It’s about the privilege of helping an incredible little girl play catch up on all the shit she’s missed.

It’s about doing the right thing.

CHAPTER 52

Marlowe

‘You have got to be kidding me.’

I mouth the words at my boss as I shoot him a look of disbelief that I believe is warranted, given I’ve just walked back into my daughter’s hospital room to find an actual troupe of Disney princesses lined up in front of her bed, singing We Don’t Talk About Bruno.

When he sent me packing to the hotel a few hours ago, after Tabs passed her six-minute walking endurance test with flying colours, he told me he had “some fun stuff” planned for her.

This is more like a full-on Broadway show. I could hear it the whole way down the corridor.

He jumps to his feet at the sight of me and scurries over, holding his silver tiara so it doesn’t slip off his head. It’s a twin of the one Tabby’s wearing as she stands at the end of her bed in her hospital gown, beaming and swaying and holding hands with Elsa, and he looks so adorable, so fucking fatherly in it, that a visceral pain shoots through my heart.

‘I know, I know,’ he says, catching up with me as I stand in the entrance, having pushed through a gaggle of rapt nurses to enter the room. ‘It’s a lot.’

‘Yes, it is,’ I say quietly, giving him a meaningful look. It’s a lot on every level. It’s financially indulgent and very overstimulating and emotionally confusing and just—everything.

‘You can bollock me later,’ he says. ‘Just, please, come and hang out. Enjoy seeing your little girl singing her heart out.’ He flinches at his turn of phrase. ‘I didn’t mean that. But she’s wearing her oximeter, and the nurses are keeping a close eye, and she’s in seventh heaven.’ He clasps my hands in his and squeezes. ‘Just come and enjoy it, love. It’s really special. We’ve even got a princess crown for you.’

Apparently, Brendan, Athena and the hotel concierge have been cooking this up with the Heart Heroes nurses for days. The nurses signed off on this particular visit on the understanding that it would only happen if Tabs got the all-clear from her walking test and if the troupe visited the rest of the children’s wards, too. It seems they’ve done some charity work here before and are always a huge hit.

That’s no surprise. They do an incredible job. When Tabby gets tired, which she inevitably does, I sit on the bed with her and hold her in my arms as we watch Cinderella and Ariel wrangle Brendan into a conga.

I wish I could tell you he took some persuading.