Chapter Fourteen
858 Words
‘No, then.’
‘Hugh?’ Kate checked, because there was a terse edge to his voice.
‘It’s just a bit of a sore point at the moment.’
‘I thought you and Olivia were well over and done with.’
‘We are,’ Hugh said, ‘well, I am.’
‘Is she still calling?’
‘Now and then.’
‘So what’s the sore point?’
‘I’ve got to go, Kate,’ Hugh said. ‘I’ll give you a call in the week. Thanks for asking me to be godfather, it means a lot.’
It did.
Hugh pulled into the work car park and saw the rare sight of Emily’s car. Usually she took public transport but occasionally she brought the bomb in.
There was the sore point.
He didn’t buy it that Emily didn’t like him.
He knew that she did.
And he liked her.
He had from the first day they had met. Hugh liked strong women, strong, independent women, and Emily was all of that.
Oh, not the shaved-head, unshaved-leg kind, it was her independence along with her femininity that continued to draw him in. With Emily he was himself, without qualification, without having to apologise if something he had said or done might have caused offence.
‘Hugh!’ He turned at the sound of Alex’s voice and waited while he caught up with him.
‘Hi, Alex, good weekend?’
‘A very good weekend,’ Alex said, as the men walked through the car park. ‘Jennifer’s mother came for a visit and has agreed to stay with us for the summer.’
‘That’s good news, is it?’ Hugh smiled because wasn’t your mother-in-law coming for an extended visit most husbands’ idea of hell?
‘It is.’ Alex nodded. ‘With all my work and studying I’ve let things slide a bit, I feel, but we’ve had a talk and with Jennifer’s mum here for a few months we can make a bit more of my days off. Jennifer needs a break.’
Hugh glanced over. He had nothing but admiration for the man—from toddlers to teenagers, Alex dealt with it all, as well as study and research and holding down such a demanding position. Hugh wanted that consultancy position. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t learn something from Alex, and not just in the operating theatre.
‘You have to work at anything if you want it to be successful, Hugh,’ Alex said, ‘and I’m not just talking about the salaried stuff.’
Hugh wasn’t sure if that was a small dig about his and Olivia’s break-up but, then again, he was surprised that Alex was talking about bumpy times at home to him. ‘Well, I hope you both have a great summer.’
‘We shall,’ Alex said. ‘Right now I’m off to breakfast with Clem. I’ll see you in theatre.’
* * *
Emily hadn’t been looking forward to Monday either.
She walked into the staffroom and there was Hugh sitting in his usual spot. After making a coffee, Emily went and joined him, just as she usually did. ‘About what I said the other night—’ Emily started.
‘Your shift doesn’t start for another ten minutes,’ Hugh interrupted, ‘so you don’t have to talk to me yet.’
‘Hugh, it came out all wrong.’
‘I think you made yourself very clear.’
‘I do like you,’ Emily said, her cheeks going red, ‘just not in that way.’
‘Okay.’
‘And if we did suddenly start going out...’ She just gave a shake of her head and tried to explain how it could never work. ‘I’ve got my dad’s wedding next month. Do you really want to go to that circus? Because he’d know about us too.’
‘How?’
‘Because he follows me on f*******:,’ Emily said. ‘It’s pretty much how we communicate and Mum follows me too. It would just all get too complicated.’
‘Fine.’ He looked at her and she could see the hurt in his eyes. ‘I shan’t keep you. I’ll see you in Theatre.’
‘Hugh,’ Emily called him before he could walk off. ‘I’m not in Theatre today, I’m rostered for Anaesthetics.’
‘You don’t have to run your schedule by me.’
‘I’m just explaining that I’m not avoiding you, I’m filling in this morning so I didn’t get to do the placements...’
- Writer
