The Price of Love (24 page)

‘I must say, that was extremely tasty,’ she commented as she laid down her knife and fork on her empty plate. ‘I had no idea that you could cook.’

‘I can’t. I asked a neighbour to prepare it and then leave it in the oven to keep warm. It was intended for the three of us after we’d moved your belongings back here. As everything has changed and since we have no idea how long we will be visiting Sam, I thought it made sense for us to have it now.’

Half an hour later they were at the hospital. Lucy felt very apprehensive as they waited for admission to the ward. She hoped the young nurse who had been so friendly the night before was still on duty because she felt confident she could be relied upon to tell them the truth about Sam’s condition.

The young red-headed Irish nurse was still on duty when they arrived and she greeted Lucy with a reassuring smile.

‘How is my brother tonight, may we see him?’

‘To be sure you can. He’s a great deal better than he was when you went home,’ the nurse told her. ‘He’s awake, but remember, there’s just the chance that he mightn’t recognise you, so try not to be upset if that happens. I’m afraid it does sometimes happen with head injuries. The poor old brain gets bumped around a bit and it takes time for it to settle down again.’

‘So it’s not anything serious or … or permanent?’

‘No, there’s nothing for you to worry about,’ the nurse assured her. ‘I’m afraid the rule is that only one visitor at a time is allowed at the bedside while a patient is in intensive care,’ she added, looking apologetically at Robert.

Robert nodded in acceptance. ‘Will it be all right if I wait out here?’ he asked.

‘Yes, yes, of course.’ She smiled and indicated a chair in the corridor.

Sam still looked ashen and appeared to be asleep when the nurse took Lucy along to his bedside. As Lucy spoke his name, however, he opened his eyes and stared up at her. The look was so blank that Lucy wanted to cry.

‘Sam, it’s me, Lucy,’ she said in a low voice. ‘How are you feeling?’ she asked, lifting up one of his hands and holding it gently between both of her own.

He didn’t reply, but merely made a guttural sound and pulled his hand free and then closed his eyes again.

‘It’s possible that he’ll be more responsive tomorrow,’ the nurse told her. ‘At the moment it appears that he is unable to remember anything about his accident; or, indeed, anything at all,’ she explained. ‘Now try not to worry, he’s in good hands and we’re doing all we can for him. Come again tomorrow and you’ll see a vast difference in him, I promise you.’

‘Would you mind if Robert came in? He might recognise him,’ Lucy suggested. ‘I’ll wait out in the corridor,’ she added quickly when she saw the nurse hesitate.

‘Did Sam recognise you, Robert?’ Lucy asked, the moment Robert came out of the ward.

‘No.’ Robert shook his head. ‘Well, I don’t think so. He certainly opened his eyes and looked at me, but he didn’t speak.’

‘Well, now, like I said, there’s no need to be worried. When you come back tomorrow, you’ll see a great improvement in him,’ the nurse assured them.

It was all very well saying not to worry, Lucy thought as they left the hospital, but she couldn’t think of anything else. Although she was quite sure the nurse knew what she was talking about, she still felt upset.

Robert said very little as they made their way home and she suspected that he was every bit as concerned about Sam’s condition as she was, and also worried about whether Lucy would be able to care for both Sam and Anna at the same time.

‘Do you want to go indoors and have a cuppa first or shall we stop and collect Anna on our way home?’ Robert asked as they approached Priory Terrace.

‘I think we ought to pick up Anna,’ Lucy agreed. ‘I’m sure it’s well past her bedtime.’

‘She’s possibly already asleep,’ Robert admitted.

Anna wasn’t asleep but she looked very tired and from her tear-stained face it was obvious that she had been crying. She held up her arms to Lucy the moment she saw her.

‘No, I’ll carry her,’ Robert said. ‘She’s too heavy for you.’

‘It’ll be all right; it’s only a few yards,’ Lucy assured him.

Anna clung on to her neck so tightly that by the time they reached Robert’s house Lucy could barely breathe. When she stepped over the doorstep, however, the child’s hold slackened and she gave Lucy a big wet kiss on the cheek as if she was relieved that Lucy was not going to leave her.

