Once I stopped wearing silly shoes and formal clothes, I quite enjoyed my visits to the hospital. I would go after lunch and, Janice, Jemima’s mum would go for a little break.

Mima, as she liked to be called, got over the infection although it was touch and go for few days and Janice and I worried ourselves silly during this period. A scan had shown that there was no visible damage to Mima’s spine, so the inability to walk seemed to come from her head injury–in which case it could suddenly return or never come back. Because she was so young, the doctors were hopeful, but by no means certain. We still needed a miracle and I’d pray for one every day.

Stella who arrived for the weekend didn’t go back to the clinic except for occasional checkups, so she moved back in with Tom and I and of course, Simon came home as often as he could. He even took to visiting Mima with me, she loved him.

Two weeks later Mima was moved to the childrens’ ward and she was at least amongst other kids, although she found the mobility of some, rather frustrating because she couldn’t play with them.

I had discovered why Janice was the only one of Mima’s parents to appear, her father was in the Middle East, working for a defence contractor who wouldn’t let him come home to see his daughter. Janice kept him up to date with her progress and sent him photos taken on her mobile phone.

Alan had showed me his editing of the film which matched my ideas very much, and we’d done some recordings of my narration and he’d mixed the clips where I appeared, really well. I was pleased with the overall effect and even, my agent, Erin approved of the bits she’d seen. Everything was going very well.

Mima left hospital and I was invited to go and see her at home, she lived about a mile from us in a very nice detached house. Her father might not be with her, but he provided well for her. She was using a wheelchair to get about by herself, and they were giving physio to her most days to try and stop the muscle wastage. I even got involved in that, moving her legs in various ways, although she still said she couldn’t feel them.

I was there one afternoon, doing my stint of Mima wrestling in the name of physical medicine, when the phone rang. It was no concern of mine as Janice was downstairs to answer it. I finished tying Mima’s legs in knots and left her to rest for a half hour before I carried her downstairs.

I was ready for the cuppa which Janice usually had waiting for me. I walked into the lounge expecting to hear the clinking of cups and instead found Janice sat with her head in her hands and weeping.

“What’s the problem?” I asked sitting alongside her, “anything I can do to help?”

“It’s Lawrie,” her husband, “he’s been shot by some bandit.”

“Oh no, how is he?”

“Very sick.”

“You must go and see him.”

“How can I? How can I leave Mima? I can’t take her with me.”

“Um, I’ll have her.” The words were out of my mouth before I could think.

“I couldn’t expect you to, she’ll have to go back into hospital.”

“No, I meant it, I’ll have her. It’s not as if you’re going to be gone for months is it?”

“I don’t know, Cathy, it’s an awful lot to ask anyone to do, of a family member, leave alone a friend.”

“She’s been to Tom’s house in the chair before, so she could cope and I’m sure we’d all manage for a short time.”

“I don’t know, Cathy, I really don’t.”

“Ask her when she wakes up?”

“It’s still such an imposition, and she’s quite clingy at times, this accident really frightened her, you know.”

“I’m sure it did, it frightened me and I didn’t even see it. Look, I’ll check it out with Tom, I’m sure he’ll be okay about it.” I reached into my bag and pulled out my mobile, then walked out into the garden to talk with my adoptive father.

“Hi, loco parent, “ I teased, when Pippa put me through to him.

“What’s wrong, adopted daughter thingy?”

“Thingy! What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m getting old and forgot what I was going to say.”

“Oh, okay….”

“So what do you want?”

“Perhaps just to talk with my adopted parent thingy.”

“I knew it, I told Pippa we were too quiet, so come on girl spit it out, I have a department to run.”

“I can’t fool you, can I?”

“Yes you can, you do it all the time. Now what do you want?”

“I have tremendous favour to ask…” I told him what had happened and he was suitably horrified.

“If you think that Stella and you can cope, then yes she must come to us.”

“Thanks, Daddy.”

“Don’t get any ideas about keeping her, you have to give her back afterwards.”

I laughed, although I knew exactly what he meant. In some ways, I hoped that being a full time stand in parent would cure me of these broody feelings, but I was by no means sure. I went back into the lounge, Janice wasn’t there. Not wishing to intrude, I went into the kitchen and filled the kettle.

I took the tray of crocks and biscuits into the lounge and poured myself a cup of tea. Janice came down a little later with Mima. She sat her in the wheelchair and fastened the strap.

“You realise that because Mima is temporarily paraplegic, she is catheterised and needs an enema everyday.”

I hadn’t thought about it at all, but with Stella’s help, I’d learn. “We’ll manage, if she wants to come with me.”

“I’ve told her, her daddy’s very ill and needs me to go and look after him for a week or two, and that you had offered to look after her while I was away. I’ve explained it would have to be at your house.”

“What did she say?” I asked expecting her to say no.

“Well after many tears, she has agreed to let me go. She is obviously, far from happy about it, but she thinks she will cope. Isn’t that right, Darling?”

“Mima stay wiv Caffy and bow wow.”

“It’s more important that you decide if you can cope with looking after her.”

“Remember Stella is a registered nurse specialist.”

“Yes I know, but it’s a tremendous commitment in terms of time and trouble, she’s very good as you know, but she needs quite a bit of care during an average day. So don’t feel obliged.”

“I don’t feel at all obligated, Tom has agreed to it wholeheartedly.”

“That man would do anything for his daughter.”

“Um, yes, I know and I take full advantage of it. When I don’t he tells me off. He says I remind him of his first daughter, I keep asking him if she was that bad?”

“Was she?”

“I think they had a few ups and downs, she was killed driving to Oxford.”

“Oh dear, poor Tom.”

“Yeah, so he had to adopt me to make his life totally unbearable again.”

“Why don't I find that entirely believable?”

“It’s true, ask him when you come back to repossess your offspring, unless we’ve sold her to a gang of white slavers.”

“That’s a bit Nineteenth Century, isn’t it?”

“Okay, East European Mafiosi.”

“Don’t you dare.” She held a straight face for a moment, then it crinkled at the mouth and she started to snigger.

“So, you organise a flight, and I’ll get back and start sorting out her room.”

“Can she sleep in your room, Cathy? She gets so frightened in the night.”

“Course,” along with Stella and Simon, when he’s home. Maybe I’ll invite Tom as well, we could have a party every night. I had some re-organising to do.