All The Little Moments (12 page)

“Is that
Thomas, Toby?”

Shaking his head adamantly, Toby dropped the trains he was holding and ran to the bucket to pick up a Thomas one, which he brought over to Ella, holding
it up.

“Cool, Toby! It’s bigger than your one
at home.”

Once Toby was signed in, Anna put his backpack away. Thankfully, he had sat down at one of the train tracks and was pushing Thomas along it. Ella sat next to him, helping. Another little boy sat next to them, whom Toby also showed the
train to.

Discreetly, Anna tapped Ella on the back, and put her finger to
her lips.

Ella stood up and they tried to casually walk away, quickly kissing Toby’s head and saying goodbye. He looked up and his little
face dropped.

This had gotten easier than the first time, but not
by much.

He was clasping two trains in his hands and his face was threatening to
crumple completely.

“Tobes, we’ll see you soon. I’m coming in for lunch with a cupcake today!” She hated the false cheer in
her voice.

He shook his head adamantly.
“Na, no.”

Tanya swept in and scooped Toby up, whispering something in his ear that almost made him giggle before he went back and reached for Anna, who kept smiling and waved “bye”. It was not getting easier for her to turn around and walk away. At least this time he didn’t scream. She did hear his crying pick up in
pitch, though.

Worry gnawed at Anna’s stomach. This was exactly why she was partially dreading drinks that evening, as much as her mother had readily agreed to take the kids. They needed her, and throwing dating into the mix of work, kids and grief
seemed impossible.

Hand in hand, they walked to the orthopaedic clinic, Anna trying not to dwell on the emotions that had stormed through her all week. Spending each evening alone in that house, torn between conflicting urges to protect her brother’s two kids and to flee, was taking its toll
on her.

“Why does Toby get so sad when you leave? You’re
not Mum.”

Anna had to appreciate the fact that when Ella did speak, she got right to the point. Considering her response, Anna finally said, eyes forward, “I think Toby misses your mum and dad and so gets a little worried when the only people he
knows leave.”

“Does he think you won’t
come back?”

Anna swallowed at the nugget of truth. “Maybe.” She glanced down at Ella, but like her aunt, the little girl was staring ahead as
they walked.

In the end, she said, “The last thing Mummy told Toby was she’d see him in the morning.” Anna nodded. Ella continued, “I think Toby now doesn’t know
what’s true.”

Ella blew Anna
away sometimes.

“I think you’re right, Ella Bella.” Anna squeezed
her hand.

They walked quietly for a minute before Ella said softly, “The last thing Daddy said to me was I had to be a good big sister, because Grandad is scared
of monsters.”

Anna choked a chuckle over the lump in her throat. “He said
that, yeah?”

“Yeah. Will Nurse Lane be
there today?”

It was a sudden change, but Anna went with it. “Yup. She’s going down there just to help change your cast. She said she couldn’t wait to
see you.”

“I can’t wait to see her. She
was nice.”

“She was,
wasn’t she?”

“Can she come over to play
one time?”

Clearing her throat, Anna tried to hide the fact that choked on nothing. How she wished Lane could come over to play. And she didn’t mean dolls. “Nurse Lane is really busy, Ella. But you’ll get to see her when you get this new
cast off.”

“Really?”

“Yup. She told me that she’ll take it
off herself.”

“Cool.”

They walked into the clinic and approached the receptionist, who ushered them straight through to a cast room and told them that the nurse wouldn’t be long. Anna tried not to smirk—Lane had said she’d pulled some strings to get placed in the clinic
that morning.

At just that moment, Lane walked in with three takeaway coffee cups in a carrier. “Well hi,
Miss Ella.”

Ella grinned at Lane, and Anna was unable to stop herself
smiling either.

“Hi,
Nurse Lane.”

“There’s those two matching grins again.” She handed one of the cups to Anna, and then held one out to Ella. “If it’s okay with your Aunty Anna, I got you a hot chocolate since the adults
get coffee.”

Ella’s eyes widened and she batted her eyelashes. “Please,
Aunty Na?”

Anna pretended to consider it for a second. “I don’t know, it’s barely quarter past eight in
the morning.”

“You
get coffee!”

“Kid has a point,
Aunty Na.”

Anna rolled her eyes at Lane. “You, shush. Of course you can have
it, Ella.”

“Thank you!” She grabbed the cup, taking a long sip. “There’s marshmallows!” She looked like all her Christmases had come
at once.

Anna chuckled, happy to see Ella behave more like a kid.
“Thanks, Lane.”

“No worries. Now, Ella, let’s save that hot chocolate and get this cast done, then you can have it as
a reward.”

Momentarily bummed, Ella handed the
cup over.

“Thanks! Now have you decided on
a colour?”

“It was a pretty hard choice-but I
want orange.”

“Interesting
colour choice.”

“I like how Toby
says ‘orange.’”

“How
is that?”

Ella mimicked Toby’s baby voice
perfectly. “Ogen.”

“Well—that is ridiculously adorable. Orange it
is, then.”

Lane easily removed the old cast first before starting with the new one, chatting the whole time with Ella about all the current Pixar movies that Anna had only recently become
acquainted with.

Soon Lane was putting on the final touches, going over cast care, explaining that it set really quickly—more for Ella’s benefit than for Anna’s, who obviously knew what to
do already.

As she was finishing up, Ella stared intently at her, head tilted in a mirror image of Anna’s. “You’re really pretty, Nurse Lane. You have really
pretty skin.”

Lane looked up from Ella’s arm and smiled in a way that made Anna’s heart speed up again. “You’re really pretty too, Ella. You look a lot like
your aunty.”

“Everybody
says that.”

“They do?”

Ella nodded. “Yup. Toby looks even more like her, ’cause they both have the same brown hair and colour eyes.
It’s weird.”

