by Mairi Chong
Cathy looked at James. ‘We’ll chat about it later, Cathy,’ he said sadly.
Brenda, looking pensive, spoke. ‘Right, is everyone happy for me to bring the meeting to an end?’ she asked. ‘I’ll ring round this afternoon and do a bit of digging on this Fraser chap?’
The three GPs murmured their agreement.
Cathy felt utterly beaten. The conversation took its toll on her and that night, despite her racing thoughts, going over and over what Mark had said, she collapsed from sheer weariness and fell asleep.
10
‘Time for a quick confab?’ Brenda asked, looking into Cathy’s room. ‘I’ll grab James and we might go through to Mark?’
Cathy, who had just finished dealing with a rather complicated patient, sighed and stretched, raising her arms high up above her head. ‘Yup,’ she yawned. ‘I’ll come. Is it about the pharmacist?’
But Brenda had already moved on to James’s room.
Cathy got up. She felt refreshed having slept so soundly the night before. Perhaps the meeting yesterday had cleared the air. She had said what she needed to say and she felt lighter for it. She could only do what she could, she decided. The rest was up to Mark and James. They must make their own decision about her, themselves. She couldn’t continue begging for their forgiveness forever.
‘Mark, we’re having an impromptu meeting,’ Brenda said, looking around the edge of the door.
Brenda went into the room ahead, and James and Cathy followed. Mark, clearly not expecting the visit, walked to the sink in the corner of his room, and spat something out. Licking his lips, he then smiled at the three of them. ‘Well, what is it? We’ve got a visit each and we need to be getting on.’
Cathy looked around her. She rarely came into Mark’s room, but it didn’t surprise her to see that it was the very picture of order. Minimal, with desk, two chairs and examination couch, but on the wall, he had chosen a seascape. Stormy waves leapt up, tossing a lone boat towards jagged rocks. A rather odd choice, Cathy thought, but knowing Mark it would be by some famous, local painter or be something suitably ostentatious.
The room was the reverse of hers being on the other side of the corridor. There was a sink by the window, just as she had. Beside it, Cathy saw, sat a neat line of universal containers, what looked like a bottle of mouthwash, and a hand sanitiser. He liked things to be just so. That was Mark all over. The desk in front of him was arranged with careful thought too. The computer screen and keyboard were positioned at the corner and his most frequently required clinical equipment lined up in a neat row: stethoscope, digital thermometer and diagnostic set.
Brenda had closed the door behind them now and finding herself without a chair, she leaned on the examination couch at the side of the room. ‘I’ve been digging, as requested,’ she said. ‘Fraser Edwards is apparently well respected in pharmaceutical circles.’
James sat with his arms folded across his chest. ‘Any negatives?’ he asked. ‘There must be something.’
‘Bit of a loner,’ Brenda said. ‘I had a good long chat with his first referee. He used to supervise Fraser in the hospital and he intimated that as a young pharmacist, Fraser was a bit aloof with the other staff.’
‘He’ll fit in fine here then,’ Mark said. ‘As long as he keeps his head down and works, I don’t care if he’s stand-offish. Do we really want some jolly buffoon working for us? We’re hiring him for his expertise, not his razer-sharp wit.’
‘What about you, Mark? Weren’t you going to dig a bit?’ Brenda asked.
‘Not had a minute to myself.’
Cathy had seen him and Tracy leaving the practice together arm in arm the night before. She assumed that the young nurse was keeping Mark occupied.
‘I can still ask around if we’re really that afraid of making a decision,’ he went on, ‘but I don’t think we’ll find better than this fellow, and bear in mind, he’s actually from the area too. No,’ Mark continued. ‘Cathy was right. I wish I had thought of it myself before. I’ve already got a long list of things for him to get started on. The first thing is sorting out the pigs-ear the rest of the team have made of the computer coding.’
Cathy rolled her eyes.
‘Why does it have to be like this?’ James said, shaking his head. ‘Can’t we finish on a good note without passing judgement? Time and again you turn it around and make a dig at someone.’
