Page 40 of Sunny Sundays at Primrose Hall

‘How was Jackson this morning?’ she asked as they took a seat at the table, clasping their mugs as a form of comfort.

‘Good. Well, fed up, actually, but I suppose that’s only to be expected. I know he’s desperate to get home. He really doesn’t like the idea of you having to deal with everything on your own.’

‘I know, but he shouldn’t worry about me. I can manage everything here. And I have Frank, Mateo and Ivy on hand to help me out. And you, of course. I’d rather he stay at the hospital getting the treatment he needs than coming home early when he’s clearly not ready, causing havoc.’ She gave a wry smile. ‘I’ll wait to hear from Ronnie and once we know what’s going on, I’ll go in and tell him the news.’ She sighed, not relishing the idea, but knowing that it had to be done. Her gaze drifted out of the window, struck by the contrast of the beauty of the landscape outside against the dark swirl of emotions she suspected they were both experiencing right at that moment.

‘Are you doing all right, Tom?’ Pia asked him. She laid a hand on his at the table. ‘You’re being strong for everyone else. I hope you’re remembering to look after yourself in all of this too.’

‘I’m all right,’ he said, with a sad smile. ‘Or at least I will be when I know Dad and Jackson will be okay. I wanted that sense of family for a long time and now I’ve found it, they’re bothputting me through the wringer a bit. Is this some kind of weird initiation process, do you reckon?’

Pia laughed.

‘Not at all. Hopefully it won’t be too long before they’re both home and sitting round this table with us, laughing. I’m glad you’re here with me now, though.’ Tom nodded his agreement. ‘How are you enjoying being over at the stables?’

‘I love it! I’m not sure I’d call it work, though. It’s more like a jolly day’s outing with a great group of people.’

‘Well, I know the traders all love having you as part of the gang, and also the changes you’ve implemented, well, mainly the one about meeting up at the pub regularly.’ Pia laughed. ‘It’s great to see you getting on so well with Sophie too…’ She let the unasked question hang there, her gaze appraising him.

‘Yeah.’ He looked up from where he’d been examining his clasped hands. ‘She’s a great girl. I like her.’

‘That’s good. You always seem to be having a good time together. Have you told her?’

‘What? No…’ He shrugged. ‘Do you think I should?’

‘Well, if you’re at all interested in taking things further, it might be an idea.’

Tom sucked on his lips as though that was a very big and difficult consideration.

‘I’d hate to offend her or find out that she only sees me as a friend.’

‘Well, the thing is you’ll never know if you don’t talk to her, and I hope I’m not talking out of turn here, but Sophie always seems to be enjoying herself when she’s around you.’

Tom nodded, buoyed by Pia’s encouragement.

As for Pia, she was just glad of Tom’s company and conversation as the time stretched interminably, and her fears grew, as they waited for news. It was getting on for a couple ofhours later when the phone finally rang and Pia jumped on it, her gaze snagging with Tom’s.

‘Ronnie! Thank goodness. What’s happening?’

‘It’s all done. He’s out and they’ve taken him up to a ward. He’s sleeping at the moment, but oh, my goodness, I can’t tell you what a relief it was to know that he’d come through the operation okay. Honestly, I would have been so cross with him if he’d bailed out on me when we were on our holidays together, I would never have forgiven him.’

Pia laughed, grateful to hear Ronnie sounding so much more upbeat.

‘And what have the doctors said? Are they pleased with how it went?’

‘I think so. I had a quick conversation with one of the doctors and it all sounded very positive, even if I didn’t really understand a word of what she was telling me. I just nodded along.’ She chuckled to herself. ‘I’m just relieved he’s back with us. I don’t know much else, to be honest with you, but I’ll find out. How long he’s likely to be in for, and what his follow-up treatment will be. I’m not sure how we’ll ever manage to get home, but I can’t worry about that now.’

‘No, don’t. We can help you get something sorted. Tom’s here, do you want to have a word with him, and I’ll tell Jackson later? I know he’ll want to call you.’

‘Well, that will be a first,’ said Ronnie, laughing. In that moment, as Pia handed the phone over to Tom, she thought there was no better sound than the tinkle of Ronnie’s laughter ringing in her ear. Pia collected the dirty mugs from the table and pottered around the kitchen, tidying things away, while Tom spoke to Ronnie.

‘So that sounds positive,’ she ventured, when Tom finished the call.

‘Yes, it’s a relief that the procedure seems to have gone okay, but I’ll be happier when we know the full details of what’s happened and what the outlook is.’

‘So, what’s the plan?’

‘Ronnie’s given me the name of the hospital and the ward Dad is on so I’ll give them a call in a while and see if I can find out some more information. I’ll need to get out there so I can see Dad for myself and get a better feel for what the situation is. Then we can start making arrangements for getting them home again.’

‘You do think Rex will pull through, don’t you?’ asked Pia, unable to contain her concerns.

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