Chapter 26

As Donna sat there in the darkened bedroom, watching her husband as he lay curled up in a ball, clutching his stomach, almost crying with the pain, she suddenly felt incredibly scared.  Her mother was not here, there was no Eileen – they were on their own.  Correction – she was on her own, because, at the moment, her husband was as helpless as her children.  What on earth was wrong with him? She would have to call an ambulance – there was no other alternative, it could not wait until morning.  She picked up her mobile from the bedside table, and dialled the emergency number, they said they would send an ambulance right away.  Oh God, what about Rosie and Clare?  She knew it was the middle of the night, but she felt she had no choice – she rang Steve and Laura’s room number, and waited, her heart thudding.

“Hello?” said a very sleepy voice at the other end.

“Laura?  I’m so sorry to disturb you in the middle of the night, but it’s an emergency – could you help me out?”

“What’s wrong, Donna?  Is it the kids?  Are they ill?”

“No!” she said, close to tears.  “It’s Jon! I don’t know what’s wrong with him!  He complained of stomach ache earlier on this evening, but now he’s doubled up with the pain, and ….. oh, God, he’s just thrown up again!  Please, Laura, help me….”

“Donna!  Calm down, I’m coming!  I’ll stay with Rosie and Clare while you go to the hospital with him.  I’ll come to your room so you don’t have to disturb them.”

Minutes later, there was a gentle tap on the door, and Steve and Laura came in.

“Where is he?” said Steve, putting a comforting arm around Donna’s shoulders.

“In the bedroom – I’m waiting for an ambulance.  I’m scared, I’m really scared.  What the hell could be wrong with him?”

“Maybe it’s just some food that disagreed with him” said Steve, trying to reassure her.  “I’m sure he’ll be fine!”

“I don’t know!” said Donna.  “All I know is that he’s in dreadful pain, and all I can do is sit there and watch – I feel so helpless.  I’d better go and wait with him, he’ll wonder what’s going on.  I don’t want to leave him on his own!”

Laura came through to the bedroom with her.  She sat down on the bed next to Jon, who moaned in pain at the sudden movement – she was shocked at his appearance.  He was deathly pale, and beads of sweat stood out on his forehead.  She took his hand, trying to keep him calm.

“Donna?”  His voice was so quiet, she could hardly hear him.

“No, it’s Laura!  Where exactly does it hurt?”

“All over!  It feels like my insides are in a vice! Where’s Donna?  I want Donna!”

“I’m here, love!” she said, sitting down on the bed.  “The ambulance is coming!  Steve and Laura are going to stay with the girls while I go with you to the hospital!”

“The ambulance is here, Donna!  You go, don’t worry about the girls, they’ll be fine with us!”

As Donna sat there in the waiting room, she had never felt so alone in her life.  Here she was, thousands of miles away from home, supposedly on a holiday to get away from all their problems, but instead, her husband had been rushed to hospital, in pain and scared out of his wits, and it was now down to her to be strong for him.  She looked up as the doctor came in to the room.

“Well” he said, sitting down next to her.  “It’s a good job you called the ambulance when you did!”

“Why?” said Donna, close to tears.  “What’s wrong with him?  Will he be all right?”

“He’ll be fine!  Your husband was suffering from acute appendicitis – his appendix was very inflamed, and would have burst if we had not operated when we did!  He’ll need a few days in hospital, but he’ll make a full recovery!”

“That explains why he was in so much pain!  So much for our holiday!”

“Oh, you’re on holiday!  What a terrible thing to happen!  You may have to delay flying home for a while.  Do you have medical insurance?”

“Yes, fortunately we do!” said Donna, with a wry laugh.  “but I didn’t think we’d need it!  When can I see him?”

“You can sit with him if you’d like to – be there when he wakes up!”

Donna sat by the bed, with tears streaming down her face.  She had never seen him look so vulnerable.  He still looked terribly pale, and the drip in one arm, and the other lying beside him on the pillow, added to that vulnerability.  Suddenly, he stirred, and his eyes flickered open.  He turned his head and looked at her, his eyes beginning to close again, even moving his head was an effort. He forced them open again, and took hold of her hand, holding on to it for all he was worth – he looked so bewildered, almost as though he did not know where he was.  He shifted around in the bed, wincing with the pain.  Donna explained to him what had happened, and reassured him that everything was going to be all right.

“I was so scared, Donna!” he whispered, tears rolling down his face.  “I’ve never been in so much pain in my life!”

“No need to be scared!” she said, kissing his hand.  “You’re going to be fine!  The doctor said so! We’ll go home as soon as you’re well enough – the main thing is that we got you here on time!  It was touch and go for a while!”

She knew as soon as the last sentence came out of her mouth, that she shouldn’t have said it.  All the emotions of the previous few months, heightened by all the pain and the fear of what had happened tonight, overwhelmed him completely, and he turned his head into the pillow, crying his heart out.

“Please, love!” she said, stroking his hair.  “Please, don’t cry!  It breaks my heart to see you like this – please, try and stay calm!  It’s all right, just try and get well!”

“I’m sorry, Donna!” he wept, still clinging on to her hand.  “I’ve done it again, haven’t I?”

“What do you mean?” she said, puzzled.

“I’ve ruined everything – again!  Every time I try and do right by you, I always end up stuffing it up!  I’m sorry, Donna!  I’ve ruined your holiday, I….”

“Don’t be so silly!” she said.  “This wasn’t your fault!  I just want you to get well – that’s all I care about!”

She caught a taxi back to the hotel, and, after thanking Steve and Laura for looking after Rosie and Clare, she settled down to sleep as best she could, which was not easy, after the night she had just had.

Next morning, as she walked through the reception area, on the way to the dining hall for breakfast, the receptionist called her over, and gave her a brown paper package.

“This arrived for you this morning!” she said.  “Special Delivery!”

Throughout the morning, she wondered what was in the package.  As she played with Rosie in the pool, while Laura entertained Clare, her curiosity was driving her mad – what on earth could it be?  Later on that day, as the girls took a nap, she settled down with a long, cold drink, and opened it up.  It was a newspaper, accompanied by a letter – from her mother.  “I didn’t want to spoil your holiday” it said, “but I thought you ought to see this, so you can decide what you want to do about it…”

She unfolded the paper, and, there, on the front page, in bold black headlines, it read:

“HEARTLESS! SINGING STAR SNUBS HANDICAPPED FAN”

Donna’s eyes grew wider in horror as she read Emily’s account of how Jon had snubbed her after the concert that she herself had attended.  Why had she reacted like this – he had written to her explaining everything!  Did she realise what damage this would do to his career – his life, in fact.  After everything he had done for her, all the sacrifices he had made for her – he had even missed the birth of his second child for her.   Loving her had caused him so much pain since that first meeting, yet he had not turned his back on her – yet, because in one moment of madness, because he was tired and hurting, and had reacted totally out of character – between them, Emily and her parents were set on destroying him.  She did not want him to see this, yet she knew she could not keep it from him forever.  One thing was puzzling her, however, this seemed so unlike Emily, she had struck her as being such a sweet-natured child.  Why, after reading his letter, had she still reacted like this?  There was something not quite right about all this, something that did not ring true – and Donna was determined to find out what it was.