The Road to Hope

by Rachael Johns

  Disappointment flashed across Alf’s face, but Tom mollified him by getting a game going between the men. After standing for the first few rolls of the dice, he went out into the dining room to retrieve an extra chair.

  Lauren looked up from her nail job. ‘What are you up to, Dr Lewis?’

  He winked in her direction. ‘Now that would be telling, Nurse Simpson,’ he said, then headed back to Nancy’s room.

  *

  ‘He’s a bit of all right, isn’t he, dear?’ Barbara craned her neck as far as she could around her recliner, trying to prolong her view of Tom’s behind.

  Lauren laughed, although she could hardly blame the woman. She’d have said he was a lot more than just a bit all right.

  ‘What?’ Barbara asked. ‘Isn’t that the way you young things talk these days? I’m sure I read that in Dolly magazine.’

  Lauren dipped the tiny brush back in the bottle of gold polish and paused a moment. ‘What are you doing reading Dolly?’

  ‘My great-granddaughter left it last week. An eye-opener indeed but not as riveting as the Cosmopolitan sealed section.’

  Lauren couldn’t hide her shock. Sometimes she wondered what these old girls got up to behind closed doors. And she was the one with the reputation.

  ‘Ooh?’ May leaned forward. ‘Why didn’t you lend that one to me?’

  ‘My daughter found me reading it and took it off me before I could,’ Barbara apologised. ‘Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is that our new doctor is a spunk. I only wish I was younger and could do something about it.’

  The two old ladies zeroed in on Lauren.

  ‘You should go for it,’ Barbara said. ‘Men like him don’t come along every day.’

  Didn’t Lauren know it.

  ‘And you’re not getting any younger,’ May added. ‘Tick tick tock.’

  Lauren’s grip tightened on the bottle of nail polish. These ladies were supposed to be her friends. Whether it was because they were too old to listen to town gossip or because nobody bothered to tell them, they’d never looked at her the way others did. And she knew they weren’t thinking those nasty thoughts now either, but she didn’t need them putting any more ideas about Tom into her head.

  ‘I think we’re finished here,’ she told May, putting down the polish and picking up her can to take another sip. She’d been so surprised when Tom had offered it that she hadn’t even said thanks, but every sip was a delicious reminder of him. ‘Barbara, I’ll do your nails tomorrow. If we do them now they won’t have time to dry before bed.’

  Before either of them could argue, Lauren started packing up her things. Lake Street was ending (thank God) but May and Barbara liked the show that came on next so she left them to go find Sheila. On her way out of the lounge area, she heard laughter coming from Nancy’s room. Her curiosity piqued, she decided Sheila and the evening routine could wait.

  She followed the noise and smiled as she came to a stop in the doorway. Grumpy old Ned, who complained over every meal, was actually smiling as Tom moaned about handing over rent money. Alf looked to have half the property cards laid out in front of him, and Nancy was so enthralled that she’d let her doll fall to the floor. Something twisted inside Lauren’s chest just as Tom looked up and met her eyes.

  He winked and then gestured to the game board. ‘You should join us next time.’

  ‘I’ll think about it,’ she said, but knew she couldn’t risk playing any sort of games with Tom. Her resolve to resist him was shaky enough but the sight of him treating these ladies and gentlemen like real people was possibly even sexier than the memory of him in board shorts.

  ‘Excellent.’ He picked up the dice to roll again.

  ‘It’s almost bedtime,’ she said, a little briskly.

  ‘Aw.’ Alf and Ned whined like little boys.

  She hated to be the one to break up this party but Sheila would be on their case soon enough and if they didn’t get everyone into bed, there’d likely be some sort of emergency, and then the old dears would be stuck in their chairs till goodness knows what time.

  ‘Sorry guys.’

  ‘It’s all right, Lauren love.’ Alf glanced at his watch. ‘It is getting late. Ginger will be wondering where I am.’

  ‘Ginger?’ Tom asked.

  ‘Their cat,’ Lauren replied automatically.

  Tom nodded. ‘How about I carry this board into the staff room and we’ll pick up again another night?’

