The little one was having her big day, and everyone felt it. David had a text from his namesake, Super Dr. Harper, wishing them well. It was sweet, and a bit sickening, because the man was a brainy surgeon and also genuinely thoughtful.
If David didn’t like him so much, he’d hate him. “I need to send him some pie,” David said. “What? ”
“Bernie said he was mad on the cheese and onion pie at the cafe, but they don’t do it down south.
I thought I’d send him some. ”
“You’re going to send him pie in the post? ”
“Yeah. That’d be funny.
And thoughtful. And aggressively northern. ”
Shona laughed. “He just deliver it with a whippet wearing a flat cap?
”
“Shut up. ”
David’s phone buzzed again, and he read the message about the risks of the operation. The position of the tumor on Harper’s neck meant a high risk of blood loss, though a small chance remained that if the entire teratoma wasn’t removed, the mass could turn malignant. There was also the risk of nerve damage affecting facial movement, speech, and swallowing.
Shona’s mother came on the line, asking about all the risks. Shona tried to stay calm. “Obviously, there are always going to be risks. Maybe we should just focus on the positives.
”
Her mother wanted Max kept up to date. Shona promised to ring him when it was all over. “It is really dangerous today, isn’t it? ” David asked.
“Well, Harper is so little that she needs all these machines hooked up to her just to keep her alive, let alone a major operation. ”
David wondered if they should be at the hospital, even though Shona had said she didn’t want any fuss. But Shona didn’t always mean what she said. It was better to be there.
At the hospital, they settled into the waiting room. David checked his phone every five minutes, then every hour. “How long has it been now? ”
“Seriously, David, it’s been five minutes since you last asked.
”
Two hours passed. David said, “We’ve got eight hours left. ”
“I’m not sitting here for the next eight hours listening to you whittering on. ”
“Would you want to go for a walk?
”
“No. I just want to sit here and wait to find out how Harper is. ”
Then the others arrived, the whole group of them, despite being told not to. Toyah brought sandwiches, hummus and chargrilled vegetables and cold caprese paninis.
David wasn’t sure if the singular was panino or panini, but there were plenty of them. Shona looked at them all. “What, even though I told you not to? ”
“We thought you didn’t need to be alone,” someone said.
“You do talk a lot of nonsense sometimes. ”
“Is that okay with you, Shona? ”
“Yeah. You’re here now, aren’t you?
”
Toyah handed out food, and David asked her to call his mother because he couldn’t face another conversation with her. Someone suggested a selfie for the group chat, though no one was keen on doing that in a hospital. Debbie had collapsed and been taken to hospital. She was back now, sitting in the day center with a defeated air.
She’d had another TIA, a mini stroke, worse than the last one. She called it the decline of the Debster, or Debalina, as her friend Glenda liked to call her. “But the stroke isn’t the bad thing, is it? ” the younger woman said.
“You said so yourself. ”
“The bad thing is I had one recently. And this one was worse. This might be how it’s going now.
This could be it. My last few months. ”
“Are you going to tell Ronnie? ”
“Yeah.
I might do eventually. ”
“Eventually? Only you know how this goes. There’s only one ending.
”
“Yeah, but he knows. We all do. ”
Debbie changed the subject. “Have you done something different to that hummus?
Because that is nice. ”
“It’s an ice cube of aquafaba. You drop it in before you blend it. It’s a game-changer.
”
In the waiting room, the Wi-Fi kept cutting out. David grumbled about it, then froze. “They just rushed into the room where Harper’s office—”
“What? ”
“They didn’t say much.
Something about a bleed. ”
“Bleed? ”
“He said it wasn’t serious, though. ”
“Bleed sounds serious to me.
Why didn’t you ask him more? ”
“Because I thought it best to let him go in and do the job, all right? ”
Shona stood. “I’m going to go and look for someone.
”
“I’m sure it won’t be serious. They’ll know what they’re doing. ”
“Thanks, guys. That’s really helpful.
”
Shona turned on the woman who had been chatting about Wi-Fi and hummus all afternoon. “I don’t know what the hell you’re doing here. All you’re doing is sat around chatting about flipping Wi-Fi and hummus. ”
“We just wanted to support you.
”
“I don’t want your support. I don’t want any of you here. You’re just making things worse. ”
“We’ll go.
”
“Just go, please. ”
Later, Shona went outside, and someone followed her, apologizing for shouting. “I get low blood sugar when I don’t eat. I’m not diabetic or anything.
I just get tired and grouchy. ”
“It’s fine. Don’t be. I totally get it.
”
“There are a lot of us. ”
“Yeah. There is. ”
“Any news?