Mark snorted and turned disdainfully from his partner.
‘No, really Mark,’ James continued, stepping forward and growing in animation. ‘While it’s the four of us here now, I’m telling you that this has to stop. This bullish behaviour has gone on long enough. I had Bert in my room this morning. Poor man was beside himself.’ James turned to Cathy to explain. ‘Apparently, Mark took it upon himself to give the old boy an informal warning. And without speaking to us first,’ James said angrily turning once again to his other partner.
Mark shrugged and smiled. ‘He’s not fit for employment chaps, and that’s the honest truth. He’s meant to be the practice handyman. Why we’re paying him a wage still, is beyond me. We’re not a bloody charity, Brenda. I know we all pity the old man because his wife’s ill, but he’s next to useless. He’s still not cleaned the graffiti on that bloody sign out the front. It’s hardly much to ask. We’ve been carrying deadweight for far too long in this place. Time to fell the old, dry wood and allow the young saplings a chance to thrive, wouldn’t you say, James?’
Brenda quickly spoke. ‘I’ll see the sign gets fixed. In future, I’d rather things of this kind came through me.’
Mark snorted again.
‘That’s not all,’ James continued and Cathy turned in disbelief. ‘I thought long and hard about what was said yesterday at the meeting,’ James continued. ‘The way you spoke to Cathy was indefensible. As a senior partner of this practice, Mark, I have to warn you that you are on very shaky ground. Some of yesterday’s tirade might have amounted to intimidation. Cathy would be within her right to put in a formal complaint to the GMC. We’re meant to be behaving in a supportive manner, not tearing each other to shreds.’
Cathy looked sideways. James’s mouth was set in a hard line and his eyes were filled with an emotion that Cathy had not seen before.
Nobody spoke.
‘Quite,’ Brenda said hurriedly. ‘As far as this Fraser’s character is concerned, I think myself that it is a minor point. The hospital employment that mentioned it was a good three years ago and he has since worked elsewhere. The more recent referee had no issues at all. Apparently, he is very well-liked by his staff. The area manager described him as humble, and good with his staff, which might show that he has matured.’
‘Well?’ Mark said, looking up at the wall clock behind them. ‘Are we offering him the job then? I need to get on, Brenda. I’ve got a visit out in the bloody sticks and it’s my afternoon off.’
‘Everyone?’ Brenda asked.
‘I’m happy enough,’ Cathy said.
James nodded too, but refused to look at Mark.
When they dispersed, Cathy walked past James’s room before heading out on her house visit. Entering, as the door was ajar, she found him rummaging in his doctor’s bag.
‘James?’ she said. ‘I just wanted to check that you really were alright with all of this stuff with the pharmacist. I know initially, you were the least keen on the idea.’
James, who had now straightened up, smiled at Cathy. ‘I’ve missed having you around these last few months,’ he said. ‘I’m fine, Cathy. But I appreciate the sentiment really, I do. Let’s see how this pharmacy chap gets on. His contract can be terminated at any time if it doesn’t feel right. How are you feeling yourself, by the way? We never do seem to get a chance to talk. I hope Mark hasn’t upset you in saying what he did?’
Cathy smiled. ‘I’m alright, James. Really. It’s good to be back. This place is like a bit of a leveller. I’m just relieved to get another chance.’
Cathy headed out on her visit. The constant battle
between her partners concerned her deeply. Mark had been offensive and out-right rude these last few weeks. He seemed to be doing his utmost to antagonise James. She wondered if he was actually trying to goad the man. Her thoughts moved to her gentle, senior partner and she recalled the odd expression he had when he looked at Mark. The set mouth and cold stare were quite frightening. Cathy disliked being sensational but without a doubt, she knew that she had seen pure hatred in James’s eyes at that moment.
11
Shortly after eight in the morning, Fraser left his smart little house and drove the five minutes to his new place of work. The doctors’ surgery was not quite central to the town, but on the western outskirts. Opposite, however, a small line of rundown shops had been established to serve the residents living this far out. The local high school, an expansive eyesore of boxed subunits, joined by supposedly-modern, glass walkways, dwarfed the doctors’ surgery in the foreground. Fraser had in the past, rarely required to drive this way. His own house was on the Langholm Road and it was in this direction that he tended to travel for any of the larger retailers or amenities.
