Page 29 of Mending Hearts at the Cornish Country Hospital (The Cornish Country Hospital #6)
‘I used to think like that, my darling, but that was before your main topics of conversation centred around the colour and consistency of our baby’s poo, or whether five pages of instructions are enough for your parents to be able to look after Ellis, despite raising two children of their own.
I’m sure they really needed reminding not to leave her unattended on the kitchen worktop.
We better ramp it up when she gets a bit older, otherwise they might let her play with a knife block instead of a shape sorter. ’
‘I’m not that bad.’ Jason pulled a face, but then he laughed again. ‘Alright so I’m a baby bore, but Ellis is far too clever for her own good and she’s already turning herself over. The way she’s babbling, she’ll be talking before we know it too and then I’ll have both of you bossing me around.’
‘What are you hoping her first word will be. Daddy or Papa?’ Eden knew the names Aidan and Jase had chosen for themselves and she did her best not to let her voice betray the tightness in her throat.
She’d have given the world for Teddie to say anything, and she tried not to think too much about the possibility that he never would.
‘Let’s just say I’ve heard Jase coaching her by repeating Papa over and over again, when he thinks I’m not listening.’
‘Don’t turn it into a competition.’ Gwen suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
‘Because, trust me, as soon as she starts talking, it’ll be Daddy this and Papa that non-stop.
Don’t rush through all the stages, they each have their own magic.
The connection in the way your child looks at you before they learn to speak is something that’s never quite the same once they start talking. ’
She caught Eden’s eye for a moment, an understanding passing between them that needed no words.
Gwen had told Eden about her magic act, and sometimes she wondered if it might not be an act at all.
If it wasn’t magic, then Gwen must at least be able to read minds.
She seemed to know just what advice to give, even when it hadn’t been asked for.
‘You’re right, Gwen, and we are trying to treasure every moment.
’ Aidan nodded, looking serious for once.
‘I said more or less the same thing to Esther and Joe about making the most of the pre-kids’ stage of their relationship too.
Me and Jase know better than anyone how hard it is to think about anything else when all you want is a family, but it’s important to remember all the upsides of it just being the two of you. ’
Eden hadn’t even realised that the most senior nurse on the team was trying for a family with her husband. She could see Esther and Joe now, down on the sand, playing a very energetic game of volleyball against Eve and Meg.
‘You can tell they haven’t got kids yet; they’ve certainly got more energy than any parents I know,’ Eden said, laughing at the expression that crossed Aidan’s face in response.
‘Absolutely. That’s why they’ve thrashed Wendy and Gary, and Danni and Charlie at volleyball already.
They tried to get me and Jase to give them a game, or to join in with the five-a-side football match they’re organising between A&E and the mental health team, but the last thing I want to do is spend my evening off chasing balls up and down the beach. ’
Jase grinned. ‘And you’ve got the cheek to say I’m the boring one.’
‘I’m sure you two don’t need any advice about playing with balls.
’ Gwen’s tone was deadpan and it was impossible to know whether the innuendo was intentional or not, although they usually were when it came to Gwen.
‘But in my experience the couple that plays together stays together. If you make it a priority to have fun as a couple, you can cope with all the challenges that parenthood throws at you, as a team.’
Suddenly the tightness in Eden’s throat was back.
When she’d thought about having a child with someone, long before Teddie had arrived, she’d wanted exactly the kind of partnership Gwen had just described.
She’d imagined being part of a couple who parented together, a united front able to tackle whatever came along.
Eden had wanted to do things so differently to her own parents, to raise a child with a stable foundation and with the guarantee that both parents would be there whenever they were needed.
For a long time it had felt like she’d failed Teddie by not providing that, but as she looked up and caught another glimpse of Drew, she couldn’t help wondering if it was something else she needed to reframe.
The dream she’d had of what parenthood might be like, hadn’t come true, but maybe there was a different dream out there just waiting for her to discover it.
* * *
‘Thanks so much for coming with me.’ Eden felt strangely shy as she and Drew finally managed to get some time away from everyone else at the party.
