by Karly Lane
Twenty-five
Rilee looked up at the knock on the front door and waved as Shae poked her head inside. She mouthed a hello as she listened to the customer service operator on the other end of the line.
‘This is the third time I’ve called about this order,’ Rilee said. ‘I finally received the delivery yesterday, but there are items missing. No, I don’t want to hold—’ Rilee groaned in frustration and Shae held up a mug to ask if she wanted coffee.
‘Yes, please,’ she said wearily.
‘Not going well?’
‘Nothing is going right with this order. I open tomorrow and I still don’t have most of the stock I’ve ordered.’
‘Just relax. I’m sure you can manage for a few days before you need the stuff that hasn’t turned up.’
‘That’s what Dan said this morning. But it’s not the point. It doesn’t look very professional if I’m a naturopath who can’t prescribe anything.’
‘Maybe you should prescribe yourself something to chill out,’ she said, grinning as she worked the coffee machine.
‘I’m already taking the maximum dose.’
‘I won’t come to you for stress relief then.’
Rilee let out a long breath and realised her friend was right. She was supposed to be the damn professional here and she was allowing the situation to get on top of her.
The operator came back on the line and Rilee switched her attention back to the conversation, listing the items she hadn’t received before being reassured they were coming in a separate package and should be there by tomorrow.
‘See? It’s all going to work out. Just breathe.’
‘Yes, doctor,’ she said, accepting the fragrant cup of coffee with a moan of gratitude.
‘Aren’t you supposed to drink green tea or something healthy?’
‘Probably. But I prefer this. And if you ever tell anyone, I’ll have to kill you.’
‘Your secret is safe with me,’ Shae vowed.
‘Shae, have you been hearing any gossip about me lately?’ Shae lifted an eyebrow. ‘What do you mean?’
Rilee toyed with a pen on her desk, avoiding her friend’s eyes. ‘I overheard two women in the supermarket and they were speculating about why Dan married me.’
‘The general consensus is that he’s knocked you up.’
Rilee sent her friend a wry glance. ‘So I heard.’
Shae shrugged. ‘If it’s any comfort, the pregnancy rumours are old news. The fact you think living in Pallaburra is the pits, and you think kids should leave town as soon as possible so they don’t get stuck here like their parents,’ Shae said, ‘that seems to be getting far more mileage at the moment.’
Rilee groaned and hung her head. The bloody ladies’ church committee meeting. She knew there would be some kind of fallout from it.
‘It’ll blow over,’ Shae told her calmly.
‘But it probably hasn’t done my business any favours, has it?’ Rilee said, slumping back in her chair.
Shae didn’t answer straight away and Rilee felt what little hope remained plummet.
‘Look, your being a naturopath was always going to be hard enough for this place to get used to,’ Shae started. ‘Being a newcomer is another roadblock…but managing to offend half the town is probably not the best way to generate new clients.’
‘I didn’t mean to insult them. God, Shae! It wasn’t even like that,’ she said, tipping her head back to stare at the ceiling. ‘I just wanted to make a difference to some of these kids’ lives.’
‘It will blow over,’ Shae said, leaning across and gently placing her hand on top of Rilee’s.
Rilee managed a weak smile at her friend’s support. She hoped Shae was right. This business was a dream she’d been fostering for a long time now. Had she managed to destroy her chance before she’d even started?
Rilee unlocked the front door the next morning and let out a long, slow breath. Today was the official opening of her very own clinic. A bubble containing equal measures of pride and anxiety floated inside her chest. She took a photo of the front door. The rustic timber of the original door softened the sparkling glass behind which she’d paced the sign: Rilee Kincaid MHSc (Herbal Med), BEd, ND, AdvDipHom.
There were a lot of initials after that name, and her shoulders straightened a little more as she thought of the years of studying and hard work she’d put in to achieve them. ‘You can do this,’ she whispered.
