Page 85 of The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ollie got the call from the hospital when she was on her way to the bookshop, and rang Thea straight away.
Her boss picked up on the second ring. ‘Ollie, how is he?’
‘He’s awake, and his mum told Liam that the doctors are confident he’s going to be OK.’
‘Oh thank God! Are you on your way to see him?’
‘Would that be all right? The hospital have just called me.’
‘Of course! I have Andrea in all day, and look – Becky’s just got here. Do you mind if I tell her that Max is allowed visitors? I know Dylan has been really worried about him.’
‘I don’t mind at all. I expect the more friendly faces he sees, the better, as long as we don’t tire him out.’ She swallowed. ‘Listen, Thea …’
‘Yes?’
She thought of her plan, thought she could hold onto her secret for one more day. ‘I’ll be in by lunchtime, OK?’
‘Take your time, Ollie,’ Thea said gently.
Once they’d said goodbye, Ollie squeezed her eyes closed for a beat, then hurried back to the barn and got into her car.
The sight of the mini Christmas tree standing jauntily on the nurses’ desk was so familiar that it confused Ollie for a second, until she remembered that she’d stared at it for hours on Saturday night. It wasn’t a surprise that it had imprinted onto her brain.
‘I’m here to see Max Holden,’ she told the nurse behind the desk, who seemed to have her attention on a computer, ringing phones, bits of paper and several colleagues all at once. ‘Someone called me and said I could come in?’
‘Right, hang on a second.’ She typed on her keyboard. ‘He’s in Acute Medicine. It’s up on the second floor. Come out of the lift or stairwell and take a left, then it’s all the way down the corridor. There’s another reception there.’
‘Thank you,’ Ollie said, feeling stupid that she’d come straight to Accident and Emergency. She followed the nurse’s instructions, the stairwell cold and windowless, its light a sickly yellow. The corridors were busy, reminding her that all sense of normal time disappeared in hospitals. She remembered the time right after her injury, when she could barely focus on anything but the pain, and had got that impression then, too.
She followed the signs to Acute Medicine, where there was a man with neat grey hair behind the reception desk. Two figures were sitting on chairs in the waiting area, and as Ollie got closer, one of them stood up and walked towards her. She tensed when she realised who it was.
‘They won’t let Dylan in to see Max,’ Becky said. Ollie noticed she had mascara smudges under her eyes. ‘Apparently he’s not on the list.’
Ollie frowned. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t … I just thought they were letting close friends see him, now that he’s well enough. I didn’t realise there was a list.’
‘Of course you didn’t,’ Becky said. She kept her voice low, but Ollie could hear the anger in it. ‘Why would you know that when you’re always on them? When you never have to face barriers, when it doesn’t matter what you get wrong because you always get a free pass? Dylan istwelve.’
Breathe,Ollie thought. ‘Let me ask the nurse, OK?’ She didn’t want to get into this, not when she was so close to seeing Max, or with Dylan within earshot.
‘Because of course they’ll listen to you, and not me.’
‘Becky, I’m just trying to help. That’s all I’veevertried to do. I know you don’t like me, but I honestly haven’t been trying to make your life – anyone’s life – harder. You think I moved to a brand-new place, miles from anyone I knew, with the sole intention of messing up the status quo?’ She realised she was hiss-whispering, her hands clenched into fists. She loosened her fingers. ‘Please, just let me ask. Maybe Max’s parents gave names to the nurses, and they weren’t aware how close he is to Dylan?’
Becky glared at her, then flourished an arm in the direction of the nurses’ station.
Ollie walked up and put her hands on the desk. ‘Hi. I’m Ollie Spencer, here to see Max Holden.’
The grey-haired man looked at her, then glanced down the corridor. ‘Let me check he’s ready to accept visitors.’
‘Actually,’ Ollie said, not wanting to point out that he must be ready, otherwise they wouldn’t have called her, ‘there’s a boy here who knows Max, and who’d love to see him. Is there any chance he can go in? Apparently he’s not on a … his name’s not been given to you?’
The man turned to his computer screen. ‘We need to monitor the number of visitors he sees. What’s this boy’s name?’
‘Dylan,’ Ollie said. ‘Dylan Cowling.’
‘I can’t see him here.’
