Spanish Doctor, Pregnant Nurse

by Carol Marinelli

  Harriet guided Pippa’s hand down, Ciro realising, no doubt, that because of the denial Pippa had been in and the sheer speed of her labour, she needed this moment to acknowledge that her baby was coming out, needed to feel like an active participant before everyone else took over.

  ‘Good girl.’ Ciro’s voice was encouraging, jubilant almost, Spanish creeping in as the sheer emotion of the moment started to hit. Harriet could feel tears stinging her eyes as she watched; a privileged spectator as a new life came into the world. ‘Buena, Pippa. Come on, reach down for your bebé, lift your baby out with me…’

  And despite the dire circumstances somehow he made it beautiful, somehow he made it about Pippa and her baby, not an unexpected premature delivery in a shabby emergency cubicle. Ciro placed the tiny baby into the waiting hands of the paediatrician, who whisked the limp infant to the resus cot.

  ‘You have a son.’ Ciro spoke over the noise. ‘You did an amazing job, Pippa.’

  ‘Why isn’t he crying?’

  ‘The doctors are with him, Pippa,’ Harriet answered as Ciro made his way to the cot, observing the activity around the infant. Although Harriet badly wanted to go over to see how the babe was, it was her job to stay with Pippa, to build on the relationship they had forged through the tumultuous delivery and comfort her now as the team worked on. ‘They’re looking after him.’

  Glancing over, Harriet peered through a gap in the throng, her heart in her mouth as she glimpsed the tiny motionless body, the anaesthetist deeply suctioning the babe then placing the ambu-bag over his slack mouth and gently squeezing oxygen into his lungs. It was probably only a matter of seconds but it felt like for ever, time dragging endlessly as Harriet squeezed Pippa’s hands. But as she saw a little foot suddenly flex, his body pinking up before her eyes, Harriet squeezed Pippa’s hands harder in excitement as a tiny, angry wail filled the cubicle and relief washed over her.

  ‘There he goes,’ Harriet said, as if it had been a forgone conclusion that he would, as if she hadn’t been holding her breath since the tiny bundle had been delivered. Her eyes locked with Ciro’s, the dark mocha pools holding hers, that tiny tired smile on his lips, the tension seeping out of his face as the baby’s cry filled the air, replaced quickly with an almost immeasurable look of sadness as he dragged his eyes away. Harriet knew there and then why she was hurting so much, knew in that instant why Ciro’s leaving cut far deeper than Drew’s infidelity.

  With her and Drew it had been over for ages.

  With Ciro it had barely even started. Those tiny seeds of emotion he had delicately planted were unfurling unaided now, stretching out like petals towards the sun, the feelings Harriet had for him somehow thriving without sustenance, that chain reaction he had instigated still rolling on. Finally Harriet admitted to herself what deep down she’d probably known for a while.

  She loved him.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ‘HOW could you not know?’ Charlotte scoffed disbelievingly as she walked into the staffroom, and even though it was now lunchtime and a couple of hours after the event everyone knew what she was talking about. ‘I mean, how could you possibly not know that you were pregnant?’

  ‘How did the parents not know?’ Judith huffed, spooning sugar into her coffee and tutting loudly as she did so. ‘That’s what I’d like to find out.’

  ‘She’s quite a big girl,’ Harriet said, acutely aware of Ciro sitting on the sofa opposite her and trying desperately to focus on the conversation instead of him. ‘I wouldn’t have noticed it without feeling her stomach. I’d have just thought she was overweight.’

  ‘And then she tried to say that she was a virgin!’ Judith said again to anyone who cared to listen, ignoring the offered explanation, and Harriet bit down hard on her lip, already sick of the subject that was on everyone’s lips. From Ciro’s drawn-out sigh he was feeling the same.

  ‘People have an amazing ability to…’ he gestured in the air ‘…compartimientos.’

  ‘To what?’ Charlotte asked rudely.

  ‘To block things out,’ Harriet explained, with as much patience as she could muster through gritted teeth. ‘Pippa was obviously terrified of her parents finding out that she’d had sex, let alone the fact she was pregnant, so she just blocked it out, refused to acknowledge it, just hoping it would go away.’ As Charlotte rolled her eyes Harriet felt her temper flare. ‘Can’t you show a bit more compassion? The poor kid made a mistake.’