As he indicated and turned in, Fraser felt a sense of excitement rise within him. The GP surgery was newer than many of the buildings in the area. Newer and more promising. Its red, low-pitched sloping roofs could be picked out from afar, now that he knew to look for them. Its walls, pebble-dashed white, represented a clean sheet to the optimistic pharmacist. A clean sheet and a new beginning.
Fraser parked his car carefully on the far side of the carpark so that he might enjoy the approach to his new adventure slowly. Crossing the tarmac, softened by borders of rose bushes, he swung his leather briefcase. He had bought it the previous week and although it contained very little, he thought it gave him the right air of authority. He noticed that a couple of the ground-floor windows facing out onto the carpark were ajar. Through one of the blinds he caught a glimpse of a face watching him, and he raised a hand and smiled. The face, who he thought belonged to a woman, disappeared. Undeterred, Fraser continued.
At the doorway, his passage was momentarily obstructed by a grey-haired man dressed in dark, rather dusty overalls. The man stood over a bucket of soapy water and was poised with a dripping cloth, in front of a gold plaque on the side of the building. Fraser assumed that he was simply polishing the sign, for as he drew closer, he saw that it was a list of the doctors who worked there. The man, only hearing him when he was almost upon him, shuffled slowly out of his way. Continuing on through, Fraser entered the front reception.
The building was bright and airy, with the waiting room ahead offering its occupants a high, glass ceiling. The area was partially concealed by a line of enormous house plants, the sort that grew like indoor trees within their terracotta pots. As Fraser looked further, from between the leaves, he saw a door along the opposite wall in the distance, open and one of the doctors he had met at his interview, emerge and call a name. The patient who had been summoned, got up slowly and crossed the waiting area with a limp. Fraser watched until the door closed behind them. He turned then and smiled at one of the girls behind the reception desk.
‘Fraser Edwards,’ he said.
She misunderstood and peering at her computer screen, asked what time his appointment was and with whom.
‘No, no. I’m the new pharmacist,’ he began to explain, but at that moment, the practice manager, Brenda, who he had already met several times, emerged from a door at the side of the reception area and led him through to his new office, which was at the back of the building in a different wing to the consulting rooms.
‘I hope you’ll be comfortable here,’ she said. ‘It’s all new to us too, you know. We’ve never had a pharmacist so we weren’t quite sure what you’d need to get started.’
Fraser looked around. It was sparsely furnished with a desk, phone, computer and chair. There was a large filing cabinet in the corner and bookshelves on the wall above the desk also. Fraser crossed the room and picked up a large ring-binder and read the title: ‘Chronic Disease Management. Coding and Quality Guidelines.’
‘Dry, I know,’ Brenda laughed. ‘That’ll have been Mark. He said he was leaving it out for you. I think he’s keen to see what you can do with the cardiovascular patients. Don’t worry about that now though. There’s plenty more things to see to, to get you up to speed before jumping to Mark’s tune. I’ve allocated this morning to go through the computer system, if it suits? Can I get you a coffee before though, and I’ll let you settle yourself in?’
Fraser turned and smiled. ‘Coffee would be perfect.’
When he was alone, he looked around his office and grinned. He was sure he would be happy here. Already he felt greatly at home. The doctors wouldn’t know what had hit them when he got started on things.
Over those first few weeks in his new job, there was little to mar Fraser’s happiness. With his finances in good order, and his relationship with Sarah going from strength to strength, he felt on top of the world. He had made the right decision; of that, he was certain and how proud his late father would have been if he had been here to see it. The more time he spent in his new office, slowly reading over the documents that he must commit to memory, and preparing suggestions to assist the doctors in their work, he felt he had finally found his calling. This was where he was meant to be. He wasn’t some shop pharmacist at all. He saw this now. What kind of a life would that have been? Feigning interest in the concerns of the worried young mothers who brought in their children for him to see. Explaining, and then re-explaining how the old dears should apply their ointments. It seemed a lifetime ago now and a miracle that he had stuck it as long as he had.
