Chapter Fourteen

‘Oh, Mr Collymore, I’m so glad you’re back,’ Nomsa said as she moved to the bed and paid a lot more attention to plumping up the pillows than normal. ‘Now, Jess says you’ll be staying for a week or two, so let’s get you all settled in.’ She finally moved away from the bed and to the sideboard where she rearranged a vase of flowers and then turned to watch as Bastion gingerly walked across the room, quickly followed by an overexcited Lily, who held onto his hand as tightly as she could.

‘Daddy, quickly, come and look.’ She let go of his hand and ran ahead to jump onto the bed. ‘This will be your bed,’ she said as she bounced from one bed to the other. ‘And here, in this bed near the window, this is where I sleep. Do you see it, Daddy? It’s a real bed, not a settee and it’s all mine, isn’t it, Nomsa?’

‘It sure is, sugar,’ Nomsa said as Lily jumped down from the bed and skipped across the room to fling open the bathroom door.

‘And in here we have our very own bathroom. Isn’t it beautiful? And look, Daddy, a toilet of our own. Watch how it flushes.’ Her eyes were wide open. ‘Do you see? We don’t have to go down the corridor, or use a bucket, or share with the neighbours.’ She shone with excitement as she buzzed around the room. ‘And the nice lady who comes in every morning, she brings lovely bubble bath and shampoo and really soft toilet rolls. Daddy, feel the toilet rolls.’ She pulled a sheet off the roll and passed it to Bastion who stood, with mouth open, looking around the room.

‘It sure is pretty in here.’ He stood still, barely moving while he took in his immediate surroundings. ‘I think we sure did fall into heaven, Lily, didn’t we?’

‘Now then, Mr Collymore, you’re looking a bit wobbly on your feet. Come and sit yourself down before you fall down,’ Nomsa continued, helping him to an armchair. ‘I’ve changed the bed, and Jess went out and bought you some new pyjamas, slippers and a dressing gown.’ She looked Bastion up and down. ‘I’m sure they’ll fit you just fine. So, when you’re ready, you can get changed into them and jump into your bed. That’s right, you just make yourself all comfy and I’ll be back up in a few minutes with some of my nice French onion soup.’

Bastion watched, and nodded. His hand reached out and stroked the satin throw that covered the foot of the bed and tears sprang to his eyes. He was grateful for having somewhere warm and comfortable to sleep, for the new clothes and for the soup.

‘Oh, Nomsa, you’re a good, good woman. I don’t know how to thank you,’ he began. ‘And please, my name, call me Bastion. No one calls me Mr Collymore any more.’ He laughed, but as he did he began to cough repeatedly, and Lily looked up at Nomsa for reassurance.

Nomsa stayed calm, walked to the bathroom and filled a glass with water. She turned and pushed it into his hand, and he gratefully took a sip, before leaning back in the chair, where he closed his eyes and rested them for a few moments, until the urge to cough had subsided.

‘It’s been a long day for you, hasn’t it? All those doctors poking at you, and then all that time you had to wait to be released, you’d think they’d do it all a lot faster, especially when they say they need the beds,’ Nomsa said as she walked towards the window, opening it slightly. ‘The fresh air will help, but if you get too cold, I can easily close it again. Now, can I get you anything else, other than the soup?’ she questioned, and looked over to where he was sitting and caught his eye. A blush suddenly tinged her already rosy cheeks. ‘A bath, maybe? Should I run you a nice hot bath? We should have some bubbles in here, ah yes, here they are.’ She picked up a bottle and waved it in the air.

Bastion smiled. Nomsa was a fine woman and if he’d felt well enough he’d have probably had a very cheeky, quick witted response to her question about baths and bubbles, but instead he took in a deep breath and sighed. ‘No, no thank you, I’ll run one in a minute.’ He seemed to think for a moment. ‘I just want to get settled, hug my Lily for a moment or two, and then I’d really like to take that hot bath and get all clean before putting on these nice new pyjamas. And then, after the soup, I think I’d like to sleep for a week.’ He patted the bed. ‘And I must say, this bed sure does look cosy.’

