Chistmas In Manhattan Collection. Alison Roberts
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‘On it, Dr Forbes.’ The nurse reached for the phone.
Grace was gone, too, back to her patient. Charles gave up on the statistics. He would take them home and do his work later tonight, in those quiet hours after the boys were asleep. He was due to go and collect them soon, anyway.
Maybe he should give up on the idea of inviting Grace and Houston to join their party, too. He could give his boys everything they needed. He could take them out later today and let them choose the costumes they wanted themselves.
A sideways glance showed that Amy had finished her urgent arrangements for Grace’s patient. She noticed his glance.
‘Anything you need, Dr Davenport?’
He smiled at her. ‘Not unless you happen to know of a good costume shop in this part of town?’
* * *
It seemed like every shop between Manhattan Mercy and home had decorated their windows for Halloween and it made Grace smile, despite her weariness after a couple of such busy days at work, to see the jack-o’-lanterns and ghosts and plastic spiders hanging on fluffy webs.
She’d missed this celebration in Australia.
As she turned towards the more residential area, there were groups of children already out, too, off to do their trick or treating in the late afternoon. So many excited little faces peeping out from beneath witches’ hats or lions’ ears, dancing along in pretty dresses with fairy wings on their backs or proudly being miniature superheroes.
What a shame that Charles hadn’t taken her up on her subtle offer to share Halloween with him and his boys. She’d been thinking about him all day, and wondering just how difficult it had been for him when he had to be reliving every moment of this day three years ago when the twins had been born and he’d lost the love of his life.
Her heart was aching for Charles all over again, as she let herself into the apartment building, so it came as a surprise to hear a peal of laughter echoing down the tiled stairway with its wrought-iron bannisters.
The laughter of small people. And a deeper rumble of an adult male.
Grace paused in the foyer, looking upwards, and was rewarded by a small face she recognised instantly, peering down through the rails. His head was covered by a brown hood that had small round ears.
‘Gace... Look at us...’
‘I can’t see you properly, Max.’
The face disappeared but she could still hear him.
‘Daddy... Daddy...we have to visit Gace now...’
And there they were, coming down the stairs. Charles had hold of each twin’s hand to keep them steady. In their other hands, the boys clutched a small, orange, plastic bucket shaped like a pumpkin. She could see plenty of candy in each bucket.
The brown hoods were part of a costume that covered them from head to toe.
‘You’re monkeys.’ Grace grinned. ‘But...where are your tails?’
The twins gave her a very patient look.
Charles gave her a shadow of a wink. ‘Curious George doesn’t have a tail,’ he explained.
‘Oh...’
‘Trick or treat!’ Cameron shouted. He bounced up and down on small padded feet. ‘We want candy...’
‘Please,’ Charles admonished. ‘Where are your manners, buddy?’
‘Please!’ It was Max who was first to comply.
‘Grace might not have any candy. Maybe we could just say “hi” to Horse?’
‘Actually, I do have some candy.’ Grace smiled at Charles. ‘I have a personal weakness for M&M’S. Would they be suitable?’
‘A very small packet?’ Charles was smiling back at her but looking slightly haunted. ‘We already have enough candy to last till Christmas.’
‘They’re tiny boxes.’ Grace pulled her keys from her bag. ‘Come on in. Horse will be so happy to see you.’
Charles had probably been in this apartment before, visiting Stefan and Jerome, but he hadn’t come in since Grace had taken over and it felt like a huge step forward somehow. The huge, modern spaces had felt rather empty and totally not her style, although she was slowly getting used to them. With two small boys rolling around on the floor with Houston and Charles following her into the kitchen, it suddenly felt far more like a home.
‘Let me open the French doors so that Houston can get out into the garden. It’s been an hour or two since Kylie took him out for his last walk.’ Grace headed for the pantry next, where she knew the big bag still had plenty of the small boxes of candy-covered chocolate she kept for an after-dinner treat.
She had a bottle of wine in the fridge, too. Would it be a step too far to offer one to Charles? She wanted to ask how the day had gone because she knew that she would be able to see past any cheerful accounts and know how hard it had really been. But she could see that anyway. Charles was looking tired and his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
And she wasn’t about to get the chance to say anything, because his phone was ringing. He took the call, keeping an eye on the children, who were now racing around the garden with the dog, as he listened and then started firing questions.
‘Who’s there? How long ago did you activate Code Red?’
Grace caught her breath. ‘Code Red’ was a term used in Manhattan Mercy’s ER to indicate that the level of patient numbers was exceeding the resources the department had to deal with them. Like a traffic light that was not functioning correctly, a traffic jam could ensue and, with patients, it meant that urgent treatment could be delayed and fatalities could result.
He listened a moment longer. ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
‘I can go back,’ Grace offered as he ended the call. She could get there in less than ten minutes and she was still in her scrubs—she wouldn’t even need to get changed.
But Charles shook his head. ‘It’s the administrative side that needs management. I’ll have to go in.’ He looked out at the garden. ‘I can take the boys.’
This time, it was Grace who shook her head. ‘Don’t be daft. I’ll look after them.’
Charles looked stunned by the offer. ‘But...’
‘But, nothing. I’ll take them back up to your apartment. That way I can feed them. Or get them to bed if you end up being late. Is it okay if I take Houston up, too?’
‘Of course...but...are you sure, Grace? They’re going to get tired and cranky after the day they’ve had.’
Grace held his gaze. ‘Go,’ she said quietly. ‘And don’t worry about them. They’ll be safe.’
For a heartbeat, she saw the shadows on his face lift as his smile very definitely reached his eyes.
‘Thank you,’ was all Charles said but it felt like she was the one who was being given something very special.
Trust?
IF IT HADN’T been for her small entourage of two little boys and one large, fluffy dog, Grace might have felt like she was doing something wrong, stepping into Charles Davenport’s private life like this.
How weird was it that just a few hours of one’s lifetime, over a decade ago, could have had such an impact that it could make her feel like...like some kind of stalker?
It was her own fault. She had allowed herself to remember those hours. Enshrine them, almost, so that they had become a comfort zone that she had relied on,