By
Jan and
Sunshine
Chapter 10
Helen
took an immediate liking to Rob’s wife, Lynne. The MacDonald’s were in their third
year of marriage and Lynne was six months pregnant with their first child. The
young woman’s bubbly personality and sense of humour soon put her at ease and
helped her forget the unpleasant incident with Nikki for a few hours so she was
glad she hadn’t changed her plans.
When
she had bathed the children and put them to bed they were understandably
subdued and she considered calling off her evening but only Jemma seemed
determined to find out why Auntie Helen was fighting with Nikki. By the time
she left for her dinner date, Nikki and Marcia, according to Maddy, had been
long gone.
“Rob
tells me you have children,” Lynne commented over dinner.
“They’re
my brother’s children,” Helen corrected her. “My brother and his wife were
killed in a car crash a few months ago and since I’m their only surviving
relative they came to live with me.”
“That’s
dreadful,” Lynne replied sympathetically. “What about your parents?”
“They
both died while I was training.”
“So
you haven’t…”
“You’ll
have to excuse my wife, Helen,” Rob interrupted quickly. “I think she learned
her interrogation technique from the Spanish Inquisition.”
“It’s
OK,” Helen laughed. “It’s a long time since I talked to anyone about my family.
I really miss them.”
“See!”
Lynne retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. “Fill her glass up and stop
being a killjoy.”
“I’d
better not,” Helen declined briskly. “I know it’s only a short distance but I
still have to drive home.”
“Will
you be staying on at the Wade’s after you start work at the surgery?” Rob
asked.
Helen
grimaced. “No, I’ve got to find somewhere for the four of us and quickly.”
“The
cottage next door is vacant,” Lynne suggested. “Same guy who owns this one. I
could give you his number.”
“That
would be great!” Helen replied eagerly. “Handy for work as well.”
“Tell
me about it.” Lynne gave her husband a dirty look. “He rolls out of bed about
five minutes before he has to take surgery.”
Rob
laughed good-naturedly. “Lynne also has a tendency to exaggerate, as you will
no doubt find out in due course if you move in next door to us.”
“You
mean you do,” Lynne countered, slapping him on the arm. “Men! Do you have a
partner, Helen?”
“No,
my fiancé and I split up. He didn’t want the children and thought I should put
them into care,” she replied honestly.
“The
selfish bastard!” Lynne exclaimed in disgust.
“I
called him that and more,” Helen laughed. “As I was flinging his engagement
ring at him.”
“Maybe
you and Nikki should get together,” Lynne suggested with a twinkle in her eye.
“Lynne!”
Rob exclaimed in astonishment. “What are you like?”
“What’s
wrong?” she asked innocently. “I’ve seen Nikki around and she’s gorgeous. If I
didn’t have my big hunky husband I might be tempted myself.”
Helen
blushed and it didn’t go unnoticed.
“Looks
like someone else has had the same thought,” Lynne giggled.
Helen
smiled and raised her eyebrows. “Well, since you come to mention it…!”
“Hey,
you two, you’re making me feel redundant,” Rob complained.
“You’ll
never be that, my darling,” Lynne replied lovingly. “Not as long as you can
make a decent brew!”
“Very
droll!” Rob pulled a face at his wife then clicked his fingers as he remembered
the news he had to impart. “I forgot to tell you, Helen, after I saw you
earlier, I was talking to George Anderson and he’s offered me a permanent
position.”
“That’s
great! Are you going to take it?”
He
nodded. “Lynne and I have talked it over and, with the baby on the way, we’ve
decided this is as good a place as any to put down roots.”
Helen
raised her glass to him. “See you on Monday then, doctor.”
Nikki
threw two of the pills the doctor had prescribed her into her mouth and washed
them down with a mouthful of coffee. She didn’t know why she had let Marcia
talk her into coming away with her. They had come to this little seaside town
and booked in at a hotel on the sea front. They had a room each but she knew
Marcia was only expecting one of them to be used that night. She had a little
free time, Marcia was taking a shower, so she decided to go for a walk along
the beach to clear her head.
She
went out of the hotel and down a flight of steps to the beach. The tide was out
and the sandy coastline seemed to stretch for miles. It wasn’t the height of
the season but there were still a few people on the beach. A couple of children
were making a sandcastle and she thought how nice it would have been if she had
brought Helen and the children with her instead of Marcia.
She
took off her shoes and walked through the soft sand right down to the water’s
edge where the sand was hard and wet, drawing her jacket around her as a cool
breeze blew in from the sea. An elderly couple jogged by and she returned their
nods and smiles. Over in the dunes she could hear the sound of laughter and a
guitar being strummed. She knelt down and picked up a shell and drew a large
heart in the wet sand. An arrow and the initials ‘H’ and ‘N’ completed the
drawing. With a wry smile she stood up and flung the shell out to sea. It was a
declaration of her love for Helen, a love that would last longer than the next
tide.
The
sun was getting low and she turned and started to walk slowly back.
It
was late when Helen got back to the house. She let herself into the front door
and went straight upstairs. Emma’s room was all in darkness so she looked in on
the children. All three were fast asleep and her eyes filled with tears as she
looked at them. Her life had changed so much in the past few months but she
couldn’t imagine being without them now. As it was, things couldn’t be working
out better for them. She had a new job and she had the telephone number of the
MacDonald’s landlord. A phone call first thing in the morning and they might
have somewhere to live as well then all she had to do was break the news to Emma.
The old lady had been kind to them and she felt guilty about going behind her
back but she couldn’t risk Marcia carrying out her threat. She couldn’t stand
the thought of the children being taken away from her.
She
heard a whimper and Blackie, the puppy, pushed his way from under Jemma’s
covers. Helen smiled. They had been told to leave the puppy in the kitchen.
“Come
on you,” she whispered as she picked him up. He snuggled up against her and she
carried him down to the kitchen where she gently placed him in his basket.
“Now, be good,” she ordered.
“Helen!”
She
whirled round at the sound of Nikki’s voice. “Jesus Christ, you almost scared
the crap out of me!” she exclaimed. “I thought you were away.”
“Sorry,”
Nikki replied apologetically. “I had to come back. We have to talk.”
“Is
Marcia with you?” asked Helen anxiously.
“No,
I dropped her off in town.” She moved forward and took hold of Helen’s hands.
Helen
snatched her hands away. “We have nothing to say to each other,” she replied
stonily and started to walk away but Nikki grabbed hold of her arm.
“Please,
Helen, just hear me out,” she said beseechingly. “I’ve tried to fight my
feelings for you but I can’t anymore. I love you, Helen.”
“No!”
the word was torn from her lips as she dragged her arm out of Nikki’s grip. “I
don’t love you! I can’t love you! Go back to Marcia, there’s nothing here for
you!” Even as she said the words she knew she was lying. With a sob she rushed
out of the kitchen, away from the hurt look in Nikki’s eyes, away from her own
insane desire to fling herself into the beautiful woman’s arms and away from
the future she now knew she wanted but could never have without sacrificing the
children.