Lane laughed. “Why is
it weird?”

“Cause he’s
a boy.”

Without taking her eyes off Anna, Lane said, “He must be a very pretty
boy, then.”

Anna felt her cheeks
flush slightly.

“Well! We’re all done. No more bags on your arm in the bath.” Lane had turned back to Ella, who sighed in a very adult way and rolled
her eyes.

“Thank God.”

Lane hid a smile at the dramatic behaviour. “Now, you look after that arm and I’ll see you in
a month.”

“So I’ll see you, and not
someone scary?”

“I promise.”

“Good.”

Anna steered Ella out with a hand on her back, the hot chocolate practically glued to
Ella’s mouth.

“I’ll see you tonight, if I don’t run into you today,”
she said.

Lane stood with her arms crossed, watching them walk out. “Can’t wait, Anna. See you
soon, Ella!”

Ella turned and waved with her newly orange arm, yelling, “Bye! Thanks!” from around
the cup.

Glad that the school would be dealing with the sugar high that had steadily started to hit Ella in the car, Anna dropped
her off.

The day passed quickly after that, mostly in consults and sneaking down to spend her forty-minute lunch break with Toby. Ella’s insight into how Toby must feel echoed in Anna’s mind. She could only hope just being around all the time
helped him.

Before she knew it, she was dropping the kids off to her parents and waving goodbye. Toby settled with his grandmother fairly well, the only person besides Anna whom he clung to now. Ella was already asking to run a bath, wanting to try out her new waterproof cast. Anna’s father, as usual, hid away in
his study.

She drove home, had a quick shower, and then stood in front of her wardrobe, debating what to wear. Six outfits later, she went with tight jeans, ankle boots, and a cream jersey. A scarf wrapped around her neck, plus a tailor-cut jacket and some perfume added the final touches just in time for the taxi to
honk outside.

As she got in, she quickly checked
her phone.

No fair, you get to go home and shower. I have to shower at work because I was in a surgery that
ran long.

Lane. Anna grinned
and replied.

You’ll still
look great.

Sometimes, a simple sentence was best. Her phone buzzed. At the sight of Kym’s text, Anna shook
her head.

Got here early with lots of the work people. We found some shots.
Help me.

When her taxi pulled up to the bar, Anna paid the fare and slid out. She stood outside and took in a deep breath, trying to quell her thoughts about what to tell Lane about the kids, then
walked inside.

The heat and noise hit her, and she felt herself relax a little. How she had missed this. She and Hayley used to go to bars a couple of nights a week, just for a quiet drink—or sometimes a not-so-quiet one. They’d been social, with a wide circle of friends. They’d both had their own circles, too, back then. Anna found herself almost excited to have a few drinks and unwind with people she’d have at least one thing to talk about with, even if it was their jobs. Nights in the house had been sending her a little insane; this might help her feel a touch
normal again.

After stopping at the bar, Anna took a sip of her wine while she turned to look for Kym. Finally, she caught sight of her in a far corner booth where several chairs were pulled up to fit
more people.

Kym caught her eye and waved enthusiastically from where she sat wedged
between colleagues.

Smirking at the obviously tipsy state of her friend, Anna made her way over. Kym made a loud noise at her arrival, still waving. Anna smiled and raised her glass
in acknowledgement.

“You made it!” Kym grinned
at her.

“Wouldn’t have missed it.” She took another sip of her wine, because, judging from the look of everyone, she needed to catch up. Anna greeted the staff members she knew and shook hands with those she hadn’t yet met. About fifteen people were spread over three tables. Taking a seat, she took another sip of her wine, then turned around to peer behind her when she saw Kym’s eyes light up as she
waved again.

Anna practically had to restrain her jaw from dropping. Lane had walked in wearing a clingy white dress that draped over every curve like it had been made just for her. It was cut low—low enough that Anna was concerned she wouldn’t be able to look anywhere else. The white set off Lane’s dark skin in a way that had Anna mesmerised. In that moment, she couldn’t remember a single reason why seeing Lane was a
bad idea.

“Oi, do you need a napkin to get
that drool?”

Anna turned around to find Kym and a nurse friend of hers grinning. Thankfully, the others were all wrapped up in conversation. “I have no idea what
you mean.”

Kym sipped at her whisky. “Sure. Tess here has a friend that works in plastics, we can get your jaw
re-attached later.”

Tess gave a snort into her beer and winked at Anna. “We love a good nurse and doctor romance. Gives us something to gossip about in the
nurses’ room.”

Anna figured finishing her drink was probably the best fix for
this situation.

Lane slid into the seat next to her and put a glass of white wine down on the table. “You looked like you were
almost out.”

Anna put her now empty glass down and reached forward to pick up the new
one. “Thanks.”

Shit-eating grins appeared on Kym’s and
Tess’ faces.

“What?”

Tess grinned
wider. “Nothin’.”

“O-kay.” Lane narrowed her eyes. “You can stop
staring now.”

Their only response was
to chuckle.

Lane turned to Anna. “Sorry
about them.”

“Don’t be. They caught me staring at you as you came in.” Anna leant slightly forward. “I was wrong—you look better than great. Nice perfume, by
the way.”

Lane winked. “I thought you’d
like it.”

“But how? I was
so subtle.”

“About as subtle as your niece. Did she learn to tell women they’re pretty
from you?”

“No, she just learnt to tell the truth
from me.”

Lane sipped her wine, looking Anna up and down before meeting her eyes. “You
look good.”

“Thanks.” Anna tried and failed not
to flush.

They got pulled into conversation with the others, Lane chatting with an emergency resident while Anna talked to Kym and Tess, who could probably have a comedy show. Anna spent her time nodding and adding in the odd comment, amused by the two of them, and throwing Lane flirty looks, which she returned
in kind.