‘How did you know?’ He’d still been panting as he got the words out. ‘Margot Robbie and Cameron Diaz are chasing me up the street, demanding I become their personal physician. It’s hellish being this popular.’
‘I wouldn’t know. I’ve made it my life mission to try to be unpopular. Saves a fortune on stamps and birthday cards. Why are you breathing like that? What’s going on? Don’t answer that if it’s something inappropriate for your sister to hear.’
‘Definitely nothing inappropriate. I’m just rushing to meet Cheska for lunch and I’m late. I popped in to see Tress at the studio and got held up.’
‘You’ve no idea how happy I am that it’s nothing to do with Anya. What did she want? And whatever it was, I hope you refused.’
Noah would have sighed but he was too busy just trying to breathe. ‘She wants to meet later. Says she needs to talk to me.’
‘And I hope you said no?’
‘I said yes.’
‘Argh, you are too fricking nice.’
‘I believe I’ve heard that already today. Look, whatever it is she needs to say, I’ll listen, then I’ll leave.’
‘You promise? Please tell me you’re still coming to Mum’s tonight for dinner. Takes the pressure off me when the golden child is there.’ It was a never-ending source of teasing that Noah was their mum’s favourite. Of course, it wasn’t true. Gilda treated all her children with equal amounts of love, care, affection and dictatorial tendencies.
‘I’ll definitely be there. I said I’d meet Anya at five o’clock, though, so it’ll be after that.’
‘If you don’t show up, I’m rounding up a posse to come find you,’ Keli had warned.
‘You do that. What are you up to now? Are you on the way to Mum’s already?’
‘Yeah, but I’m stopping off to meet a…’ Pause. ‘Friend first.’
‘A male friend? Keli Clark, are you finally going to stop being secretive about your love life and bring someone home to meet Mum? I beg you to do it. Take the heat off me.’
‘Nope, it’s the penalty for being the golden child. Good and bad, it’s all about you.’
He was laughing when he’d replied, ‘Happy to pass that title over to anyone who’ll have it. Look, I have to go. That’s me at the restaurant. Love you, sis.’
‘I love you too. Say hi to Cheska for me. And Noah, when you see Anya, don’t be too easy on her. Remember what she did to you.’
‘Like I could ever forget.’
Cheska had already been at the table when he’d rushed into the restaurant and as he’d crossed the room, he’d watched herstirring her coffee and thought how she’d barely changed in the twenty years he’d known her.
They’d first met at university, where they were both studying medicine and living in the same halls of residence. In their first year, they’d hung out in the same crowd, and she had recently reminded him that they’d once had a drunken snog after way too many shots at the student union. Then, of course, at the start of his second year, Anya had walked into the freshers’ week reception, stopped to talk to him and that was it. He was locked in, and even the very cute aspiring doctor, with auburn hair, deep green eyes, a ferocious brain and the highest marks in the class couldn’t make him stray. But they’d stayed in touch, just as friends, and he’d given her the heads-up about ten years ago that his hospital was looking for a new A&E doctor. Of course, she’d got the job, because she was brilliant.
Working in the same building had made their friendship even easier. A couple of years ago, he’d supported her when she’d gone through a divorce from her husband of a decade, and over the last twelve months she’d done the same for him and more. If stepping up to help a friend was an Olympic sport, she’d have been a medal winner. A few months ago, they’d finally graduated from friends to something more. This morning, talking to Nancy and Val, he’d referred to her as his girlfriend, but that had just been in jest. The reality was that they were just two friends who spent the night together when it suited them. That was all he was ready for, and it gave Cheska the freedom she needed to focus on her work.
He’d occasionally wondered what his life would have been like if he’d got together with Cheska back at Uni. They’d have graduated together, worked a million hours each, barely seen one another for all the years that they were frazzled, overworked junior doctors, and then he’d have felt nothing but pride as he watched her climb through the ranks to be the youngestchief of A&E in Glasgow Central’s history. Not that it was a surprise. In the hospital, she was a powerhouse of organisation and decisiveness, and when those skills were combined with her razor-sharp medical brain, there was no one more impressive.
Out of work, though, she was a completely different person. Kind. Fun. Generous. The type of woman who had volunteered to come on holiday when Val and Don, Nancy and Johnny, Tress, Buddy and Noah were all going off to Cyprus for their first group trip. For the last few years, as well as her own job, Cheska had been working on a research project around dementia and Alzheimer’s, so she’d offered to come along with them and help Val take care of her husband. That was probably the moment that he’d realised they had a shot at making this work. Although, they were both quite content to just go with the flow and see where they ended up.
‘Hey, gorgeous,’ he greeted her, and she flinched with the surprise of someone who had just been interrupted when they were deep in thought. He leaned down to kiss her, and she automatically turned her face up to meet his. She still had the auburn hair, and the pretty green eyes, and now she also had the most endearing frown when she was mulling something over. Today, the frown was there, so she clearly had something on her mind. He thought back to her comment earlier about wanting to talk to him about something, but before he could ask, the owner, Carlo, came over to greet him. ‘Dr Noah! Good to see you. Your lovely sister tells me you’re working too hard and that’s why you haven’t been in for weeks.’
Keli frequented this place weekly, because her friend, Yvie, was engaged to Carlo. If Noah was ever having a secret meeting, this wasn’t the place to do it.
‘Yep, she’s probably right. How are you doing, my friend. All good?’
‘Too much work, not enough sleep, and I’m getting older every day,’ Carlo answered with his stock reply, as he put the menu down in front of Noah. It wouldn’t be needed – he already knew it off by heart.
‘The usual?’ Carlo checked. ‘An Americano and a still water?’
‘You read my mind, Carlo.’
