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Friday came at last. It had been a long week for Nicola at the hospital. She sneaked a look at her watch. Two o’clock? Time is going so slow today. ‘Number forty-three please!’ called Nicola into the waiting room, which was packed to the rafters with people waiting for their turn to have their blood samples taken.
An elderly looking pensioner slowly stood, relying heavily on a walking frame to move. Nicola smiled warmly, letting the old man know that there really was no rush. It took the man a couple of minutes to reach the room where Nicola was preparing to take samples for the lab. The man sat with a sigh; she could see that moving around was hard work for him. He passed the form to her, which told her which bottles to use.
With her warmest smile, she said, ‘Sharp scratch,’ before slipping the needle through the old man’s skin into a vein. To take his mind off the needle, she said, ‘Are you alright today, Mr Rannoch?’
He returned the smile, with a much younger glint in his eye than she expected. His blood was easy to draw, and the needle had found the vein without the trouble that she had expected.
Mr Rannoch said, ‘Call me Rodney, my dear.’
‘Rodney Rannoch, what a wonderful name!’ Nicola said with genuine amazement, her wonderful smile lighting up the room.
‘I know, dear.’ Rodney made a show of looking at Nicola’s name badge. ‘Nicola is a pretty name. Suits you.’ She laughed with Rodney, a nice moment in the day for her, which was usually filled with miserable people suffering from whatever illness had taken them to the hospital.
Nicola looked again at Rodney’s paperwork. ‘There’s a typo on your paperwork, Rodney Rannoch.’
‘Oh, is there?’ Rodney looked surprised.
‘Yeah, they have your birthday as the 1st April 1868. That would make you 150 years old!’ Nicola smiled while shaking her head and picked up a biro. ‘Honestly, this place gets worse. What is your real birthday?’
Smirking, and with his eyes twinkling more than ever, Rodney leant forward and whispered to her, ‘Well, I was born on April Fool’s Day, and it was in 1868.’
‘You are incorrigible, Mr Rannoch!’ Nicola laughed. ‘Alright, have it your way, I will leave it as it is.’
‘Thank you. By the way, I have a message for you,’ said Rodney. Cupping his hand to the side of his mouth, he beckoned Nicola to come closer as if he had a state secret.
Either he is crazy or just a joker...
He whispered to her, ‘Rebecca is the one for Marcus. Do what you can to make sure they get together.’
Nicola felt like a bombshell had exploded. ‘Who are you, Rodney? What’s going on?’ She had to try hard to not shout, her stomach tying itself in knots.
‘You will learn all about me in the future, my dear. But make sure that you really do play matchmaker. Marcus just needs a little guidance from someone he trusts. You already made sure he stayed at the museum where he is needed. Just be prepared for whatever happens in the future. Au revoir, Nicola, I shall see you again.’ Rodney smiled at Nicola as though the conversation they’d had was perfectly normal.
I have no idea what is going on here; it doesn’t make sense.
‘Try not to worry too much. All will come clear in good time,’ said Rodney.
Did he just read my mind?
Rodney stood, his body moving more freely than before he sat down. He winked at Nicola before grasping his walking frame and casually walking away.
***
NICOLA FELT DRAWN TO visit Marcus. Good job I’m going there anyway to babysit.
She entered the house, as always, without knocking. Hope, to Nicola’s relief, had gone to her room to watch YouTube, so she could talk openly to Marcus.
Nicola helped herself to a mug of Yorkshire Tea, her favourite drink of all time. She handed Marcus a mug of the steaming beverage and sat opposite him.
Marcus sipped his tea and said, ‘Come on then, Nicola, spit it out.’ He looked at her through the steam, waiting for her to speak.
She smiled at him and blew across her cup to buy some time. How can I say I spoke to an old man who seemed to know all about you. Oh boy...
Nicola took a deep breath and said, ‘I think that you and Rebecca will be wonderful together. I’m here for you, you know. I promised your mum that I’d look after you and Hope. I, um, had a dream that an old man came and told me that you and Rebecca are simply meant for each other.’
Marcus looked stunned. ‘That’s a bit of a strange dream. I hope we have a good night out, then who knows.’ He grinned at Nicola. ‘Are you sure you didn’t eat some really strong cheese or something before going to bed?’
‘It’s a good job you have that hot drink in your hand or I’d be lobbing a cushion at you right about now! I do have a good feeling about this though. You had better go and get ready for your big night out. She pulled her feet underneath herself and picked up the television remote control, which was Marcus’ cue to get a move on.
***
MARCUS CAME BACK INTO the living room, waiting for Rebecca to arrive, and Nicola looked him up and down while whistling through her teeth. ‘Wow, you’ve scrubbed up well,’ she said with a smile in her voice. ‘It’s a good job I’m not looking for a toy boy.’
