Page 6 of The Midnight Bakery
‘No!’ Beth shook her head. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout, but I have to get home. My husband…he’s fallen and…’ Her vision swam with tears.
‘Then all the more reason to get you home in one piece. It won’t take long.’
Beth shook her head again, harder this time, but all that did was set things spinning.
‘You’ve had a nasty shock apart from anything else, and if you’re intending to drive, at least wait until you’re feeling less dizzy. You’ll be no use to your husband if you have an accident on the way home.’
Beth felt herself being pulled in the direction of the bakery and although her heart told her that Jack’s need was far more urgent than her own, her head would quite like her to sit down.
‘Just a minute then. I’m sure I’ll be fine, I’m a nurse.’
The woman regarded her for a moment. ‘And that makes you immune to getting hurt then, does it?’ Swivelling slightly, she made sure that Beth was stable on her feet before quickly crouching to scoop up Beth’s possessions, sweeping them back into her bag. ‘Right, let’s get you sorted out.’
The bakery door was wide open, music still drifting through it, although a different song was playing now. It was blissfully warm inside the kitchen and Beth had no hesitation in sinkingonto the chair the woman provided. She set Beth’s bag down on the table beside her and studied her intently.
‘I’ll get the first-aid kit,’ she said, crossing the room to a shelf on the far side. She switched off the music before taking down the universally familiar green box. ‘Shall I let you do the honours? You’ll probably do a much better job than I will. And while you do that, I’ll put the kettle on. Don’t argue.’
Beth, whose mouth had been open to do just that, closed it again and accepted the kit with a wry smile. ‘Thank you.’
Wincing, Beth pulled at her tights where the gauzy material had stuck itself to her knees. The woman was right – she had made a real mess of them. They were wet, muddy, gritty with something, and a trickle of blood had rolled down one of her legs. Seeing that the woman’s back was still turned, Beth quickly fished under her skirt and rolled down her tights, kicking off her shoes so that she could take them off entirely. By the time a steaming cup of tea had been placed in front of her, she’d cleaned and dressed one of her knees and was just tackling the other. They stung like crazy.
‘I don’t know if you take sugar,’ said the woman. ‘But I’ve put you some in anyway. It’s good for shock, isn’t it? Or is that just an old wives’ tale?’
Beth smiled. ‘Whether it is or it isn’t, it’s still my go-to cure-all at work,’ she said. ‘We lost a patient tonight and…’ She stopped, swallowing. ‘I sat with his wife afterwards and the first thing I did was make her a cup of tea.’ The image of Irene’s distraught face swam into her head, and it was all Beth could do to stop tears from spilling down her own cheeks. She bent to her task again in order to thrust them away.
‘That must have been tough,’ said the woman. ‘I don’t know how you nurses do it, coping with stuff like that.’ Even though her head was still bent, Beth could feel the woman’s watchful gaze. ‘Would you like a tissue?’ she added. ‘It sounds like you’vehad quite a night. A good cry would probably do you the world of good.’
Beth looked up in astonishment. She’d held her tears inside herself for so long now she’d almost forgotten how to let them go, and yet a perfect stranger had seen the one thing which Beth was sure would make her feel better.
‘You’re probably right,’ she said, again choosing not to give in. ‘But I can’t do that to you. And I ought to get going. My husband…’
The woman nodded. ‘Why don’t you ring him or message him? Let him know you’ll be on your way in a few minutes. Then at least you won’t feel so anxious driving home. You’ll only rush even more than you’re already going to.’
Beth fished in her handbag. ‘I will, thank you.’ She pulled out her phone, praying that it was undamaged. ‘He’s disabled,’ she added, feeling as if she owed the woman some sort of explanation. ‘And he fell out of bed. Normally he’s okay until I get home…he just sleeps.’
The woman nodded.
‘But he got cramp, and…I guess he must have rolled over too far and couldn’t right himself. His arms and legs don’t work very well.’
Again, the woman nodded. ‘So, there’s just you looking after him?’
Beth could feel herself blushing. ‘We can’t get anyone else…it’s too expensive.’ She started to type a message on her phone. ‘Sorry, you’ve been very kind.’
The woman pushed the mug towards her as if sensing her sudden desperation to go. ‘At least drink that before you leave,’ she said.
Her message sent, Beth quickly dressed her other knee and, with a cursory glance at her palm which was also grazed, pickedup the mug and drained half its contents in one go. ‘Thank you,’ she said again. ‘That was lovely, but I’d better be on my way.’
The woman got to her feet and darted to a rack on the far side of the kitchen. ‘Hang on, let me get you these…’ She came forward bearing a paper bag. ‘There’s a couple of pastries in there. Make sure you eat something.’
For the second time, Beth stared at her, completely taken aback by the woman’s kindness. ‘Thank you. I don’t know what to say. Did you make them?’
The woman dipped her head. ‘White chocolate and raspberry croissants. They’re my favourite.’
‘Oh God, Jack will devour these. I’ll have to fight him off.’ And suddenly, just like that, Beth knew that everything was going to be okay. A little chink of light had just appeared in the night. She got up, collecting her handbag. ‘I don’t even know your name,’ she said.
The woman smiled. ‘It’s Frances…Frankie.’
6
