Secrets of a Career Girl by Carol Marinelli Page B

was in Theatre, and she watched as their lives fell apart. As she walked out of the interview room, Penny wondered if she could really bear to be a mum because the agony on their features, the sobbing that had come from Mrs Monroe was, Penny realised, from a kind of love she didn’t yet know.
    ‘How are they?’ Ethan asked when she came back to the nurses’ station.
    ‘They’re just having a nice cup of tea...’ Penny bristled and then checked herself. She was aware she was terribly brittle at times. Jasmine had happily told her that on several occasions, but speaking with Heath’s parents had been incredibly hard. ‘Awful,’ she admitted, then looked at his black suit and up into his hazel eyes and she could see they were a little bit bloodshot. Normally Penny didn’t ask questions, she liked to keep everything distanced, but she had seen his eyes shutter when he’d looked at the young patient, remembered the raw pain in his voice last night, and for once she crossed the line.
    ‘How was the funeral?’ Penny asked.
    ‘It wasn’t a funeral apparently, it was a celebration of life.’ He turned back to his notes. ‘It was a funeral to me.’
    ‘How was the son?’
    ‘Trying to be brave.’ He let out a breath.
    He looked beautiful in a suit; in fact, Penny couldn’t believe that she’d never noticed until recently that he was a very good-looking man. Still, her mind had been in other places in recent weeks, but it was in an unfamiliar one now, because she wanted to say something more to him, wanted to somehow say the right thing. She just didn’t know what.
    ‘I need to get something to eat.’ Penny, of course, said the wrong thing, but she was actually feeling sick she was so hungry. ‘I’m sorry, Ethan, that sounded...’
    ‘It’s fine.’ For the first time that day Ethan actually smiled. Penny really was socially awkward, Ethan realised. It just didn’t offend him so much today.
    ‘Can I have a word, please, Penny?’ She turned at Jasmine’s voice, remembered she had been looking for her earlier.
    ‘Away from here.’ Penny saw how pale her sister was and even before they had reached her office, Penny couldn’t help but ask.
    ‘Is it the baby?’
    ‘No.’ Jasmine swallowed before speaking. ‘Jed’s mum had a stroke this morning.’
    ‘Oh! I’m sorry to hear that. How bad is it?’
    ‘We’re not sure yet. Jed’s trying to get away from work and then he’s going to fly over there.’
    ‘You need to go with him.’ Instantly, Penny understood her sister’s dilemma—Jed’s family were all in Sydney.
    ‘I can’t leave you now.’ Jasmine’s eyes were full of tears.
    ‘Jasmine. Your husband’s mum is ill, possibly seriously. How can you not go with him? You know how people had to just drop everything when Mum was sick.’
    ‘You’re mid-treatment and I promised you—’
    ‘You made a bigger promise to your husband when you married him.’ Penny was incredibly firm. ‘I will be fine.’ Jasmine gave her a very disbelieving look. After all, she was the one who gave Penny her injections and knew just how bad she was. ‘I will be,’ Penny insisted.
    ‘You’ll stop the treatment,’ Jasmine said.
    ‘I won’t. I’ll ring the clinic now and make an appointment or I’ll go to my GP. Jasmine, you know that you have to go with Jed.’
    She did.
    There really wasn’t a choice.
    But what Penny didn’t tell her was that there was little chance of her getting to the clinic by six and even if she did, tomorrow she was on midday till nine.
    ‘Are you okay?’ Ethan frowned as she joined him at the nurses’ station.
    ‘I just had some bad news,’ Penny said. ‘Jed’s mother has had a stroke.’
    ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ He saw tears starting to fill her very blue eyes and her nose starting to go red. ‘Are you close?’
    ‘No.’ Penny shook her head. ‘They live in Sydney, Jasmine is on her way there now.’
    ‘I meant close,’ Ethan said, as Penny seemed a