5 months later.
"I'm gonna have another dip, you coming in?" Amy asked her mum, who was sunbathing on the sun lounger by the pool.
"Nah, I'll just lie here for a bit," Jac told her, remaining lying on her back, with her eyes behind a huge pair of sunglasses. Amy walked off for another swim in the crystal blue waters.
The hotel was amazing. When they first arrived at Barcelona, they rented a place just for the two of them, but when the summer kicked in, Jac decided to treat Amy and her by staying at a hotel for a couple of days. It was mid-July… and Spain couldn't get any hotter. Temperature was around 35 degrees Celsius all day, if not more. But Jac couldn't complain, she loved the extra tan.
She lied on her back, with her eyes closed, absorbing the sun rays. Although as a doctor she knew perfectly well, the risks of skin cancer. But for that minute, she didn't want to think about health and work. She felt free and young again. This holiday was exactly what she needed, being away from her troubled love-life, her mess of a family… until her thoughts were interrupted.
"Hello Ms Naylor," she heard a voice, approaching her… a male voice, which she thought sounded familiar. She opened her eyes, and lifted her sunglasses a bit to see clearly, who was talking to her.
"No wonder, you gave up your job for this place, you clearly are living the dream, aren't you?" the man said, again, as he sat on her adjacent sun lounger.
"Mr Guy Self… what are you doing here? …and how did you find me anyway?" Jac asked surprised. She never thought she'd see her ex-boss again, let alone by her side, even in Spain.
"I tracked you down… I have my ways, which I wouldn't prefer not to share, and just to stop you wondering, I'm here for a reason, not to share your cocktails…" Guy explained himself.
"which is?" Jac cut to the chase. She was getting all curious now.
"You know I wasn't pleased when I found your resignation letter in my pigeon hole… you could've at least handed it to me in person…" Guy began.
"Just get to the point, why are you here?" Jac interrupted him.
"I got a proposal for you…" Guy said, as he sipped his cocktail.
…
"Jac, Amy! I didn't expect you to be back… today…" Jonny exclaimed as he saw his wife and daughter standing on the doorstep.
"We wanted to surprise you!" Amy exclaimed, as she walked up to him and hugged her dad.
"And you certainly did…" he uttered as they broke away.
"Are you alright? You seem a bit… edgy…" Jac told him, as eyed him from head to toe and noticed his shirt was ruffled and half buttoned. She pushed passed him, making way for them to walk inside, moving her luggage in with her, thinking she had the right to. Technically, it was still her house.
"Ah I'm fine…." Jonny uttered.
"Oh I'm so jet-lagged, I need a rest…" as Jac and Amy walked down the hall and into their open plan living area, but soon stopped talking, surprised by what she saw in front of her. She saw a woman, who Jac assumed was in her late forties, buttoning her shirt. Amy didn't say a thing, she was a bit embarrassed really.
"Who the hell is she? And what is she doing, half-dressed in my house?" Jac asked rudely, turning to Jonny.
"Um, she's a friend… she's a nurse on my ward…" Jonny uttered.
"Right… so I come home to find you sleeping with… a friend, in my house," Jac said sarcastically, "I thought you wanted to make us work!" she raised her voice.
"Jac you left and gave me no hope for 5 months, at least Amy kept contact…I was worried sick, night after night, waiting for you to return, but then I thought, I have a life of my own too!" Jonny raised his voice, as well, both Jac and Jonny forgetting about Amy and his lady friend in the room.
"You disgust me!" Jac said, looking away.
"I disgust you?! I wasn't the one who slept with my ex a couple of months ago" Jonny yelled at Jac, furious.
"I think it's my cue to leave…" the woman told Jonny, as she grabbed her bag to leave.
"You think?!" Jac told her rudely.
"I'm sorry about this…" Jonny told her, then turned to Amy, "Amy could you walk her out please?"
"So this is your big plan, is it? We live under the same roof but having separate bedrooms, you bring in whoever you like and rub it in my face, in my own house?!" Jac was losing it.
"First of all, this is my house too! And second, I had no idea when you were coming back! When I used to ask Amy if you're planning to return, she used to tell me 'mum doesn't know yet' or 'she's not sure' …quite frankly, I started to think you were never returning! Lucy and I… it just happened, she offered a shoulder to cry on and I accepted it, I was vulnerable…" Jonny calmed down a bit.
"Oh so Lucy's the bitch then…" Jac said as she folded her arms.
"Jac!" Jonny yelled again.
"Right, how about we come to a conclusion? I live my life, you live yours…" Jac made it clear to him.
"Would you guys stop it!" Amy yelled at both her parents. Both Jac and Jonny looked at her, she was in tears.
"You are going at it, like two kids! I'm sick and tired of you constantly fighting whenever you see each other's faces, I'm sick of all of this! Mum, no offense but if you hadn't cheated on dad, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Amy raised her voice at Jac.
"Oh I created this mess?!" Jac yelled at her daughter, "if you hadn't gone out with Harry and brought his family into our lives, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!"
"No, don't turn this on me! Me and Harry, we were doing well, we had a baby on the way and we were going to make it work… but you know what the problem was? You just couldn't resist Joseph!" Amy wasn't afraid to speak to her mother like that. Jac made a face.
"Dad can't you see? She still loves him! She's been living a lie for twenty years! Even I can see that!" Amy told her father, in tears.
"Amy that's enough!" Jac yelled at her. Jonny didn't know what to say, "go to your room,"
"No, you don't get to tell me what to do, I'm not a little girl, anymore, I know right from wrong… I don't need a happy family around me anymore, quite frankly I think you're better off without each other! And you know what? You either sort this mess out, or keep this up and I move out!" Amy made herself clear, as she stormed out of the room and headed upstairs.
Jac and Jonny looked at each other, but said nothing. Jonny broke the ice.
"So… us… living under one roof, you with no job… I have to ask Jac, why did you decide to return?" Jonny asked her, hoping for a decent reply.
…
With patient files tucked under his arm, Jonny was walking down the corridor heading to Mr Self's office. When he reached the door, he noticed Joseph arrived before him and was about to knock on the door.
"Hi Joseph… before you walk in, do you mind me giving Mr Self, these notes? I just need to hand them in, that's all…" Jonny asked politely. At least Jonny and Joe were acting civil around each other.
"Oh yes sure…" Joe replied, as they both walked into the office. They both saw someone seated in the office chair flipping through some notes, but the back was facing the door… and from the looks of it, it wasn't Mr Self, most importantly, the person didn't seem like a man at all. When this someone noticed people walked in the office, the chair swivelled round and the person revealed himself.
They stood beside each other in front of the desk. To both their surprise, it was the Jac Naylor, sitting right there, behind the desk, before their eyes. Joseph thought he was dreaming. What surprised him mostly was that she was back. Jonny knew she was back, but sitting in the big chair was what surprised him.
"Jac… you're back…" Joe uttered. Jac gave him a small smile.
"What are you doing here? Where is Mr Self?" Jonny asked confused.
"I heard he resigned, but I have no idea about the new boss…" Joe informed him.
"You're looking at her…" Jac said, smiling, as she lay back and sank in her big, comfy chair.
"What?!" they both asked surprised.
"That's right… I'm Holby's new Director of Surgery…" Jac revealed the truth behind her return as she smiled proudly, leaving both men speechless.
To be continued...