  The others reluctantly agreed. Tom put their cash and properties into different compartments in the game box, said goodnight to Alf and Nancy and then carried the game back to stow it in the cupboard. He returned as Lauren was assisting Ned down the hallway towards his room.

  ‘Do you want me to help Ned tonight?’ he asked.

  She hesitated, but the expression on the old man’s face made her decision easy. Tom was a doctor; Ned would be in good hands. ‘That would be great, thanks.’

  Leaving him with Ned, she went back to May and Barbara, shaking her head as she pondered the conundrum that was Tom Lewis. He wasn’t like any doctor she’d ever met, certainly not the locums. Most were happy to write prescriptions for the residents, but they didn’t usually like getting their hands dirty with day-to-day care.

  ‘All right my loves,’ she said as she arrived between Barbara and May. ‘Who’s first tonight?’

  They opened their mouths to start their usual bickering when Sheila came hurrying down the corridor. ‘Is Dr Lewis still here?’ she asked, continuing on before Lauren had a chance to reply. ‘Karina just called. Mrs Q’s had another one of her turns. They’re on their way.’

  Chapter Eight

  ‘Good to have a man around here,’ Ned said as Tom helped him into the bathroom. ‘This place is overrun with females, and although I’ll admit I do need a bit of help on occasions, a man’s masculinity suffers when a woman has to take him to the john and help him shower.’

  Tom tried for an understanding smile and then stepped back slightly. Ned was shaky on his feet, hence the nurses couldn’t leave him alone to do even the most basic of personal hygiene tasks. He felt for the guy. Old age and terminal illness was the absolute pits, but at least Ned had lived eighty-five years before he’d needed such assistance. Tom’s dad was only fifty-seven and already simple tasks were starting to muddle him.

  Although he’d seen such deterioration in patients before, Tom hadn’t been prepared for the shock of getting up close and personal with it. Of witnessing one of his loved ones suffering so badly. After the tears and emotion that followed his dad’s initial diagnosis, his mum and sisters had gone into action mode and organised in-house care between them, so that his father would hardly ever need to be left alone. For Tom, finding out about his dad had been hard enough, but the revelation that had come as a consequence had blown his and Lisa’s world inside out. She’d ended it—rightly so—and then, despite his dad needing him more than ever, he’d simply had to get away.

  He wanted to think he’d go home when it got really bad, but deep down he wasn’t sure he could face that. It would be like watching a time bomb, knowing that one day he would go exactly the same way.

  ‘Dr Lewis, are you in here?’ Sheila’s head popped round the drawn bathroom curtain and Tom saw Ned wince. So much for privacy.

  ‘What’s the problem?’ he asked, stepping sideways to shield the old guy.

  ‘Karina Quartermaine is bringing in her mother-in-law. She’s got stomach pain and fainted again.’

  Tom frowned. ‘I’m sorry, Ned. I’m going to have to go.’

  ‘I’ll finish up with Ned and then come help you with Mrs Quartermaine,’ Sheila said. ‘Lauren can handle the other oldies.’

  Tom winced at Sheila’s words and made a mental note to talk to her about it later. He wished Lauren could help him instead as he’d been looking forward to an opportunity to work with her. Forcing those thoughts aside, he said goodbye to Ned and went to await their new arrival.

  He turned on the lights
in Accident and Emergency, scrubbed his hands and then unlocked the doors through which Karina would bring her mother-in-law.

  It wasn’t long before headlights approached and a four-wheel drive turned off the road into the hospital. Tom waved to Karina and gestured for her to park as close as she could to the emergency entrance. The moment she stopped the car, he opened the passenger door but even before he could greet her, Hilda Quartermaine launched into a barrage of disgruntlement.

  ‘I can get out myself,’ she snapped as Tom tried to assist her. Then she glared at her daughter-in-law. ‘She’s overreacting I tell you. I had a little dizzy spell when I got out of my chair. I’m on antibiotics, aren’t I? What more can you do?’

  ‘That depends on what caused your dizziness.’

  She narrowed her eyes. ‘Old age, but apparently no one lets anyone grow old gracefully anymore. Instead they insist on prodding us and poking us with Lord knows what and confining us to bed. I’d rather throw myself in front of a bus.’

