After caring for sweet old lady Beatrice Trenton for over a year and hearing all about her brave paratrooper, grandson, Penelope is pleased to finally meet him. Sparks fly and before she knows it, she's calling him her boyfriend, and he is confident...
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PENELOPE
The hospital buzzes around me. I tuck myself into the corner and attempt to make any sense of the tattered old phonebook Beatrice just handed to me. There's material missing from the hardback front and half of the pages are stained with coffee.
"Max... Max...where are you, Max?" I whisper to myself as I leaf through the pages. "Ah, here you are."
I punch his number into my mobile phone and hold it close to my ear, hearing several rings before a deep voice answers.
"Yes, hi, erm, this is Penelope. I care for your granny. Erm, she just wanted me to call to let you know she's been admitted into hospital."
"What?" he shouts in panic.
I rush to speak. "It's nothing major. They're just concerned about her hydration levels following a stomach bug."
"I'm on my way. What hospital?" he asks.
I mouth a sorry to the guy needing to get in this booth to use the public telephone and scurry out of the corner. "We're at Country Hospital in Louth."
"I'll be as quick as I can," he says, waiting a beat. "And, Penelope? Thanks for calling me. It's nice to finally hear your voice."
The line goes dead.
I stare at the phone before shoving it into my bag and hurrying back onto the ward. It seems Beatrice has been talking about me too. It'snice to finally hear your voice. After seeing several pictures of Max, I have an idea of how he looks, but hearing his voice takes his good looks to another level.
Beatrice is propped up in the hospital bed when I step through her curtain, flashing me her arm which is holding an IV line. The young doctor gives me a polite smile as she slips out of the room and I aim for the armchair beside her bed.
"Did you get hold of Maxie?" she asks, her light grey hair looking a little wild.
I pull her comb out of her toiletries bag to tidy her hair up. "I did, and he's on his way."
"Oh, super," she says, clapping her hands. "The doctor just said they only want to keep me here for a night and then they'll release me tomorrow. Well, so long as the drip helps."
I grab a soft mint from her bag and unwrap it for her when she asks. "I know you're already suffocated being here, but let's not rush things."
"Oh, Penelope, don't bring the mood down," she says and I laugh, frowning when she points to her overnight bag. "Be a darling and get me a slice of lemon cake."
