Page 30 of Falling for His Best Friend

‘Victoria?’

‘Yes, haven’t the two of you got a thing going on?’

‘We hooked up a couple of times if that’s what you mean but I wouldn’t say we had a thing. I’ve told her it can’t be anything serious and I certainly won’t be asking her to help me out.’

Joe never had anything serious going on with his women, Kitty knew that. He went through them faster than Kitty could blink but suddenly her day didn’t seem quite so dismal.

‘What will you do?’

‘No idea,’ he replied. ‘I’ll figure something out.’

‘I can help if you’d like?’

‘What with? I’m not letting you do all the heavy lifting when you’re seven months pregnant.’

‘Why not? It won’t be hard, in fact, it’ll be easier than what I have to cope with at work. No aggressive drugged-out patients, for a start. And I won’t be allowed back to work until my symptoms have all settled. We can keep each other company while we recover,’ she said, as Paula returned to take her back to her room. ‘Think about it. I’ll come back and see you later after your surgery. You can tell me your answer then.’

‘When I’m groggy from the anaesthetic and not thinking straight?’

‘Something like that,’ she said with a smile, as she kissed him on the cheek and sat back in the wheelchair. ‘But don’t think this discussion is over.’

* * *

Jess got up again to fetch another drink from the water cooler in the corner of the oncologist’s waiting room. Cam had offered to fetch it for her as her coughing fit showed no signs of abating, but his wife seemed to be having trouble sitting still.

Cam knew she was on edge. She always went into these appointments expecting the worst, and he always sat there feeling useless and wishing there was something he could do to fix everything. And today was worse than usual due to the added stress over Kitty and the baby after yesterday’s assault.

‘I’m sure it’s going to be fine,’ he said, trying to reassure her while knowing that was near impossible. For two years after she’d undergone the hysterectomy for uterine cancer Jess had been having follow-up reviews every three months, but these were now being stretched out to every six months and as far as Cam could work out that was a positive sign. Everything had been fine six months ago, and in his mind there was no reason to think anything would be different this time. But he knew that Jess’s mind worked differently from his. ‘We’ll have the check-up, and then we can go and collect Kitty.’

He was hoping distraction would work as a technique. Kitty was being discharged today and she was waiting for Cam and Jess to collect her after this appointment. Cam hoped that if Jess was thinking about Kitty while they waited to see the specialist perhaps she wouldn’t dwell on her own situation. Waiting was always the worst part. The sooner Jess got in to see the doctor the sooner they’d hear good news and the sooner things would be back to normal.

He held her hand and gave it a squeeze. He waited for her to look at him and then he smiled. She smiled back but he could see the effort it cost her and his heart ached. He wished he could relieve all her worries. He loved her and he hated to see her worried or stressed, and he hated feeling so helpless. Not for the first time he wished that he had been the one who had cancer. He would much prefer to have been the one to suffer rather than watching Jess suffer. Her diagnosis had taken a toll on both of them. He didn’t imagine that the same wouldn’t have been true in the reverse situation but he’d still rather be the one suffering the physical and emotional pain if it meant sparing Jess that burden.

‘Jess?’ Dr Tennant called them into the consulting room just as Jess started coughing again. She drained the cup of water and refilled it before entering the room as Cam held the door for her. ‘How are you feeling?’ the oncologist asked as they sat down.

‘Tired,’ Jess replied, and Cam felt a flicker of concern. Jess hadn’t mentioned that to him. ‘I’ve been decorating a nursery,’ she continued, and Cam saw that she was smiling and he relaxed. Her fatigue was simply a result of physical activity. ‘The surrogacy worked,’ Jess said. She’d talked of nothing else at the last oncology appointment. ‘We’re expecting a baby. My sister is the surrogate.’

‘Congratulations! How far along is she?’

‘Twenty-eight weeks,’ Jess said, before another bout of coughing caught up with her.

Dr Tennant was watching Jess closely and Cam saw her make a note in Jess’s file.

‘Is that the only reason you’re tired?’ she queried.

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