  ‘Exactly,’ Judith sniffed. ‘She’s a kid, she should never have been messing around in the first place. Once is all it takes…’

  Some rapid Spanish was being mumbled from across the room and, judging by the rather strong sentiment behind the words, Harriet wasn’t sure it was particularly complimentary. But Judith and Charlotte were too deep in their own gossip to notice, barely even looking up as Ciro stood up and stormed out of the room. Harriet sat for a full two minutes before plucking up the courage to go after him.

  Needing to hear for herself if what everyone was saying was true, she finally caught up with Ciro in the ambulance bay outside Emergency, where he stood leaning against the wall, moodily staring out into the distance.

  ‘You know what Emergency can be like,’ Harriet said, making her way over. ‘I’m sure it’s the same in Spain, the same the world over probably! They’re just letting off steam in the staffroom.’

  ‘That kid is fifteen years old,’ Ciro retorted angrily. ‘She did so well today.’

  ‘She was great,’ Harriet agreed, but Ciro wasn’t about to be soothed.

  ‘And she doesn’t deserve being spoken about like that by some nurse who’d drop her knickers if I crooked my finger.’

  ‘Ciro!’

  ‘She would,’ Ciro retorted. ‘She rings me at home, asking if I want to come out to some club, asking if I want to meet for drinks, asking if I want to come over…I don’t even want to know how she got my number.’

  ‘She rang you at home?’ Harriet checked, appalled for Ciro and furious with Charlotte. It had nothing to do with jealousy—emergency staff’s telephone numbers were kept in a folder solely in case they needed to be called in urgently—the fact Charlotte had abused the system was enough on its own! ‘I’ll speak to her this afternoon!’

  ‘I’ve dealt with it,’ Ciro barked, but Harriet shook her head.

  ‘No, Judith needs to know what’s happened, Ciro. That folder will have to be locked away if staff are going to use it in such a manner.’

  He gave a reluctant nod.

  ‘And then there’s Judith.’ Reverting back to the earlier topic, clearly Ciro hadn’t regretted a word he’d said earlier because his tongue was just as deadly. ‘What would she know about birth control?’

  ‘Just because she’s not married, Ciro, it doesn’t mean that she’s never had a relationship. To insinuate that she’s frigid—’

  ‘Oh, Harriet,’ Ciro scoffed. ‘She’s not a frigid spinster, she’s in a relationship. Her partner’s still in the military, waiting for her pension.’

  ‘What?’ Wide eyes blinked back at him. ‘How on earth would you know that?’

  ‘Because…’ He gave a helpless shrug. ‘She told me.’

  ‘Told you?’

  ‘Yes, Harriet.’ Ciro gave a small reluctant grin at Harriet’s obvious shock, finally calming down a fraction and letting out a long drawn-out sigh, but he said nothing to put her at ease, made no attempt at small talk, just stared moodily out across the ambulance bay.

  It was left to Harriet to fill the uncomfortable silence, trying to find the courage to ask the most difficult question of her life.

  ‘You’re leaving?’

  He nodded but didn’t elaborate.

  ‘Charlotte said you weren’t even going to see out the month.’

  ‘It must be true, then!’ Sarcasm dripped from every word, but finally he calmed down, dragging his eyes to look at her. ‘At the end of the week.’

  ‘It’s not…’ Harriet swallowed hard. ‘I know that things have be
en a bit uncomfortable between us these past few days…’

  ‘It has nothing to do with us,’ Ciro said, and maybe he meant it kindly but it only made Harriet feel worse. ‘So don’t worry.’

  ‘I’m not.’

  ‘You’re sure?’ She was turning to go, to head back into the department, but something in his voice made her turn around. ‘You’re quite sure that there’s nothing worrying you, Harriet?’

  ‘What’s your problem, Ciro?’ Angrily she confronted him. ‘I’m trying to be civil here. I came out here to check that you were OK and all you’ve done is be rude. It’s not my fault you’re leaving, it’s not my fault Judith and Charlotte have upset you…’

  ‘It’s not them, it’s not even you.’ He dragged in some air as Harriet stared at him. ‘I’m angry with myself, OK?’ Finally he looked at her. ‘All I’ve heard since Pippa delivered and things calmed down is, “Once is all it takes”.’ He mimicked Judith’s booming voice.

  ‘That first night…’ He swallowed hard. ‘I just assumed you were on the Pill.’

