Page 69 of Elijah
Elijah
aged 28
I moved the three pairs of lace knickers from the bathroom radiator, and placed my towel in their place. With red, pink, and black lace screwed into my palm, I looked around for a place for them, finally marching back to the bedroom and adding them to the collection of bras and socks on the radiator in there.
Yep, things were going great with Mia moving in.
To be fair to her, she’d only been in the house two days and we were still getting used to each other’s habits. She had no idea that I hated seeing washing on the radiators, or that I wiped the toothpaste from the sink as soon as I’d cleaned my teeth, or that I couldn’t stand used teabags being left next to the kettle. It was all new to us and I was sure we’d navigate our way around everything soon enough.
I was straightening the duvet, when Mia came into the bedroom. Her eyes were red and she had her mobile clutched to her chest.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, moving to take her into my arms.
“It’s my mum,” she sobbed against my t-shirt. “She’s fallen and been taken to the hospital. They think she’s broken her hip.”
“Oh my God.” I gently eased her chin up so I could look at her. “You need to go down there.”
She nodded. “I do. She doesn’t have anyone else, she was lucky her neighbour noticed that the curtains were still closed at the lounge window. Mrs Berry has a key, so she let herself in when Mum didn’t answer. She’d been on the floor all night and most of the day, thankfully she was on her way to bed, so she was fully clothed and it’s been mild weather, otherwise it could be much worse.”
“God yeah. Do you want me to take you?” I asked, thinking I’d have to call Marty and get him to hold the fort for a few days.
Mia shook her head. “No, I’m going to go by myself. You’ve still got to finish Darren Baker’s garden as well as start the groundwork for that couple in Chester. Plus, I have no idea how long I’ll be there. If she’s broken her hip, she’s going to need help for at least a couple of months.”
“A couple of months,” I echoed, my heart dropping. “You could be gone that long?”
Mia bit on her bottom lip and nodded. “If it’s not broken then it might only be weeks, but I can’t leave her.”
“What about work?” I asked.
“I’ll speak to Frank and hopefully he’ll be fine about me working from home. It’s not as though I actually need to be in the office. I can get everything emailed to me and I already have the customer’s accounts in hard copy, so I should be okay for a while.”
Mia buried her face in her hands and started to cry.
“Hey, come on,” I soothed, pulling her back into a tight hug. “It’ll be fine. Your mum is going to be okay.”
“I know,” was her muffled response. “But it’s such a worry and I don’t want to leave you, we’ve only just moved in together.”
“I’ll still be here when you get back.” I kissed the top of her head. “And if your mum has an operation, she’ll be in hospital so maybe you can come home for a few days.”
Even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t likely. Mia was originally from Barnstaple in Devon, and her mum still lived down there, so it was a hell of a journey to make.
“Maybe I could come for a weekend,” I offered, desperately trying to think of which weekend I could make the journey without it affecting work too much.
As it was spring time, I was extremely busy and had been working weekends to ensure we didn’t get behind. I’d have to make an effort though, because Mia was right, we’d only just moved in together and being parted so soon, for what could be a couple of months, wasn’t a great way to start the new phase in our relationship.
“That would be good,” Mia said, nuzzling against me.
“Is there anything else you need me to do?”
With a sniff, she looked up at me and she looked so lost, I wanted to hold and squeeze her tight.
“Could you unpack the two boxes with the red labels?” she asked tentatively. “Put the books and photographs out – whichever you want, or as many as you can.”
“Of course I can,” I replied, kissing her nose. “Now, you go and get packed and I’ll make you some food and drink for the journey. Do you need me to go and put petrol in your car?”
“Would you?” Mia grasped my hand, linking our fingers together. “It would mean I can get on the road pretty much straight away and break the back of it before I need to stop.”
I glanced at the bedside clock, it was almost three in the afternoon and she had a four hour journey at least, and that was only if the motorway was clear, which hopefully it would be on a Sunday afternoon.