While Robert made some tea Lucy undressed Anna and put on her night clothes. As she did so she was once more aware of how painfully thin the child’s body was. Her mouth tightened as she noticed the number of bruises there were at the top of Anna’s arms and legs; it worried her because they were places which were not normally exposed, so no one would ever know they were there.

She wondered whether to mention it to Robert, but they were both so tired after the events of the day that she thought perhaps it was better to keep her own counsel for the moment. She would be looking after Anna from now on so there would be no more bruises and, given time, the ones she already had would fade and be forgotten.

Lucy was acutely aware that after Anna was in bed and they’d eaten their evening meal there seemed to be an uneasy tension between herself and Robert. Neither of them seemed to know what to do next. It had been a long day and she felt worn out by all that had happened so she decided to have an early night.

There was a look of relief on Robert’s face when she said goodnight. He immediately picked up the newspaper and settled down to read it.

As she undressed for bed Lucy wondered if she should have gone off to her own sitting room after they’d eaten, but she’d felt so worried about Sam that she’d stayed, hoping to have the opportunity to talk things over with Robert.

Although she was desperately tired Lucy found sleep eluded her for quite a long while. She heard Robert come upstairs to bed and it seemed strange to be lying there so close to him and yet feeling that the distance between them was as great as ever.

She hoped that in the days to come, once the strangeness of living together wore off, they would be more at ease with each other. She knew things could never return to what they had once been and she couldn’t expect him to feel the same overpowering love for her as she still felt for him. In the past they had wanted to spend every waking moment in each other’s company. In those long ago days they’d also shared their thoughts and dreams and often talked about the day when they would set up home together.

They had never anticipated that, when the day came and they were living under the same roof, it would be in the sort of circumstances they were encountering now, she thought sadly.

Anna didn’t settle either; she tossed restlessly and whimpered from time to time. She was so restless that in the end, although she knew it was a bad start and possibly would cause trouble in the future, Lucy took the child into her own bed.

Comforted by the warmth and closeness, little Anna fell asleep almost immediately. Lucy lay in a semi-dream state, feeling an overpowering attachment for the child which she wouldn’t have thought was possible a week or so ago.

Anna was no longer Patsy’s child; she was Robert’s little daughter and Lucy felt as protective of her as she would have done if she’d been Anna’s mother herself.

Lucy felt desperately worried about Sam’s future. It was all very well saying that, given time, he would regain his memory but, forgetting about the traumatic event he’d been through in the last few days was surely very important.

If he didn’t regain his memory, then possibly there would be changes in his personality and whether that would be for the better or not remained to be seen. It was a relief to know that Robert would be there at her side to help deal with whatever problems lay ahead.

If only they could all obliterate those years since the car accident, she thought ruefully, but there was no turning the clock back. They’d all changed and they’d all made irrevocable mistakes, and now they had to deal with the consequences as best they could and look to the future.

Her heart ached as she recalled exactly what had happened in those traumatic days. Losing Robert – and to Patsy of all people – had been heart-breaking for her but equally so for Sam. She could understand why there was animosity between them but she hoped that, for all their sakes, it could now be forgotten and that it wouldn’t flare up and cause rows in the future.

The past was over; it was time for all of them to build a new future for themselves.

In the weeks that followed Lucy found that looking after Anna was a full-time job. The little girl was lively but Lucy discovered that she clung on to her like a limpet, almost as if she was afraid she might disappear.

She stood watching as she made the beds, stayed by her side as she washed the dishes, and followed her around the house as she did the rest of the housework and prepared the meals.

The moment Robert came in from work each evening Lucy went to visit Sam. His progress was slow and although he recognised Lucy, he seemed to be unconcerned about the changes she had made in her life. In fact, it sometimes seemed to Lucy that he was actually enjoying being in hospital and had forgotten all about the outside world.

When she mentioned this to Nurse Kelly, the pretty red-haired nurse who was so friendly, she merely smiled. ‘Perhaps you should have a talk with the doctor about your brother if you are worried about his progress,’ she advised.

