E for England (28 page)

He did invite Edward, and both James and Hugh accepted the invitation. It promised to be an interesting, if not entertaining evening.

‘Doctor Clelland?'

Hugh paused in the bustle of the hospital foyer, hoping this woman wouldn't hold him up. For once he'd got away early and would be able to pick up some chocolates or flowers for Annie, and have time to shower, before heading out to dinner. He hadn't seen her for way too long; the missing had turned into yearning. She echoed in his heart. He couldn't wait.

‘Yes.' A relative of a patient? She wore jeans and a jacket and had a sharp-eyed narrow face. Bit like a fox with that reddish tinge to her hair.

‘Maria Holmes. I'm with the
Herald
. I understand you were Lester Fuller's doctor?'

‘Briefly. What's this about?' A reporter. His warning systems sprang to alert.

‘Lester died under your care. His sister is understandably extremely upset and angry about the way her brother was treated, or not treated, by the doctors in this hospital. Do you have any comment?'

‘I don't. Excuse me.' He turned and walked away, clamping down on the rising anger and the furious retorts fighting for release.

She followed. ‘So you have nothing to say for yourself, Doctor Clelland. Nothing by way of explanation for the appalling way Lester Fuller was treated?'

He stopped and faced her. ‘The hospital has done an internal investigation. I suggest you see the results before you start making accusations. Get some facts.'

‘The fact is, Doctor, Lester Fuller was admitted to this hospital and he died here. He shouldn't have died.'

‘No doctor wants a patient to die. Sometimes they do. Fact.'

He turned on his heel and left her standing. He hoped. If she followed him to his car he'd call security. Was this woman hounding Eleanor as well, or had she picked him because Eleanor wasn't contactable? When he got home he'd call her but he had a feeling she'd gone away. Out of Sydney, trying to recover from her marriage implosion as well as Lester's death. No doubt there'd be more of these people nosing around.

Lester's sister must have had a rethink about the mileage to be gained from her brother's death. The fact she'd hadn't seen him for months and he had to call her when he'd been seriously ill for days said something about the closeness of the relationship. If he'd come to hospital or phoned a doctor a few days earlier he'd probably still be alive. The whole thing was very sad. Why the sister was blaming him was beyond his comprehension.
She'd
wanted the second opinion and he'd only seen Lester very briefly.

Hugh drove home with a gloomy sense of foreboding. Perhaps he should cry off dinner tonight — the way he felt he wouldn't be much company. But as soon as the thought formed he discarded it. He wanted to see Annie, simple as that, he needed to see her to keep his life on course. Just the thought of her filled his heart.

And Mattie and Floss would be expecting a story. Annie had told him when she rang to invite him that they'd both put in their order. ‘Hugh can read us our story.' He'd laughed and the warm glow of pleasure lasted for hours.

Edward arrived early. Half an hour early, as though he were a close friend or relative who had the right to ignore the designated time. If any of tonight's guests had that right, Leonie did. Annie swallowed her annoyance and held out her hand, smiling when Kevin brought his new friend in to the kitchen.

‘Annie, delighted to meet you.' A handshake limp and cold as leftover spaghetti, retreating hairline and slightly anxious expression, making him look a bit rabbit-like behind round spectacles. Not what she'd expected.

‘Hello.' Annie gave the flaccid fingers a good hard shake. Like squeezing raw sausages.

‘Is Leonie here?' Mattie and Floss, already in pyjamas, crowded into the doorway. They stopped in confusion when they saw Edward. He turned with a jolly smile and an attempt at familiarity.

‘Hello there, you two. Ready for bed, I see.'

‘Hello, Edward.' A bit mumbled but audible and polite enough. Floss looked at Annie. ‘When's Leonie coming?'

‘And Hugh and James?' added Mattie.

‘At seven o'clock. Not for a while yet. Your dinner is ready so sit at the table, please.'

‘Something smells delicious.' Edward rubbed his hands together like a pantomime character. ‘Yum, yum.'

‘It's moussaka. Kevin is taking care of your meal.' Annie smiled sweetly at Kevin. ‘Excuse me. I need to feed these two before our other guests arrive.'

‘I'll get out of your way then.'

