‘Typical Patsy.’ She smiles. ‘We were just popping in en route to our hotel to see you all and make arrangements for this evening. We will head up to the hospital now.’ She turns to Owen. ‘We can bring her home if the doctors discharge her. I will give Patsy a call. And thank you so much, Mia, for being there for them both.’
‘No problem, I was happy to. We have become rather good friends lately,’ I tell her. ‘And I promise I would have contacted you if the doctor had any real concerns.’
‘I know you would.’ She gives me a hug. ‘And don’t worry, we are here now. I will give Patsy a quick call and let her know we are on our way. Catch you later,’ she says as they set off.
The fire that apparently began in a kitchen has been successfully extinguished, and fifteen minutes later, we are all allowed back into the apartments.
‘I hope it hasn’t affected the kitchen too much,’ says one of the residents. ‘I could murder a coffee,’ he says, and his partner rolls her eyes.
Once in my room, I quickly dress and am about to ring the hospital when Irene herself calls me.
‘Irene! How are you feeling?’ I ask, relieved to be hearing her voice.
‘Oh, I’m as right as rain,’ she says and I breathe a sigh of relief. ‘I just wanted to thank you for coming here yesterday, even though I was wasn’t aware of any of it, being zonked out.’ She laughs.
‘Not at all, I was happy to be there. So are you okay? What have the doctors said this morning?’
‘I am being discharged. All the tests were negative, although the doctor has told me to keep an eye on my blood pressure when I get home, maybe see my GP. He is also the second doctor to tell me that I could do with losing some weight, so I intend to really try and make an effort.’
‘Well I am pleased the tests did not reveal anything too serious,’ I tell her.
‘Oh me too, and it really has made me determined to look after myself,’ she says positively. ‘I’m lucky I never broke anything as I went down like a ton of bricks. But then, I suppose I have plenty of padding.’ She chuckles.
She tells me she fell down some steps when she lost her footing in the glare of the sun, so it seems there was a reason for her fall.
‘Anyway, Tasha and Owen will be here soon, so we will see you later. She is booking a table for dinner tonight for us all, so we can have a good old catch-up.’
‘That’s sounds lovely.’
‘Oh, and is everything okay at the apartments?’ asks Irene. ‘Tasha mentioned something about a fire alarm going off when she arrived. I don’t think she meant to, but she let it slip.’
‘Yep, don’t worry. It was nothing really, just a small fire in the kitchen. It’s all been sorted now,’ I reassure her. ‘I’m so glad you are okay, Irene. See you later.’
‘Me too, see you later, love.’
I decide to take a walk along the beachfront this morning and enjoy a coffee and a toastie from a beach café. I watch a couple walking a dog, throwing a stick into the water as the black dog bounds after it.
A little further along, a guy who has been for an early morning swim comes striding out of the water looking a bit like Daniel Craig in a certain Bond film. It takes me a moment to realise that it is Andreas. After drying himself off he strolls towards the café.
‘Mia, good morning.’ He smiles as he spots me. ‘Can I get you another coffee?’ he asks, noticing my empty cup.
‘No really, but thank you. One coffee in the morning is about my limit.’
He orders himself a fruit smoothie as he takes a seat opposite me.
‘Are you not working this morning?’ I ask him, recalling that he is taking a day off tomorrow.
‘Yes, in around an hour.’ He glances at his watch. ‘My cousin will be there to open the shop as I sometimes like to take an early morning swim.’
Looking at Andreas, it is obvious that he likes to look after himself.
We chat easily, and he asks how Irene is doing, as his smoothie is placed on the table.
‘She is being discharged today, thank goodness. All her tests came back clear,’ I tell him.
‘That is good to hear.’ He smiles. ‘I think Patsy will be relieved too.’
I tell him a little about the fire alarm at the hotel earlier.
