Finding our way back

Chapter 3

The next morning, she had turned up to work as normal; she had woken up early, still feeling as crappy and low as the day before. She'd forced down a banana and mug of coffee before slipping into her grey boot cut trousers, white top and her signature heels, which had thankfully dried out and didnt smell of the wine; as she sat at her desk, having hung her coat and bag up, she looked through the front window and noticed Jacob talking to Sam and Grace. A pang of sadness hit her as she saw her daughter laugh at something Jacob said before he got called away; as much as she wanted to go out there and talk to her, she couldnt face the rejection again, not today.

She was still staring at them when Charlie knocked on her door and entered, shutting the door behind him and taking a seat on the edge of her desk.

"She misses you, you know?"

"I dont want to talk about it Charlie" she said, softly.

"When was the last time you spoke to her?" He asked, her eyes not leaving her daughter.

"When i told her the feeling was mutual after she told me she hated me" she admitted.

"She told Sam, Jacob and i that she didnt mean it; she was just hurt that you were pushing her and trying to be her doctor and not her mom. She's scared that you really do hate her..."

"I dont" she whispered, finally looking at him after Sam and Grace had disappeared from her eye line.

"So tell her, dont go through this on your own again; you have plenty of people that want to help."

"I've pushed everyone away"

"I think if you try, you'll find you havent" he said before Duffy knocked on the door as signalled for him.

As Charlie left, Connie pulled up Grace's social media page on her computer; she'd taken to checking it several times daily just to keep up with her progress. Although Sam was keeping her up to date, she felt bad that she didnt know what was going on with her daughter's health; seeing her daughter was active on the chat, she hesitated the mouse over the chat icon before clicking on it. As she went to type something, she stopped and closed it. As she went to head out of her office, Charlie's words were going through her head and she quickly grabbed her phone; she typed two words in a text message and then locked her phone and placed it in her pocket on silent before she buried herself in treating patients in cubicles; in Sam's office, Grace had opened the message that read 'i'm sorry x' before looking up at her dad.

"It's mom" she said in surprise.

"What did she say?" He asked, worried incase it was something thay upset Grace again.

"She's sorry"

"That it?"

"Yeah"

"Are you going to reply?"

Grace shrugged.

"She's made an effort; it's a start, isnt it?"

"I guess"

As Sam carried on working, Grace kepy staring at the text; she missed her mom, as overbearing as she was. She missed her home and garden and all the space to exercise and walk Sid; clicking reply, she sent a message back and went back to reading her magazine.

It wasnt until Connie finally sat up to her desk with a sandwich to complete paperwork that she had a chance to check her phone; pulling it out of her pocket, she smiled as she saw a message from Grace.

'I'm sorry too; i miss you x'.

'I miss you too darling xx' Connie replied; even if Grace didnt reply, the fact they were talking was a start.

Her breakdown the night before had been a wake up call for her; losing Hugo, even if he wasnt even hers, so soon after been rejected by Grace, had been the last straw. She missed her daughter, she missed been a mom and a family, she missed Jacob and his ability to cheer her up, no matter how bad her mood was; she knew things needed to change and it was up to her to make them. She only hoped it wasnt too late.