Page 45 of Deep Down
Chapter 17
Alex
Alex was glad Craig had agreed to sit with him, especially as he’d been thinking about him since Craig had left the hospital. He hadn’t thought he could get away with another house call, and Casey had been against it. Casey had rightly thought Craig needed time to process everything, and if Alex had turned up, it would bring back everything which had happened to Craig.
Alex had told Casey he hadn’t planned on making a gesture of everlasting love, but he acquiesced that Casey was right. It was too soon, and it would seem a bit forceful and uncaring to show up despite what Alex’s heart was telling him. His emotions had not diminished at all since Craig had left, though.
Seeing Craig in the restaurant had his pulse increasing and his hands sweating. Alex hadn’t been sure whether he should approach him, but his feet seemed to answer for him; he’d been beside Craig before he knew it, never expecting Craig to agree to sit with him.
Alex wanted to know how Craig had been without being too invasive or asking questions, which might spook him into leaving. A generic question came out.
Craig sighed, gripping his cup until his fingers were white, and Alex wondered whether the cup would survive. “I’ve been better.” Craig’s eyebrows rose at his own words, and his lips pinched shut.
Alex was surprised at the response, and by the expression on Craig’s face, so was he. Alex hadn’t expected Craig to say anything but “fine” and change the subject. “I can imagine.” Alex didn’t assume to know everything about Craig—he didn’t—but he wanted to let Craig know he wasn’t on his own. Alex had seen Amanda in the corridors a few days ago and asked her to pass on his well-wishes to Craig. She’d hesitated but agreed, although Alex hadn’t been sure whether she would.
“My sister told me she’s expecting again.” Alex spoke about his family, hoping the subject change would ease the grip Craig had on his cup. “She has a son, Danny, who’s two. He’s right cheeky.” Alex grinned, thinking about Danny’s antics. “Ella—that’s my sister—wasn’t expecting to have another child so soon. She wants a big family, don’t get me wrong. But she had planned to wait another year, I think.”
“Do you have any other siblings?” Craig asked tentatively.
“Nope. Me and Ella.”
“I have three brothers.”
Craig’s response was hesitant but welcome. Alex knew next to nothing about Craig’s past or family, other than what Craig had said on his previous visits, and Alex was eager to learn more.
“Wow. Are they older than you?” Alex tried not to push too hard with his questioning.
“Blake is five years older—you met him when I left the hospital that day.” Craig glanced at Alex. “Aaron is three years older, and Brandon is two years younger. They have families of their own, too.” Craig frowned. “I missed out on a huge amount over the past few years.”
“I’m sure they understand.”
“I’m not sure they understand, but they accept it.” Craig snorted. “I spent nearly three weeks with them after I left the hospital. It was nice to see them again, but I was glad to be home. I’d conveniently forgotten some of the annoying and idiotic things my brothers used to do, like mess up my hair, but also things I hadn’t remembered, like my parents’ house always smelling of lavender.” Craig glanced at his hands, his thumbs tracing patterns on the cup. “Sorry, you don’t want to hear this.”
If only he knew. “It’s fine. I’m happy to listen.” He tried to soften his proclamation. “My parents are renewing their vows this year. Ella told me we are paying for them to go on a second honeymoon to Italy as a present.” Alex chuckled. “I have no say in the matter.”
Craig smiled at him. “Do you not want to?”
“I’m more than happy to pay for it. It makes me laugh when Ella takes over. She’s a bit of a planner, which is why the pregnancy happening now threw her a bit.”
Craig snickered. “I can imagine.”
His next words were interrupted by Alex’s pager going off, and Alex witnessed Craig’s withdrawal, physically, mentally and emotionally. It was painful to see. He checked the pager and stood, corralling his rubbish.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go.” Alex wanted nothing more than to ask if Craig would meet him next time, but knew it was too soon for Craig. He had to bite his lip to stop from asking.
“It’s okay. Thanks for the company.” Craig stood, holding his cup and offered a smile to Alex before twisting to walk away.
“Craig!” Alex waited until Craig twisted around. “See you soon.” He shouldn’t have said it, but he wanted Craig to know he wasn’t the burden to Alex that Craig appeared to feel he was.
Craig lifted the corners of his mouth in an obvious attempt at a smile and strode off, throwing his cup in the bin as he passed it.
Alex blew out a breath before his pager went off again, reminding him he was needed on the ward. Throwing his rubbish away, he hustled to the nurses’ station to find out what the problem was. When they knew he was on lunch, they only paged him if there was no one else who could cover for a few minutes.
Arriving, he asked, “Gloria? What’s the problem?”
Gloria glanced over at him, a pained expression on her face. “Sorry for calling you back, Dr Wick. The patient in room six is asking questions about the procedure and is getting worked up about it. We’ve tried to calm her down, but I think it would be better if you could answer her questions.”
“No problem, Gloria. I’ll go see her now.”
