in the chilly weather. Oh, and there’s a bath and shower in the newly renovated bathroom.’
Juliet was happy to hear those words and took Bea by the hand to look around. The pretty tastefully wallpapered sitting room more than met her requirements with a large floral sofa and a big leather armchair, a coffee table and a large television. The master bedroom was very simply decorated in tones of blue, with a queen-sized bed and attractive blue-and-cream-striped curtains and a cream damask quilt cover. A free-standing dark wood wardrobe took up one corner of the room and the other corner held a matching large dresser with an oval mirror.
‘Where’th my room?’
‘Let’s go and find out.’
And they did. And it was just perfect. It was painted in tones of peach and there were two twin single beds and a white dresser and robe. The curtains were peach floral with yellow window ties. And there was a four-foot fluffy yellow rabbit sitting under the window beside a toy box.
‘The owners have two granddaughters and they used to come and stay but now they’re all grown up so they’ve left it here for others to enjoy.’
‘I like it, Mummy.’
‘I like it too. We’ll take it.’
Aware that the next few days would be hectic leading up to the surgery, Juliet decided, once she had signed the rental agreement, to leave the hotel and move into the cottage immediately. The estate agent was happy as the hospital provided a reference and a guarantee. So Juliet was approved instantly. He had given her the keys and explained how the heater and the stove worked and left.
‘Well, Bea, it looks like we have our own little home for the next few weeks. I’ve rented it for a month so we can stay here for Christmas and New Year’s Eve.’
‘Do we have milk and biscuits?’
Juliet smiled at Bea’s funny random question and the look of worry on her daughter’s face. ‘We will get some milk and biscuits and a few other things. In fact, we should go now and stock the pantry before the shops close.’
Together they locked up, hopped back into the car and headed off to fill the cupboards and refrigerator with all they would need.
And as she drove into town Juliet realised she was no longer anxious about being so far from home. Despite her topsy-turvy relationship with Charlie Warren she was suddenly feeling quite at home in the Cotswolds.
Without warning she began to question if in fact it was because of him that she was feeling so at home.
IT WAS FIVE o’clock in the afternoon when they returned. Bea was napping on the sofa, with the heater warming the house, and dinner for two was cooking in the oven. Juliet had bought half a dozen small pork chops and decided to roast them with root vegetables. She thought they could have leftovers the next night. The house was quiet and the delicious aroma of the cooking made her think of home. She looked at her watch and did the mental arithmetic and quickly realised it was one in the morning back home. While she knew her parents loved her, one a.m. was not the time to test the depth of those feelings. She would wait until morning. She had called from the airport to tell them she was safe and since then they had each sent texts. There was nothing else to report. Nothing had happened. They hadn’t really met anyone. As she put her feet up on the ottoman and leant back into the softness of the cushions, she realised that technically wasn’t correct. Bea had met her new best friend, Emma.
And Juliet had met Charlie. Complicated, handsome, argumentative Charlie. She closed her eyes for a moment.
Who was he really?
And why was he making her think about him when he wasn’t around? For almost five years, she had not given a man another romantic thought, until now.
Dinner was lovely and they both ate well, then Juliet washed the dishes before she gave Bea a nice warm bath, paying particular care to keep her cast dry. As she wrapped her daughter in a fluffy bath sheet before slipping her into her pyjamas, Juliet smiled at the little girl and thought how strong she had been. She couldn’t have been more proud of her daughter. She didn’t fuss or complain about it at all. Bea just worked around the cast and made the best of it. She was indeed a very special little girl. Despite having her own room, and thinking it was very pretty, that night she decided to sleep with her mother in the big bed. And after her favourite story, they both fell asleep around eight o’clock.
Bea dreamt about a princess who fought dragons and won…and Juliet’s sleep began with a dream of Charlie.
It was close to ten when Charlie stood staring into the darkness from his kitchen window. The tap was running and steaming water was filling the sink where he had placed his dinner dishes but it was as if he were somewhere else. Somewhere other than in his home alone, the way it was every night that he didn’t work late at the hospital. The silence made him feel even more solitary but that night he chose not to have the noise of the television. He didn’t want white noise providing pretend company. He suddenly felt as if he wanted something more. The lightness of heart that he felt when he was near Juliet and Bea was something he had not expected. And something he could not fully understand nor thought he deserved. He lifted his gaze to see the haze of the full moon trying to break through the heavy clouds just as he was trying to step out from behind the guilt that was burying him. But he knew he had as much chance as the moon had.
The next morning was an early start. Along with meeting with Georgina and Leo, Juliet wanted to brief the surgical team to ensure there were no questions around the procedure. Bea needed help to dress in a stretch knit track suit and then after a hearty breakfast of porridge and honey the two set off for Teddy’s.
‘Ith the hothpital really called Teddy’th, Mummy?’
Juliet smiled as she drove. ‘Yes, it is.’
‘Like a teddy bear?’
‘Yes, just like a teddy bear.’
‘That’th silly. It’th a hospital for babies, not for teddy bears.’
Juliet laughed along with her daughter as she turned into the hospital car park. She loved that Bea could see the funny side of life at an early age. She had taken after her grandfather with that trait and clearly the ability to make friends quickly. After the uncomfortable situation with Charlie the day before, Juliet knew she was most definitely missing that skill.
But worrying about being friends with Dr Charlie Warren was not about to take precedence over what mattered and the reason she had travelled to the teddy bear hospital.
The day would be busy and she had a lot to accomplish. From a risk-management viewpoint, she needed to have contingency plans in place should the babies react poorly to the procedure. While she saw no reason for it not to proceed smoothly, guaranteed success was never a given and Juliet was always prepared for both the best and worst scenarios and everything in between. Should
