Page 26 of The Notecard
He reached down and held my hand. Something I don’t think he had ever done before. At least not since I was a little boy. He must have been so scared.
‘You’re an incredible human being, Nick. A wonderful man. I’m so very proud of you. I think you will be an exceptional doctor. I’m not worried about that. You’re far more intelligent than I ever was, and I can see the dedication in you. But can I tell you something?’
I nodded. I felt the sunshine on the back of my head. I can still feel it now when I close my eyes. The warmth of it. The feeling of being in that room with Dad. His hand in mine.
‘There is more to life than work. It is important, of course, and being a doctor is hard. The first few years will test you more than you can even imagine. You’ll get caught up in it, I know I did. But never forget that the most important thing in the world, Nick, the thing that matters the most, has always mattered more than anything in history, is love. Love is the most important and also the most difficult thing to find. So when you do, hold on to it. Never let it go. From the day I met your mother, I knew she was it. The one. I want you to have that too.’
Dad stopped and looked at me. We smiled, and a moment passed between us, and then we started talking about medicine as we always did. But something had changed in our relationship. Something had changed within me. I think Dad saw what I already knew. I was going to have a difficult time with love. It isn’t something that comes easily to me. The intricate workings of the human body are more easily digested to me than the needs and wants of the heart.
I stand up, notecard in hand, and I get ready to go across the hall to see Meg. To deliver my message with Dad’s words ringing in my ears. The thing that matters the most, has always mattered more than anything in history, is love.
Meg
Beth just posted an Instagram story from Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. It looks incredible. Rugged limestone cliffs topped with trees, sparkling emerald water, and little pockets of golden sand. She posted photos from a food market; beef pho and Vietnamese coffee. Beth looks incredible in a loose pair of linen trousers and a plain pink t-shirt, her hair tied back in a ponytail, no make-up. It looks hot, exotic and so far away from Kentish Town. I want to be there already. Away from the drama of Laura’s wedding. I want the freedom of being out in the world like Beth; travelling, wanderlust, and everything that comes with it. She’s off to Bali tomorrow before she heads to Australia for three months. I’m going to STA Travel this week to book my round-the-world ticket, and then I’m going to tell work. Watching Beth’s Instagram stories fills with excitement and nervousness. I have so much to plan before August. So much to do.
‘Wine?’ shouts Hugh from the living room.
I’m leaving soon, but I have time for a quick drink. I walk into the living room. Hugh is sitting at the table, while Keri is still in the kitchen making her gourmet baked beans on toast.
‘Have you had gourmet baked beans on toast before?’ I say to Hugh.
‘No, but I’m very excited about it,’ says Hugh. ‘I spent a year at university living off beans on toast. The most gourmet we got was adding sausages. We called it banger beans on toast. My flatmate Alex Bagshaw used to add brown sauce to his. We called that brown Bagshaw banger beans on toast.’
‘That year must have flown by,’ I say, and Hugh laughs, before taking a sip of wine.
‘Right, are you ready for it?’ says Keri from the doorway to the kitchen.
‘Never Readier,’ says Hugh.
Keri looks excited. She goes back into the kitchen, but then emerges a moment later.
‘Just so you know, I’m not very good at frying eggs. I watched a video on YouTube of how to fry the perfect egg, but I broke the first two, then I tried different ways, and basically…’
‘Keri,’ says Hugh ever so calmly. ‘However you did it will be perfect.’
Keri smiles and goes back into the kitchen. She reappears with two plates of gourmet baked beans on toast. Homemade beans with bacon, on sourdough toast, two fried eggs, mature cheddar cheese and parsley. They look magnificent.
‘Wow,’ I say. ‘It looks amazing, Keri.’
‘I hope so because I have no plan B. Although we could just go to Nando’s if it isn’t very good, I suppose, or there’s a Turkish place nearby…’
‘It’s amazing,’ says Hugh, taking a mouthful of the gourmet beans. ‘Seriously, the best beans on toast I have ever had, and it pairs really well with the wine.’
Keri sits down, Hugh pours her a glass of wine, and then says ‘cheers’ and we tap our glasses together over the table.
‘So, Meg, what do you think about sexy doctor, Nick?’ says Keri.
‘Is he sexy?’ I say.
‘Ah, yeah, totally one hundred percent sexy,’ says Keri. ‘And he saved your life, which surely makes him even sexier.’
‘He did save your life,’ says Hugh. ‘And he isn’t awful to look at.’
‘That’s the criteria for a boyfriend now? Must save my life and not be awful to look at.’
‘There was a boy at my school, Will Canterbury, would only date girls he thought might be suicidal just so he could save them,’ says Hugh. ‘He works in WH Smith’s now. I’m not sure if that’s at all relevant.’
‘But Nick’s alright though, isn’t he?’ says Keri.
