Page 83 of Lost in Love
Chapter 26
Katherine stopped the timer on her phone. She’d reached the end of the footpath that joined the high street in one hour exactly. That would do for a River Wick walking route and would join three other routes she’d discovered around the village. She strolled along the high street a little slower than she had walked in the last hour, regretting testing all the routes out on the same day. She felt the need for something to repair herself and headed to the tearoom.
“Afternoon, doctor. The usual?”
“Please.” Katherine panted, grabbing a chair to rest for a moment.
Gloria disappeared and returned a few minutes later with a smoothie. “I heard you…”
Katherine glared at her. “Yes?”
Gloria thought for a moment. “That you were taking a sabbatical.”
Katherine smiled at her and approached the counter. “Yes, I am.”
Gloria grinned. “I bet she was worth it, though.”
Katherine placed some coins down and picked up her smoothie cup. She walked backwards towards the door. “Totally.” She winked at Gloria and sucked her straw to cover her smile. She wondered if she had been wrong about Gloria. It had been at the back of her mind that Gloria had told the GMC, but she knew she’d have to accept that she was unlikely to ever know, and it was best to just let it go.
Gloria chuckled and nodded to the wall beside Katherine. “You might want to take a look at the notice board on your way out, doctor.” She disappeared into the back kitchen.
A piece of card was pinned to the centre of the notice board. It read RENTAL WANTED: ONE BEDROOM HOUSE OR HOUSE SHARE IN NUNSWICK/LOCAL AREA, ASAP, CALL ANNA. Katherine recognised the mobile number that accompanied it; it was her Anna, and it seemed she was being evicted. Katherine looked around to check Gloria hadn’t reappeared and took the notice off the board.
She looked over at Anna’s house as she closed the door of the tearoom. The front door was open, bin bags piled high outside. She’d had about as much space as she could take from Anna; it was time to start fixing things.
Anna was nowhere to be seen as Katherine approached the open front door. She knocked loudly, then stepped inside what was now a largely empty room. An overstuffed bin bag floated down the stairs, Anna attached to it from behind. She stopped as soon as she saw Katherine, then took the last few steps to join her.
Katherine broke the silence. “Hello.”
“Hello,” Anna replied solemnly.
“You look like you could use some help.”
Anna shrugged. “It’s nearly done.”
“So no reprieve then?”
Anna shook her head. “I have to be out tomorrow.” She looked around the room at the furniture that was left. “A clearance van is coming for this lot in the morning.”
“I’m sorry, Anna. It must be hard to leave your family home.”
Anna nodded.
Katherine could sense her heart was breaking and resisted the urge to pull her into a hug.
“I’m sorry, too, for what I said the other day.”
Katherine laughed to try and lighten the mood. “Which bit?”
Anna smirked. “All of it, but particularly about you getting your way with Dad. There was me lecturing you on what was best for him, and you both knew all along. It seems he is thriving at the care home. The irony is he set me free, not the other way around.”
“You set each other free. You learned to let each other go.”
Anna pulled her lips to one side. “If I hadn’t had been so stubborn about Dad, you would never have been put in a position to choose between us. How did it go with the medical council?”
“Twelve months’ suspension; they said it would likely have been six if I hadn’t lied and coerced you into giving a false statement, but at least I’m still a doctor.”
Anna’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow, I’m sorry.”