  ‘Hilda!’ Karina looked horrified as she arrived next to Tom to battle her mother-in-law’s iron will. ‘I only want what’s best for you.’

  For a second it looked like she might be softening, but she sniffed and lifted her chin. ‘Is that what you call it? Very well, let’s get this over and done with. I don’t want to miss the late night quiz on the radio.’

  Neither Karina nor Tom said anything as they bent to help her.

  ‘I can manage,’ she said crankily, and then immediately swayed and knocked her head against the car door. She sighed as she let Tom lower her into the wheelchair.

  As he pushed her inside, Karina spoke quietly. ‘She’s been dizzy all day and when she got up half an hour ago, she completely collapsed.’

  Tom frowned. ‘Did she hit anything going down?’

  Karina nodded. ‘Her head hit the floor pretty hard and her hip knocked the coffee table as she fell.’

  ‘Okay.’ By the time they got Hilda into the treatment room and onto the examination table, Sheila had arrived.

  ‘Good evening Karina. Mrs Quartermaine.’ She nodded at both women and then looked to Tom for direction. With Sheila assisting, Tom assessed their patient, asking both Hilda and Karina various questions before deciding to organise an ambulance transfer to Katanning hospital where they could do a CT scan and x-rays.

  ‘She’s tough,’ Tom said to Sheila, ‘but until we have all her bloods back, I don’t want to take any risks.’

  ‘Got it, doctor.’ Sheila left the room to go make arrangements and Tom went back to his patient.

  He took Hilda’s hand. ‘I’m going to be straight with you, Mrs Quartermaine. I don’t like that you’ve fainted twice in almost as many days. I’m wondering if we’ve got you on the wrong sort of antibiotics, but I won’t know for sure until we get the result of your bloods tomorrow. In the meantime I want to get some x-rays done to make sure you didn’t damage any bones when you fell. We’ll have to get you to Katanning for that.’

  ‘I’m not going anywhere. I’m fine,’ she argued, but Tom used that moment to press down lightly on her hipbone and she winced.

  He raised his brow.

  ‘Okay, that does hurt a little,’ she relented, ‘but it’s been that way since I fell a couple of weeks ago.’

  ‘You what? When?’ Karina’s eyes boggled and her mouth dropped open.

  ‘It was nothing.’ Mrs Quartermaine wouldn’t meet her gaze. ‘I got up and got on with what I was doing.’

  Karina threw her hands up in the air. ‘You are exasperating.’ Then she turned to Tom. ‘Do I need to go home and get her a bag with a change of clothes?’

  ‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea. Katanning will likely keep her overnight and transfer her back in an ambulance when they’ve finished their tests.’

  Karina smiled. ‘Thanks.’

  Hilda Quartermaine sighed. ‘The beginning of the end.’ But she let Tom take her blood pressure and finish his examination.

  Within an hour, his patient was ready to go and the ambulance had arrived to take her to her destination. By the time he finished up his paperwork, the main lights were off in the hospital. Sheila and Lauren had finished their shifts and two new nurses were chatting at the desk. He wished them both a good night and left, wondering if Lauren would still be up when he got home. He’d enjoyed their brief interactions that evening and wanted more of her sexy smile before bed.

  Truthfully he’d like a lot more, but she didn’t appear in a hurry to fall between his sheets. He had to admit that was a little upsetting to his ego.

  He recalled with amusement that first night when she’d come in holding the car jack tightly in her fist. He was certain he hadn’t imagined the sparks between them. Then when he’d rubbed sun cream over her back at the pool, he’d felt her body tense beneath his hands in echo of his own tightening muscles. And last night when they’d cooked dinner together, he wasn’t sure what was hotter—the steam coming out of the pot or the heat that arced between them as they bantered across the kitchen.

  So why was she resisting his less than subtle attempts at seduction? He wondered if she somehow knew he was damaged goods, but dismissed this ridiculous notion almost immediately. How could she know?

