Accidental Reunion

by Carol Marinelli

  Declan grinned as Lila gritted her teeth. ‘So it’s stalemate?’

  ‘It would seem so.’ Lila found she was holding her breath. She knew she was right, and that Mr Hinkley and even Hester, come to that, would support her on this. But that wasn’t what was worrying her. Declan’s take on this mattered, and not just in a medical sense. If they were going to work together effectively as a team, if they were going to cast aside their differences in the name of peace, she needed his support here.

  Her personal feelings, her innermost thoughts, didn’t apply—at least, she tried not to let them.

  ‘Can I see the casualty card?’

  Jez handed it over, watching as Declan flicked through the notes.

  ‘You’re a braver man than me!’ Declan looked up. ‘I personally wouldn’t like to stand up in court and explain my findings based on these notes.’

  ‘He has superficial wounds,’ Jez insisted, though rather less forcibly. Declan was, after all, far more senior than him.

  ‘Appears to have,’ Declan said, his face suddenly serious. ‘As Lila pointed out, until the wounds are thoroughly explored by a senior doctor they cannot be called superficial. Now, I suggest you get your registrar down here, and if he doesn’t want to take the patient to Theatre I’ll repeat my argument to him. And one other thing,’ he said as he handed back the casualty card to a fuming Jez, ‘I’d try listening to the nursing staff a bit more if I were you. They can make your life one hell of a lot easier.’

  As Jez flounced off to the telephone Lila realised a thank-you might be in order. But that didn’t stop it sticking in her throat. ‘Thanks for that.’

  ‘No worries. I meant what I said. The last thing a doctor needs is the emergency nurses offside, particularly the night team. If Jez doesn’t realise that then it’s time he learnt. Now, if there are any problems with the reg, be sure and let me know. How are Terry’s obs?’

  ‘Stable.’

  ‘Good.’

  She knew she should go now—after all there were a hundred and one things that needed to be done—but for some reason Lila found her legs wouldn’t move.

  ‘I’ve just seen a Vera Hamilton. From the pile of notes outside her cubicle I assume she’s a regular?’

  Lila nodded. ‘We all know Vera. What’s wrong tonight? Her leg ulcer?’

  ‘So she says. Frankly, I can’t see much to write home about.’

  Lila laughed. ‘Vera’s a manic depressive. She works her way back to us about once a month under various guises, and her ‘‘leg ulcer’’ is the most common excuse.’

  ‘She just needs a dry dressing. I offered to do it, but she said you normally took care of her.’

  ‘No worries. I’ll get around to her when I can.’

  The conversation was over, or at least it should have been, but he still stood there.

  And to her utter surprise it was she herself who resurrected it. ‘Do you fancy a curry?’

  ‘Lila!’ Declan’s face broke into a grin. ‘I’ll have to defend you more often. A couple of hours ago you wouldn’t even consider a drink, now you’re asking me out for dinner.’

  ‘In your dreams.’ Lila grinned. ‘The staff have a whip-round about now and ring for a take-away. Tonight is curry night.’ She couldn’t be certain, but she was almost sure a hint of a blush crept over his face as he reached for his wallet.

  ‘How much?’

  ‘That should do it.’ Cheekily she grabbed a ten-dollar note from his hands. ‘And we don’t complicate things by taking individual orders. ‘Chicken Jalfrezi with saffron rice and Kashmiri naan are the go tonight.’

  ‘Sounds great. When do we get to eat?’

  ‘When you get rid of all the patients.’

  *

  Whether the delicious fragrance of curry proved an incentive, or whether it was merely the fact that Declan was a good worker, by three a.m. most of the patients had been moved up to the wards or stitched and sent home. A couple of patients remained, awaiting X-rays and bloods, and two or three of the city’s homeless slept soundly on trolleys.

  ‘I don’t know what it is about you,’ Sue said, laughing as she tucked a blanket around Henry, one of their regular tramps, ‘but all the down-and-outs seem to congregate here the nights you’re on. Could it have something to do with the breakfast you order them from the kitchen?’

