No Bra Required! (26 page)

Georgina thought for a second.  “Did you say Ed didn’t
contact you until the next morning?”

Lucy nodded.  “It was the early hours, about five I
think, why?”

“I think that was the night he had to go to Callie.  Do
you know she’s got cancer?”

“Yes, I went to see her.”

“That was the day she found out.  She’d been to see the
consultant, and Ed told me she’d called him distraught, so he’d rushed round
there, and he and Ellen stayed with her until the early hours, then when he got
back you and Katie had gone.  All he found was your note.”

“The house was in darkness when I got back from Dad’s,
they’d not even eaten their take-away they were that desperate to be together.” 
Lucy couldn’t help the bitterness in her tone.

“Ed told me that, he said he’d just got back with the food
when Callie rang, so he just dumped it and left.”

Lucy knew Georgina was bound to stand up for her son, but
she hadn’t seen what Lucy had seen.

“
I saw them
!” Lucy insisted.  “And all he could
say was ‘Oh shit’, no pleading for my forgiveness, no apology, just ‘Oh shit’,”
Lucy finished sadly. 

“Why would Ed just let you go Lucy, he loved you, does love
you.  I know my son and I know that he would fight for you, he’d follow
you, and I also know he’s not a coward, he’d face up to his mistake not just
curse that he’d been found out, that’s something that …” Georgina’s voice
trailed off as she fell silent.

After a couple of minutes Georgina asked.  “What’s Ed
told you about Luke, Lucy?”

Lucy looked at Georgina puzzled.  “Nothing much, he’s a
pretty decent footballer, he stole his wife, and he’s his twin brother.  I
didn’t ever ask, and Ed never told me, it all seemed too painful for him, why?”

“Oh Lucy, Luke and Ed are
identical
twins.”

Lucy’s hand shot to her mouth as she inhaled deeply. 
Fresh tears started to emerge as suddenly she realised that it wasn’t Ed that
she’d seen on top of Katie, but Luke.

“But Ed once told me they were nothing alike,” Lucy cried.

“They are nothing alike in character, nothing at all; Ed’s a
good person,” Georgina said.  “As children they hated being twins, always
insisting that they looked different, but they don’t.  Even their voices
are the same, although Luke has a slight American accent nowadays.  Tell
me, what exactly did he say?”  Georgina asked.

“Oh shit Lucy, nothing else.”

“Not a lot of words to have to disguise your accent in, is
it?”

Lucy shook her head slowly.  “No, I suppose not.”

“I’m guessing that it was all part of their plan that you
found them, unless it was just a lucky break.  Without you around, Katie
probably thought she had more chance of seducing Ed, or at least getting more
money out of him.  I’m also going to bet that she wrote the note, Ed was
so upset he wouldn’t recognise it was her writing and not yours.”

“What exactly did the note say, did Ed tell you?” Lucy
asked.

“Oh, something along the lines of it was all going too fast
and after seeing them together you’d realised that you could never replace
Katie.  Hah, she certainly like to big herself up, I must say.” 
Georgina shook her head in disbelief.

“Okay let’s say she did write a note, why didn’t Ed ring me
to say where he was?”  Lucy still couldn’t bring herself to believe
everything could be resolved.

“I don’t know sweetheart, you’ll have to ask him that. 
Maybe he forgot, I believe Callie was in a terrible state.”

Suddenly everything that Georgina said made sense it all
fell into place.  Lucy let out a loud cry.

“Oh God, Georgina, what if he dies?  He’ll never know
that I’m sorry for not believing in him and that I love him.”  Lucy
exhaled slowly.

“Well he won’t, so you’ll be able to tell him both those
things.”  Georgina brushed away the tears from her cheeks.  “
We
cannot think like that.
”

At that moment, a man pushed through the door, Lucy guessed
from the stethoscope around his neck that he was a doctor.  He smiled at
the two women and ran a hand through his hair.  The movement reminded Lucy
of Ed, and she gasped as a sob escaped from the back of her throat.

“Hi there Mrs Bryce, well there’s no change still I’m
afraid, but he’s stable which is a positive.”

Georgina grasped Lucy’s hand tightly.

“Do you know when he might wake up?”  Lucy asked, her
voice cracking with emotion.

The doctor looked at Lucy and smiled.

“This is my son’s partner,” Georgina explained.  “This
is Lucy.”

