Free Twins for Christmas by Alison Roberts Page B

holding his mother’s hand, but it was Kate he was looking at—and his face was so sombre she had the impression he had guessed her thoughts.
    Was he thinking about Christmases to come? The fractured family they would represent? The inconvenience and amount of compromise that might be necessary?
    It was hard to think of anything else   but   Christmas celebrations once they reached the ward. The staff up here had gone all out to make the surroundings festive for people unfortunate enough to be confined to a hospital bed at this time of year.
    Garlands of tinsel were strung across the central corridor. Snowflake patterns had been sprayed onto the windows of the rooms. An enormous Christmas tree with coloured lights was positioned by the ward office, and it had an impressive pile of gifts beneath it.
    ‘We’ve got a private room for your mother,’ the charge nurse told Rory. ‘It’s a full on day here tomorrow, with the chaplain visiting everyone and carol singers and Christmas dinner. You’re most welcome to come and join in the fun.’
    Rory smiled, but Kate had the impression he might be gritting his teeth.
    ‘I’ll be in to visit, of course,’ he said. ‘But I think the festivities might be a bit much for my mother. She’s not aware of the season and she needs to rest.’
    They settled Marcella into her room, and the electrodes for the cardiac monitor were put in place and attached to a monitor. Marcella was still staring at the ceiling, taking no notice of what was happening around her. A nurse raised the sides of the bed.
    ‘I’ll have a nurse sitting with her as much of the time as possible. Is she likely to try wandering?’
    ‘I doubt she’s up to climbing over these rails.’ Rory leaned over and smoothed his mother’s hair. ‘ A domani,   Mamma,’ he murmured.   ‘Buon Natale.’
    ‘Buon Natale,’   Marcella echoed. She didn’t look at Rory, but she smiled sweetly.   ‘Buon Natale,’   she said again as Kate followed Rory from the room.   ‘Buon Natale…’
    ‘That means Happy Christmas?’
    ‘Yeah.’ It had touched something deep within Rory, hearing the seasonal greeting in his mother’s native Italian. Something very poignant.
    ‘She sounded happy.’
    Rory sighed as he stepped into the lift. ‘I don’t think “happy” is a word I’ve associated with my mother for thirty years.’ But he could hear her voice again as the lift descended. See that smile. ‘You’re right,’ he said as the doors opened again. ‘She seemed…content.’
    ‘You sound surprised.’
    He tilted his head to acknowledge the correct assumption. ‘Christmas was always the hardest time of year for my family. After Jamie died.’
    Kate was walking beside him. The top of her head barely reached his shoulder. He could look down and see the gleam of gold in the honey-blonde waves of her hair. She was so small. Why was there such a large amount of comfort to be found in her presence?
    ‘What happened?’ she asked. ‘To Jamie?’
    This wasn’t comforting. It wasn’t something Rory talked about to anyone. Ever. But Kate wasn’t like anyone else, was she?
    She had seen him… saved   him…when he was at his lowest. She was carrying his babies. She had the right to know the story of their father. With his mother left content upstairs, it seemed an appropriate time to take away the barrier he’d always kept between his past and his future.
    ‘We were walking to school,’ he said quietly. ‘A car came around the corner too fast, mounted the kerb and hit Jamie. He died instantly.’
    ‘Oh,   God !’ Kate whispered in horror. ‘And you were right beside him? How old were you?’
    ‘Seven.’
    ‘Michael’s age.’ The words were so quiet Rory barely heard them, yet he could hear her comprehension of exactly what he’d been through tonight.
    They walked in silence for a minute. Along a totally deserted, dimly lit corridor.
    And then Kate spoke. ‘That must have been so lonely for