Flushing a deep crimson, Marcus laughed. ‘That would be a bit weird, although I could be Rebecca’s toy boy, what with the age gap and everything.’
Nicola retorted, ‘Maybe that should be your nickname!’
With a sigh of exasperation, he shook his head. ‘Honestly, you really are like a mum to me now.’
A light knock on the door saved Marcus from further embarrassing banter. He opened the door and welcomed Rebecca into his home. Oh my God, she looks stunning. Rocky woofed and wagged his tail with great enthusiasm. Marcus was happy to see Rebecca wasn’t fazed by the big dog.
Nicola and Rebecca greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek, and an unspoken message seemed to pass between them. Marcus, however, didn’t notice the knowing look exchanged between the women; he was too busy battling the butterflies that were trying to take flight in his stomach.
***
REBECCA AND MARCUS left Hope with Nicola and headed into Newdon town centre. They dined at an Italian restaurant, followed by a few drinks in a quiet corner of the bar. The subject of their fathers came up, and it was striking to them how similar their stories were. Damien had vanished from inside the museum in Newdon. Rebecca’s father, Robert Rigg, vanished after work one day, as if into thin air. He had stopped at a petrol station and filled the car’s tank. After paying for the fuel, he visited the toilet in the building and was never seen again. Neither man had any apparent reason to leave their family, and both were devoted to their spouses and children.
Marcus saw his grief mirrored in Rebecca’s eyes and knew that they had a connection.
They also talked about all kinds of other things, especially the girls. Somehow, the evening went by in a blink of an eye, and what had started out as a spark at the beginning of the night was undeniably growing into a bright flame.
Marcus looked at his watch, shocked to see that it was suddenly midnight. ‘Shall we share a cab so I can drop you home before I head back to mine? Nicola hasn’t texted, but she’ll be wanting to go home soon.’
‘I’d love that. Would you, um, like to do this again sometime soon?’ Rebecca said. She nervously reached forward and grasped his hands in hers as she gazed into his eyes, looking for his emotions. She didn’t have to look very hard. His face broke into a massive smile.
‘Yes, let’s make it soon.’
They sealed their deal with a kiss before jumping into a cab.
***
MARCUS QUIETLY SNUCK into his home, taking care not to wake Hope. Nicola was sleeping lightly in the same chair she had been in before Marcus went out on his date. When he shook her lightly on her shoulder, she jumped, startled, and Marcus couldn’t help but giggle at her red-eyed fright.
Nicola rubbed her eyes and peered at her watch. She glanced at the television that was playing to itself, and indeed the programme that was on was not the same one she remembered seeing last time she had looked at the screen.
Marcus spoke quietly. ‘Sorry it’s so late. Do you want to stay over in the spare room?’
‘No, I need to go home ready for work in the morning. Don’t worry about the time.’ She looked at the smudged lipstick stain on his lips and said, ‘It looks like you had a great time...there’s a wicked bit of lippy on your face!’ She suddenly seemed fully awake and ready to listen to all the gossip from Marcus’ evening.
Marcus grinned, his face making it more than clear that he had a very enjoyable time. ‘It was a great night out, thanks. We’re going to go out again next week, if you can, um...’
Nicola made a point of rolling her eyes and huffing. ‘Yes, I will babysit for you!’
***
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Marcus sent Nicola a text message while he was making a bacon sandwich for his breakfast.
Do you think I’m doing the right thing, seeing Rebecca? Maybe it’s a bit weird, her daughter being the same age as my sister?
When Nicola saw it, her mind immediately went back to when the man who reckoned he was a hundred and sixty years old spoke to her. She replayed his words in her head. Rebecca is the one for Marcus. Do what you can to make sure they get together. She knew in her gut that this man had spoken the truth. Where he came from didn’t really matter to her now, but her actions would have everlasting consequences.
With her hands suddenly feeling shaky and clammy, Nicola pressed the ‘reply’ button.
The girls are great friends. I’m quite a bit older than you, and being a female I have a really good intuition about things. Believe me, Marcus, Rebecca is the perfect woman for you!! It is natural to be a bit unsure about things, but don’t miss this chance. Women like Rebecca hardly ever come along. Seize the day! Love you xx
Marcus felt a great relief when he read the text, especially as he would happily trust Nicola with his life. Maybe I just needed some reassurance. Thanks Nicola!
Nicola’s phone binged again, and she smiled when she saw the text icon flashing with a new message. Flicking it open, she shook her head upon seeing the text was from Rebecca.
Hi, great date with Marcus last night. I’m not sure if he is genuinely interested in me?
I should be Cilla on Blind Date... Her thumbs quickly punched out a message as she texted back.
He is smitten with you :) Go for it, you both deserve happiness!
Rebecca’s face lit up with joy when she got such a quick reply, even more so when she read the message. Nicola should know, she is practically a surrogate mum to Marcus.