“Hello Lucy, no we can’t say just yet, but, not for a couple
of days at the least.”  He went on to explain everything that Georgina had
already told them, stressing that Ed wasn’t in a coma, but taking a much needed
sedated holiday, was how he explained it. 

“A lot of sleep can do wonders for the body,” the doctor
said, smiling warmly at Lucy.  “As for his leg, well he’ll need a fair amount
of physio once it’s out of plaster, but I don’t think it will bother him too
much.  He’s had all his obs’ done for this morning, and had his pain
relief, and IV changed, so you can go and see him if you’d like.  Just
talk to him, but try and keep it nice and peaceful in there, although he’s
sedated he may still pick up a few sounds.”

As the doctor disappeared, Georgina turned to Lucy.

“Off you go then,” she urged.  “Go and sit with him.”

“No, you should go.”  Lucy shook her head.

“No darling, its fine.  I know he’s not likely to wake
just yet, but if he does I’m sure it will be you he wants to see.  He was
coming home to see you when it happened, he’d got Richard’s text message as he
got to the cottage, and so pretty much had a cup of tea and then left again.”

Lucy bit her bottom lip and wiped her tear stained face with
the back of her hand.

“Really, he was coming to me?”

Georgina nodded as she also wiped more tears away. 
“Yes sweetheart, so go and sit with him.”

“If you’re sure?”

“I’m sure, now you’re here I may go back to the cottage for
a few hours, I desperately need a shower and a cuddle from Nate.” 
Georgina stood up from her seat and stretched.  “Jack can come over then,
he’s been desperate to see him.”

“Are you okay to drive, I can ask Dad or Richard to take
you?”  Lucy said, aware of how exhausted Georgina must be.

“No, don’t worry, I’ll be fine.  It only takes about 40
minutes, I’ll be there in no time.  So, go and see my boy and tell him
that you love him.”

Lucy walked quickly to Ed’s private room at the end of the
ward, she was eager to see him yet, just as she had been with Callie, filled
with apprehension of how he would look.  She was also scared that when he
eventually woke he would reject her, after all she hadn’t believed in him. 
Pushing open the door Lucy inhaled and then exhaled, trying to slow down her
heartbeat.

Ed’s face was ashen against the stark white of the pillow,
except for a dark, blue swelling around his eye and a deep red cut across his
forehead.  He still looked like her gorgeous Ed though, Lucy thought, the
familiar feeling of love for him enveloping her body, and tingling her nerve
endings. 

She quietly pulled a chair across to the bed, and as she sat
down Lucy took his hand gently, and kissed his fingertips.  Ed stirred
making Lucy hold her breath, but then his breathing settled back into a regular
pattern, and he was motionless again.

Lucy’s eyes, bright with tears, scoured Ed’s face as she
hugged his hand to her chest.

“I’m so sorry Ed,” she whispered.  “I should’ve known
that you wouldn’t hurt me.  When you wake up I hope that we can put things
right because I need you and love you so much.  It’s been horrible without
you, so I’m not leaving your side until I know that you’re going to be
okay.  Please be okay.”  Lucy’s voice broke as she struggled to hold
back a sob, anxious to remain as calm as possible.  She brushed away the
salty tears and kissed Ed’s hand again, desperately hoping that he was going to
be okay and not daring to think about the alternative.

Lucy had fallen asleep holding Ed’s hand, when Jack sneaked
quietly into the room.  He shook Lucy gently by the shoulder while all the
time staring at his son.

“Lucy,” he whispered.  “Wake up sweetheart, it’s time
you had a break.”

Lucy stirred and lifting her head from Ed’s bed, rubbed the
sleep from her eyes.

“Hi Jack, are you okay?”

Jack nodded and bent down to kiss her cheek.  “Hmm I’m
fine, I’ll be better when Ed wakes up, but generally I’m okay.  What about
you, how are you holding up?”

Lucy shrugged.  “The same I guess, I just want him to
be better.”  She darted a look at Ed.  “What time is it anyway?”

“It’s 4 p.m.  You need to take a break love, your dad
and Richard are waiting in the visitor’s room for you.”

Lucy gasped and put a hand to her mouth.  “God I forgot
all about them, I’d better go and check that they’re okay.”

“Go and get something to eat as well, I’ll hold the fort for
a couple of hours.”

“Ring me if there’s any change won’t you?”  Lucy’s eyes
were anxious as she scrabbled in her bag for a pen and some paper.  “This
is my new number.”

