A New Beginning - currently being edited!

Chapter 33.

60 years later.

I walked carefully through the hospital doors. My son Noah held my frail body on his.

 This wasn’t how I wanted to spent my 80th birthday.

 I balanced on my Zimmer frame and plodded into the waiting room. Noah sat me down in a chair opposite a man who looked a similar age. I ran my wrinkly, knobbly hand through my short white permed hair and then flattened out my black pleated skirt. I pulled my cream woolly cardigan into position and sighed. Oh how I longed to be that 19 year old girl I once was again.

“Mum, I’m going to go hand in your appointment cards” Noah smiled as he rose and walked over to reception. I watched him and smiled, it felt like only yesterday he was born, and now he was sixty.

“Ok, Noah love” My voice sounded old and soft. But that was me, I was old now. I had three beautiful grandchildren, two boys and one girl, Jacob, Harry and Ella. I even had great grandchildren. Ava and Theo were Jacob’s two children. Ellis, Joel and Ben were Harry’s sons and Gabby was Ella’s beautiful baby girl. I was blessed. I just wished Beau was around to adore our family with me.

I waited every day for 60 years for Beau to come back to me, but he never did. I  never had another relationship since him. I never loved another man since him and I missed him terribly. I still wore the bashed up Pandora bracelet he bought me on the last Christmas we spent together. I feared everyday now we’d grown old that he’d passed away and I had no idea of his death. I remember the day his mother, Gina passed away. I didn’t even see him on the day of her funeral. He paid his respects after we’d all left the service.

As I found myself thinking of him, I remembered every memory we ever shared. I remember the airport where I met him on the first day I arrived in Melbourne. I remember finding out he was my neighbour when he came to collect the football he’d kicked over the garden fence, I remember falling in love with him. I remember being turned away, I remember the pain, I remember the heartache. But I also remember Tora’s wedding, I remember the day Beau confessed his love for me and from that day I remember every single little detail.

I remember the day he left and never returned. That was the day my heart shattered.

I sighed and blinked back the tears that were daring to fall; the man sat opposite me stared. It wasn’t a rude stare, he looked comforting and kind, I smiled gently and he returned it. I laughed quietly to myself as I caught a glimpse of his false teeth, he seemed familiar, but I knew I’d never seen him before. He had a black flat cap on over his grey hair, his skin was wrinkled and slightly stubbly, but his eyes were the most amazing shade of emerald green and full of life. Exactly like Noah’s.

“I’m sick of seeing this place” He chuckled cheerfully at me, I nodded and agreed. These hospital walls were all I ever saw these days, despite me being exceptionally healthy for my age, I always had to have continuous check-ups.

“They work hard though don’t they?” I looked up at the nurses that were running through the corridors. I had to give them that, they worked extremely hard to look after each and every patient in the hospital, the man nodded and agreed with me.

We began to talk and got into a deep conversation, oh how he had me laughing. I felt like I’d known him for years, like he was in my life before this. I eyed him suspiciously.

Noah returned and sat next to me, his hand clasped mine.

“So, is this your husband?” The man opposite me asked. I looked confused until he gestured towards Noah. I almost choked on my tea as Noah began to chuckle

“Oh no, he’s my son, this is Noah” The man’s eyes saddened, as though he was remembering something from the past. I wanted to know his story, I wanted to know why he seemed so familiar to me, I wanted to know why he seemed saddened by Noah’s name.  The man removed the sadness from his face and held his hand out to Noah, who accepted and shook lightly.

The man opened his mouth, I presume to say his name when Noah announced his wife had arrived in the car park to come and meet us so he was going to collect her and bring her back.

“Okay, son” I kissed his cheek and he began to walk away before hurriedly turning and walking back to me.

“Can I get you anything?” He asked me politely, I shook my head and motioned to my cup of tea. I was just fine. Noah turned to the man opposite me and offered him, seen as though he was here alone but he politely declined. Noah smiled and turned to go and meet his wife, Talia. Talia was surprisingly Skip’s daughter.

 I was still close with Skip, James, Jai and Luke. We weren’t as energetic as we once were though, but we still met up on the birthdays of ourselves, our children and grandchildren. On Christmas and occasionally we’d meet on some weekends.

They all had families of their own now though. Luke’s wife Megan had sadly passed away earlier this year, they had three daughters together Lila, Sophie and Olivia, each so beautiful. Jai and his wife were just fine. They had twin boys Liam and Harry, they looked just like Luke and Jai did when they were in their fifties. James and his wife Annabelle had divorced when their only son, Nathan was 10.

And well Skip, he had his wife, my best friend Amie and their two children Ryan and Talia.

“Ah, he’s a sweet boy” The man smiled as he watched Noah walk out, I beamed proudly and watched my son.

“He’s a gem” I smiled, thinking of all the times Noah had helped me through life. I would have loved to have more children back in the day, but Beau never came back to give me them.

“I have a son. I’ve never met him though, that’s my biggest regret in life” he looked sadly to his wallet and picked out a crumpled up picture that looked years old. His eyes filled with tears.

“Oh, I’m sorry” I sighed, feeling sympathetic towards him. “The father of Noah walked out on me when I was pregnant, I haven’t seen him since” I let my fingers trace gently along the old Pandora bracelet off Beau. The man’s eyes widened when he saw the bracelet around my wrist, his hand jolted upwards and he gently held a ring that was attached to a necklace hanging around his neck.

I thought nothing of it and took another sip of my tea. The man shyly passed over the crumpled up picture. I took it by the corner into my fingers- being extra cautious to not get finger prints on it.

My eyes scanned the picture and my heart began to race as I instantly recognized the baby in the picture, the dark hair, the emerald green eyes, the olive skin.

“What’s your name?” I asked, my voice shook with nerves, I think he’d caught on as he too was looking just as shocked as I. I saw him swallow and catch a deep breath before he answered my question.

“Beau Brooks”

“I’m Amelia Lake”