Page 68 of Forgive Not Forget
“I’ll make you some tea,” Anna said, rushing to fill the kettle.
“No, thanks, I can’t stop. I need to go to the pub.”
Laura chuckled. “I’m not surprised.”
“No — well, yes, I could use a whisky. But they’re setting up an operations centre there to coordinate everything from. I need to be there.”
Laura looked to Anna and furrowed her brow.
Anna got the message. “I think they can wait ten minutes for you to have a cup of tea. You look like you need it. Have you had lunch?”
Katherine shook her head and then rubbed it.
“I’ll make you a sandwich. I’m just making us one.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Laura slowly lowered herself into the seat beside Katherine.
“I’m sorry, Laura,” Katherine said. “How are you?”
Anna made them all sandwiches whilst Laura filled Katherine in on her operation. By the time Anna joined them with a pile of sandwiches, Katherine appeared less bewildered than when she had entered. She tore through Anna’s perfectly crafted ham salad sandwiches in minutes.
“Thanks for that,” she said. “I feel a little perkier now. Though I could still use that whisky.”
Anna swallowed the last mouthful of her sandwich. “I’ll come with you to the pub if that’s okay?”
Although it was her day off, she wanted to be there. The situation sounded serious, and she didn’t want to leave Katherine to deal with it alone. In an emergency, it was all hands to the pump.
“I’d like that. I could use the support.”
A little mayonnaise sat on Katherine’s lower lip. Anna leaned forward without thinking and wiped it with her finger. Their eyes met as their lips twitched into smiles.
“Laura, are you okay without me?” Anna asked as she cleared their plates from the table. “I don’t want to abandon you.”
“I’ll be fine. I think I’ll go for a lie-down before the school bus descends.”
“I’ll make sure I’m back for them in case you’re still asleep. Give me a minute to grab my laptop. I’ll take the suitcase up to our room, Katherine.”
The prospect of sleeping beside Katherine again sent a tingling sensation rushing through her. The thought that they still needed to talk through and resolve their issues dissipated it sooner than she would like; talking would have to wait.
CHAPTER27
Katherine examined the open-plan kitchen diner whilst Anna ran upstairs. There were several photos of Laura and her family dotted around on the windowsills. How Laura could have photographs of her late husband lying around baffled her.
“Laura, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you move on from the death of your husband? You seem to be dealing with the loss better than I have mine.” She looked up and made eye contact. “I assume Anna has filled you in on my past.”
“She has yes, and I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. Likewise.”
Laura clasped her hands together and leaned her chin on them. “You have to want to move on, or at least allow yourself to. It’s natural to cling on to grief, it’s our connection to the past. I was told to think of it as a bridge. We use that bridge to walk back to another time. As time passes the bridge always remains but we move further away from it, well some of us do, others sit by it…”
“Wallowing?” Katherine interrupted.
“Unable to move,” Laura corrected her with a smile. “You have stand up and start walking. I spent a lot of time feeling guilty that I’m here and he’s not, experiencing the things with his kids that he wouldn’t get to. I’ve been through a lot of therapy, and I suppose one of the things my counsellor made me realise was that I had a responsibility to make sure I enjoyed that time, and all my time, for him too. That’s when I decided to move house and try a fresh start.”
“I did too. It just followed.”
