Page 72 of New Dreams for the Village Nurse
Ottilie had eaten so much at lunch that she hadn’t been hungry when they sat down to the Thai banquet he’d ordered in from a neighbouring town – something that had taken quite a bit of trouble and a larger-than-usual delivery charge – and so she’d done her best to show her appreciation and eaten as much as she could manage. Far from feeling pleasantly satisfied, she ended up making herself feel sick, so when Heath got close on the sofa while the film was on, all she wanted to do was hold on to her stomach and wait for it to pass.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, baulking at the look of disappointment on his face. ‘Give me an hour or so…I don’t feel brilliant.’
‘Was it the curry? I thought you loved Thai food…You said?—’
‘I do, and it was gorgeous and so thoughtful of you. There was nothing wrong with the food. I think I overdid it. You know, because it was so delicious I couldn’t stop.’
‘Oh… right.’
He moved away, still sitting close but giving her enough space to spread out and get comfortable. She pulled a cushion to her tummy and willed her discomfort to pass. A walk would have been a good idea, and though they were settled and in the middle of a good movie, she was about to suggest they pause it and go out for a stroll to see if it would make her feel better when therewas a knock at the door. Heath shot a faintly suspicious look at her. Or perhaps there was no suspicion. Perhaps that was all in her head.
‘You didn’t say you were expecting anyone.’
‘I’m not.’ Ottilie got up. ‘I won’t be a minute.’
Simon was at the door. As she opened up, he held out the dishes she’d brought their lunch over in.
‘Thought you might need them,’ he said. ‘I washed them up and thought about bringing them into work tomorrow but then decided to have a walk.’
‘Oh, right…Thanks so much.’
‘No…’ He gave a warm smile. ‘Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would have done without you today. Actually, I do. I would still have been wallowing in Charles’s dirt. And please never tell him I said that!’
Ottilie smiled. ‘I won’t.’
‘Anyway, I really appreciate it. Especially the amazing lunch and your company. And I’ve been thinking about what you were saying about your volunteering. I’m definitely going to get involved. I can see how much you enjoy it and so, well, there must be something in it, right?’
‘That’s good.’ Ottilie cradled the bowls as she glanced back down the hallway. ‘So we can talk about it tomorrow at work if that’s OK. It’s…’
‘Oh God, yes, of course…’ Simon slapped his forehead in the most comical way. ‘You’ve got company. I remember you said now. God, I’m so stupid…in a world of my own.’
‘Not at all, but Heath is here, so…’
‘I’ll leave you to it. See you tomorrow.’
With a casual wave, Simon turned and walked the path to the gate as Ottilie closed the front door. She turned with a start to see Heath standing at the end of the hallway.
‘Who was it?’
‘Oh, it was Simon. He was returning these…’ Ottilie held up the dishes.
‘He borrowed them?’
‘Sort of.’
‘He doesn’t have any dishes of his own?’
‘He’s only recently moved in, hasn’t he? All in boxes still.’
‘Yeah, I suppose so. What was that about you having lunch with him?’
‘We had lunch. It was only leftovers. Because he couldn’t cook anything at his place.’
‘But you had lunch with him?’
‘I was there anyway so yes. We were cleaning.’
‘You were cleaning for him?’
