Page 60 of A Chance in a Million
She was desperately trying to work out from his tone what he might be thinking, but it was hard. All she could do was to agree. ‘I’d like that. Listen, I wouldn’t want you to think I gave him the wrong idea about you and me. He just must have jumped to conclusions.’
‘Don’t worry, we can talk about everything this evening. It’ll be good to talk.’
‘I’m looking forward to it immensely.’ And she was – but not without trepidation.
After the call ended she lay back, trying to decide whether he had sounded pleased or not at Taffy’s assumption that the two of them had got together. The fact that he had said ‘don’t worry’ and ‘it’ll be good to talk’ was encouraging, although a declaration of undying love would have been preferable. She was still trying to sort things out in her head when she was interrupted by the little girl’s voice. She looked across to see Linda peeking into her new Paddington Bear bag at her teddy whose nose was just protruding from inside.
‘You’re right, Teddy: Jane loves David.’
Jane almost fell off her sunbed. Now even a seven-year-old could see through her. She did her best to sound casual as she joined in the conversation, deliberately addressing her remarks to the bear in the bag.
‘What makes you think that, Teddy?’
‘That’s easy.’ Linda answered for her ursine friend. ‘Teddy knows everything. Like, for instance…’ – she lowered her voice – ‘Did you know that Diana’s got a pair of bright red knickers? Teddy’s seen them.’
Interesting as this might be, it didn’t help explain what had given Jane away, so she tried again. ‘So how does Teddy know about David and me?’
‘Well…’ The little girl settled down importantly alongside the teddy in the bag and explained. ‘Grandma says so, and Mummy agrees and so does Diana. And of course, Maria was talking about it ages ago.’
Jane shook her head slowly in disbelief. Linda’s mother had gone back to Rome weeks ago so if she had talked about it, it must have been common knowledge in the Cooper household for ages. ‘And they all said they thought I was in love with David?’
To her amazement, Linda shook her head.
‘No, silly. They all said they thought David was in love with you. Now, listening to you on the phone, Teddy knows that you love him back.’ For the first time the little girl raised her eyes from the cuddly toy and looked across at Jane. ‘And that’s good. Teddy and I both think that’s good.’
‘You do?’
‘Of course, because we love you, too.’ She said it in such a matter-of-fact, simple way that Jane felt tears rush to her eyes. She reached across and scooped up the little girl and the teddy, pulling them over to her sunbed and hugging them to her.
‘And I love you to bits as well, Linda.’ She reached into the bag and pulled out the bear. ‘And I love you too, Teddy.’ And she kissed them both.
Now all that remained to be seen was whether the women in his family had got it right. Did Uncle David really love Auntie Jane?
At seven o’clock precisely, Jane and Veronica arrived at the hospital. A nurse told them not to stay too long so Jane insisted that Veronica should go in to see her son on her own first. As his mother went in, Jane looked through the glass and caught David’s eye, delighted to see him manage a cautious smile. He raised a hand to give her a little wave. She waved back and then turned away, to give him and his mother some privacy.
She walked along the corridor until she reached a window and looked out across the lagoon. The shadows were lengthening but the sky was still a clear blue. Right below her a vaporetto was just setting off from theOspedalelanding stage, heading towards Murano, while a little further out three gondolas were sculling to and fro, and it looked as though these were beginners learning the age-old art. David had told her he had also learned this skill and she wondered if he would ever take her for a romantic ride along the atmospheric canals of Venice in a gondola.
Her thoughts turned to the way her life had changed so radically in the past few months. She had come to Italy in a depressed state, barely able to raise a smile, and since meeting Veronica and her family she had begun to feel the dark clouds begin to clear. Then she had met David up in the hills and her whole world had changed. The more she saw of him – whether in his running shorts with his faithful hound or lying here in hospital – there could be no doubt in her mind that she had found real true love. But what about him?
She now knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wanted to be with him and, if he was willing, to spend the rest of her life with him, but there still remained the question of just how he felt about her. Yes, she felt sure he liked her and she had convinced herself that his hesitation had been as a result of the way his former girlfriend had reacted to his disfigurement. But was that it? Until he and she could have a real talk, the doubt remained that he might not share the same depth of feelings for her as she did for him. The nervous tension coursing through her at the thought of the imminent meeting was all too familiar to her – except this time it wasn’t a landmine responsible for it, but a man.
She was still lost in her thoughts when she heard Veronica’s voice at her shoulder.
‘Your turn. They don’t want us to spend much time with him but he’s looking and sounding so much better and he’s coming out tomorrow. Now, go on in and see him but the nurse said just for a few minutes. I’ll wait for you here.’
Jane straightened her shoulders and went back along the corridor. When she reached David’s room, she took a deep breath before opening the door, knowing that the whole future direction of her life potentially hung on the events of the next few seconds. That same cautious smile reappeared on his face as he saw her and she drew strength from it.
‘Hi, Jane, thanks for coming to see me. Surely you must have better things to do.’
‘I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.’ She could hear the emotion in her voice and felt sure he must hear it too. She stood hesitantly in no man’s land, partway between the door and the bed, uncertain what to do while all her instincts were screaming at her to go across and hug him tight.
His smile didn’t falter. ‘I’ve been thinking about you a lot.’
‘Have you? I haven’t stopped thinking about you. You can’t imagine how happy I am to see you getting better – and you look great.’ She was still standing a few feet from him. Then a sudden thought occurred to her. ‘I bring greetings from Diana. She told me to give you a kiss from her.’
‘That’s kind.’ He raised a hand in her direction and winked. ‘Well, are you going to deliver her message or aren’t you?’
His eyes sparkled and she felt another surge of affection for him as she stepped forward. Leaning down, she reached out and caught hold of the sides of his face with her hands, deliberately placing her right hand very softly against the gauze pad on his wounded cheek. She then kissed him equally softly on his good cheek before pulling back a few inches until she was looking deep into his eyes at close range.
