Me-Before-You-by-Jojo-Moyes

6
The snow came so suddenly that I left home under a bright blue sky and not half
an hour later I was headed past a castle that looked like a cake decoration,
surrounded by a layer of thick white icing.
I trudged up the drive, my footsteps muffled and my toes already numb,
shivering under my too-thin Chinese silk coat. A whirl of thick white flakes
emerged from an iron-grey infinity, almost obscuring Granta House, blotting out
sound, and slowing the world to an unnatural pace. Beyond the neatly trimmed
hedge cars drove past with a newfound caution, pedestrians slipped and squealed
on the pavements. I pulled my scarf up over my nose and wished I had worn
something more suitable than ballet pumps and a velvet minidress.
To my surprise it wasn’t Nathan who opened the door, but Will’s father.
‘He’s in bed,’ he said, glancing up from under the porch. ‘He’s not too good. I
was just wondering whether to call the doctor.’
‘Where’s Nathan?’
‘Morning off. Of course, it would be today. Bloody agency nurse came and
went in six seconds flat. If this snow keeps on I’m not sure what we’ll do later.’
He shrugged, as if these things couldn’t be helped, and disappeared back down
the corridor, apparently relieved that he no longer had to be responsible. ‘You
know what he needs, yes?’ he called over his shoulder.
I took off my coat and shoes and, as I knew Mrs Traynor was in court (she
marked her dates on a diary in Will’s kitchen), I put my wet socks over a radiator
to dry. A pair of Will’s were in the clean-washing basket, so I put them on. They
looked comically large on me but it was heaven to have warm, dry feet. Will
didn’t respond when I called out, so after a while I made him up a drink,
knocked quietly and poked my head round the door. In the dim light I could just
make out the shape under the duvet. He was fast asleep.