As she folded dry clothes for ironing later, she mentally planned her day. Before she could phone the Record Office to book an appointment she had to look up the reference numbers of the documents she wanted to access. She had intended doing it last evening. Her heart lifted and memories made her smile. She picked up the stack of towels and had one foot on the stairs when a knock on the front door stopped her. Turning back she opened it. ‘Rob! What a lovely surprise. Come in.’ Studying her son, Jess saw dark shadows under his eyes and tension in his shoulders. Sympathy vied with concern. But knowing how he hated ‘fuss’ she kept her tone light. ‘Busy weekend?’ ‘Busy week, and the last two days have been hellish. Drunks, drug overdoses, and a three-car pile-up on the bypass.’ ‘Sit down, love.’ Jess dropped the clean towels on the sofa. ‘I’ll put the kettle on.’ ‘I won’t stop. I just wanted to tell you that Helen won’t be over for a couple of weeks.’ The groove between his brows and strain bracketing his mouth could be due to the demands of the A&E department in Cornwall’s largest hospital.
