Page 12 of Forgive Not Forget
“I’ll look into it. The condition is really holding me back.”
“And no doubt making you a bit depressed, which then impacts the kids.”
Laura nodded; her gaze fell to the cup in her hand. “A lot depressed, and yes, I do get a little grouchy sometimes.”
Anna squeezed her arm.
She smiled. “It would be great to get it sorted soon. I could finally draw a line under it and move on. Anyway, enough about me and my sad life. You’ve fallen on your feet, it seems — shacked up with a gorgeous woman in the most sought-after house in the village.”
“I rather have, haven’t I?” Anna replied, unable to contain the huge grin forming on her lips. “Kat is…” She was lost for words. How did one sum up a woman like Katherine? “Exceptional. I adore her.”
“Good, I’m glad you found someone. She seems like she means business.”
Anna’s grin tightened again. She knew exactly what Laura was implying.
“She has a vulnerable side too. She lost her first wife and unborn child a few years ago. I don’t think she’s over it or if she’s even come to terms with it. She acts like she has, but then something happens and hell shines through to take her down.”
Laura nodded as if she understood. “So will you two be having kids?”
When she was younger, she had thought children would be in her future. Whether that was simply part of growing up, to daydream about being a mum, she wasn’t sure. At that age, you want to experience everything — or at least feel you should. Not only had her ex, Jess, not wanted children, Anna herself had never been in a stable enough environment in the past to contemplate them. Her dreams had fallen by the wayside.
“I don’t know. I always wanted them when I was little, but then life takes over and pulls you in other directions. It’s hardly a straightforward process when you’re gay.”
“It’s hardly impossible, though. How does Katherine feel?”
Anna rested her cheek on her fist. “We haven’t really discussed it. She wanted them once, so maybe she would want them again. She hasn’t said anything. I think we’re a little too old now to be thinking about that anyway.”
“Too old? Rubbish. At the least, it sounds like a conversation you might want to have. You’ve certainly got the house for it.” A smile formed on her lips. “Do you remember us trying to find a way into Abbey House because you wanted to see inside, but it meant breaking a window and you couldn’t bring yourself to do it?”
Anna laughed. “Neither could you.”
“It wasn’t me that wanted to go in.” Laura took a sip of tea and then another biscuit. “So, when did you come back to the village?”
“Last year. Dad wasn’t coping on his own and I wasn’t in a great place with Jess, so I came home to Nunswick.”
“No regrets?” Laura questioned.
Anna took it as a sign that Laura was still in those early days of regret. It was something she had experienced early on until she realised how much her dad had needed her. The only regret she had was not doing it sooner.
“None. Give it time. The kids will settle. Who wouldn’t choose the country over the city? You’ll find your feet.”
Laura nodded. “So you and Katherine must have hooked up pretty quickly then if you’re already engaged.”
“It’s certainly been a rollercoaster, I can tell you. She lost her job because of me. She was a doctor — is a doctor, technically,” Anna quickly corrected herself, as Katherine would have, had she been there.
Laura shot a bewildered look at her.
“Our relationship was a little inappropriate, considering she was my dad’s doctor.”
“Ah. I see.”
“Margaret, my boss at the time, had a crush on Katherine and reported us to the General Medical Council to try and break us up.”
“What a bitch.”
Anna laughed. “Obviously, it didn’t work. She did cause a lot of problems between us over Christmas, though. Kat just couldn’t see what she was like. They were quite good friends, and Kat really felt betrayed by it.”
“I can see why. How’s your dad doing now? You said he was in a home?”
