Page 79 of Lost in Love
“What do you mean she’s not your doctor anymore?” Anna asked, sure she couldn’t have heard correctly.
“A new doc came to visit me this morning, says he’s taking over. He was ever such a nice chap. His dad had Parkinson’s too.”
“What? She’s taken you off her patient list, and without talking to me first.” Anna could feel her lip curling into a snarl but stopped it. “She’s unbelievable.” Anna paused and thought for a moment. “Hang on, what did you mean there’s no reason why we can’t be together now?”
“I read that letter from the doctor council people. I assume she broke it off with you because she couldn’t be my doctor and your girlfriend at the same time.”
Anna nodded. “It’s about right, Dad. But she still lied to me about why she broke up, and she lied to the council, too, and asked me to lie too.”
“We all make mistakes and quite often in the name of love. Don’t you see? She didn’t choose to stay my doctor for me; she did it for you.”
“Well, if she’s taken you off her books, then it’s clear she doesn’t want anything more to do with either of us.” Anna tried not to choke over the words as her throat tightened. The thought that Katherine might have had enough of her and her dramatic life squeezed the air out of her.
“Maybe it means she wants everything to do with us.”
“I doubt it, Dad. She would have spoken to me first.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll sort it out between you. Now I’ve got places to be, people to see. One of the chaps wants me to play cards with him.”
“Dad, you can’t hold cards.”
“That’s the game: this chap has Parkinson’s, too, and the others bet on who they think can hold their pack the longest.”
Anna couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s great fun. The best bit is I don’t have to pick them up; the other chaps do that. Now get yourself back to work and go and do something you enjoy for once. I’ll be fine here.”
“All right, Dad. I’m going to check with the manager that you can stay here before I leave.”
She kissed him on the head.
“Bye, love.”
The lady at reception confirmed what Harry had said, and Anna walked out of the home feeling a little lighter. Yet the niggle in her gut told her not everything was fully resolved.
As the taxi pulled up outside the cottage, she realised she was going to need a cheap run-around. She’d had a driver’s license since she was eighteen but gave up her car when she went to the city. When she got together with Jessica, she’d driven her car but hadn’t had the need for one of her own. Now there was a need. If she was going to get to see her dad a couple of times a week, it would be crazy to keep paying for taxis. With house repairs no longer needed, she mentally reclassified the carpet fund as a car fund.
She rang Carrie as soon she stepped out of the taxi, hoping she would still have a job.
“Hi, Anna, how’s things?”
“My dad has decided he’s staying at the care home. Have I still got a job?”
“Of course you have.” Carrie chuckled as she spoke.
Anna let out a sigh of relief. She had nowhere to live, but she could at least feed herself.
“So he was taken in by Baycroft then? I told you it was a great place.”
“It seems you were right,” Anna replied, twisting her lips.
“Well, I’ll expect to see you Monday then.”
“Thanks, Carrie. I appreciate it. Sorry for messing you around.”
“Not a problem. I’m just glad I don’t have to do any more tours; they really are exhausting. I can’t understand how you’ve managed.”
Anna laughed as she extracted her key from the front door. “I’m beginning to wonder myself.”
She hung up and collapsed onto the sofa. She felt free but as empty as her dad’s chair beside her. Katherine had been right: it was nice to feel needed. Yet it had only been a few months and she’d already lost her grounding, her identity. She had been a girlfriend and a carer; now she was neither of them. She was just Anna, and just Anna didn’t have a clue what to do with herself.
She tried to think back to who she’d been before she returned to Nunswick, what she’d be doing, where she’d be going, and with whom. She needed to move on, and to do that she knew she would have to get answers from Katherine as to why she had taken her dad off her books. Whatever the reason she had for doing it, Katherine could have at least had the decency to warn her first. Anna’s stomach knotted up with anger; it would need doing now.