Rilee spent the first hour sitting behind the front counter, trying to keep occupied as she waited for a potential client, but so far not one person had come by. Even the phone had remained stubbornly silent. She’d called the number from her mobile to double check it was working and it rang through.
Dan had messaged her to ask how it was going and when she’d told him it was quiet, he’d suggested he come in and see if she had any jobs for him to do. She’d declined his offer, but now, more than two hours later, she was almost wishing she hadn’t. At least that would have meant she’d done something productive all day—even if it had only been cavorting with her husband.
The phone finally rang and Rilee almost fell off her seat in her eagerness to answer. ‘Natural Healing Centre, this is Rilee.’
‘Hello, darling. Just calling you to say happy first day of business. How’s it going?’
‘Oh. Mum. Hi.’ She strove to hide her disappointment. ‘Yeah, it’s going really well.’
‘You’ve been busy? That’s fantastic.’
Rilee didn’t have the heart to correct her, then felt even worse as her mother continued. ‘I am so proud of you, sweetheart. You’ve worked so hard. Your father and I are just the proudest parents you could ever imagine. We love you, Apple Blossom.’
Rilee silently groaned her dismay, both over the use of the blessing name her parents had given her in lieu of a traditional christening and at the slight quiver of emotion she detected in her mother’s voice. She knew she’d given them many disappointments over the years. Through it all, they’d never once wavered in their love or support, even when she’d turned her back on them. When she’d come home with her tail between her legs, her life in tatters, her parents had been there with opened arms and nothing but love to help her heal.
She could not disappoint them again. She wouldn’t. This business was going to be a success. Besides, it was only the first day. Surely tomorrow things would pick up.
They didn’t. Rilee spent another long day hovering by the phone. She did have people through her door…two to be exact. The first woman she suspected was the one she’d overheard gossiping in the supermarket, because she asked for a tarot reading and left more than a little disappointed when Rilee told her she didn’t read cards. The second was a man…a delivery man, who was asking for directions.
It was getting harder to remain positive, despite reminding herself that new businesses were always slow to start out. But deep down she knew this was because she had stood up and told a few home truths about the town at that stupid meeting, and now she was paying the price. Why hadn’t she just let Ellen have her way? Because she’d stupidly thought she could make a difference. And look where that got you.
She was out the back refolding the towels for the fifth time that day when she heard the front door open. Bowing her head, she whispered a fervent prayer that may or may not have involved the selling of her soul, then plastered a professional smile on her face before walking out to greet the arrival.
Shae stood at the front counter and Rilee felt her face begin to fall. She really wasn’t sure she could keep this up for much longer.
‘Hello, I heard you’re a naturopath?’
Rilee sighed. ‘You wouldn’t have heard it from around here. No one apparently knows what a naturopath is, exactly.’
Shae sent her a sympathetic smile. ‘Then maybe you need to do something about that. We need to get some information out there.’
‘I’ve been thinking about that. I started working on a flyer, listing the most common ailments and how I can help treat them
…Can you take a look and see what you think?’ She opened a file on her computer and turned the screen around so Shae could read it.
‘That’s great. You’ve already worked out your demographic. You need to be to the point. Too scientific and you risk losing their trust.’
‘Usually the more scientific the more trustworthy.’
‘Maybe in other places, but around here we’re limited in the number of different therapies available. Change still comes slowly. But I think you’re on the right track. You just need to win over a few of the toughest critics and you’ll be set.’
‘What do you suggest I do—force them to come to a consultation?’
‘Not force. But maybe offer a free mini consultation first.’
Rilee considered her friend’s advice and nodded slowly. ‘I think you’re right.’ Enthusiasm bubbled back up inside her once more at the new plan.
‘But that’s not why I came here,’ Shae said, making Rilee glance up again. ‘I’m actually here as a patient.’
‘Shae, you don’t have to do this. Seriously.’
‘I am serious. I’m not here to help you out. I’ve actually been working up the courage to ask you for help ever since we met.’
