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Dr Garrett says London, then London it is,’ Rachel said, resolutely. ‘And of course you’re not going on your own, you know that.’
    Bea opened her mouth as if to protest, but for once she seemed to give in, no words came.
    ‘When would it be?’ Rachel asked.
    ‘She’s going to make me an appointment as soon as possible, next week if she can.’
    Aiden was sitting down on the edge of the bed, trying to stay calm, but concern was etched into his brow. ‘I’ll find a way to go down with her,’ he said, pushing a hand back through his short brown hair.
    Rachel had called Aiden at work in the morning and asked if he could get home in the early evening that night. She’d heard the sounds of banging and hammering in the background, and Aiden was hesitant to cut short his hours on the project, but Rachel had insisted it was important – she couldn’t tell him about Bea when he was tiptoeing in last thing at night.
    ‘So Dr Garrett has no idea what this could be?’
    ‘No,’ Rachel said, sitting beside him and putting an arm around his waist. ‘They need to do some tests. It might only take a couple of days – but the doctor says we should allow two weeks, just in case. Your mum seemed quite relaxed, so that’s something.’
    ‘Have you ever seen Mum worried?’ Aiden said, raising an eyebrow and forcing a smile.
    Even during the hard times, like when David had died, Bea would somehow be the one calmly holding them all together. Rachel remembered what Bea had said to her at his funeral: ‘I’ve had more love in the last thirty-five years than most people have in a lifetime. We made each other very happy while we could. That’s what matters to me.’
    ‘I’ll speak to Simon tonight and see if I can …’ Aiden reached for his iPad and flicked to his schedule. ‘Right, let’s see.’ Rachel looked over at the screen and saw day after day of meetings and tasks, blocked right up until the evenings.
    ‘Aiden,’ Rachel said, putting her hand over his as he flicked to the next week in search of space. ‘Stop.’
    He turned to look at her, creases at the corners of his hazel eyes. ‘I’m sure if I just—’
    ‘Look, we both know you can’t afford to take the time off at the moment,’ Rachel said. She had seen the accounts herself – the business’s finances weren’t looking good. Just one project falling through could be enough to push the company under.
    ‘It’s OK,’ Rachel said, giving his arm a squeeze. ‘I’ll go with her.’ She’d already thought through the other options and dismissed them – Bea’s friends had their own commitments and most of them wouldn’t be physically strong enough to cope if Bea were to faint on the journey.
    Aiden’s eyes met hers and she knew they were both thinking the same thing. ‘But Milly and Zak …’ he said. Aiden’s current project was two hours’ drive away. The school run would be an impossibility. ‘We’re going to have to take them out of school, aren’t we?’
    ‘Yes, I think so,’ Rachel said, with a heavy heart, after weighing up the options. Zak had been so excited about his role as a Wise Man in the nativity play, and Milly was only just settling in to her new school. ‘I’ll talk to their teachers tomorrow and get some extra work to take with us.’
    ‘I’ll speak to Simon and delegate what I can to him,’ Aiden said, glancing back at his calendar, ‘if you can get Mum down in time for her appointment next Wednesday, I should be able to get to you by the weekend.’
    Rachel stroked the rough stubble on Aiden’s cheek and kissed it softly. ‘We’ll work it out, Aid,’ she said. He draped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.
    Aiden had gone to bed early for the first time in weeks. Rachel watched him for a moment, his breathing deep. In sleep, the worries of his day seemed to disappear and he looked completely relaxed.
    She wandered through to their en suite in her checked pyjamas, tying her thick blonde hair