Fifteen
It's an ambush waiting to happen. When Thomas wakes that afternoon, Miles is hanging around the door, two cups of coffee in his hands.
"Tell me everything."
"For God's Sake, Miles, we're not bloody teenage girls."
"I am."
"Not unless you've had a sex change and taken aging potion, then no, you aren't." He wipes the sticky sleep out of his eyes and sits upright, accepting the proffered mug.
"I meant at heart. You're not leaving this room until you tell me everything."
Thomas rolls his eyes and groans, but Miles is as stubborn as a brick wall, and he's going to have to end up telling him at some point. So he does, fighting back a smile, and when he's finished, Miles looks extremely satisfied.
"I knew it! I knew the two of you liked each other!"
"Shout a bit louder, Miles, the good citizens of Switzerland might not have heard that."
"I'm so happy for you," Miles continues. "Now the two of you can come on double dates with me and Helen."
"Absolutely not."
"What's wrong with me and Helen?"
"Nothing, it's just…"
"You want Kitty all to yourself so you can snog her senseless without an audience."
"Miles!"
Miles laughs, and gets up off the end of Thomas' bed. "I'm sorry, but did you really expect me not to tease?"
"I'd hoped."
"A vain hope, my friend, a vain hope. Speaking of girlfriends, I'm off to see mine. Am I allowed to tell her?"
"Helen, yes, the rest of the world, no."
"What, do you really think I'd stop random people on the street and go 'hey, my flatmate's finally got together with our neighbour, isn't it brilliant?"
"I wouldn't put anything past you."
"It's fine, I won't. See you later. Say hi and congrats to Kitty for me."
"Okay. Give Helen my regards."
"Sure thing."
Then Miles is out of his bedroom, and there is the slamming of the door against its frame. Thomas lies back against the pillows again, and glances towards his phone, wondering if Kitty is awake yet.
...
The insistent ringing of her phone is what wakes her, a shrill tone needling against her ear. She supposes it's a good thing that necessity had forced her to become a light sleeper as she rolls over to answer it, feeling a blush heat up her cheeks as she sees the caller ID.
"Hey," she says, voice thick with the last traces of sleep.
"Hey. Did I wake you?"
She considers telling him no, but finds she can't be bothered. "Yes, but it's fine. I need to get up anyway. How are you?"
"Good. You?"
"Wonderful."
"Taking it a step further there." There is laughter in his tone. "Miles says congrats."
"Tell him thank you."
"Do you want to come round? I'll cook breakfast."
"Afternoon tea."
"Afternoon tea?"
"It's three o'clock. We've got to have afternoon tea with scones and cream and jam…"
"I don't know how to make scones."
"I do. We'll go down to the shop and get some."
"I'll see you in ten minutes, then."
She smiles into the phone. "Okay."
"Okay."
...
Nancy meets her in the hospital car park with a warm hug and a wan smile, a hand resting for an instant on the rise of Flora's stomach. "How are you?"
"Bearing up," Flora admits. "Have you heard anything else?"
"I've seen the doctor already, but I wanted to wait for you to see Charlie."
"What did the doctor say?"
"Flora…it's bad. There was an explosion, and the top of the armoured car crushed both his legs. They…they had to amputate."
"They what?"
"They had to amputate both his legs…I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry…"
Flora feels lightheaded for a second, then takes a deep breath, forces herself to calm down. "Shall we go and see him, then?"
"Okay."
...
Thomas is already waiting for her in the hallway as she comes out of her flat, locks the door behind her, pulling on her jacket and depositing the keys in her bag. She smiles up at him, almost shy, and he laces his fingers through hers. "Ready?"
"Yep."
They just head down to the co-op where Kitty used to work, ambling along and enjoying the weak spring sunshine, the warmth of each other's hands.
"So what do we need for afternoon tea?"
"Clotted cream. Do you have jam in your cupboard?"
"Yes, raspberry and strawberry."
"Good. Then all the basic baking ingredients. If you don't have them, I will."
"So just clotted cream then?"
"Yep, just clotted cream. I can't believe you've never had afternoon tea before. It used to be my favourite time of day."
"I'm Scottish, woman, not an English aristocrat."
"What do you eat on special occasions, then?"
"My dad makes a great haggis."
"Isn't it really disgusting?"
"No, on the contrary. It's delicious. I'll get him to make us some."
"I think I can live without it, quite honestly."
"I'll be telling you you said that when you've tasted it."
He smiles down at her, and she beams up, and they carry on their way.
...
Flora hovers at the end of Charlie's bed, feeling slightly faint. She's never liked hospitals, the smell that crawls under your skin or the sterile, clinical walls. She honestly wonders how Kitty's flatmates can bear to work in such conditions, no colour, no fun, no joy…just ill people and sadness.
The doctor is talking again, but all Flora can focus on are the stumps under the blankets where his legs were. Where his legs are supposed to be. It's not good, not good at all, but to her, it doesn't change anything. Charlie is still the man she's in love with, and he's still the father of her baby. She knows she'd follow him to the ends of the earth, but right now, she just wishes he'd wake up.
...
"Tah-dah!" Kitty puts the plate of scones on the worn table, settling herself into her chair and taking one and slathering it with cream and jam. "What do you think?"
Thomas puts down his knife, takes an experimental bite. "Not as good as haggis," he says.
"You can't say that! My scones are the best."
"Not as good as haggis."
"No, better than haggis."
"Not."
"Yes."
"Not."
"Yes." She laughs. "We're being so juvenile, just like Sylvie…"
She breaks off abruptly, still loath to think of her daughter.
"We'll get her back," Thomas says quietly. "We will."
When she kisses him, it's as soft as cream and as sweet as jam. Then she smiles. "Thank you."
A/N So, for some reason the lines aren't working - oh well. I'm really sorry for the late update. I had writer's block, and I just want to say a huge, huge thank you to TofuQueen00 for helping me through it. You're marvellous, thank you! Another little shameless bit of self promotion - I'm writing a White Queen/ Wars of the Roses drabble series called Wild Violets, so if you watched it I'd be indebted if you could tell me what you think. Thanks to Guest for reviewing, and I'd love to hear from you this time around too! N xxx :)