  ‘I was. I am. So if that’s what’s worrying you, please, don’t bother. I’m not going to mess up your travel plans. I’ve never missed taking it.’

  ‘Never?’

  A frown came to her face as he stared back at her. She raked a hand through her hair, as she did when she was nervous, as realisation hit.

  ‘Apart from that one day, when I didn’t have my bag, I’ve only missed it once.’

  ‘Once is all it takes…’

  The irony wasn’t lost on Harriet.

  ‘I’m not pregnant.’ She shook her head firmly, and forced a very brave smile. ‘I know I’m not.’

  ‘Harriet, we slept together every night, every day…’ He didn’t smile back, just stared at her, the question in his eyes demanding honesty. ‘I hate to now state what should have been obvious, but in all that time you never had a period.’

  ‘Look…’ Her mind flailed for a response. ‘Ciro, I can’t deal with hypotheses…’ She registered his frown, knew she was talking just a bit too fast for him to understand. ‘Let’s just leave it for now.’

  ‘You mean refuse to talk about it.’ Ciro took a deep, angry breath. ‘That is what we do best, isn’t it? Ignore things and just hope that they will sort themselves out in the end. Pippa had an excuse, Harriet, she is fifteen years old. Fifteen-year-olds ignore things and hope that they will go away.’

  ‘I’m not ignoring anything,’ Harriet snarled. ‘I told you before we were even lovers, when you were my doctor, that I wasn’t very regular.’ Her cheeks were flaming now, but with anger not embarrassment. ‘Don’t worry, Ciro, I’m not going to trap you.’

  ‘Trap me?’

  ‘That’s what’s worrying you, isn’t it?’ Harriet flared. ‘You’re worried that you might be taking home more than a hat with corks and a couple of stuffed koalas from your holiday…’

  ‘You’re being ridiculous,’ Ciro retorted. ‘I am asking you to tell me if there is a problem. I face up to my mistakes, Harriet.’ He reached out to grab her hand but she shook it away.

  ‘Don’t worry, no mistake was made, Ciro…’

  ‘So you’re not pregnant?’

  ‘Thanks for that, Doc!’ They both jumped as Pippa’s father handed Ciro a mobile phone. ‘That was very kind of you—I didn’t much fancy letting the whole waiting room know what was going on.’

  ‘You’ve got hold of everyone, Tony?’ Ciro checked, but Pippa’s father shook his head.

  ‘Not quite. I think I’ll be paying the young fella a personal visit to break the news.’

  ‘The baby’s father?’

  Tony gave a grim nod. ‘I was fit to kill him half an hour ago, but I must be going soft. I’m starting to feel a bit sorry for him. Gary’s just a kid himself. Fifteen years old and a father—can you imagine?’

  ‘No,’ Ciro admitted. ‘With the right support they’ll be OK, Tony. And I’ve a feeling they’re going to get it—you and your wife have done very well today in the most trying of circumstances.’

  ‘We’ve no choice, have we, Doc?’ Tony sighed. ‘Still, Gary’s going to have to face up to this mess the same way Pippa has to. They’ll be paying for this for the rest of their lives.’

  As Tony headed back inside, Harriet went to go, too. But as she turned away Ciro called her back.

  ‘Harriet? We were talking!’

  ‘No, Ciro, we’d finished talking.’ Briefly she looked over her shoulder. ‘There’s nothing for you to worry about.’

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  ‘I DIDN’T get his number from the folder!’ Cheeks flaming, Charlotte was adamant. ‘Anyway, I can’t believe you’re making such a fuss!’

  ‘Oh, this isn’t even close to a fuss,’ Judith warned her. ‘You should count yourself lucky that Sister Farrell insisted that we speak with you first, hear your side of things. Frankly, I’m all for ringing the nursing supervisor and asking you to be moved to one of the wards!’

  ‘What?’ Charlotte’s voice was incredulous. ‘Because of a telephone call?’

  ‘Because of a gross invasion of privacy.’ Harriet’s voice was a lot calmer than Judith’s but there was no mistaking the anger behind it. ‘Charlotte, this may seem ridiculous to you, but the fact is, this emergency department runs on trust. Like those of a lot of medical personnel, Dr Delgato’s private number isn’t listed in the telephone book. The last thing he needs is an angry, upset patient or relative ringing him at two in the morning.’

