Chapter 8
It's six o'clock when Jake is finally allowed to go home. His arm broken and in plaster. He's tired and whingeing constantly. And also not at all impressed that he didn't get to say goodbye to Annabelle.
"Come on Jake. We're going home." Phillipa announces, giving Neil the evil eye yet again.
"I'll see you soon Jake, alright?" Neil says giving his son a hug.
"Yeh." Jake replies miserably. "I wanted to say goodbye, to Bella!" He whines sulkily.
"See what you've done!" Phillipa says, shooting Neil yet another stony glare.
"Daddy, when can I see her again?"
"Soon, I promise. Look I've got to go Jake." Neil responds wanting to get away before Phillipa starts again.
"And Andrea?"
"Yeah. And Andrea. Okay. Love you."
"Love you too, Daddy." Jake says as Phillipa promptly picks him and makes her way past Neil.
She stops, still extremely annoyed and says to him. "You'll have to have him tomorrow Neil. I've missed an afternoon at work because of all this! And make sure this time you actually look after him!"
"Mummy!" Jake whines, in her arms.
"I need to get him home. Nine o'clock tomorrow and don't be late!" She then marches off, leaving Neil no chance to even reply.
Once Phillipa has disappeared from sight, Neil pulls himself together and heads off in search of his parked car.
He's completely drained from spending the last few hours in the noisy, busy hospital. Luckily Jake's alright with nothing more than a broken arm, and at least he'll get to see him tomorrow, to check he's alright.
As he makes his way out the exit of Saint Hughes, the difference in weather catches his attention. It now heavily raining and Neil wraps his jacket around himself, to shield against the wind that's starting to pick up.
The bad weather causes him to worry about Andrea and Annabelle and how they got home. He knows Andrea said she would get a cab but the 20 minute or so drive home won't come cheap. And as much as Andrea denies and tries to cover it up, Neil knows that money is a problem these days.
They'd had a great day today, he thinks, now sitting in his car, out of the rain. At least until Jake had got hurt. Andrea had been much more herself and like the old Andrea ,who he fell in love with a year ago. She'd seem much more relaxed around him than she had done that Tuesday when he first met Annabelle.
Jake seemed to love the idea of having a little sister, which had been a huge relief. He'd even taken to Andrea remarkably well much to Phillipa's disgust he thought, remembering his ex-wife's face at seeing Jake and Andrea sitting together. Anyone looking at them all today would have thought they were a family, Andrea, Jake, Annabelle and himself. And Neil would silently admit he'd like that more than anything.
The rain is still beating down, tapping against his car windows. He continues to sit there for a while just thinking about things, life, Jake, Annabelle and Andrea. He's worried about Andrea and the things Phillipa said to her, after the lovely day they'd spent together he doesn't want this cause problems between them. He thinks about ringing her to check that she and Bella are alright. His son whining of not getting to say goodbye to Bella then enter his thoughts and Neil realises that he too didn't get to say goodbye.
Neil is now decided, it might be getting late but he wants to see his daughter. So he starts up his car engine, with the intention of visiting Andrea and Annabelle.
Andrea is lounging on her sofa, Annabelle in her arms,who she's attempting to feed a bottle. There's a random programme on the TV, that Andrea's half watching, her mind more preoccupied with the days events. Annabelle is refusing to drink her bottle, playing up once again, like she has ever since they arrived back home.
A knock at the door causes Andrea to sit up. Grateful though she is for the welcome intrusion into her thoughts, she's not used to having callers at this time of evening.
Leaving Bella's bottle on the sofa, but keeping her daughter safe in her arms she makes her way to the door.
Opening the door she finds a slightly wet looking Neil.
"Neil" She says surprised. Annabelle adding a gurgle to the welcoming.
"Hey, can I come in for a bit."
Andrea just looks at him and rolls her eyes. "You ask the most ridiculous questions Neil."
Andrea moves in slightly to let him past, shutting the door to the wet and windy weather outside.
Entering the living room she finds Neil removing his soaked jacket.