‘Come and have a drink, Edward,' said Kevin hastily. He'd catered for Edward by buying a takeaway, supposedly home-made vegetarian lasagne at the local deli.

Annie spooned Bolognese sauce over pasta and served her excited pair. They sat giggling and exchanging wide-eyed glances over their spaghetti.

‘What's up with you two?'

‘Edward's silly.'

‘Ssh.' Annie flashed a warning glance at them and then at the door.

‘We don't like him,' said Mattie.

‘Why not?'

‘He doesn't know how to play any games and he's got funny feet.' They both exploded in giggles.

Annie smothered a laugh as she picked up a cloth to wipe up the sauce drips on the table. He
was
very splayfooted, with a slight build and skinny legs in tight black jeans.

‘He's got duck feet.' Floss nearly choked she was laughing so much.

‘Stop it. You mustn't be rude. He's our guest and Daddy's friend.'

‘Quack, quack,' Mattie said.

‘That's enough. Eat. If you're not finished by the time the others arrive you'll have to go straight off to bed because you won't have time to talk to them.'

Floss's fork paused in midair. ‘But I have to show Leonie my Barbies.'

‘Yes and she's looking forward to seeing them, she said so.'

‘And I want to show Hugh and James the backyard.'

They settled down to eat.

What on earth did Kevin see in Edward? It was impossible to tell what a man saw in another man. Whatever it was, in this case it wasn't what a woman saw. Not this one. She wasn't being fair. Edward was probably nervous and he was, in all likelihood, a nice person.

She tidied away the debris from the children's meal preparation. She'd turn the remains of the sauce into lasagne for tomorrow, or maybe they could have tacos.

‘Can I have some more, please?' Mattie's appetite was growing and so was he. She gave him seconds.

‘I've finished.' Floss slid off her chair and took her plate to the sink. ‘Can we have our special dessert now?'

‘No. You have to wait for me.'

‘But you're a greedy guts.' Floss opened the fridge and peered in at the crème caramels they'd helped make the previous evening. Two extra just for them.

‘Don't!' yelled Mattie. ‘Mummy, she's not allowed to have dessert until I'm ready.'

‘Just wait, Floss. Eat up, Mattie.'

Annie peeped into the oven. The top of the moussaka was turning a beautiful golden brown, the baked potatoes should be done. She covered the dishes with foil and adjusted the heat. Perfect. No entrees, just nibbles with drinks. Ten to seven. She had to change and do her make-up.

Kevin appeared in the doorway, face thundery. ‘What's going on in here? Why are you screaming, Mattie? Behave yourselves. We have guests.'

Annie glared at him. ‘It's all under control. I need to change. Can you take over, please? Their desserts are in the fridge. Floss will show you.'

‘But Edward's all alone. I can't leave him sitting there by himself.'

‘Well he should turn up on time, shouldn't he?' she hissed and made her escape.

Five minutes later the doorbell rang. Annie groaned and continued applying eye make-up as fast as she could.

Kevin yelled, ‘Edward, will you get the door, please?'

For God's sake! Footsteps sounded outside her door and then Edward said, ‘Hello there. Do come in.'

Annie gave her hair a few good swipes with the brush instead of pinning it up as planned, did a quick recce of make-up and dress and went to the door.

Leonie said loudly, ‘I'm sorry, is this Annie's house?'

‘Kevin's and Annie's. Yes, you've come to the right place. I'm Edward. I'm playing doorman. Annie's titivating and Kevin's giving the children their dinner.'

Annie flung her bedroom open and stepped into the corridor as Leonie, Hugh and James crowded in through the front door.

‘There you are! You look great.' Leonie hugged her hard and whispered in her ear, ‘Finished titivating? Bastard!'

Annie snorted with laughter. ‘Hello. It's so great to see you.'

‘These are for you.' Hugh handed her a bunch of flowers then pulled her close for a hug and a kiss, frustratingly brief when she really wanted to hold him to her heart and never let go.

James hugged her. ‘We brought wine,' he said.

‘Thank you. It's so lovely to see you all again. Hang your coats on the rack. Come through.' Annie pushed past Edward, who was standing smiling with his duck feet splayed at a ninety degree angle.

