Page 15 of Trust in Truth
Katherine was less eager to get to the bridge so quickly, but Anna’s enthusiasm lifted her spirits.
They walked down the hill towards the limestone Palladian Bridge, admiring its reflection in the water. It really was something, one of only a handful in the world.
Anna was overwhelmed and rushed ahead, up the low steps. Katherine followed, taking a slower approach towards the historic structure. She admired her beautiful girlfriend as she moved enthusiastically around the bridge, hunting for eighteenth-century graffiti and touching the stone, no doubt to listen to the voices it had absorbed.
Katherine rested herself on the balustrade between two central Ionic columns and admired the moulded architraves. She had a newfound appreciation and respect for them since restoring her own at Abbey House.
Anna continued to wander, taking shot after shot on her phone. Katherine couldn’t help smiling at the love and passion Anna had for anything old. She turned and leaned on the balustrade, peering over to admire the water as it trickled over the weir below; it soothed her nerves. A touch to her pocket told her the ring was safe.
Anna eventually rejoined Katherine, pushing her cheek against hers to take a selfie.
It was now or never.
She reached into her pocket and extracted the ring, loosely hooking it on to her finger.
She turned to face Anna. “Anna.”
“Yes?” Anna replied, her face still beaming.
Katherine took Anna’s free hand that wasn’t clamped around her beloved phone. Anna instantly smiled in response.
“Will you…”
Anna’s phone rang.
“Oh, that might be the doctor.” Though she gave Katherine a crumpled look of apology, Anna answered the phone and walked down the bridge away from her.
“Marry me?” Katherine let out with a sigh to the vacant space in front of her. Her disappointment was short-lived and swiftly replaced with concern when Anna turned to look at her with panic in her eyes. She met her at the bottom of the bridge.
“Please talk to Katherine — she’s here.”
Katherine gave her a questioning frown.
“It’s Dad. They’ve taken him to hospital.”
Katherine took the phone from her. “This is Dr Atkinson.” It was the first time in a while she had referred to herself as such, and she had to admit it was a strange feeling.
“Yes, yes, mmm, yes. Okay. I understand. We’ll be there as soon as we can.” She hung up and passed the phone to Anna.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“Aspiration pneumonia,” Katherine replied, almost choking on the words. “Come, we better go home.” Katherine walked back up the hill to the car park with Anna at her heels.
“Pneumonia, that’s serious,” Anna said between panted breaths.
Katherine stopped and turned to face her. “It can be, yes.” She had hoped not to have this conversation, not on Anna’s birthday. “Parkinson’s patients can have more difficulty than others with swallowing. If they choke, particles of food can get lodged in their airways, which leads to pneumonia.” She took Anna’s hand. “Pneumonia in anyone is very serious and—”
Anna nodded. “Dad’s not just anyone; he has Parkinson’s.”
“Exactly,” Katherine said, pulling her into a hug. The wind caught Anna’s hair and swept it across Katherine’s face. She lifted her hand to move it and realised she still had the engagement ring hooked on her finger. She slipped it back in her pocket, along with her proposal and an excessive amount of disappointment.
They arrived back at the hotel to be greeted by champagne and flowers in their room. Anna was shocked by their appearance, Katherine less so. She’d ordered them in anticipation of an engagement. Anna was too distracted to disagree with Katherine’s suggestion that they must have been placed in their room by mistake. Within ten minutes, they had checked out and were on their way to the hospital.
Chapter 7
The journey home was a sullen one. Katherine decided it would be best if she drove; she said Anna would be far too distracted to be behind the wheel. Anna wasn’t sure how she felt; she didn’t feel distracted. Numbness was about all she could pinpoint. She knew the shock would subside and hit her eventually. She wondered if that was what Katherine was waiting for; she didn’t want her driving when it did.
They had exchanged very few words since they’d left Bath, and they were almost at the halfway point home. Both, it seemed, were deep in their thoughts. Anna glanced sideways at Katherine. Maybe she was in shock; maybe that was why she was quiet — although she hadn’t seemed overly surprised by Harry’s diagnosis.
