Page 16 of All Right No
-4-
“Wake up. Come and eat some breakfast.”
Ash pushed his nose out from under the duvet and squinted at the daylight flooding the room. It only felt like two minutes since he’d climbed into bed “Huh?” he grunted.
Ginny was fully dressed and breezing about the room with a spring in her step. Huh? This wasn’t how today was supposed to begin. They were supposed to be having a gloriously long lie in, codename, shagathon, which involved a lot of naked time.
What the hell time was it even?
“You need to get moving. Spook’s managed to get you an appointment with a specialist in Stockholm.”
“He has? What, today?” he grumbled, because of course the first thing he wanted to hear before he’d blinked the film of sleep from his eyes was that he was broken and he needed to see another doc in order to get himself fixed. He flexed his fingers. Hm, not too stiff, but sore around the joints.
“He got lucky with a cancellation, otherwise it would have been weeks until they could see you, but it does mean shifting your arse fast.” She wrenched the covers off him.
“That’s uncalled for.”
“Get up.”
“You’re a cruel lady.”
“I’m the best motivational coach there is around here.” She flashed him a glimpse of her boobs. “Now, stop mithering and get dressed.”
Ash swung his legs around onto the floor. He didn’t see what there was to be so perky and cheerful about. “You know the chances are this doctor’s going to do the same as all the others; hand me a diet sheet and a heap of pills and tell me to invest in some Lego and a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Thensayonara, see you in twelve months when you’re magically fixed.”
“That’s what you want.”
“Yeah, not really.” Twelve weeks was too long to get back to normal. He didn’t have time to wait twelve months. “Also, much as I love primary coloured building blocks, Lego therapy isn’t going to fix me, and nor is piecing together some shitty picture of a daffodil.”
Ginny stopped doing whatever the hell it was that required her to constantly bustle about and faced him with her hands on her hips. “Would you stop assuming you know the outcome before you get there? It could be she has a suggestion tucked up her sleeve that no one else has thought of and that’s the key to sorting you out. Also, wouldn’t you like some idea about how long it’s going to take for you to recover?”
Yes, and if this lady doctor could give him a definitive date, then maybe it’d be worth crawling out of bed. Not that she would. Doctors didn’t make those sorts of calls.
“Get up.” Ginny prodded his shoulder, before disappearing into their en suite.
“I am up,” he hollered after her. Leastways, one particular bit of him was merrily saluting the sun. “If you came back and helped, I’d come a lot quicker.”
“Pretty sure we’re not talking about the same thing,” she yelled back.
“Uhrr,” he groaned, and pulled the duvet back over his head.
“If you don’t move, you’re not going to have time to eat breakfast.”
Ash glowered at the bathroom door, uncertain how she could even tell that he was still in bed. Breakfast was his favourite meal, and he’d been looking forward to something that wasn’t just a bowl of soggy cereal or bread and things. “Can’t I have it in bed?”
“No, you can be civilised like the rest of us.”
When did she become such a spoilsport?
Ash was contemplating whether to pull on a clean set of clothes, or go with the ones lying on the floor when Ginny’s phone started bleating a trippy 60s tune. “Want me to get that?”
“No!” Ginny came hurtling out of the bathroom with her toothbrush still in her mouth, and dived on the phone. “It’s okay. I got it.” She snatched it from under his hand. “Hey. Yeah, I’m here. Sorry, the reception’s none too great. If you give me a moment, I can find a better spot.” She dropped her toothbrush on the table, grabbed a fistful of tissues to spit the foam into, then shot from the room with the phone clamped to her ear.
Okay, so that was only mildly weird.
Ash found himself some clean undies, then wriggled into the jeans and shirt he’d left on the floor last night. They were a little creased, but nothing that wouldn’t fall out after an hour or so of wear. It wasn’t as if he had to impress anyone today. He splashed water on his face and brushed his teeth badly, using his left hand. When he emerged from performing his ablutions, he could still hear the hum of Ginny’s voice outside the window. She appeared to be making a lot of “Uh-huh, uh-huh” type noises. Unsure if she was fielding a call about a genuine crisis or a conversation about a split nail, he rapped his knuckles on the glass, and pointed to let her know he was headed to breakfast.
The guys were all assembled on the decking enjoying an al fresco chinwag when Ash mooched over to the table. In all honesty, he didn’t feel much like eating breakfast now that he was here. The prospect of dribbling milk into his own lap kind of sapped his appetite.
