Page 41 of Sunny Sundays at Primrose Hall

‘If I have anything to do with it, he will. I’ve only had Dad in my life for a year and I’m not prepared to say goodbye to him yet. Besides, he’s far too young. He’s got plenty more years to give. We’ll get him home so he can see his own doctor and then we’ll know what we’re dealing with.’

Pia couldn’t help thinking how Jackson would take the news. Even though he’d always known who his father was, it was only in recent months that they’d spent some quality time together, so much so that Jackson had invited Rex to come and live at the hall. With Ronnie living in her motorhome parked at the back of the hall, Pia relished being part of the warm, if dysfunctional family that she was now a part of.

‘Well, let me know when you get something sorted. I ought to get off soon to see Jackson and tell him what’s happened. I know he’s going to be upset, but I just hope that he doesn’t think it gives him the perfect excuse to discharge himself from hospital.’

‘Don’t worry about that. I think he knows he’d be pushing his luck after yesterday. Besides, he’s seeing the consultant tomorrow. He won’t want to do anything that might jeopardise his discharge. Once I’ve sorted out the arrangements for gettingover to France, I’ll go and see Jackson again so I can reassure him that everything is looked after.’

Pia breathed a huge sigh of relief. Not for the first time over the last couple of days, she had to wonder how she would ever have managed without Tom at her side. Knowing he would be with Ronnie and Rex in a matter of a few days gave her a great deal of comfort, but she knew she wouldn’t be entirely happy until she could see them with her own eyes and they, along with Jackson, were safely back home under the roof of Primrose Hall.

27

‘Shit, no!’ Jackson, his brow furrowed, shot up in his bed, immediately regretting that decision. He hadn’t got used to the idea that sudden fast movements were a very bad idea. ‘How is he? Where is he? When did this happen?’

‘This morning. Ronnie called to tell me.’

Pia filled Jackson in on all the details she knew. She had tried to break the news gently but there was no easy way of telling someone that their father had suffered a heart attack, so she’d come out with it in the baldest terms.

He pushed himself up further in his bed, but Pia could tell he was in a lot of pain today.

‘I’ll need to be there for him.’

‘Jackson!’ Pia laid her hand on his wrist as though physically stopping him from jumping out of his bed. It was a big shock obviously and she had half expected him to go immediately into problem-solving mode, in fact she wouldn’t have expected anything less. ‘You can’t. The best thing you can do for your mum and dad right now is to stay here and get better. We really don’t need any heroics from you right now.’

She flashed him a side glance and his top lip curled in protest at her comment. A whole range of emotions flitted across his features; fear, confusion and pain, as he shook his head, trying to process the news. She understood that he felt powerless, but however much he might want to help, there was nothing he could do, certainly not in his condition.

‘Do we know how he is?’

‘Okay, I think. They’ve put the stent in, they did that as an emergency procedure, and he’s now back on the ward resting.’

‘Christ!’ Jackson dropped his head into his hands. ‘Well, that’s come out of the blue. He looked so fit and happy when they left. He was positively beaming. I could never have imagined something like this would happen.’

‘Me neither.’ They both fell silent for a moment, lost in their own heads, and Pia wondered if Jackson’s thoughts had strayed in the same direction as hers. That the image of Rex, grinning wildly, waving out of the passenger window of the van, as they pootled off on their travels, could very nearly have been the last one they had of him. It didn’t bear thinking about.

‘I couldn’t believe it when Ronnie told me. I haven’t really got many more details yet. I didn’t like to push Ronnie too hard because she was obviously upset and a bit confused too. She’s having to deal with all of this on her own and her French isn’t the best, so I don’t think it can be easy for her. When I spoke to her the second time, she sounded better, knowing that Rex had got through the procedure okay.’

‘Poor Mum.’ Pia nodded in understanding as a pang of sympathy twisted in her chest. He rarely referred to Ronnie in that way. ‘Can you make some enquiries then and find out the best way of getting them home again? We can always get the van sent back separately.’

‘Don’t worry about it. Tom is already on the case. He came round this morning just as I’d heard from Ronnie. He’sobviously as concerned as we are. He was going to phone the hospital to see if he could find out any more information about your dad’s condition. He’s going to fly out as soon as he can to be with them. We don’t know yet how long Rex is going to be in hospital for and how soon he’ll be able to travel home, so we’ll have a much better idea when Tom gets out there.’

‘Jeez! I should be going out there with him.’

‘We all know you’d be straight out there to see them if you were well enough, but you’re not, Jackson. You can’t do it,’ she told him gently. ‘And really, Tom will have it covered. He’ll let us know exactly what the situation is once he’s out there.’

‘I guess.’ Jackson slumped back on his bed, his frustration and despondency evident to see. ‘I need to get out of this place, though. It’s driving me mad. I’ll talk to the doctors tomorrow and see what they say. There’s no point in me blocking a bed that would be better used by someone else.’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘Thank God for Tom, eh?’

‘Yeah, he’s been a star, and I know if the situations were reversed, you’d be doing exactly the same, so don’t worry about it.’ She knew that her reassurance went no way to make Jackson feel any better. ‘Once Tom’s firmed up on his travel arrangements then we’ll let you know his plans so really you don’t need to worry about the practicalities.’

He closed his eyes and shook his head.

‘It’s fine, Jackson. You don’t always have to be in control of absolutely everything. There’ll be times, like now, when it’s not possible and then you need to know when to let go. Tom and I have got this.’ She gave a smile, encouraging him to see the truth of her words, but she could tell how much it frustrated him not to be able to jump on that plane over to France himself.

‘And Tom really doesn’t mind going out there?’

‘Absolutely not. He wants to go. It was the first thing he said when he found out.’

‘What about his other commitments? Is he all right for money? Can you check with him? I don’t want him being out of pocket at all.’

‘I’ll speak to him and see if there’s anything he needs from us. You know, he reminds me so much of you. If there’s a problem, he immediately wants to find a way of fixing it. He is a real sweetheart, he cares about everyone. You’re two of a kind, do you know that?’

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