Inseparable 2

Chapter 2-2

“Yes, I know,” the woman stroked her cheeks. “I feel the same. And let’s make it clear right now, that the only thing we’ll do is to make it possible for them to be together at the same time, at the same place. That’s it, and nothing more. Whatever comes out of this situation, or whatever doesn't, is not up to us. Agreed?”

“Perfectly,” Veronic smiled. “We’ll be the hand of God for a while. But just for a bit.”

#

Sheffield, the fourth largest English city, located in South Yorkshire, the heart of England, had been Alexis Woodville’s home for one and a half years. She had been an intern at a good-sized children’s ward in one of the city’s hospitals and was intensively preparing for the exams that were still ahead of her. She had spent a year in Bristol beforehand, where she had obtained her human kinesiology certificate, which she had started back at King’s College. She always completed the practical aspects of medicine with a lot of enthusiasm, and due to her light and relaxed personality, she usually found a quick way to connect with patients, be it children or adults. As far as the theory was concerned, though, committing everything to memory was hard for her to do, and she needed a great deal of self-control to get through the material. But the one couldn’t exist without the other, that much was clear to her too.

Since she had left London, her life consisted of rushing about, moving house, and work. The past four years of learning and practice time had been a rather intense period in her life, while her personal relationships had suffered some neglect. Out of the people back home, Ronnie was the one she had the strongest bond with. They spoke regularly on the phone, and on her occasional visits to London, she had recently started staying with Ronnie, instead of with her parents. Or, to be more accurate, with Ronnie and Nick, at their place. The fact that her sister had got married had, for the most part, released her from the responsibility she had felt towards Veronic before. When she had moved from London and had left her sister alone with their parents, she was full of doubt and worry. Not that she really had any reason to be, however. James Woodville and his daughter had got along really well, but still. Somehow she felt that on some level, she had let Ronnie down. But since Ronnie and Nick had got married, that situation had changed. With this event, the balance of nature had taken a happy turn. Looking back on it, she could have banged her head on the wall for not getting the picture much sooner.

It had all worked out as Alex had hoped. She and Dominic had cleared the air back in Sweden. They had been there for about three months, with barely seventy kilometres between them, when one weekend the young man had appeared at the dorm where Alex was staying. She hadn't really been surprised about this. She was happy to see him, and if Nick hadn’t taken this step, she would sooner or later have visited him. By this time, his anger and disappointment had all but vanished, and they agreed that it had been the right thing to do not to stay together just for the sake of the family. Nick had got over it without any permanent hurt. This was probably why their friendship had remained. Their relationship, the other’s support and presence had meant a lot to both of them, and they didn’t want to lose it as a consequence of the past events. The subject of Nathaniel also came up briefly, and Alex told Nick that there had been no updates, and all contact had been broken between them. And that was it. Resolving each other from any feelings of guilt, they parted as friends. When they met later in London, their relationship was visibly relaxed and familial. This opened a possibility to something Alexis had never dreamed of until then, which had seemed so obvious that she could only call herself stupid for her blindness.

Veronic had always been in love with Dominic. The feeling had taken root in her heart when she was very young, but she didn’t give it a name for a long time. And then, when it had all dawned on her, she began to feel ashamed and considered the whole issue absurd. In her eyes, Nick belonged to Alex, and that was that. Moreover, this wasn’t only her view. Everyone whose views mattered to her was of that opinion. She would never have given away her feelings to the world. She would rather have died in agony instead, just to avoid hurting her sister, whom she adored more than anyone else. She had chosen to suppress her love for many years, and watch the two people she loved most of all in silence. Even as she began to feel doubts about Alexis’ love for Nick, she had said nothing. Even before Nathaniel Cruz’s appearance, she had found a few things quite strange regarding her sister’s behaviour, but at the time she was so young, that she managed to convince herself it had only been due to her being inexperienced. Later it had become more and more clear to her that Alex didn’t love Dominic the way she loved him. Nevertheless, she said nothing. She just tried to protect Nick’s interests in front of Alex. She thought that for him to break up with such an attractive girl, as she believed her sister to be, would indeed be the end. She had only given an honest opinion regarding the pair, during her stay at the hospital, when Alex had run to her in despair. By that time, however, she was absolutely certain that her sister loved Nathaniel Cruz. And in the end, Dominic had taken the break-up much better than she had thought. Although after returning to London, their relationship had grown a bit distant for a time, that was soon to change. Nick began to pay visits to their house again. As a matter of fact, the situation was very similar to the previous one. Then Alex moved to Bristol, but Nick was nevertheless a regular visitor at the Woodville house. He dropped in more and more often, and later he came to see Ronnie specifically. They arranged programmes together, and what’s more, these were things they both genuinely enjoyed, and neither of them had to sacrifice their time for the other.