  Lila shrugged. ‘They don’t do any harm. I mean, they’re happy to wait in the waiting room until the place is quieter, and they all have ulcers and the like that do need to be treated. A few hours’ sleep on a warm trolley and breakfast is hardly a big deal.’

  ‘It would be if the Horse found out.’

  ‘I’ll deal with that when it happens. Come on, Sue, I’m starving.’

  The curry was set up in the small relatives’ room at the entrance to the department. The position was ideal for confused and anxious relatives while their loved one was whizzed on to Resus. During quiet times it served also as an extra staffroom for the night crew. From here they had a full view of any new patients, could hear the tyre screeches of a car pulling up, and if the need arose any curries or pizzas were cleared away more hastily than if one’s mother-in-law had just descended for a surprise visit.

  Peeling the cardboard lids off the foil containers, Lila managed a grimace at the rather unkempt plates.

  ‘Get your hands off me, you horrible man!’ Vera’s far from dulcet tones carried the length and breadth of the department.

  ‘I think Declan just tried to dress Vera’s ulcer.’ Lila laughed.

  ‘You never let him go without warning him about Vera?’ Sue choked. ‘The poor guy! What did he ever do to you?’

  Spooning the rice onto plates, Lila kept her face hidden from Sue’s scrutiny.

  ‘He did plenty,’ Lila muttered, more to herself than to Sue. ‘He did plenty.’

  ‘She loves me really.’ Declan’s face appeared round the door and Lila flushed unbecomingly. How much had he heard?

  She stopped furiously spooning curry as she realised one plate was receiving rather more than its fair share of chicken Jalfrezi.

  ‘The only person Vera loves is Lila,’ Sue said matter-of-factly, and with relief Lila realised Declan’s comments had been purely about the patient.

  ‘I told you I’d get round to her,’ Lila said tartly, handing Declan an overloaded plate.

  ‘Four hours ago,’ he said pointedly. ‘Look, I know you’ve been busy, and that her leg ulcer’s not serious, but it just seemed a shame that she was still waiting. I was only trying to help.’

  ‘Vera’s happy to wait,’ she explained with a cheeky grin. ‘More than happy. Normally I get around to her about six a.m.—about the time early breakfasts are served. The last thing she wants is to be seen and discharged.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me that?’ He gave a wry laugh. ‘But then that would have spoiled your fun, wouldn’t it?’

  Lila scuffed at the floor with her foot. Hell, it had only been a bit of fun—so why was she suddenly feeling so guilty?

  ‘New boy’s tease,’ she said finally, knowing how hollow her words sounded.

  Picking up his supper, he gave her a bemused look. ‘Well, I’m glad you enjoyed the cabaret.’

  *

  ‘That,’ said Declan scraping his plate, ‘would have to be the best curry I’ve had in years. Is it always as busy as this here?’

  ‘Always,’ Lila said truthfully. ‘You wait for the weekend. Where were you working before?’

  ‘In a lovely county hospital in bonny Scotland. Mind you, I was in London before then—and that was an eye-opener, I can assure you.’

  Lila deliberately didn’t look impressed. ‘I remember visiting an emergency room in New York when I was a flight attendant—it made here look like a picnic in the park.’

  ‘New York’s busy,’ Declan agreed. ‘Or at least it was when I was there. But you want to see the emergency rooms in Chicago—they’re constantly full-on.’

  Lila picked up the last of the naan br
ead. ‘I’m not going to win, am I? So what brought you back to good old Melbourne?’

  He was saved from answering as Jez appeared at the door, carrying flowers.

  ‘Lila, I come in peace.’ Handing her the bouquet, Jez gave her an embarrassed smile. ‘I nicked them from Admin on my way back from Theatre.’

  ‘How’s Terry?’ Lila asked, accepting the rather wilted offering.

  ‘Bled out on the way up to Theatre—a nasty wound to his kidney. Thankfully we were able to repair it. He’s in Recovery now.’

  ‘Then it’s just as well he wasn’t stitched and sent home.’ Lila couldn’t resist stating the obvious, but she was smiling.

  ‘Lesson well and truly learnt,’ Jez said seriously, and, ignoring the crowd of staff gathered, carried on talking to Lila, undaunted by his audience. ‘I think I owe you a proper thank-you. How about dinner some time?’

