Page 39 of Lost in Love
She returned within the allotted ten minutes to find Harry and Anna still pinned to their chairs. She pulled a shepherd’s pie together and popped it into the oven. By the time she checked on them again, they’d both dozed off. She returned to the kitchen to lay the table and prep the veg.
Anna left bang on eight. Katherine watched her as she jogged over the road to the pub. As soon as she closed the front door, Harry appeared on the stairs in his dressing gown.
He grinned like a naughty teenager. “Has she gone?”
“She has.”
“Pour me a whisky, will you, doc? It’s hidden at the back of the cupboard beside the sink. Get yourself one too.” He shuffled down the last few steps and over to his chair.
Katherine shook her head with a grin. She found the bottle of whisky where instructed and poured a small amount into two glasses, knowing his beaker would smell of it if she’d used that. She made a mental note to clean them up before Anna got back.
“Here.” Katherine held the glass in front of him and helped him take a sip.
“Ah, good stuff that.”
“Just tell me when you want more.”
Harry nodded. “I will, doc.”
She rolled her eyes and grinned; it wasn’t worth correcting him.
Harry sat back in his chair. “She’s very fond of you, you know.”
“I know, I’m very fond of her too.”
“But…?”
Katherine got the feeling that Harry had come down for “the chat”.
“I’ve lost a lot already,” she said. “I’m not sure I’m brave enough to open myself to more.”
“Ah, to live is to lose. If you’re not losing, then you’re not living, and then what’s the point of any of it?” he said casually, with a shaky wave of his hand.
Katherine’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, that’s certainly one way of looking at it.”
He gestured to his whisky. Katherine picked it up and held it close to him.
Harry drained the remainder from the glass. “We’re here for a good time, not a long time. You need to make the most of every day before your days run out. Take me, for instance; she keeps me alive and well, but am I living? Am I living the best life I can? I need to be with people my age.”
Katherine was surprised to hear Harry’s thoughts on the matter. She realised she’d presumed that whatever Anna thought, her father shared that opinion. “I could mention moving you to a home if that’s what you’d like? Although you know how she gets about that.”
He nodded. “I do. Sometimes I think she needs me more than I need her.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me. She has agreed that I can take you over to the library and out for short walks or whatever you like. I have a little plan up my sleeve for her later this week, but I’m going to need your help.”
“I’d like that.” His voice softened. “You’re a good sort, Katherine. She’d be lucky to have you in her life; we both would.”
Katherine blinked; he’d finally used her name. “I would be the lucky one.” She patted him on the hand.
He smiled at her. “I’d best be off to bed, doc. I’ll be seeing you soon, I hope.”
Katherine got up to assist him.
“It’s all right, doc. I can get myself up to bed.”
“Night.”
Katherine finished her whisky and took the glasses through to the kitchen to clean and put away. She wasn’t sure what the problem with a grown man drinking whisky in his own house was, but she was happy to play along with him if he wanted.
