Page 84 of Lost in Love
“Don’t be; now I have time to spend on whatever and whoever I like. It will give me the chance to think about the future and if I want to continue practicing.”
“It’s been your life. Surely you don’t want to give it up?”
Katherine shook her head. “No, helping others is. If you two have taught me anything, it’s that I want to be doing more and making a difference in other ways. I want to set up some clubs in the community, get people out walking, organise exercise classes, book clubs. Encourage people to get out of their homes. Sometimes it takes nearly losing something to make you evaluate the worth of it. Being a doctor cost me Helena and you. I don’t want to do it anymore if it keeps taking away the things most important to me.”
A smile formed on Anna’s lips. “I’m proud of you, for what it’s worth… for facing the music.”
“Thank you. I should have done it all along, and I should have spoken to you. Would you believe me if I told you I’ve learnt my lesson the hard way?”
Anna nodded. “Yes, I think we both have.”
An awkward silence filled the air.
Katherine took a deep breath in; she was encouraged by the apparent truce. “I’m looking for a lodger. Do you know anyone?” Katherine waved the card from the notice board.
Anna shrugged. A corner of her mouth lifted, and she looked at the floor.
Katherine approached Anna and took her hands in hers.
“I have room, Anna. I want you in my life, I want you in my house, I want you in my bed… because you already have my heart.”
The smile growing on Anna’s face gave Katherine confidence to continue with her declarations.
“You give me a reason to wake in the morning; I haven’t had that in a long time. Waking up next to you… I want to do that every morning.”
Anna lunged forward and kissed her lips. “I have nothing to bring to this, nothing except a bag of clothes, a box of books, and” — she looked around — “some family photos that I’m going to need to store.”
Katherine broke into a grin. “I have more than enough to share, Anna, and I want to share it all with you.”
“How about we start with me renting a room, at a very good rate of course, and maybe we could have a few sleepovers, see how things go?”
“Deal. Virginia will be over the moon. Right, what still needs doing?”
“These black bags need to go outside.”
Katherine picked up the bags and took them out.
Anna was examining her dad’s chair when Katherine returned. She pushed it to one side, and the back section dropped down. She stepped back. “Shit, I broke Dad’s chair.”
Katherine looked at it and pulled it away from the wall.
“It looks like it’s been broken for some time and was just jammed against the wall to hold it together.”
“But I was going to take it to him.”
“I don’t think this is going anywhere except the tip. I’m sorry.”
Katherine wasn’t sure if Anna was about to fall to pieces like the chair.
“Well, I suppose it must be older than me. It’s always been there for as long as I can remember.”
“Let’s leave it for the clearance people, shall we?”
Anna nodded.
Katherine looked around. “Anything else?”
Anna pointed to two holdalls. “There’s just my stuff and that big box for storing. That smaller box is some things I’m going to take to Dad.”
“Is that it?”
“Yep, Dad said he didn’t need anything other than his clothes and a few other items. He told me to keep what I wanted, which is in the big box. The rest is going.”
“Wow.”
“Hmm… one box: the sum total of two people’s lives together.”
Katherine put her arm around her and rubbed her hand up and down her upper arm. “Come on then, let’s go home. Is it too soon for a sleepover tonight?”
Anna laughed. Hearing it made Katherine realise it was one of the things she had missed most about her absence.