  The sniggers from Sue and Lucy didn’t go unnoticed.

  ‘Thanks, Jez, but it might get a bit expensive. I mean, there’s Declan and Diana to thank as well. The flowers will do nicely.’

  As he left, Lila returned to her seat amid the howls of her colleagues. ‘How do you do it, Lila? Gorgeous men dropping at your feet and you just kick them away.’

  The only one not joining in with the laughter was Declan. Suddenly his empty plate was being examined thoroughly.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Lila said softly. ‘Years of practice, I guess. I mean, it starts off with meals and flowers, but we all know how it ends up.’

  Declan looked up, catching her eye as he did so. This time she held his gaze, her words directed at him alone. ‘And I’m never going to be let down again.’

  CHAPTER TWO

  ‘HI, LILA, how was your night?’

  ‘Pretty busy.’ Lila kissed her aunt, Shirley, on the cheek. ‘How has Mum been?’

  ‘The same. We’ll have a cuppa and then we’ll give her a bath.’ Shirley filled the kettle, as she did every morning when Lila arrived home, but there was something wooden about her movements, an awkwardness that didn’t go undetected. ‘Lila, I need to talk to you about something.’

  Lila felt her heart plummet. She had known this day was coming, and in the last few weeks had sensed it was even more imminent. Sitting at the kitchen table, she tried for a futile moment to imagine she’d somehow misread the signs. But as Shirley joined her, unable to meet her eyes, Lila knew the news she had been dreading was about to be delivered.

  ‘Your uncle Ted has been offered early retirement,’ Shirley said finally.

  Ted was a security officer and worked the same shifts as Lila. It worked well, or at least it had until now…While Ted worked Shirley looked after Elizabeth, and when Ted was off Lila took over, allowing Ted and Shirley to live their lives.

  ‘He wants to take it, Lila. I didn’t want to worry you with our problems but Ted has been having a few health issues of his own. Nothing to worry about,’ she quickly reassured her as she saw the look of concern flash over Lila’s face. ‘Just a couple of men’s issues. He’d be so embarrassed if he knew I was discussing it with you. The thing is, Ted deserves his retirement. He’s worked so hard. We want to be able to go away, have holidays. We always dreamed of taking the combo van and travelling around Australia…’ Shirley dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. ‘I feel so torn. Elizabeth’s my sister. I’d do anything to help her. But Ted’s my husband, and he’s been a good one. How many men would take in their sister-in-law and niece? I’m sorry,’ she said quickly, ‘I didn’t mean it to come out like that.’

  ‘I know,’ Lila said softly, taking her aunt’s hand from across the table to show that no offence had been taken. ‘You and Ted have been marvellous.’

  They had been. Almost as soon as Elizabeth had been diagnosed, Shirley, realising the impossibility of the situation, had suggested that both Lila and Elizabeth move in with her and Ted to share the burden. Shirley was an eccentric, to say the least, and with no children of their own, opening their house the way they had, it had been a huge upheaval. Yet they had borne it all cheerfully, never once grumbling about how their lives had been turned around by Elizabeth’s illness.

  But now it was time for change.

  ‘I know you don’t want her to go into a home. But, Lila, your mum…’ She struggled for the words to describe the shell that remained of what had once been an elegant, eloquent woman. ‘Your mum wouldn’t know any different.’

  ‘But I’d know. Mum would hate the—’

  ‘She’d hate the fact you’ve given up your life to look after her,’ Shirley interrupted. ‘She’d hate the fact you work so hard and then come home at the end of a long night just to start all over again. Hate the fact you hardly ever go out.’

  Lila searched for an answer. The last thing she wanted to do was make this horrible situation worse for Shirley, to make her feel guilty for saying the words most people would have said years ago. But a home…

  ‘Now, Ted’s retirement isn’t going to happen for a couple of months yet. We don’t have to make any decision today, Lila, but we are going to have to soon.’ She smiled through her tears at her niece. ‘I’m not definitely saying your mum has to go into a home; I’m saying I can’t be here as much to help. My back is starting to hurt—lifting her, turning her. I just don’t see an end to it. You understand where I’m coming from, don’t you, Lila?’