  ‘But I’m not a patient or relative,’ Charlotte retorted.

  ‘No.’ Harriet gave her a withering look. ‘You’re a member of staff and as such we expect you to act accordingly. That means when you take a shine to one of the doctors or are short of a date, you don’t use the emergency manual as your personal directory. Had Dr Delgato wanted you to have his number, he would have given it to you.’

  ‘If it’s so private, why isn’t it locked up?’

  ‘It is now,’ Judith barked. ‘Thanks to you. So the next time someone rings in sick and we need an immediate replacement, or there’s a patient that needs an urgent second opinion or, heaven help us, we have a major incident, we have to find the keys and unlock the blessed thing.’

  ‘Charlotte.’ Harriet’s voice was far more reasonable. ‘I know this sounds like a non-event to you but, as I was saying earlier, this department runs on trust, and that emergency phone book was an extension of that trust. You’ve abused it.’

  ‘I didn’t,’ Charlotte insisted, and Judith let out an exasperated sigh.

  ‘You said this morning that you had a friend in Admin,’ Harriet started, and Charlotte’s eyes widened. Perhaps the seriousness of the situation was starting to hit home.

  ‘It wasn’t Becky—you can’t blame her for this.’ Running a worried hand across her forehead, Charlotte finally admitted the truth. ‘OK, I did take his number out of the book. I’m sorry!’ she added. Charlotte didn’t look quite so bold now, tears sparkling in her eyes. ‘I honestly didn’t think anything of it at the time. I was on late shift, there were a few of us going on to a club, and I just thought that Ciro might like to see a bit of Sydney night life.’

  ‘And did he?’ Judith asked, because, quite simply, Harriet couldn’t bring herself to.

  ‘No.’

  ‘And was that the end of it?’

  ‘No.’ Tears were falling now and Harriet actually felt sorry for her—just a twenty-one-year-old with a king-sized crush. ‘I rang him later that night, after we’d all had a drink.’

  ‘What time?’ Judith’s voice was like the crack of a whip.

  ‘Two, maybe three in the morning.’

  ‘Any other times?’ Harriet asked, remembering the phone ringing the first night they’d made love, and Ciro’s annoyance. Her suspicions were confirmed when Charlotte eventually nodded.

  ‘A few.’

  ‘Do you see now that it was an invasion of privacy?’ Harriet asked, only more softly now, taking no pleasure from Cha
rlotte’s tears, being careful not to humiliate her further. ‘If you want to be a part of this team, Charlotte, you have to act more responsibly. You have to show not just the patients but your colleagues, too, that you’re completely reliable, that the trust that’s placed in you will never be abused. We don’t just treat strangers here, Charlotte. Look what happened to me the other week.’

  ‘I never discussed it…’ Charlotte started, but her voice petered out as Harriet raised one questioning eyebrow.

  ‘I’m not saying you went to the newspaper or anything, Charlotte. If I thought that, we’d have had this conversation ages ago, probably with your union rep present.’ She paused to let it sink in. ‘However, you have taken great delight in telling anyone that will listen, even the patients, that you work with Drew Farrell’s wife.’

  Only when Charlotte nodded did Harriet continue.

  ‘Charlotte, we thrive on gossip in this place, we all love to be the first to know what’s going on, but there’s a very fine line that cannot be crossed. What happens in this department has to stay within these walls, whether it’s something as simple as a doctor’s phone number or something as salacious as…’ Harriet plucked wildly for an example and chose one close to home. ‘A nursing sister who comes home to find her husband in bed with someone else.

  ‘It might be a member of staff or one of their relatives that comes through the doors, or it might be someone famous. Now, that might sound as if it has nothing to do with scribbling down a doctor’s telephone number but the fact of the matter is we’re privy to a lot of information down here and as much as we gossip between ourselves it cannot and does not go further. It cannot be abused in any way at all, we have to trust each other on that.’

  ‘I understand.’ Charlotte sniffed, and something in her voice told Harriet that finally she did. ‘What’s going to happen to me?’

  Harriet looked over at Judith and from the nod she gave, clearly the ball was in Harriet’s court.

  ‘Let’s just leave it there. Hopefully, you’ll think long and hard about what’s been said and if not change your ways at least curb them a bit. We’re not trying to fashion you into some sort of robot, Charlotte, but working in Emergency isn’t just about following a professional code of conduct but a moral one, too.’