Dearest Rose by Rowan Coleman Page A

Shona’s ebullience. She had felt that way once about marrying Richard, she had felt that way for a long time, revelling in a sense of belonging, of being wanted and cherished, and feeling safe. It was only seeing Shona’s own fresh excitement about life that made her realise she didn’t really feel that way any more.
    ‘Married, at eighteen! Well, that’s better than being dead in a ditch, I suppose,’ Shona said cheerfully. ‘We all thought that creep that used to stalk you had murdered you!’
    ‘What creep?’ Rose asked her, smiling uncertainly at a joke she didn’t quite get.
    ‘You know, that weird-looking bloke that hung around for weeks. The one that looked like he should be on
Crimewatch
. Used to take you for drinks after work. Ooh, he gave me the shudders.’
    ‘That …
creep
?’ Rose had been momentarily lost for words. It never occurred to her that anyone could look at her handsome respectable doctor husband and think of the word ‘creep’. She forced a laugh. ‘That “creep” was the one who I married, and I’m very happy, thank you very much!’
    ‘Oh fuck!’ Shona giggled, her laughter bubbling through the fingers with which she covered her mouth. ‘Really sorry! You married him, the one that looked like a serial killer? All piercing black eyes, and long murdery raincoats?’
    Shona was so amused that Rose couldn’t help but smile.
    ‘I don’t think he looks like a serial killer at all,’ she insisted weakly. ‘He’s tall, dark, handsome
and
a doctor.’
    ‘Seriously, I’m pleased for you,’ Shona grinned, when she eventually got back her composure. ‘There’s nothing like finding the right man, is there? Honestly, Rosie, I thought it was all bollocks, I really did, love. I mean my mum and dad hated each other , yours did too. And then it happened. Ryan, he’s my knight in shining armour. Hey, do you still live here? I couldn’t have stayed here if I knew my mum had topped herself. I’d be too worried about bumping into her ghost, but anyway, I’m desperate for a piss. This little bastard is dancing on my bladder. Can I come in?’
    Unconsciously calculating the time she had left before Richard would be back from the surgery, Rose glanced over her shoulder at her house, the lawn neatly manicured, the privet hedge trimmed to within an inch of its life. There had been no ghosts in the house after her mother had died; it had been a singularly empty place, even when she was in it. Now it was Richard’s house, her and Richard’s home, and he filled every corner of it with his presence, even in his absence.
    ‘Yes, yes, of course,’ she said hesitantly, knowing instinctively how Richard would hate it if he knew there was a stranger in his house.
    ‘You’re a life saver. Any chance of a cuppa while you’re at it?’ Shona asked her brightly. ‘I’m gasping and fucking freezing. I got sacked from Harley’s when I couldn’t squeeze through the tables any more. I said to him, what about my rights? He said, when was the last time you paid any tax? He had a point. Ryan’s getting me a coat, though. I’ve seen the perfect one.’
    Shona continued to talk as she followed Rose up the garden path.
    ‘Actually, Shona, I’m not sure …’ Rose looked at her watch as she reached the front door. It was almost five. Richard would be home in an hour, ready for a Scotch, or more likely two, and his dinner. After a day of talking over minor ailments with patients, making small talk with old ladies, and fielding the latest furious row instigated by his prickly receptionist, who seemed to feel she had the diagnostic skills to know if a patient really needed an emergency appointment, the woman whose job Rose had been begging Richard to give to her, the last thing he would want was a house full of noise and chatter. They never invited people round for a reason.
    ‘Oh, go on, I’m dying for a slash,’ Shona told her. ‘I’ll pee my pants right here if you say no!’
    ‘OK, just a