Floss and Mattie burst from the kitchen in an uproar of greetings. Leonie bent down for hugs and kisses. ‘Hello, my darlings, I've missed you heaps.' She pulled two brightly wrapped parcels from her bag. ‘These are for you from Tokyo.'

‘Ooohhh, thank you,' squealed Floss, bouncing up and down.

‘Say hello to Hugh and James.' Annie grimaced at the cousins. ‘Sorry. They're excited.'

‘Hello Hugh, hello James,' they chorused.

‘Hello. How are you two? Do you like your new house?' asked Hugh.

‘It's really good,' said Mattie. ‘We have a backyard for playing in and we're getting a dog.'

‘And our daddy lives here with us,' added Floss.

‘Sounds pretty good,' said James.

‘Off you go to the kitchen, kids. Open your presents in there.' Kevin stepped forward hand outstretched. ‘Hello, Leonie. Nice to see you again.' He turned to Hugh and James and shook hands. ‘Come through to the living room. What can I get you to drink?'

James proffered the carrier bag of wine and began explaining what they'd brought.

Annie went to the kitchen to check on the kids and put her lovely flowers in water. Leonie followed.

‘Who's that prawn Edward?' she whispered.

‘Kevin's friend.' Annie filled a vase. Hugh brought her flowers and he looked at her with that warmth in his eyes. She'd missed his solid calm, his quiet confidence, his kindness. Why couldn't he love her?

Floss looked up from the wrapping paper strewn table, face glowing with delight, a new Barbie doll clutched in her hands.

‘Do you like her?' Leonie stroked Floss's hair.

‘I love her. Thank you.' She slipped off her chair and hugged Leonie. ‘Come and see my other dolls.'

Mattie, grinning from ear to ear, had a new box of Lego. ‘Thank you, Leonie.'

‘You're welcome, Mattie.' She held out her hands. ‘Come on, you two. Show me your new house.'

‘I'll go and talk to Hugh and James.' Annie headed for the living room where Kevin was busy providing drinks. Funny how they slipped back into their usual roles as dinner party hosts. They'd always been good at entertaining. Her food, Kevin's confidence and ability to keep a conversation flowing, top up drinks and generally see that guests had a good time, all came together again like clockwork.

Hugh, stood with a glass of red wine and observed Annie's husband and Edward, presumably his new boyfriend, pour drinks. What an odd group of people to bring together. None of them knew each other very well except he and James, Kevin and Annie, and perhaps Annie and Leonie. What did they all have in common? Annie. Sweet beautiful Annie. Seeing her again slammed home the loss of her with the force of a sledgehammer.

He swallowed wine and forced himself to think of something else. Annie had made her choice.

On the way over in the car James and Leonie looked like a couple of teenagers on their first date, pretending they were blasé about the other's company but unable to stop sneaking glances, and smiling nonstop. The interesting phenomenon of a pair of philanderers besotted with each other had taken his mind off that bloody reporter.

Edward approached with a dish of almonds and cashews. ‘Do have some.'

‘Thank you.' Who was this guy? As far as he knew Annie barely knew him, yet here he was acting host in her home as if he belonged here. ‘How long have you known Annie?'

‘Not long. You?' The pale blue eyes blinked behind the spectacles. Cagey bastard. Trying for a spot of one-upmanship.

‘A few months. We were neighbours.'

‘I'm actually a friend of Kevin's.'

‘Yes, so Annie said. What work do you do, Edward?'

‘I'm in IT. Computer programming. So is Kevin. We're a couple of geeks really.' He glanced, smiling, over to where Kevin and James were talking about fishing — rock fishing, from the snippets Hugh overheard. Edward lowered his voice to confidential, fixing Hugh with a stern eye. ‘I'm so pleased Annie has seen sense about the house. Kevin adores those children and it was tearing him apart not seeing them.'

Hugh opened and closed his mouth, and for want of anything polite to say took a sip of wine instead. ‘I understood he left Annie and the children, not the other way around.'

‘He had to go. His sanity was at stake.' The implication being Annie was the one driving the poor man mad.

‘How long have you known Kevin?'

‘Over a year now.' He paused, considering. ‘Nearly two.'

‘But you've only recently met Annie and the children?' Nearly two years? Did Annie know? No explanation for that oversight on Kevin's part.