  He smiled as he pulled into the driveway and saw lights on inside the house. He could think of no better way to end the day than by losing himself in Lauren’s lushness. With that thought, he parked his ute and hurried inside where he found her nursing a mug of Milo at the kitchen table.

  ‘Oh, hi,’ she said, looking up. She flushed as if she still wasn’t used to his presence and he noticed she was wearing those god-awful flannel pyjamas again. Buttoned right up to her neck. In this weather. It didn’t quell his desire though, for he’d seen her wearing a bikini and knew exactly what she was hiding beneath those gaudy pink and purple stripes.

  ‘Hey.’ He nodded towards her mug. ‘That smells good.’

  ‘Would you like me to make you one?’

  Tom wasn’t a huge fan of the malted drink but it seemed a good way to prolong their time together. ‘Yes, please.’

  She pushed back her chair, the wooden legs scraping against the laminate flooring, and crossed the room to get the milk from the fridge. ‘You were good with the old folks tonight,’ she said as she poured it into a mug and then stuck it in the microwave.

  ‘So were you.’ He sat at the table.

  ‘Yes, but I was there because I was working. You were there out of the kindness of your heart.’

  ‘Not exactly,’ he admitted, wishing she would meet his gaze. He thought about coming right out and telling her that while he’d enjoyed hanging out with the nursing home residents, she was his real reason for the visit.

  The microwave pinged and she set to work mixing Milo into his mug. She laid the mug in front of him, along with a Tupperware container.

  ‘This was on the step for you when I got home,’ she explained. ‘Biscuits from Joyce at the caravan park. Have you met her yet?’

  He peeled back the lid and smiled as the aroma of melting moments hit him hard. ‘I don’t think so, but I already adore her. These are my favourites. Want one?’

  ‘No, thanks.’

  She picked up her mug and his heart sank as he realised she was going to take it to bed. Without him. ‘I’ve had a shower but will need to brush my teeth when I’ve finished this. You’ve probably noticed the door doesn’t lock very well, so just leave a jumper or something in the hallway and I’ll know you’re in there.’

  ‘You know, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you walked in on me, Lauren.’

  ‘I…um…’ She looked absolutely terrified by his remark, and he could have kicked himself in the shins. Had some other man hurt her? He could think of no other reason why she’d be so jittery and the thought made his fists tighten.

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. It was a stupid joke.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ she said, lifting her Milo and taking a sip.

 
; ‘I know you’re probably tired, but why not sit down and have your drink with me.’ He gestured to the seat beside him. ‘I’d like the company.’

  She hesitated and then took the seat on the other side of the table.

  ‘How did you go handing your resignation in today?’

  Lauren sighed. ‘Not so great. Somehow I got roped into staying until after Christmas. Steve gave me some codswallop about it being hard to find replacements at this time of year.’

  He bit down on a smile at the news she wouldn’t be leaving so soon. ‘It’s not codswallop. No one wants to work at Christmas. A lot of nurses have families and like time off in the school holidays.’

  ‘Don’t I know it.’

  Hearing the bitterness in her voice, he asked, ‘How long have you worked in Hope Junction?’

  Another sigh. ‘All my working life.’

  ‘It’s a nice town, a friendly hospital and the patients obviously adore you.’

  She smiled at that. ‘I adore them too. The residents we have now have all been in a while but Mrs Dixon is getting worse. I shudder to think how Alf will cope when she finally doesn’t recognise him at all.’

  ‘He visits a lot? I noticed he was there this morning when I did my rounds.’

  ‘Yep. He brings his breakfast in every morning and sits with her while she eats hers. He comes back again after her afternoon nap and stays until she goes to bed. He reads to her every day without fail.’

  ‘I heard him tonight.’

  ‘When Nancy first came in she wasn’t that bad. She had times where her memory was great and she told me lots of stories about how they met and the dances they went to when they were young. Theirs was a love affair, all right.’ Her voiced drifted off wistfully. ‘Anyway, how was Mrs Quartermaine?’ she asked, changing the subject.

  He chuckled. ‘Now there’s a character. I’ve transferred her to Katanning for a CT and x-rays.’

  Lauren raised an eyebrow. ‘I bet that went down well.’