”
“No. They said even if there was a bleed, it’s probably minor. ”
“Oh, that’s good. ”
“Do you want a bit?
” The woman held out her food. “No. Some of Toyah’s sandwiches, though. ”
They stood in silence for a moment.
The woman said, “Feel free to say no, but you look like you could do with a hug. ”
“Oh. You don’t have to. ”
“No, no, we can hug.
Just don’t tell anyone. ”
“I won’t. ”
She wrapped her arms around Shona, and Shona let herself be held. “Harper will be fine, you know.
I promise. ”
“Yeah. I know. ”
Back in the waiting room, a woman with a little girl came over.
She was Nikki, and she’d overheard the nurses talking about the big operation. Her daughter, Tilly, was in for something smaller. “I’m her mum. I’m Shona.
”
“My little Harper’s in for a big day today. ”
“That was her dad. He’s spinning out a bit. ”
“Well, that’s what dads are for, eh?
”
Shona laughed softly. “To be fair, he’s been brilliant. I just sometimes wish I wasn’t having to be the strong one all the time. ”
From what I’ve just seen, you’re doing brilliantly.
“You and Harper are lucky to have you. ”
“Thank you. ”
Lisa got a call from Sally at the prison. Debbie had had another TIA in the night.
She was fine, already back home, but the news spread. Lisa’s phone rang again, and it was Debbie’s husband Ronnie, frantic, trying to get answers from the hospital. Lisa tried to calm him down. Later, Lisa dropped in on David at the cafe.
She checked on him, or at least that’s what she called it. “What, did you need to go back and check on me on your lunch hour? ”
“Checking on you is seeing you. There’s a difference, huh?
”
They stood close, and Lisa gave him a score out of ten for what she was seeing. “I’ll give you a solid nine. ”
“Why am I not a ten? ”
“Well, because this one smelled a bit ripe.
”
“Ripe? ”
“Come on, nappy time. ”
David fumbled with the baby, and Lisa admitted she’d been awful at it when Betsy was tiny. “I’m ashamed to say it was Becky who was the mama in charge of plumbing.
”
“Can’t you say her name? ”
“I don’t know. It’s reflex, I guess. I just don’t want to be part of her life anymore.
”
“I know. Neither do I, but she’s going to be, isn’t she? ”
“It’s all right, Lisa. We’ve all got a past.
”
“Becky? ”
“Better? ”
“Do you fancy saying the names of all your exes out loud, or do you think we need to book out a whole weekend? ”
“Just because I’ve got a baby in my hand doesn’t mean I can’t hurt you.
”
“You’re very naughty, you know. ”
“Mhm. Don’t know the half. ”
Lisa left, and David looked down at the baby.
“She’s got a point, you know. If you’re going to take after your family, probably best you give your dad and me a miss. ”
Back at the hospital, it had gone dark. Shona sat with David, watching the time pass.
“You know when you go to the cinema in the daytime and come out when it’s dark, and it really messes with your head? Well, this is the exact opposite of that. I’ve never just watched time pass before. ”
“Do you think Harper feels that?
Time passing. Boredom. Loneliness. ”
“I’m never going to let her feel like that.
Lonely. It’s the worst thing. ”
“I doubt she feels lonely. Not with all that lot around her anyway.
”
“Sometimes I crave a bit of loneliness. ”
“You don’t mean that. ”
The waiting was unbearable, but then someone came in. A nurse found them.
“David? ”
“What? What’s happened? ”
“She’s fine.
Totally fine. ”
Shona sagged with relief, and David looked stunned. “Oh my god. ”
But then Lisa appeared, furious.
“What have you done? ”
“What? ”
“I’ve just been told my husband’s coming in for an emergency visit. What have you said?
”
“I had a call to my kids, and I might have mentioned something to Sally. ”
“Why? How dare you? ”
“Let’s just calm it down there, ladies,” David said.
Lisa turned on Shona. “You know nothing about me. Nothing. We’re not friends.
You’re just some common little strumpet with a psycho killer husband. You need to back off. ”
“The pair of you, stop it now. ”
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, me.
Back off. You mean nothing to me, you—”
“And I don’t care about you. Back off. ”
“All right.
I’m backing off. ”
David watched them go, shaking his head. “See what I kept saying? Proper hard.
”
Shona laughed. “No. She’s a lover, not a fighter. ”
“No wonder she gets out for—”
“I love you.
”
“I love you. ”
The operation was over. Harper was fine. The waiting, the fear, the fight, all of it led to that quiet moment of relief and love.
Shona and David held each other, and for the first time all day, the world felt steady again.