Page 37 of Together Again at the Cornish Country Hospital

When Lijah had left home, he’d ended up spending his birthday elsewhere most of the time, but his mother would postpone the celebration until the next time he got home and go all out then. He’d never forget what she’d said to him on his last birthday.

‘You’re still my little boy, and that won’t ever change, not until the day I die.’ Neither of them had any idea just how soon that day would come, and he was so glad now that he’d always come back to celebrate his mother’s birthday, knowing that was the only gift she really wanted. Now they were working through a series of firsts, without Maria, and today was his Aunt Claire’s first birthday since his mother’s death, which meant it was down to him to somehow make it special.

‘You look worn out.’ Claire smiled at Lijah as he flopped into a chair after the birthday breakfast had been served, eaten and cleared away, but it wasn’t any of those things that had sapped his energy. It was impossible to fill the gap his mum had left behind, but he’d been determined to find joy in the day. And the truth was, even though things would never be the same, for the first time in a long time he could envisage a way of being truly happy again. When he thought what his own birthday might be like in years to come, he didn’t want to try and replicate the things his mum had done for him, because it would never be the same without her. He wanted to share the day, and every other special occasion, with someone he loved, someone he could start his own traditions with. That someone was Amy, but every time he tried to get past the wall she’d built up, she changed the subject. She seemed determined to stick to the rules she’d set out and at first he’d thought it was to make sure they were both certain this time around. Only now he was beginning to wonder if she’d been certain all along, certain that she didn’t want to be with him long term. He couldn’t blame her. His life was crazy and she’d only seen tiny hints of just how insane it could be. If she was exposed to the full extent of it, he could guarantee Amy wouldn’t want to be a part of it. Maybe this was just a way to get him out of her system once and for all, to finish off the unfinished business they’d had. It was trying to second guess Amy’s motivations that was wearing him down, but her rules meant he couldn’t even ask Claire’s advice. And he wasn’t going to be responsible for spoiling his aunt’s birthday, so he shot a grin in her direction.

‘Blowing up sixty-one balloons will wear a person out. We might just have to go for one giant hot air balloon next time.’

‘Cheeky sod.’ Claire laughed, hurling a cushion at him. ‘Although I’m not sure I want to start the tradition with Dee for her birthday; my lungs are a lot older than yours.’

‘I’ll buy you a balloon inflater for Christmas.’ Lijah tried not to feel the sharp stab of regret that his aunt’s plans for the future revolved around moving away. He’d have to go to Tenerife if he wanted to see Claire at Christmas, or on her next birthday, and they’d probably never celebrate at Mor Brys again.

‘Are you okay, Lij?’ His aunt moved to sit beside him. ‘I’m sorry the breakfast got interrupted by that call, but the estate agent was really keen to let me know my offer on the villa had been accepted.’

‘Don’t be silly, it’s great news.’ Lijah had seen the look of happiness on his aunt’s face when she’d got the call, and how excited she was to start this next phase of her life.

‘You will come and see me once I’m out there, won’t you? I’m going to miss you so much. Even though you were away a lot, your mum and I always knew you’d be home sooner or later. But without Mor Brys…’

‘Home isn’t a house, it’s the people.’ Lijah picked up one of the many scatter cushions on the sofa, some of which were emblazoned with affirmations about life and love. ‘You’ve probably got that embroidered on one of these.’

‘It’s a good job I love you.’ She threw another cushion at him, narrowly missing a vase filled with stargazer lilies, which were giving off the most amazing scent. ‘Look what you nearly made me do!’

She was smiling despite her words, and he pulled a face. ‘I’m not taking the blame for you hurling your positive affirmation cushions all over the room. They’re beautiful flowers, though.’

‘They are, but then Amy always sends something lovely. I’m so touched she still remembers my birthday, and she never missed your mum’s birthday either.’

‘Really?’ His eyebrows shot up as she nodded and he wondered not for the first time how different things might have been if he and Amy had never split up. He had to accept that he’d never know, and one thing this visit home had taught him, was that you couldn’t go back and expect everything to be exactly like it was when you left, because things never stayed the same.

‘Right then, Lij, I’d better go and get in the shower, because Dee’s going to FaceTime me and I don’t want her to see my hair looking like a bird’s nest.’

‘She’ll have to get used to that sooner or later.’ Lijah grinned again, as she whacked him with a cushion for a third time.

‘You do know you’re supposed to be nicer to your favourite aunt on her birthday, don’t you?’

‘I’m taking you on a boat trip, aren’t I? You can’t have it all.’ Lijah smiled, thinking about how excited his aunt had been when she’d discovered the surprise. He’d chartered a boat to take them down the coast, because spending time on the water had always been one of Claire’s favourite things to do.

‘I know and I’m very lucky to have a nephew like you.’ She hugged him, and he felt another twist of guilt in his gut at how long he’d gone without seeing her after his mother’s death. It was no wonder Claire had gone searching for a new life, and he only had himself to blame if there was very little room in that new life for him. Nick had been right, he’d needed to work out what he wanted. The trouble was, now that he’d worked out what he wanted, he had no idea if it was even possible to make it happen.

* * *

‘Well, my first night shift back has been very interesting, but I didn’t expect to end it wearing your spare shoes.’ Isla waggled her feet.

‘They’re so big you look like a little kid playing dress up in your mum’s high heels. Although I don’t think many kids would want to dress up in those. They might be the sort of thing a nun would wear, but my God are they comfortable, at least when they fit.’ Amy looked down at the very sensible, black slip-on shoes Isla was wearing, which were at least two sizes too big.

‘When someone is sick on your trainers, any alternative is good.’ Isla shuddered at the memory.

‘I think we should start introducing a fine system for drunks who clog up A&E, whose reward for checking them over is either abusing us or throwing up, sometimes both.’ Esther grimaced. It had been a long night for all of them, and Meg had ordered in some proper coffee and doughnuts, which had been delivered just in time for the end of their shift.

‘That’s an idea, although I’m not sure we could enforce it.’ A slow smile crept across Meg’s face. ‘Perhaps we could introduce a policy of taking the temperature of drunks with a rectal thermometer instead. That should sober them up.’

‘I think I’d rather keep coming in to work with spare shoes.’ Amy grimaced. ‘Do you think Danni and Aidan are missing all of this?’

‘From what I remember of having young babies, they’ll be dealing with plenty of projectile vomiting.’ Gary picked up one of the sticky doughnuts, all this talk of sickness clearly not putting him off. ‘Oh my God, these look delicious, where are they from?’

‘That new shop in Port Tremellien,Americana. It opens at 6a.m., which makes it perfect for an end-of-night-shift order.’ Meg picked up a doughnut, topped with what looked like maple syrup and pecans.

‘I think I’m going to have to persuade Wendy to have a doughnut stand instead of a wedding cake.’ Gary said. ‘This beats fruit cake hands down.’

‘I’m going to try one of the raspberry ones. That way I can tell myself its healthy.’ Zahir reached for a doughnut, and Amy had been about to follow suit when her mobile started to ring. It was twenty past seven in the morning and no one ever rang her that early, unless it was with news that couldn’t wait. She didn’t want that, because in Amy’s experience, news that couldn’t wait was never good. The last time she’d had a call that early it had been about her grandfather dying, and she shivered as she reached for the phone, her heart lurching when she saw the call was from Lijah.

---