She’d wanted to be on her own with him all evening, but now that she was, it felt almost too intimate.
Now there was nothing stopping her from acting on the impulse she’d had to reach out for his hand, almost from the moment she’d seen him waiting outside her house, but she still wasn’t sure how he’d react if she did.
They were on the concrete pier that flanked one side of the beach, a hundred metres or so away from the restaurant.
The tide was still far enough out to offer up a wide stretch of sand, but she hadn’t suggested going down there, because she knew how much he hated it.
There were shouts of laughter and the buzz of conversation in the distance, but it was far enough away from where they were walking to be able to hear the sound of the waves lapping against the shore too.
The soft autumn light of the afternoon had faded into darkness, and the sky was filled with a blanket of stars that somehow made all her worries seem a lot smaller.
She felt calmer and more content than she had in a very long time, and Drew had undoubtedly played a big part in that.
‘Thank you for asking me along. I’ve really enjoyed it.’
‘I’m glad.’
‘I didn’t expect to, but it was a nice surprise.
It was good to meet some more of the staff, and it helped that we could all talk about work.
I’m sure I’d have found it far more difficult to make conversation if we didn’t have the hospital in common.
’ Drew stopped walking and turned towards her.
‘But this has still been the best part of the night, just talking to you.’
‘It’s been my favourite part too.’ Heat flooded her cheeks and she was glad it was probably too dark for him to tell she was blushing, but she’d wanted to be as honest with him as he was with her.
‘I was going to ask you out, before you asked me to come to the party. I’ve been wanting to do it for ages, but I kept losing my nerve. It was only when Gwen made a bet with me that I promised myself I’d do it.’
‘You have a bet with Gwen about asking me out?’ She was smiling now, imagining how that had gone down, but Drew shook his head.
‘Well not a bet exactly, more of a forfeit if I didn’t do it. She knew I kept losing my nerve, so she said I had to join in with a belly dancing class if I wimped out again.’
‘That’s a pretty serious threat.’ Eden laughed, unable to stop herself from picturing just how mortified Drew would be to have to go through with that. ‘So do you still have to pay a forfeit, seeing as I was the one to ask you out?’
‘No, thank goodness. We agreed to come to a compromise and voided the bet. She said all she cared about was that we’d finally got our acts together to go on a date.
’ Drew looked down at the floor and then back up at her.
‘I didn’t tell her I wasn’t sure if that’s what this was.
I’m still not sure, but I know I want it to be. ’
Eden could sense how hard it had been for Drew to admit how he felt, and the urge to kiss him was almost overwhelming.
She’d wanted him to kiss her from the start of the evening, but she hadn’t been sure it had even crossed his mind.
Now she knew he wanted to, but she was just as certain he still wouldn’t do it because he didn’t trust himself to have read the situation right.
One of them had to make the first move. Stepping forward, she laid a hand against Drew’s face, giving him the chance to step back if she’d somehow got things wrong, but he didn’t.
Instead she moved even closer, pressing her lips against his, and suddenly he was kissing her back with the sort of passion that left her in no doubt about how he felt.
He’d been waiting for this and wanting it just as much as she had.
‘Can we go out again?’ Drew’s tone was more urgent than she’d ever known it to be.
‘Are you sure you’re not just trying to avoid having to put on a pair of harem pants and jiggle your hips like you mean it?’ She raised her eyebrows and he laughed, shaking his head.
‘Having you say yes is the only thing I want.’
‘In that case, yes, I’d really like to go out again, but right now I think we’d better get back to the party and say our goodbyes, before we become the main source of gossip.
You know what they’re like, and I’ve got to get home soon, in case Teddie is having a rough night.
’ She shrugged regretfully, but Drew nodded.
‘Of course, Teddie will always come first.’ There was no edge to his tone, or any hint of bitterness in his words. He understood her situation completely.
It would have been so easy to rush headlong in to things with Drew, but they needed to take this slowly, for both of their sakes and more importantly for Teddie.
Just like Drew had said, her son was always going to be her priority, but she had a strong suspicion that he’d be Drew’s priority too, and the thought made her smile into the darkness as they made their way back.