In order for Lucy to do this it meant Robert taking time off work but as soon it was possible they arranged it.

Lucy found the doctor’s prognosis was worrying. He said they were almost ready to discharge Sam but that he thought she ought to be aware that although his physical health was quite good there was a slight brain defect.

‘It is nothing to worry about. It’s possibly a cumulative effect of all that has happened to him recently and shouldn’t in any way interfere with him leading a normal life,’ he assured her.

When Lucy asked for more details the doctor admitted that Sam’s memory had been affected.

‘It would seem that he has no recollection of what has happened to him in the past few years. You mentioned that you were living in Horatio Street when this accident happened. Your brother has no recall at all about such an incident. He tells me that he was born in Priory Terrace and has lived there all his life.’

‘Does he remember what he did for a living?’ Lucy asked.

‘He says he’s an apprentice mechanic at Carter’s Cars,’ the doctor stated, reading from the case notes he was holding. He frowned and studied the papers in his hand again. ‘Judging from his age I think he must have progressed to something else since then,’ he said as he looked up.

As briefly as possible Lucy told him about the car accident in which their parents had both been killed and that Sam had been the driver. ‘Does he remember anything at all about that and being so badly injured?’ she asked.

‘He’s certainly never mentioned it, nor that he had been injured and in hospital himself for quite a long time.’

‘Will he regain his lost memory?’ Lucy asked.

The doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘It’s very difficult to say. The brain is extremely complex. Although it has been damaged it may over a period of time recover. On the other hand, there may be a chunk of his memory, the years between his previous accident and now, that are gone for ever.’

‘When will we know if this is so? Is there any way of helping him to remember?’

‘You’ll have to be patient, Miss Collins. There is no point in pressurising him. If he doesn’t understand or remember something from his past, then ignore it. He may remember it later on; if he doesn’t, then it is better not to press the issue.’

‘Apart from that, would you say he is quite all right and there is nothing to worry about?’

‘Yes, he is physically fit and well now and can go home. We will want to see him again in three months’ time, to check on his progress, but there is no reason to think that there will be any other problems. If there are, then you must get in touch with us. You will be given a number to call should there ever be an emergency.’

They arranged to take Sam home the next day and it was agreed that they would collect him at about five o’clock. Robert insisted that he ought to be there in case Sam needed support of any kind, although Nurse Kelly assured them that Sam was fit enough to walk from the ward to a waiting taxi with the help of his walking stick.

When Robert, Lucy and Anna walked into the ward the next afternoon Sam greeted them enthusiastically. With Nurse Kelly’s help he had already packed up all his belongings and was waiting impatiently to leave.

Lucy was on tenterhooks wondering what Sam’s reaction to Anna might be but he smiled and said hello to her as though he’d known her all her life.

‘I’ve forgotten your name,’ he told her, ‘are you going to tell me what it is?’

Anna pulled back and then slipped her hand into Lucy’s. ‘Mummy?’ she questioned, looking up at Lucy.

Lucy hesitated, looking questioningly at Robert who gave an imperceptible shrug as if to imply that he was leaving the decision to her.

‘My name is Uncle Sam,’ Sam told Anna. ‘Can you remember to call me that? And this is Aunty Brenda.’ He held out his hand to Nurse Kelly.

‘Hello, Anna, are you going to give me a kiss?’ Brenda Kelly said smiling, crouching down and holding out her arms.

Anna hesitated for a second then ran towards Brenda Kelly and kissed her on the cheek and received a warm hug in return.

‘You’re a real little darling, so you are,’ Brenda Kelly told her as she stood up.

‘Would you mind if I asked Brenda to come home with us tonight so that she knows where Priory Terrace is?’ Sam asked as they prepared to leave. ‘She needs to know so that she can find her way when she comes to visit me,’ he added.

‘Are you sure that’s all right with you two?’ Nurse Kelly questioned, colour rushing to her cheeks.

‘Yes, of course it is.’ Lucy smiled. ‘You’ll be welcome at any time. I may be glad of your help with Sam in the days to come.’