  Lila made her way around the table to hug her aunt as she spoke. ‘Of course I do.’ She swallowed back her own tears. ‘And I promise I’ll come up with something.’

  ‘I know you will, pet. What worries me is what you’ll come up with. You’re thirty-one years old now, Lila—you can’t let your life slip by like this. It’s not good for any of us, least of all your mother. Look, I’ve probably said too much for one day already. Why don’t you head off to bed, darling, try and get some sleep?’

  Lila nodded, but as she reached the door she turned. ‘Shirley, there’s some forms I need to drop off at the hospital before five. Would you be able to watch Mum for me?’

  ‘Of course, darling.’

  Alone in her room, Lila pulled the application forms out of her bag. It had never really entered her head to apply, but Hester’s words had made the chance of promotion a real possibility. Now, with Shirley’s bombshell…Closing her eyes, Lila tried to search for answers. How could she possibly afford a carer to stay with Elizabeth while she went out to work? It would be more cost effective to go on the dole and nurse her mum full time herself.

  But…She felt a tinge of panic hit. How could she give up her job? OK, she wasn’t the best nurse in the world, and she moaned like everyone else about the shortages and workload, but she truly loved her job—loved the people, loved the escape work gave her from her everyday problems. How could she even begin to think about giving it up?

  Clicking her pen open, she started to work her way through the endless forms. If she was going to have to employ someone to help her look after her mother, a decent wage was more important now than ever.

  If there was any consolation to be had from the day’s events, it was that Lila didn’t have time to dwell on Declan’s return. Any other time it would have completely overwhelmed her, but not today. Today was a day for filling out forms, working out figures, planning a future—not dwelling on the past, imagining days long since gone, a time when Declan had been beside her.

  A time when life had been easy.

  *

  Hester took the forms without a word, which made Lila’s journey to the hospital somewhat of an anticlimax. Only when she returned home and fed Elizabeth her supper, then settled her into bed for the night, did Lila’s stomach suddenly tighten at the thought of seeing Declan again tonight.

  Maybe she did tie up her hair more neatly and apply her make-up just a little bit more carefully, but it was more a matter of personal pride than vanity. She certainly wasn’t going to allow Declan to think even for a minute that she had let herself go.

  That was a joke. Eyeing her reflection in
the mirror, Lila paused a moment. Her naturally thick blonde hair was as glossy as ever, her figure still trim. But the sparkle in her blue eyes was long since gone, and a quick slick of mascara and a neutral lipstick replaced the immaculate glossy make-up of yesteryear.

  ‘Well, what did you expect?’ Lila scolded herself. ‘You’re not a flight attendant now.’ It had been easy to look stunning then, with cheap access to the world’s best cosmetics, advice from the airline’s stylists, her nails and hair done weekly. And, Lila thought reluctantly, she was eight years older now—eight long years. Of course her skin wasn’t going to be quite as clear. She was the wrong side of thirty now, not some twenty-something beauty.

  Poking her tongue out at her reflection, Lila caught sight of the clock on her dressing-table. With a yelp of dismay she pulled on her shoes and grabbed her bag, just stopping to give her mother and Shirley a quick kiss before she torpedoed out of the front door and into her car.

  So much for making a good impression on Hester!

  *

  For once the department was quiet, with just a few patients waiting to be seen by various specialists or awaiting their turn for X-rays. As soon as the day staff had gone Lila pulled the kettle round to the nurses’ station.

  ‘Might as well get our caffeine levels up while we’ve got the chance.’ She grinned.

  ‘Good idea.’ Yvonne Selles walked over. ‘It’s Lila, isn’t it?’

  ‘That’s right. How can I help you, Dr Selles? Apart from the coffee, I mean?’

  ‘Please, call me Yvonne. I’m expecting a direct admission from a nursing home. I wasn’t quite sure of the procedure as my ward is full, so I’ve asked the ambulance to bring her directly to Emergency. I hope that’s all right.’

  ‘That’s fine. Thanks for letting us know. What’s wrong with the patient?’