Page 50 of Forgive Not Forget
The injustice of Harry’s diagnosis played on her mind too. Not only was he suffering from one of the most debilitating illnesses, now he had the most dehumanising disease to contend with at the same time. Even so, Katherine held more concern for Anna than Harry. She would have to witness it whilst Harry would become increasingly less aware of what was happening to him.
Feelings of guilt had been weighing on her since they’d spent Saturday night in the tent. How she could hope Anna was Helena was beyond her, even if it had been a dream. It was certainly not a thought she’d had in real life. She checked the schedule on her phone and was relieved to see the day was clear. The word “Pilates” stared back at her. She would be too tired for that at the end of the day; skipping another week would do no harm.
As she finally opened her laptop, she was relieved to see an email with a subject line of ‘venue licence approval’. Although being able to hold events at the abbey was a relief for the organisation’s bottom line, it would bring a new set of stresses and challenges to the abbey, and to her personally. She was tempted to keep the good news to herself for a little while. The last thing she needed right now was to organise a wedding. She would much rather wait until she could give it her full attention.
Another email held less good news. It was from Mark to say the glass order for the outside of the visitor centre extension had been delayed and wouldn’t arrive for another week. Katherine would feel a lot better when there were fewer people on-site and some normality was restored. It now looked as if that was going to be pushed back. Again. At least Sophie would be back on-site this morning; the sooner her team started, the sooner they would be gone.
Anna appeared suddenly in front of her desk. She’d not heard her come in.
“Hey, missed you this morning.”
“I woke early. I thought I might as well make myself useful here,” Katherine replied, refraining from the truth of being unable to sleep for fear of worrying Anna.
“Has the licence approval come through? It’s been twenty-one days, and I’m starting to get anxious.”
Katherine gave a quiet sigh and followed it up with a smile. She should have known that Anna would have been counting the days on her calendar.
“Yes, the confirmation just came through.”
“Great, because I’ve just had our first confirmed booking for the end of the summer. One of the couples from the opening, and thankfully only forty or so people invited.”
“That’s good news, finally.”
Anna approached her and perched on her desk. “It also means we can set a date.”
Carrie tapped at the open door. “Morning! Sorry to interject, ladies. I just wanted to check that the tent is staying up.”
“Yes,” they both answered.
Carrie laughed. “Okay.”
“Did you get any comments yesterday?” Katherine asked.
“A few people wanted to know if we’d opened a campsite.”
“Now there’s a thought,” Anna replied.
“No!” Katherine and Carrie replied sharply, causing them all to laugh.
Katherine met Anna’s eyes and smiled at her. This, if she ever did contemplate leaving and returning to medicine, was what she would miss the most. Anna had been right; they did make an effective team. She wouldn’t be half as balanced without it.
Working at the abbey stimulated her in ways being a village doctor hadn’t. It reminded her of working in the urgent treatment centre where no two days were the same, keeping her body and mind active. Sitting in a consulting room day-in-day-out gave her no physical stimulation and barely any mental stimulation.
“The venue licence has come through, Carrie,” Katherine said.
“Fantastic!”
“And we have our first booking,” Anna added.
“Eek! Wedding fever!” Carrie spun on the spot. “Anna, if you’re heading back to your office, would you mind grabbing a box or two from my office. The new restaurant manager will be arriving shortly and I’m sure he doesn’t want to be tripping over my belongings.”
“Sure.” Anna answered as Carrie disappeared down the corridor. “So a date?” Anna said, returning her attention to Katherine.
“A date,” Katherine repeated.
“I was thinking late summer?”
“Anna,” Katherine began but then stopped, unsure how to continue. “Do you mind if we discuss this another day? I just can’t think about it now. I’ve so much on, and to be honest, I don’t need another deadline looming.”
