down heavily on the wooden chair in the kitchen.
‘Coffee?’ Mary moved to the kettle. ‘Water’s just boiled.’
Flora nodded gratefully.
‘Don’t forget it’s the stomach x-ray today. Rene rang last night to say she’ll be here to pick you up at nine-thirty.’
Flora’s eyes flew wide open. ‘Oh, no! Not today … please, please don’t let it be today. I’d totally forgotten.’
Mary laughed as she handed Flora her steaming mug of instant coffee. ‘Must say, I don’t envy you the outing.’
Flora looked at her watch in a panic. ‘I’d better get herdressed or we won’t be ready in time. Did she have a good night?’
‘Yes, pretty normal. I thought I heard her cry out at one point, but when I went in she was fast asleep. She seems quite bright this morning.’
‘Does she know about the x-ray?’
Mary nodded. ‘Not sure she took it in, but I told her.’ She went into the hall to get her backpack. ‘Sure you’ll be OK? You look pretty rough. I could stay and help with getting her ready if you like.’
‘Thanks, Mary. That’s a really kind offer, but I’ll be fine once the coffee kicks in. You get off.’
*
The morning was hell for Flora as she struggled with
Flora smiled. ‘But you like the clothes too.’
‘Yeah, I suppose I’ve come to like them … quite a lot, I’m afraid,’ he admitted with a shy grin.
‘Nothing wrong with that,’ she said. And as she spoke he reached for her, laying his hand against her cheek in a gentle caress.
‘Is it OK if I kiss you?’ he asked.
*
The light from the uncurtained window woke her. Jake’s clock read five past seven. For a moment she stared at it, blinking. Then she stared at Jake, who lay beside her, his face childlike in sleep, his light curls crushed into the pillow. She remembered the sex almost with surprise. Surprise that it had happened at all, and surprise that she had enjoyed it, drunk as she was. Jake had made it fun, lighthearted,just two people getting together for mutual pleasure. But for Flora it was much more than that. Not because she thought herself in love with him, but because he was the first person she’d had sex with, the first person she’d kissed, or even touched in that way since Fin.
She pushed the duvet back and began to slide carefully out of bed, not wanting to disturb Jake. She would be late for work if she didn’t hurry. Her uniform was in Dorothea’s flat, but she couldn’t go to work looking this wrecked. She went through to the bathroom and tried to make the shower work. But the state-of-the-art controls were beyond her in her dazed state, and she gave up, just sluicing her face with some water and borrowing Jake’s comb to tidy her hair.
‘You weren’t going to leg it without saying goodbye again, were you?’ Jake stood leaning on the bathroom doorway in his boxers, rubbing his eyes.
‘I was, actually.’
‘Very bad manners,’ he said. ‘Won’t you even have some coffee before you go?’
Flora shook her head. ‘I have to be on duty at eight, and I’ve got to run home and change first.’
Jake shrugged. ‘Couldn’t you pull a sicky and come back to bed?’
Flora shook her head. That was the trouble with private nursing, the sense of obligation you developed for yourpatient. If she didn’t show, the people who would suffer most would be the night nurse, who had to hang around until a replacement was found – and Dorothea.
For a moment they stood and looked at each other in silence.
‘Thanks … thanks for last night,’ Flora said. ‘I had fun.’
‘Yeah, me too.’ He moved aside to let her go.
*
As soon as Mary saw her, she raised her eyebrows, giving an amused smile.
‘Rough night, eh?’
‘Is it that obvious?’
‘Perhaps not to most. But I’m from a family of professional drunks, me. Curse of the Irish. I’d recognise that jazzy look about the eyes at forty paces.’
Flora sat down heavily on the wooden chair in the kitchen.
‘Coffee?’ Mary moved to the kettle. ‘Water’s just boiled.’
Flora nodded gratefully.
‘Don’t forget it’s the stomach x-ray today. Rene rang last night to say she’ll be here to pick you up at nine-thirty.’
Flora’s eyes flew wide open. ‘Oh, no! Not today … please, please don’t let it be today. I’d totally forgotten.’
Mary laughed as she handed Flora her steaming mug of instant coffee. ‘Must say, I don’t envy you the outing.’
Flora looked at her watch in a panic. ‘I’d better get herdressed or we won’t be ready in time. Did she have a good night?’
‘Yes, pretty normal. I thought I heard her cry out at one point, but when I went in she was fast asleep. She seems quite bright this morning.’
‘Does she know about the x-ray?’
Mary nodded. ‘Not sure she took it in, but I told her.’ She went into the hall to get her backpack. ‘Sure you’ll be OK? You look pretty rough. I could stay and help with getting her ready if you like.’
‘Thanks, Mary. That’s a really kind offer, but I’ll be fine once the coffee kicks in. You get off.’
*
The morning was hell for Flora as she struggled with
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