walked through the French doors to the patio.
‘There you are,’ he said to his father, who was sitting in the light of the moon.
‘Yes, just sitting alone with my thoughts. And here’s one of them. Don’t look at me as a role model—look at me as a warning … It’s not a real life without a woman to share it. Don’t leave it too long to look for love again.’
THE NEXT DAY Phoebe was sitting in the cool of her house. It was the weekend, and the previous days had gone by quickly. She had been busy consulting at the practice, but she was a little disappointed that the opportunity to operate with Heath had not arisen again. The way they had pre-empted each other’s needs during surgery still remained in her mind and she looked forward to the opportunity to do it again.
Heath had been at the hospital, presenting some tutorials for the third-year medical students, but they’d caught up at the practice briefly, and talked over any questions that Phoebe had had about her patients. She had reminded herself that with his rules they would never be more than friends, but despite her still simmering feelings that she needed to ignore, he was still a fascinating friend to have.
Phoebe was enjoying her work, but the jet-lag had finally caught up with her and she’d wanted to have plenty of rest to ensure she didn’t compromise her patients, so she had enjoyed a couple of early nights.
Wondering what to do on a Saturday, she put on a load of washing, did some yoga and although she considered calling her father, it was still Friday in the US. No doubt he would be busy, dealing with some political emergency, so she decided to leave it until the end of his day—which would be just after lunch for her. She didn’t dare call her mother, to hear yet another sales pitch about her repentant ex-fiancé, so she decided not to make any calls.
It was much too hot to head to the park or the Botanic Gardens so, while the washing was on its spin cycle, she picked up a magazine that she had purchased at the airport and left on the coffee table and thought perhaps later she would visit the museum or an art gallery.
Suddenly the doorbell rang. With a puzzled expression she looked through the window to see a delivery truck parked outside her home. She tentatively opened the door. Surely there wouldn’t be another delivery? It would be the second since she’d arrived in town.
‘Phoebe Johnson?’
‘Yes.’
‘Great,’ the man replied, lifting his baseball cap slightly and handing her an electronic device with a signature pad. ‘I have a delivery for you. Sign here, love, and I’ll bring it in.’
Phoebe signed, then watched as the man disappeared back to his truck. He opened the large double doors and stepped up inside. There were some loud banging and dragging sounds coming from the back of the truck and Phoebe’s brows knitted in confusion. She had no clue who would be sending her something. And how big was this delivery?
Suddenly the delivery man emerged and jumped down from the truck. He pulled a huge box out onto the road. Then another two smaller packages. He also pulled down a trolley, and piled everything on top and headed back in Phoebe’s direction.
‘Are you sure all of that is for me?’
‘Dead sure, love,’ he said, as he waited for her to step aside so he could wheel it inside.
Phoebe followed him and told him to leave it to the side of the living room, near the kitchen doorway. He offloaded all the items and then left, closing the front door behind him.
Phoebe scratched her head as she searched for the delivery note and discovered it was from a local department store. She headed into the kitchen, found some scissors and began to cut open the largest of the three packages.
A moment later she squealed in delight. It was a Christmas tree. But as she pulled it gently from the oversized box she could see it was a very special type of tree.
The branches were the deepest forest-green, and looked so real. She moved closer and smiled as she could smell pinecones. It was just like the tree she’d had back home when she was very young. It was still her favourite Christmas tree of all time, and she had looked forward every year to her mother and father bringing it down from the attic and spending the night decorating it, with tinsel and lights, and baubles with their names handwritten on them in gold. Even the dog had had a personalised bauble …
But the branches had broken one by one over the years, and eventually the tree had had to be replaced. They hadn’t been able to find the same one. And the new one had been nice but it was a slightly different green and it didn’t smell like pinecones. It just hadn’t been the same …
She heard her phone ringing in the other room and raced to pick it up.
‘Do you like it?’ the very recognisable voice asked. ‘I asked them to text me when they’d delivered it. In the catalogue it looked like the one we had when you were a little girl.’
‘It is—it’s just the same! Thank you so much, Dad. I love it, and it was so sweet of you.’
‘Well, I couldn’t have my little girl the other side of the world and all alone for her favourite time of the year without a tree,’ he told her.
‘But there are two more boxes.’
‘You can’t have a tree without decorations.’
Phoebe felt a tear trickle down her cheek. ‘I miss you.’
‘Miss you more—but I have to head back in to deal with another crisis. Middle East is on the agenda again today,’ he said, then added, ‘I want to hear all about work and your new home. I’ll call you again soon.’
‘Thank you again, Dad. Love you!’
‘Ditto, sweetie.’
Phoebe had planned on putting up her Christmas tree that night, but she got a call from Tilly, inviting her to dinner. It was Ken’s birthday.
They were such a social family, and it was stopping her from feeling lonely, so she accepted. It meant spending time with Heath but she hoped that with the family around and by catching yet another cab, she would keep that professional distance between them. But as it was Ken’s birthday she realised she would need to race into the city for a gift.
She closed the giant box and dragged it across the polished floorboards into the second bedroom, and then put the boxes of decorations in with it. She looked forward to putting it up another day.
As she closed the door she felt a little ache inside. This should have been her first Christmas with Giles, in their own home as husband and wife. She didn’t miss him, but she still felt sad that she was spending it so far from home.
The birthday dinner was lovely. It was the whole family again, and Ken loved the astronomy book Phoebe gave him. Heath was pleasant, but he seemed a little preoccupied as he sat at the end of the table with Oscar by his side.
Knowing what she did about his past, she didn’t press him to be anything more than he could be, but she enjoyed his company and found that during the evening that he seemed to grow less guarded,