‘Well, all of that can easily be organised.’ Nomsa picked up a towel, folded it and placed it on the end of the bed. ‘I’ll leave you two to your cuddle time. And when you want your bath, you send our little Lily down. And you can use the phone to let me know when you’re all done,’ she said, pointing to the phone that stood on the dressing table, ‘and then I’ll bring the soup up for you, just so long as you don’t mind me seeing you in your pyjamas.’ She winked and smiled, before walking awkwardly towards the door.

Again Bastion smiled and tried to think of a quick response. He liked Nomsa, he was sure she was flirting with him, and more than anything he loved the way she referred to Lily as, ‘our little Lily’. He closed his eyes and thought of how different Lily’s life would be here, if only it were possible to stay. ‘Well, you saw me in my pyjamas at the hospital, now didn’t you?’ he responded. ‘And I don’t think I minded too much then, especially seeing as you brought that lovely basket of cakes.’ He laughed. ‘Those nurses were wondering why my sugar levels were through the roof, till I let them try one of your brownies.’

His laugh bellowed around the room. He got up, picked up the pyjamas and placed them on the sideboard, then patted the bed and sat down again, allowing Lily to jump up and onto his knee. ‘Wow, this bed is so comfy, Nomsa. Almost as good as your brownies, which I must say were the best I’d ever tasted.’

‘Ah, get away with you. The brownies were no trouble, and if that’s your way of getting me to bake some more, then I will,’ Nomsa said. ‘I brought them to the hospital because I was worried about you. One minute you were sitting in my kitchen, eating my scones, and the next you’d collapsed on the doorstep and they were rushing you away in an ambulance, all lights a blazing.’ She paused and shook her head. ‘You gave me quite a fright, you did. And, your Jess, she said it was my scones that had put you in hospital, the cheeky madam.’ She laughed, but then looked seriously at Bastion. ‘Of course the bed is comfy and until you feel all better, you can have your meals up here. But, when you feel up to it, maybe you could get yourself dressed and come down to sit in my kitchen and chat to me while you eat. I’d be sure glad of the company.’ She smiled as Lily jumped down from Bastion’s knee, ran towards her and put her arms around her waist.

‘Nomsa’s the best, isn’t she, Daddy?’ Lily’s voice sang out and she looked up at Nomsa with the biggest, most beautiful brown eyes that Bastion had ever seen. ‘And Nomsa, Daddy really loves your scones, don’t you, Daddy? You even told Jess how much you liked them, didn’t you?’

Nomsa smiled as Lily let go of her waist.

‘I did exactly that,’ he said. ‘I could have eaten those scones all day long.’

Once again Nomsa blushed. ‘Okay, you’ve convinced me. I’ll tell you what, after you’ve had your soup, I’ll send you a fresh baked scone up for afters. I’ll even put you a spoon of clotted cream on with a strawberry or two, just to make them a little nicer.’ She winked at him and then looked at Lily’s hopeful face. ‘In fact, I’ll tell you what I’ll do, I might send up two scones, just in case our little Lily might want to have a bit of a picnic with you. How does that sound?’ She glowed with happiness and Bastion smiled, appreciative of her actions.

‘That, my dear lady, sounds amazing, and, for what it’s worth, I think your scones were pretty perfect just as they were. They didn’t need anything adding, did they Lily?’ His arms were now around his daughter who’d pulled herself back up and onto his knee. He nestled his face into her neck and blew a raspberry on her skin, making her shriek with delight. ‘Now, go on my girl, go with the lovely Nomsa while I get a bath. This good lady has made soup and the last thing we’d want to do is let soup spoil or go cold, isn’t it?’

Bastion watched as Lily ran to Nomsa. Their hands automatically connected and were gripped together like magnets, in a way he’d always hoped he’d see Lily do with her own mother. It was a sight he’d wished and hoped for with Annie, but a sight he’d never thought he’d see with Lily and another woman. He nodded in acknowledgment. It was something he should have realised many years ago. Lily needed a mother in her life, she needed a woman in her life, someone who’d nurture her, love her and teach her womanly ways.

He smiled at Nomsa, who smiled back. ‘Thank you,’ he whispered, with genuine feeling, as both Nomsa and Lily left the room and the door closed behind them.