At the same time, Nick began to feel more relaxed. He was able to be fully himself because that was the very thing Ronnie expected of him, and she loved the very characteristics that had caused Alexis annoyance. They perfectly understood and complemented each other. Veronic bloomed like never before. She was only troubled by one doubt, and it was a terrible one: what would Alex say when she found out? It was clear that her sister didn’t love Nick, but still! There was a difference between her not wanting to be his girlfriend and her own sister starting to date him. She decided that on Alex’s next visit from Bristol she would give an account of everything, and she would ask for her blessing on the relationship, which was becoming more and more serious.

They were sitting in a park, drinking hot chocolate from plastic cups, when she just blurted it out, shivering with uncertainty. The surprise made Alexis swallow the wrong way, which resulted in her having a coughing fit. It took several minutes until she was able to compose herself and breathe properly, so she had time to process all she had heard. The puzzle pieces had come together quite quickly in her head, as she put together the signs, which seemed so obvious in retrospect. The more she thought about it, the more obvious the story had become. Those two seemed to have been made for each other. How could she not see it before? How could she have been so blind and selfish? Yes, selfish! She had all the time been so wrapped up in her own love-life, that it had never crossed her mind that her sister was also a woman. Veronic had grown up slowly beside her, and she hadn’t even noticed. She had never thought the little girl, as she was to her, could ever fall in love. And with Dominic, of all people? Of course, they had always had a great understanding, and Ronnie had appreciated Nick’s idiosyncracies and amused nature from the start, much better than she had. But of course! she slapped her forehead symbolically, with the recognition. Ronnie and Dominic, of course!

Seeing her little sister’s face so full of doubts as she watched her worrying, she soon came round from the moment of surprise. She smoothed down her hair which was by now in a mess, and once again, tried to breathe calmly.

Finally, she spoke, shaking her head.

“You don’t need my permission to start dating anyone, Ronnie. You’re an adult, even though this fact has so far escaped my attention.”

“But Nick is not just anyone. You know that, Alex.”

She nodded.

“Obviously, I wouldn’t make such an issue of it if it was about someone else. But it’s not. It’s about Dominic, and that only complicates things.”

Alex smiled, and sent a loving look in the nineteen-year-old’s direction, who, despite having the appearance of little a girl, had the spirit of a giant.

“What more can I say?” she stated, spreading her arms with laughter. “I love you very much, sis. This is probably how it was meant to be. I’m so happy for you both. I say that from the heart.”

They held each other for a long time, and with that, everything had been settled. Not a spark of bad feeling or jealousy had been kindled in Alexis’ heart, and this remained true even after the couple had got married. Indeed, she felt that a large part of her pain and confusion had been resolved. And it was an important part!

She even allowed herself to joke about the fact that her mother's dream of merging the two families had been realised. Not the way she had initially imagined it, of course, but the Woodville-Blake union had nevertheless been accomplished. And with this remark, she wasn’t far from the truth. After the first shock, her mother had slowly come to terms with the new developments. She seemed to find it hard to believe that her daughter – whom she had unspokenly adjudged to be an invalid – could be loved by such a clever and intelligent man as Dominic Blake. Due to her illness, perhaps subconsciously, she had not considered Veronic worthy of Nick. Then, as the boy not only courted her, but shortly after her twentieth birthday, married her, the woman was utterly dumbfounded. As a matter of fact, she was pleased about such a turn of events, but she wasn’t able to show her contentment. Later, as the young couple moved into their own apartment and started their own life together, she slowly began to let down her defences. Seeing Nick’s affection and dedication towards her daughter, a tiny spark of respect and appreciation had been kindled in her soul.

#

“Actually, I’ve planned it for the week before,” Alex said reluctantly.

“Yes, I know. Couldn’t you still give it a try? Perhaps you could switch with one of your colleagues,” came Veronic’s pleading voice through the phone.

“Well, I’ll see tomorrow, when I meet them. But I can’t promise anything just yet.”

“Okay. Do try, please.”

“Looks like you’re not too desperate to see your old sis, delaying my visit like that,” Alex noted, jokingly.

“It’s not that. What gives you that idea?” Ronnie responded with a shock. “The thing is, I’d really love it if you could come with us to Winter Garden.”

“Winter Garden?” Alex repeated with surprise. “Since when have you attended such posh restaurants? Have I missed something?”

Ronnie was slightly embarrassed by these words. Indeed, it wasn’t common for her and Nick to go to such exclusive restaurants. She cleared her throat and desperately searched her mind for a suitable response. Finally, something did click, and it wasn’t even a real lie, just a slight exaggeration.

“That’s true, but… it isn't everyday Dominic gets a promotion from the Institute. It's a good enough reason to celebrate I think, don't you?”

“What are you talking about? Really? You must give me all the details next time we speak. Sorry, but I really have to go now, sis. The night shift awaits.”