Nathan sensed her discomfort and moved on. “Okay. I’ll leave that question for now. Back to your earlier question. Why do I look different to the other guys around here? I work in management in the office most of the time. I tend to only dress in the high-vis stuff when I’m on site.”
In an attempt to move on from discussing all things physical she asked the first question which came to mind. “So how long do you think you’ll stay here?” She recalled him saying he was only working in the mines for the money until he decided what was next.
Nathan exhaled and sat forward again in his chair, resting his forearms on the table. “That same question seems to be the constant elephant in the room whenever I’m back home. The answer is always the same. I just don’t know.”
“Did you ever end up looking into what you’d have to do to go back and get your teaching qualification?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged. “Haven’t gotten around to it.”
“Maybe you simply need a deadline.”
“What do you mean?”
Their meals arrived and Mackenzie’s eyes widened at the size of the steak placed in front of her. It was almost hanging over the sides of her plate. Thick beer-battered chips filled up a third of the plate and a few measly pieces of iceberg lettuce and a couple of cherry tomatoes and slices of cucumber made up her side salad. The waitress plonked a half empty bottle of Heinz tomato sauce onto the table between them.
Nathan laughed at her expression.
“I take it this is the first time you’ve eaten here at the pub?”
“It is.”
“Next time can I suggest you order the chicken?”
“There’s no way I can finish all this.”
“No worries. Eat what you can and leave the rest.” Mackenzie watched him drown his chips in sauce, then pick up the knife, and begin to cut his meat. “So you were saying I need a deadline.”
“Yes,” Mackenzie answered. This was safer territory. Better than discussing her ideas on the perfect man. “Tell yourself you’re going to go back to university next year to get your teaching qualification or whatever it is you need to do so you can teach. That gives you both a deadline and a plan.”
“But I’m not even sure I want to teach,” he said, sighing heavily before taking a bite of his steak and chewing slowly.
“That’s fair enough. If you don’t want to teach, that’s okay. Maybe there’s something else you might like to do instead. You can’t stay working here forever. You said yourself you don’t see yourself staying here long term.”
Nathan placed his knife and fork on his plate with a clatter and just like that the happy mood between them fizzled like a deflating balloon.
“I hate this feeling of pressure I always get whenever this conversation comes up. It’s like I’m supposed to be doing something with my life instead of just working in the mines and earning money.”
His anger surprised her. “I’m sorry, Nathan. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s fine.” He started eating again.
Clearly it was anything but fine. For a brief moment she caught a glimpse of the real Nathan – the one not everyone saw. He might look like he had his life together, but maybe he wasn’t as perfect as she’d first thought.
An uneasy disquiet fell between them. Mackenzie ran her finger down the side of her glass, catching the drops of condensation as they fell. She’d lost her appetite. Cutlery scraped against plates and the cheers from the men watching sport on the large flat-screen television behind the bar punctuated the silence.
Finally when he’d finished, Nathan pushed his plate away. “I’m sorry, Mackenzie, I totally ruined the mood. And we were having such a good night.”
“No, it’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have brought the subject up. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but I could see you’re not happy.”
“And I shouldn’t be so touchy about it,” he said.
“So then what’s the problem?” she asked kindly. “Why are you so prickly about it?”
“Have you finished?” he asked, pointing to her half-eaten meal.
“As much as I’m able to.”
Nathan stood. “It’s stuffy in here. Let’s go outside. Are you happy to go for a walk?”
“Yeah, I’d like that.” Mackenzie stood, pushing back her own chair.
Nathan held out his hand and she placed hers in it, surprised at the heat radiating from his touch. His skin was soft and warm and their fingers spontaneously entwined as though it was completely natural to be holding hands. A few minutes later they finally managed to say their good-byes and escape. She enjoyed the feeling of her hand in his and was pleased when he didn’t let go even after they’d left the noisy confines of the pub.
They started walking slowly up the street. The air was hot and dry and there wasn’t even a hint of a cool breeze. The streets were deserted and the houses quiet. Probably half the population of Iron Ridge was at the pub.