The note of uncertainty was something Rilee hadn’t heard from her friend before. ‘Why would you be nervous?’
‘Because…’ Shae started then swallowed, lowering her gaze to the floor. ‘I’m afraid.’
Rilee came around the desk and touched her arm. ‘Why?’
She looked up and the hopelessness Rilee saw there made her catch her breath. ‘Because if you can’t help me, I’ll be forced to give up the one thing I’ve always wanted.’
‘What’s that?’
‘A baby, Rilee. I want a baby.’
She’d figured from their conversations that she and Mark had been trying for a baby, but she hadn’t suspected there were any problems.
‘We’ve been trying to have a baby for the last two years. It took forever to conceive, but I miscarried after only a few weeks, and since then we’ve kept trying but we’ve had no luck.’
‘How far along were you?’
‘About twelve weeks.’
Rilee gave Shae’s hand a sympathetic squeeze. The loss of a baby, no matter how far into a pregnancy, was always devastating.
Rilee reached down behind the counter and took out a clipboard, then turned back to Shae. ‘Come with me into the consulting room,’ she said with a gentle smile. ‘Let’s see what we can do.’
An hour later Shae sat back in her chair. ‘Wow, that was really intensive.’
‘Sorry about all the questions, but I need to know everything before I can work out a treatment protocol for you.’
‘So what do you think?’
‘Well, Mark’s low fertility would explain the length of time it took before you were able to conceive, but then if your oestrogen and progesterone levels are out, it would make falling pregnant in the first place difficult and it would be almost impossible to hold the embryo once you did conceive.’
‘So what do we do now?’
‘First thing we need to do is chart your cycle so I can get a clearer picture of what we’re dealing with, and then we’ll do a blood test and check your oestrogen and progesterone levels. I’m fairly confident it’s low progesterone that’s the problem.’ She jotted down some notes on the file quickly before looking up to give Shae a confident smile. ‘In the meantime, I can give you something that might help Mark and I’d also like to work on your nervous system. Stress can play havoc with hormones and we need to get that under control first.’
‘And you think after all that…I’ll be able to have a baby?’
Rilee saw the guarded look in her friend’s eyes. She didn’t want to give false hope, that would be too cruel, but she truly believed there was a good chance she could help. ‘I wish I could give you a guarantee, but I can’t.’ She saw a look of reluctant acceptance cross Shae’s face and hurried to add, ‘It’s not to say I don’t believe you will. I’ve seen it help people before, but you know as well as I do that sometimes life doesn’t always go according to plan. But if you’ll trust me, I promise I won’t give up until we’ve exhausted every possible treatment.’
Shae gave a shaky sigh that was filled with relief. ‘Okay.’
Long after Shae had left the surgery, Rilee was buried in research as she worked on the treatment protocol and she hardly noticed that no one else came into the office for the rest of the day. It didn’t matter so much when she had at least one patient in need of her help. This was the reward she’d been working towards. Her first patient in her very own practice. Someone she could help—really help. This was what all those long years of study had been for. This was what she was born to do. Her confidence levels lifted higher than they’d been in a very long time and it felt good.
Finally, things were back on track.
Twenty-six
The sound of the door opening alerted Rilee to a visitor and she crossed her fingers that it was a customer. As she walked out to the front of the clinic she stopped short. ‘Oh. Hi,’ she said, trying not to sound as stunned as she felt.
Talissa dug her hands into the front pockets of her jeans and pulled out two crumpled ten-dollar notes before taking a step closer and thrusting them out at Rilee. ‘I haven’t forgotten about payin’ you back. This is all I got so far. I’ll get the rest later this week.’
‘Oh.’ Rilee shook herself mentally before reaching for the money. ‘Are you sure? I don’t mind if you want to keep this and use it for more important things.’ Like food for your child, she added silently, sending a glance at the baby kicking in the pram.
