Tom kissed Grace on the forehead before leaving the hospital room. She’d been asleep for the past half hour. Liam followed him out of the room.
‘How are you doing, buddy?’ Tom said, giving Liam a big bear hug.
‘Not great to be honest. Worried sick about Grace. She looks terrible, doesn’t she?’ Liam replied.
Tom nodded his response. He’d got a shock when he walked into the hospital room earlier this evening. He’d never seen Grace look so tired and pale. It was such a stark contrast to how well she looked a few weeks earlier at her wedding. ‘It’s to be expected though, mate. She’s probably suffering from jet lag on top of everything else,’ Tom added.
‘True. We never stopped in Florida, Tom. If I’d only known the cancer was back, I would have insisted that she slow down. But she was like a whirlwind over there. Insisting that we do something different every day. She was trying to fit it all into our first week. Crazy,’ Liam said.
‘That’s Grace for you,’ Tom said with a smile. Her courage and strength never failed to amaze him. ‘She’s one hell of a woman. You’re a lucky man.’
Liam nodded in response. He didn’t need reminding of that. Every day he couldn’t believe his luck that he and Grace were back together and now actually married.
‘We’re all meeting in the Cock Tavern for a drink. If you fancy calling in on your way home?’ Tom asked his friend.
‘Thanks, mate. But I need to get home. Catherine is there. She picked up Jack from Montessori and she’s desperate for news on Grace. She’s also got dinner waiting for me,’ Liam replied.
‘Alright so. I’ll be off. But I’ll see you both tomorrow,’ Tom said. He walked away with a feeling of dread. Half an hour later he parked his car outside the pub and walked in, spying the gang immediately in their usual corner.
‘Darling, I have a drink for you,’ Gerry told him, giving him a quick kiss. ‘You alright?’ Gerry could tell that Tom was upset.
‘Grand, love. Don’t be worrying,’ Tom answered. ‘This is a load of bollocks though.’
The others all laughed half-heartedly at Tom’s phrasing.
‘How did you think she looked?’ Tara asked him.
‘Terrible. She wasn’t that pale the last time, I’m sure of it,’ he stated.
The others all nodded in response. Abby turned to Sean and asked, ‘Did you get a chance to talk to Dr Kennedy?’
Sean nodded, ‘Yep. Her bone marrow function has deteriorated again.’
‘Will the chemo sort her out?’ Abby asked.
‘Hope so. But in all honesty, her best bet is a transplant if she’s going to beat it this time,’ Sean said ruefully.
‘What about advertising?’ Gerry suggested. ‘You know, asking for people to come in and be tested? You often see people on breakfast TV looking for help this way.’
Nobody answered him. Tom patted Gerry’s hand, acknowledging his idea, but he was thinking along another line: Fr O’Hara. He had been thinking about him while driving to the pub. He needed to talk to Liam tomorrow about paying him a visit again. He could be the answer. If Catherine wasn’t a match – maybe he was.
‘Where’s Shay, darling?’ Gerry asked Abby; just realising she was on her own.
‘He was supposed to join us but rang me about an hour ago to say he was really tired. He’s going to have an early night,’ she answered. She was a bit disappointed to be honest, as tonight she could have done with his company. She was so worried about Grace and a friendly shoulder to lean on would have been nice. But he was adamant he couldn’t go out tonight.
‘Everything alright with you guys?’ Tara asked.
‘Fine Tara, thanks. Just worried about Grace,’ Abby answered. ‘Can you imagine what it must have been like for her, keeping that from everyone – in particular Liam – for the past three weeks?’
‘Darling, I couldn’t have done it,’ Gerry replied.
‘Me neither,’ Tara added.
‘She’s a strong woman is our Grace,’ Tom said. ‘She was thinking about all of us, not herself, as usual. I just feel so useless. I want to do something to help.’
‘Well we’ve got to organise something for tomorrow. It’s Jack’s birthday. I promised Grace we’d sort something out. I’ve bought two cakes. One I’ve left with Catherine for Montessori tomorrow. The other I’ve at home. I thought maybe we should bring the party to Grace. I don’t want her to miss out,’ Tara told the group.
‘That’s a great idea,’ Abby agreed. ‘We can all bring our presents for Jack to the hospital and that way Grace can see him opening them all.’
‘I’ll bring some stuff to decorate Grace’s room, make it look festive, darlings,’ Gerry added, grateful for an excuse to do something.
‘That’s settled then,’ Tara told the others. ‘I’ll give Liam a ring later on to make sure he’s happy enough with the plan.’