"Here give me that, I'll put in the tumble drier for you." She says gesturing towards the jacket.
"You have a drier?" Neil questions.
"Yes, I do. I'm not that hard up you know."
"So you are hard up then?" He responds picking up on Andrea's slip of words.
"No. I didn't mean that. What I meant was …oh I give up it's obvious you don't believe a word I say!" Spotting Annabelle's bottle and remembering what she was doing before Neil arrived, she says, "Here you take Bella. Her bottles there. See if she'll let you feed her, she's been playing up for me."
Neil gladly takes Annabelle, settling her in his arms to feed her, whilst Andrea goes off sulkily to the tumble drier.
Coming back she finds Neil now holding an empty bottle in one hand.
"She wouldn't drink it for me." She remarks in disbelief.
Neil smirks. "She's a daddy's girl. Aren't you Bella?" Causing Andrea to roll her eyes at them, before sitting herself down next to Neil on the sofa.
"How's Jake?"
"He's fine apart from a broken arm."
"It's definitely broke then?"
"Yeah. He was more worried about not having said goodbye to this one though." Neil replies indicating the sleepy bundle in his arms.
"I'm sure Phillipa loved that."
Neil laughs slightly, "She wasn't too amused." And then after some thought. "I'm sorry about what she said to you."
Andrea just shakes her head. "She had every right to really. I mean I am the woman who had an affair with her husband."
They both seem to go quiet then, as if thinking back to the past. It's Andrea who breaks the silence. "I think we'd better get this one to bed." She says looking at where Annabelle has fallen asleep in Neil's arms.
"Okay, you show me where to put her."
Andrea leads Neil into the bedroom, turning on the light and pointing to the cot in the corner.
Neil presses a kiss to Annabelle's head and gently places her in the crib, being careful not to wake her.
Andrea goes to stand next to Neil. Both of them looking down, at their sleeping daughter. Andrea lifts her head, causing herself and Neil's eyes to lock, mouths only inches apart.
"Would you like to stay a while?" Andrea asks stepping back a bit to allow some distance between them again.
"Yeh, I'd like that." Neil says softly before following Andrea out of bedroom and back into the living room, pausing to switch off the light.
Andrea's now heading towards the kitchen. "Do you want a glass of wine?" She asks.
"Yeah, please." Neil says still standing outside the bedroom not sure what to do with himself. He finally decides on settling himself back on the sofa.
Andrea returns with two glasses of wine, giving one to Neil and then settling herself down next to Neil.
They sit in silence once again, watching the moving pictures on the T.V neither knowing what to say to one another.
It's a while later when Andrea sets her virtually empty glass on the floor.
A thought comes into Neil's mind about something Andrea said earlier.
"Andrea?"
"Mmmh?"
"At the hospital, you said something to Phillipa, about signing letters with her own name." Neil says puzzled "What did you mean?" He asks.
Andrea knows exactly what she meant when she said it to Phillipa and could kick herself for letting her tongue get carried away. The subject of the first letter, which she suspects Phillipa wrote, is not something she wants to go into. She's not sure why but she knows she not ready to talk to Neil about it yet. A lot has happened in the year since she left Sunhill. It was a year full of pain and longing, although with brief moments of happiness, the letter alone caused her a lot of heartbreak.
Andrea looks directly in Neil's questioning eyes, not wanting to lie to him. "I… it's nothing." She says carefully, waiting for a reaction.
"Nothing?" Neil frowns, "Something must have made you said it?"
Andrea swallows, still looking at him. "Really Neil, it's nothing. It's not important. It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't matter." She protests.
Neil shakes his head. "I don't see why though …"
Andrea looking for a way out of this conversation suddenly leans into Neil. Who finds himself silenced by Andrea's mouth pressing against his. It takes a few moments to register what's just happened, but soon he's kissing her back. He's waited a year to have her back in his arms. They continue to kiss each other, each kiss becoming more passionate. As their passion for each other rises they make their way into her bedroom, making love to one other, as the streaming rain continues to pour outside, gently tapping against the window.