Jack took the paper from her and put it in his pocket. 
“I will, but I doubt anything will change today.  Go on and I’ll see you
later.”

As Lucy went into the visitor’s room, her resolve crumbled
and as soon as she saw Gerald she burst into tears and ran to him.  After
a few minutes of sobbing Lucy gently pulled away.

“Okay now?  Georgina has explained everything,” Gerald
said, leading her to a chair.

Lucy wiped her nose with a tissue that Richard handed to
her.

“I’m sorry I left you both out here for hours.”

“That’s okay, we’ve been busy, haven’t we Richard?”

Richard nodded and sat the other side of Lucy.  “Yes,
we’ve booked you into a B&B for a few nights, you and your dad.  We
knew you wouldn’t want to go home, so have found one pretty close by that can
fit you both in.”

Lucy grabbed Richard’s hand and squeezed it tightly. 
“Thank you so much, but what about you?”

“I’m going home, I need to help out at the surgery. 
Things are bad enough there as it is with Callie off, and now this,” replied
Richard shaking his head.

“Do they all know then?” Lucy asked.

“I spoke to Elspeth earlier, she’s going to tell the staff
tomorrow when they’re back in after the weekend, but she’s not sure about the
patients.  She’s going to see what Dr Kindler thinks.” 

“I’ll stay with you though sweetheart,” Gerald
interjected.  “I don’t want you to be on your own, particularly…” Gerald
leaned in and lowered his voice, “in your condition.  I’m guessing you’ve
not told Georgina or Jack yet.”

“No, I want to tell Ed first, plus I don’t want them
worrying about me, they’ve got enough on their plate.”

Gerald nodded in understanding.  “Okay, well why don’t
we get round to the B&B so that you can have some rest and maybe a bite to
eat.”

“We don’t have any clean clothes though Dad, perhaps we
should nip out and buy some.”

“No need. Richard is the cleverest man alive and took the
liberty of packing us both some this morning while we had breakfast – well I
had breakfast, you refused to eat yours.”  Gerald smiled at his daughter
as he moved her fringe from her eyes.

“I thought that you’d probably stay and that Gerald would
insist on being with you, so thought it was a good idea.”

“You are bloody amazing Richard, and I don’t know what Dad
or I would do without you.  Okay, I’ll just nip to the ladies and then
we’ll go, because the sooner I leave the sooner I can get back”

On her way back to the visitor’s room a few minutes later,
Lucy heard raised voices at the nurse’s station; she gasped as she recognised
the American twang.  What on earth was that bitch doing here Lucy thought,
with anger building inside her?  As she reached Katie, Jill one of Ed’s
nurses spotted Lucy.

“This lady is insisting on seeing Mr Bryce, she says she’s
his wife?” Jill said looking at Lucy quizzically.

Katie swung round to see who Jill was speaking to. “Well
hello honey, what a nice surprise.” Katie appeared to force her lips into a
thin smile.

Lucy placed a hand in the small of Katie’s back.  “It’s
okay Jill, I’ll get rid of her. 
The family don’t want her here, and I know I can say the same for Ed. 
Come on Katie, let’s talk outside shall we.”

Lucy pushed Katie away from the nurse’s station, and along
the corridor.  Just past the door into the visitor’s room, she turned
Katie around and slapped her firmly across the face.

“Oow, you fucking little bitch, how fucking dare you?” 
Katie cried lifting her hand to strike Lucy back.

Lucy grabbed Katie’s wrist.  “Don’t even try, because
the way I feel about you at this minute, I’ll rip every hair from your head and
punch your bloody lights out.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Katie said as she pulled her hand away
from Lucy’s grasp and placed it against her reddening cheek.

“Don’t dare me,” Lucy hissed.  “What the fuck are you
doing here, Katie?  Haven’t you done enough damage to Ed, to us?”

Katie moved away from Lucy and lounged against the
wall.  “More to the point, what are you doing here?  I thought after
what you saw you’d have been long gone out of his life?”

Lucy noticed a flicker of disquiet in Katie’s eyes; she
obviously wasn’t sure how much Lucy knew.

“I’m here because I love Ed no matter what,
so
what
about you?”  Lucy asked.

“For the same reason, the only difference being that he
loves me and not you, so I think you should leave.”  Katie pointed toward
the exit.  “Go on, he won’t want you here.”

“How do you know that he loves you Katie, please
tell?”  Lucy placed her hands firmly on her hips, and glared at Katie
defiantly.