‘Fine. Gives me a twinge now and then, but it’s okay.’
She was smiling. She was wearing a short-sleeved top, which allowed Ethan to see that the bruises on her arm had faded now. More than that, there was a lightness about her. Maybe she’d been right in getting straight back to work. It seemed that the last three weeks had lifted the burden that had rested on her shoulders.
‘I’m sorry about Sam ambushing you.’
‘That’s okay. He’s working it out for himself.’
Ethan thought about asking Kate what Sam had said to her and decided against it. If Sam had wanted him to know, he wouldn’t have made such a show of whispering in Kate’s ear. It seemed that Sam had grasped the concept of having secrets now, and Ethan supposed he should respect that.
She leaned forward, the evening sunlight tangling in her hair. For a moment, Ethan couldn’t move. ‘Can I come in, then?’
‘Oh. Yes, of course. Thanks for coming.’
He showed her through to the conservatory, and she walked across to Jeff’s basket, kneeling down. It looked as if Jeff was just sleeping, and Kate was stroking him gently, but Ethan knew that she was examining him.
‘I think...’ She looked up at him suddenly. ‘Is Sam going now?’
‘Yes, in a minute. As soon as my mother gets his things together. I think he’s been waiting to see you.’
She pressed her lips together, in an unspoken understanding that this was hard. ‘I think that if Sam has any goodbyes to say...’
‘No, it’s okay. I’ve been talking to him about this, and he’s done what he wants to do.’ Ethan indicated the drawing taped up by Jeff’s basket. Sam had drawn himself, so that Jeff could show the picture to Jenna.
‘That’s nice.’ Kate looked at the drawing and smiled, seeming to understand Sam’s intentions.
‘I’ll go and see what he’s doing.’ Suddenly he wanted Sam away from here, so that he could keep what was left of his innocence of the realities of death for just a little longer. Ethan didn’t want his son to see what he’d seen so often at the hospital.
‘Okay. I’ll stay here, with Jeff.’
* * *
Sam had gone, and Ethan no longer had to smile and pretend that everything was okay. He walked back into the conservatory and found Kate where he’d left her, kneeling on the floor next to Jeff’s basket.
‘Would you like to sit with him a while?’
This wasn’t what Ethan had expected. He’d already said his goodbyes to Jeff, privately and out of Sam’s earshot, anticipating that Kate would arrive and gently suggest that it was time to put Jeff to sleep. It would be over in a moment.
Suddenly he did want to spend a little more time with his old friend. But a little more time was what everyone always wanted, wasn’t it?
‘Don’t you have to go?’
She shook her head. ‘No, there’s nowhere I have to be. Would you like me to make you a cup of tea?’
He was taking advantage of her time and her good nature. But Ethan couldn’t resist. ‘Thanks. I’d really like that.’
He picked up the large floor cushion that Sam liked to sprawl on from the corner of the
room and sat down on it next to Jeff’s basket, his hand straying to Jeff’s head. Kate watched him, then nodded quickly, as if everything was going exactly as she wanted it to and disappeared into the kitchen.
He could hear her clattering quietly around, opening and closing cupboards. The temptation to get up and show her where the mugs and teabags were drifted away. Ethan was exactly where he was supposed to be at that moment.
The kettle took its time to boil, and Kate took her time making the tea. She walked back into the conservatory, holding two mugs, and put them down on the table next to him, pulling one of the wicker chairs across to the other side of Jeff’s basket.
‘Which one’s yours?’ Ethan reached for the mugs and she shrugged, so he picked up one and tasted it. ‘Ugh. Too sweet...’
She grinned at him. ‘That’s because I’m not sweet enough.’
Ethan would take issue with that. Kate’s sweetness wasn’t like sugar, liable to melt at the first drop of adversity. It was like steel, unbending but true. He wanted her here, now, not just for Jeff but for himself.