“The problem is this issue keeps coming up. It has ever since I came back from the UK,” he said as they started walking slowly up the street, hand in hand.
“How does it keep coming up?” Mackenzie asked. “What do you mean?”
“My parents. Kate. Everyone wants to know when I’m coming back home, settling down. They want me to get married, start a family. Decide what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. You pretty much asked the same question tonight. The problem is, I simply don’t know. I love it here in Iron Ridge, but as you said, I can’t see myself spending the rest of my life here. And that leaves me with a bigger question to answer: where is home?”
Mackenzie asked herself the same question often. As much as she was enjoying her time in the Pilbara, living there was not a permanent solution. Like Nathan, she was unsure what was in her future or where she would be living, but it certainly wasn’t in the middle of the desert. It was a fun change of pace and an awesome experience, but it wasn’t part of her long-term plan.
“Sounds like we’re both in the same situation,” she said.
“Yeah, but at least you’ve got a career. All I’ve got is this well-paid job I don’t even enjoy.”
“So quit.”
They walked in silence for a few more minutes. Mackenzie looked around her, not certain where they were going. Nathan seemed to be leading her aimlessly in no particular direction.
“One day the timing will be right or something will happen and I’ll know what I’m supposed to do. Until then, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing here.” He stopped abruptly, let go of her hand and turned to face her. “Enough of this depressing discussion.” He smiled at her. “Do you ever have any weekends off?”
Mackenzie raised her eyebrows in surprise at his change of tone and smiled in return. “I’m off next weekend. Three full days. Why?”
“Don’t make any plans,” he announced as he draped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her into a sideways hug. “I’m going to take you on an adventure to the real Australian Outback. And I promise it will be the best experience of your life.”
Chapter 12
“This is Wayne,” Charlotte said, bringing a man through from triage to one of the small cubicles later the next day. “He’s a forty-four-year-old man. Lives at home.”
Mackenzie gave the man a small wave. “I’m Mackenzie, I’m working with Charlotte. We’re your nurses.”
Wayne clutched at his very considerable abdomen with an open hand and barely acknowledged her greeting. He moaned in pain and Charlotte raised her eyebrows as she turned away from him and addressed Mackenzie quietly.
“His wife just dropped him off saying he’d had a sudden onset of sharp central chest pain after eating breakfast this morning. She’s outside having a smoke.”
“Past history?” Mackenzie asked softly.
Charlotte lowered her voice further. “I’m sure you can work it out just by looking at him.” She took a few steps away and with her back t
o Wayne smirked at Mackenzie. “Type two diabetes, high cholesterol, smoker, hypertension, GORD.” She rattled off her suggestions, holding up one finger for each diagnosis. “Add to that a recent chest infection, peripheral vascular disease and gout.” Charlotte checked her watch and then thrust the paperwork into Mackenzie’s hands. “And now he’s all yours.” She grinned. “My shift has just finished!”
“Jeez, he’s only forty-four!” Mackenzie exclaimed as she skimmed the paperwork in her hand and then glanced at Wayne.
She entered the cubicle and pulled the curtain closed. She tried to attach the blood pressure cuff to his upper arm but his writhing and moaning made it very difficult. Both arms still clutched at his chest.
“Wayne!” Mackenzie said sharply.
He stopped for a moment and looked at her.
“How bad is your pain right now? If ten is the worst pain you’ve ever experienced in your life and one is a slight niggle, what would you rate it?”
“Oh, it’s a ten for sure,” he said, groaning again to illustrate the point. “It’s burning.” He clutched at his chest again as a woman whipped open the curtain and strode into the cubicle. Mackenzie’s eyes widened in astonishment. The woman who pushed past her and bent over to kiss Wayne on the cheek was the female version of him. She reeked of cigarettes.
“I’m Sharon. His wife. What’s wrong with him? He’s having a heart attack isn’t he? What are you doing about it?” The questions flew from her mouth like gunfire.
