‘Yes, that’s fine. She often works in the evening. And she owes me a favour.’ He dialled Usha’s number, hoping that she wasn’t with a client.
He heard Usha’s voice on the line and grinned. Kate was fidgeting in her seat. He explained quickly that a friend was experi
encing some problems and it would be great if she could spare some time to talk with her.
‘I’m sorry to hear that. Yes, I have some free time, I can fit her in.’
‘Thanks, Usha.’ He glanced at Kate. ‘She says she can fit you in.’
‘Wait...’ Usha’s voice held a trace of firmness in her tone. ‘She’s there? Are you railroading her into this, Ethan? Let me speak with her.’
He hadn’t anticipated that it would be Usha who threw a spoke in the wheel of his plan. But Ethan had to admit that she was right.
‘Um...right. Okay.’ He handed the phone to Kate. ‘She’d like to speak with you. I’ll...go and get some coffee.’ He could see a café across the road, and it was the only excuse he could think of to get out of the car and give Kate some privacy. He opened the door, hearing her tremulous, ‘Hello?’ behind him.
He spent five minutes hanging around in the window of the café, nursing a cup of coffee that would have been fresh brewed an hour ago. Finally he saw Kate take the phone from her ear.
Ethan got into the car and, at a loss for anything more to say, he proffered his polystyrene cup to her. She took it wordlessly, taking a sip from it.
‘Ew! What are you trying to do, poison me? I suppose that’s one way of making me feel no pain.’ She wrinkled her nose, putting the cup back into his hand.
The ice broke. Ethan grinned, tipping the contents of the cup out of the window and stowing it in the glove compartment, alongside a couple of empty cartons of Sam’s favourite juice. ‘Have you sorted things out with Usha?’
‘It’s all fixed. I’m going to see her tomorrow, after work.’ Kate was obviously a lot happier about the idea now, and it occurred to Ethan that it was Usha who had put her mind at rest, not him.
‘Good. I...um... I hope you didn’t think I was railroading you.’ He grinned stupidly. ‘Actually, you’d be quite right if you did think that.’
Kate raised her eyebrows. ‘Yes, I thought you were railroading me. It was what I needed, thank you.’
‘It’s my pleasure.’ Ethan started the engine, and then realised he really should ask Kate where they were going next. ‘Where to?’
‘If you wouldn’t mind giving me a lift to the surgery, I really do just need to pop in.’
‘And then home?’
‘Yes, thank you. Then home.’
Ethan nodded. It was time for him to back off and leave Usha and Kate to sort things out now. He’d won a victory, but somehow it had a bitter aftertaste.
CHAPTER SEVEN
USHA WAS NICE, dressed in soft shades of grey and purple, with dangly earrings and a down-to-earth attitude. She’d listened to what Kate had to say, nodding her on as if none of this was anything to be ashamed of.
Then, five minutes before the end of the session, she’d issued Kate a challenge. Maybe this therapy thing wasn’t as easy as she’d thought. But Usha had smiled and shrugged, adding a proviso. ‘Give it a try.’
‘I’ll do it.’ If Usha thought that she couldn’t, then Kate would prove her wrong.
‘We’ll make another appointment for early next week, then.’ Usha smiled serenely, and Kate left the comfortable consulting room wondering what on earth she’d let herself in for.
Or what Ethan had let her in for. He knew Usha, and he must also know that this wasn’t going to be easy. But he must think that she could do it.
The one thing she hadn’t shared was the struggle to put Ethan into context and think of him as if he were just any other friend. She’d deal with that one on her own. It was far too embarrassing to talk to Usha about it. A little common sense would have to do.
And common sense told her that Ethan would lose some of his super-human powers if she concentrated on the Ethan who lived in the real world and not her imagination. Talking to him, instead of wishing he’d phone, would be a good idea. As she waited for the bus home, she dialled his number.
‘Hello, Kate.’ His tone was studiedly neutral, obviously waiting to see whether she’d kept the appointment she had with Usha before he said anything.
‘Hi. I was thinking, since Sam didn’t get to see the puppies yesterday, he might like to come to the working dog show we’re holding at the weekend. It’s not a very big one, just a local thing, but that could be nicer for him as he’ll get to meet the dogs and their owners.’