As well as enjoying his new employment a good deal, Fraser began to become slowly better acquainted with a few of his colleagues. He was a little reticent at first and rather shy of going up to the coffee room at busy times, but soon his nervousness left him and he felt more at ease.
‘So, you’re permanent then?’ the nurse asked conspiratorially. She had sidled up beside him in the coffee room and Fraser was momentarily taken aback.
He looked at the girl and smiled. ‘For now, anyway,’ he answered and placing his coffee cup down, stretched out a hand. ‘Fraser. New practice pharmacist,’ he explained.
The nurse took his hand and shook it. ‘Tracy. Exhausted practice nurse,’ she said, and did a charming little curtsey.
Fraser laughed.
‘So, how are you finding it then? Have you had to deal with the ogre yet?’ Tracy teased, as she moved around him, preparing herself a cup of coffee.
‘I take it you mean Dr Hope? I heard he can be a bit tricky.’ Fraser laughed.
The nurse giggled. ‘Oh, Mark would just love to hear that. He’s not really an ogre but he likes to test people. Especially new people. He did that with me at the start, took me in his room and absolutely grilled me, and look at us now.’ The girl raised her left hand and the diamond twinkled in the strip light above. ‘His divorce isn’t through, but he’s informally asked. I’ll have a word if you like, before he tries to maul you?’
Fraser blushed beetroot red. ‘I had no idea,’ he said hurriedly. ‘I must apologise. Please don’t bother saying a thing. I’d not want that at all. I’m sure he’s not as bad as you make out.’
‘Well, Fraser, was it? Perhaps I’ll catch you later then,’ Tracy said as she moved to the door with her coffee. ‘Unlike Mark, I don’t like to upset the newbies. I’m really quite friendly as it happens. Some people say I’m far too friendly,’ she confided.
Fraser smiled and looked at the ground. He was rather taken aback by the girl’s unashamed flirtation, but Tracy was playing it cool once more, and sliding the end of her ponytail over her shoulder, she went, leaving Fraser in the coffee room alone.
During the second week of employment, Fraser suffered his first blow. It had, up until then, been plain sailing. He had found the work quite quick to pick up once he had managed to negotiate the passwords and intricacies of the computer
system. When he was confident doing this, he found that he had all the information he required to begin auditing all of the areas that the GPs had allowed to slip. Their cardiovascular patients had been thus far managed appallingly, and he had barely a chance to look at the type-two diabetics. It was following a preliminary run-through of the figures that he felt assured enough to approach the dreaded Dr Mark Hope, who he had only spoken to briefly as with the other GPs. He had thought a good deal about what Tracy had said to him and the previous night he had sat up late trying to memorise all of the facts and figures that might impress the infamous GP.
Tapping on the consulting room door, having checked with Brenda that the doctor might be free, he entered at Mark’s request. He was sitting at his desk and although Mark knew Fraser was there, he did not look up.
‘So sorry to interrupt you when you’re busy. I had wanted …’
The doctor raised a hand and continued to read whatever had his attention.
Fraser stood stupidly for some minutes, growing ever impatient and cursing the cheek of the man. When Mark finally looked up, he smiled rather cruelly.
‘Settled in, Brenda tells me. Good. Sit then,’ and the doctor indicated a chair.
‘I just wanted to say before anything else that I’ve been so impressed at how well the GPs have documented …’
But Mark raised his hand again and Fraser tailed off. Not used to being dealt with in such a manner, the young pharmacist sat open-mouthed.
‘Cut the crap,’ Mark said curtly. ‘We both know that’s what it is, after all. We’re up to our necks in it. Half the hypertensives haven’t been coded correctly. It’s been a bloody battle for me, trying to teach both new and old doctors how to do it. Save going through the lot myself, I couldn’t do much more. Ah. I am speaking,’ he continued when Fraser went to interrupt.