‘We’re good.’
‘Well, okay then,’ said Rilee, realising it was obviously important to Talissa’s pride that she pay back her debt.
‘I forgot to ask before, what’s bub’s name?’
There was a definite hesitation this time and a frown. ‘Khaleesi.’
Rilee couldn’t help the flicker of surprise and the girl instantly hunched her shoulders. ‘So you’re a Game of Thrones fan then?’
Talissa tilted her head slightly and some of the tension left her body. ‘Yeah.’
‘Me too. I have the books if you ever want to read them,’ Rilee said casually.
‘Why would you want to read books when you can watch it on DVD?’
‘I love the DVDs too, but the books are so much better.’ At the girl’s doubtful look Rilee chuckled. ‘Honest. When you read the books you get more of the story and you get to know the characters and what they’re thinking.’
‘I never liked reading much…at school.’
‘It’s not too late to try it and see if you like it now.’
‘I don’t get much time to read. Not with a baby to look after,’ she said, checking on the child quickly.
‘I noticed you bottle-feed her. You didn’t like breastfeeding?’ Rilee couldn’t help thinking how much healthier and cheaper it would have been for her to have breastfed instead of buying all that expensive formula.
‘Nah. It was too hard.’
‘You didn’t get any help at the hospital?’
Talissa shrugged and turned away to look around the room curiously. ‘I wasn’t there long.’
‘Does the baby nurse clinic come here?’
‘Nah. You gotta go to Narrabri for that. I went the first time, but I haven’t been back.’
This news made Rilee uneasy. Why wouldn’t they have a nurse come out to the women here in Pallaburra? It was bad enough that any new mum had to drive all that way with a newborn for weekly check-ups, but for these kids too young to drive? How were they supposed to get regular baby checks? Not to mention the normal antenatal care that was important to help with breastfeeding education and the mother’s health.
‘I hate going to that place anyway. All the other older women sit there and look down their noses at me and Khaleesi, just cause I’m younger than them.’
She’d seen it around
town, the subtle change in expression as a young mother walked past a group of older women, the knowing glances they’d silently swap.
‘I don’t give a toss what other people think of me, but I just wish it was fair, you know? No one looks at teenage dads like that, cause they’re hardly ever around anyway.’
‘What about Khaleesi’s dad? Is he around?’
Talissa turned away with a brief shrug of one shoulder. ‘Nah. He dumped me when I told him I was pregnant. He told me to get rid of it. But that’s when I knew I was gonna keep it,’ she said, looking up at Rilee with a determined glint. ‘I know what it feels like not to be wanted by anyone. I wasn’t going to do that to my baby.’
Rilee felt her throat thicken with emotion at the quiet yet strong words the young girl spoke. ‘I heard the cashier mention your mum the other day. Does she help you out?’
‘Sometimes,’ she said, crossing to the desk and picking up the small brown bottles of premixed remedies Rilee had on display.
‘How old are you, Talissa?’
‘Fifteen,’ she said calmly.
‘Do you have any plans to go back to school?’
‘No. What’s the point?’
‘You don’t want to study and get a good job?’
‘Study what? In case you haven’t noticed, there’s not that many good jobs in Pallaburra.’
‘You wouldn’t have to get a job here. You could get a job somewhere else. As for studying, there’s a whole range of things you could study if you finished school.’
Talissa put the bottle she’d been holding down and gave Rilee an odd look. ‘How would I do that with a baby?’
‘It wouldn’t be easy,’ Rilee conceded, ‘but I’m sure there would be a way to do it.’
‘Maybe for someone like you.’
‘That’s not true. If you want something bad enough there’s always a way to make it happen.’
‘If you have money.’
‘Not everyone starts out with money, Talissa. I put myself through my naturopathy degree by working in a bar.’
‘Yeah, but you didn’t have a kid.’
True. And therein lay the problem. ‘Would your mum help you out with taking care of the baby?’