The nurse had been true to her word. She had promptly come back and had thrown them out of the room.
They had said their goodbyes to Joe and the family, and Erin and Orla, who had told them to go home and get some rest.
James, Clare, and Michelle were standing the hospital corridor deciding how they would get home.
"I might stay," said James.
"Really? Why? Are you not shattered James?" asked Clare as she let out a yawn. The mention of being tired had set her off.
"I think one of us should stay. You guys go home and get some sleep and some food and then you can come back" replied James.
"Ok, good idea. I can make sandwiches and tea and we can take turns while Joe is still in hospital," said Clare.
"And I can bring..." No way she was cooking. Not even for her mates. She'd probably give them food poisoning if she did. "...Sweets from Dennis's. Orla will need them" suggested Michelle.
Michelle knew exactly why James had volunteered to stay but she refrained from her usual slagging. Just this once.
It was sort of sweet. He obviously really cared about Erin.
She remembered how him and Erin and been around each other the night before. Maybe they weren't just messing about. That was a conversation for another day.
In that minute what Michelle needed was a shower, a cup of tea, and a nap. Probably not in that order.
Michelle and Clare hugged James before walking downstairs to the lobby to ring Clare's dad to come pick them up.
James made himself comfortable in the waiting room. He settled down in a chair and looked for something to read or to amuse him.
There were a few leaflets and magazines on the small table in the centre of the room.
'Diabetes: The Warning Signs' No thank you thought James.
He eventually settled on one of those gossipy magazines which featured stories like 'I married a ghost'
His Aunty Deidre and Michelle often had them around the house. He was convinced that most if not all of the stories were made up while Michelle had thought they were real.
A fight had left them not speaking to each other for an entire day one weekend after him and Michelle had argued over whether a woman's dead dog had appeared at her wedding.
Michelle had been convinced it was true. She had heard of a woman in Lifford whose recently deceased pet Parrot had appeared at her grandmother's funeral. James smiled at the thought of Michelle, of all people believed in ghost pets.
He sat there for what must have been an hour or two reading one crazy story after another.
A few other people had come and gone in the waiting room. But he was the only that had remained.
He really wanted to be there for Erin. Orla too. Especially after the fight they had and how she had held on to him after she had heard about her grandfather.
He hadn't been that tired, so it made sense to send the girls home for a rest.
He knew that while Joe was now stable, he still wasn't out of the woods yet. Also, he would have to stay in hospital for a few days leaving Erin and Orla hanging around. The least they could do was to have someone with them.
He heard the door open. He looked up from a story to see Erin.
"Hey" said James.
"Hi. What are still doing here?" said Erin as he sat down beside him.
"Reading a fascinating story about a women woman who had quintuplets," said James.
"Five weans? At once? How did they all fit?" asked Erin.
Erin let out a little laugh: "No like I thought you would have home with the others"
"Michelle and Clare went home to get some food and some sleep. They'll be back up later. I said I'd stay. Just so someone would be here for you and Orla" replied James.
Erin said nothing. She just looked at him as if examining him, looking for something. For a minute James couldn't breathe as he just looked right back at her.
She leaned in and kissed him.
When they broke away James looked down are they hands. Hers were in his: "Erin...I can't do this..."
Erin's heart started pounding. God maybe she had totally ruined things between them.
James continued: "I can't do this back and forward. I really like you and I want this but if we do this, I want it properly. I want us to date and be a..."
Erin breathed a sigh of relief: "...a proper couple?" she added.
"Yeah" grinned James. He rubbed her thumb with his.
They didn't notice Gerry enter the waiting room. He froze on seeing his daughter hand in hand with the wee English fella.
He thought Mary had said he preferred the lads. Not by the looks of it as he saw them kiss.
On the one hand he had an urge to storm in and march the wee English shite out of the hospital.
On the other, he noticed how Erin looked happy. Truly happy.
She was looking at the youngfella the way Mary had looked at him. Still looked at him sometimes when Erin, Joe and Sarah weren't about.
And as lads go it could be worse. He had seen how much James had cared for the girls. The fact he was still here waiting for them showed that. He wasn't a bad lad.
Gerry decided to back out of the room and pretend he hadn't seen anything.
If push came to shove and he hurt Erin, he could always kick him across the Irish sea and back to England.
They broke away again: "Sorry, I don't want to put any pressure on you. With everything that's going on. I just wanted you to know how I feel. I said I'll wait, and I will," said James.
"I don't want to wait. Look what happened last night. Thank God Granda is alright. But life is so short, and I don't want to waste it, James. I was scared. Scared of growing up. Scared of losing you. But I've never liked anyone like I like you. I can't stop thinking about you. When I saw you with Aisling that hurt me"
"I honestly wasn't doing it to make you jealous," said James.
He really hadn't. He liked Aisling as a mate. Especially when she wasn't with Jenny. But he didn't like her like that. Like he liked Erin. He had never liked anyone like that.
"I know. It just made me realised that it should have been me dancing with ya. That I had messed it all up saying we had to stop this. That I should be with you," said Erin.
"What about Michelle?" asked James.
"She'll have to get used to it" said Erin adamantly.
"Or we could move. I heard Timbuktu is nice" said James jokingly.
They both laughed. They knew it would take some convincing to win around Michelle, but they knew it would be worth it.
Erin leaned in for another kiss. She stopped herself just before her lips met his: "I like me, James" she said with a mischievous grin.
"I like me, Erin" he said mimicking her. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"
"Nope" replied Erin before she kissed him again.
They were doing this. Really doing this.