“Hi Sharon. I’m Mackenzie. I’m one of the nurses here. I haven’t been able to assess him yet. How about you take a seat and I’ll do what I need to do.”
Sharon crossed her arms and glared at Mackenzie. “But if he’s having a bloody heart attack, shouldn’t one of the doctors be seeing him instead of you?” she asked, her voice going up a notch. Wayne moaned again, as if to indicate his agreement.
Mackenzie clamped her lips closed to stop from saying what she really wanted to say. Ignoring the woman’s condescending tone, she wrapped the blood pressure cuff tight around the man’s meaty upper arm and attached the oxygen saturation probe to his finger. Placing her stethoscope in her ears, she was pleased when it at least drowned out some of Sharon’s muttered comments about the nursing care her husband was receiving. She listened to Wayne’s pulse as she pumped up and then deflated the cuff. His blood pressure was definitely up. One-ninety on eighty-five. Maybe pain. Maybe stress. More likely because he hadn’t taken his morning anti-hypertensive medications.
Pulling her stethoscope from her ears, she wrapped it around her neck in one fluid, well-practiced movement as she undid the cuff and looked at him.
“Have you taken your blood pressure medications today?” She was certain he would be on more than one anti-hypertensive tablet.
“I ran out two days ago.”
Bingo! Mackenzie remained silent.
“What’s his blood pressure?” Sharon demanded. “It’s up isn’t it?” Sharon let out an expletive. “I tell you, he’s having a bloody heart attack. I know he is. You’ve got to get a doctor now!”
Charlotte pulled back the curtain and entered, pushing the ECG machine in front of her. Perfect timing.
“Are you the doctor?” Sharon demanded.
“Nope, I’m Charlotte. Another one of the nurses. I’m working with Mackenzie.” Her singsong voice belied her real attitude.
“I thought you were going home,” Mackenzie hissed.
“Decided you might need some help.”
Mackenzie flashed her a grateful smile. Between them they attached the sticky dots and ECG leads to Wayne’s diaphoretic upper body and limbs, while Sharon breathed like a dragon down their necks. Wayne continued to groan theatrically.
“Lie still Wayne or we can’t get a good shot,” Charlotte said.
Wayne sat still long enough to capture a picture of his heart. While the ECG was printing, Mackenzie checked his temperature and then attached cardiac monitoring leads to his body. White on the right. Smoke over fire. Snow over grass. The simple phrase helped her remember which order to place the five colored leads in position on his chest, even though she had been doing it for years.
Charlotte waved the ECG in front of Mackenzie and she gave it a cursory glance. “Sinus rhythm. No ST changes. Slightly tachycardic,” Mackenzie said with a shrug. “Looks like a pretty normal ECG to me.”
“Are you going to show that to a doctor?” Sharon asked.
“I need to take some blood first and when the results are back, we will have a better idea of what’s going on,” Mackenzie said, grinding her teeth together to stop from losing it.
Sharon swore again. “He’s having a heart attack! That’s what’s going on! I’m telling you and you’re not doing a thing about it!” Sharon stood with her hand pressed against Wayne’s arm, challenging them with her eyes, nostrils flaring like a racehorse at the end of a sprint.
“Wayne, did you take any of your normal medications this morning? What about the tablets you take for your reflux?” Mackenzie asked, ignoring the glowering Sharon. At the rate she was going, she was about to have a heart attack.
“Oh I stopped taking them ages ago. They weren’t working.”
Mackenzie raised her eyebrows and stifled a groan. She spent the next few minutes asking Wayne questions and documenting everything. Sharon watched over her shoulder, legs planted wide apart with a tight expression on her face. She was thankfully smart enough to keep quiet while Mackenzie worked.
“I hate needles,” Wayne said when he saw Mackenzie pull the IV cart toward him.
“It’s a tiny little sting and it will all be over,” Mackenzie assured him. “All I’m going to do is take some blood. If we need to pop an IV line in later, we can do that. Small scratch,” she said as she inserted the tiny butterfly needle into his vein. She withdrew enough blood for three pathology tubes, pulled out the needle, wrote on the tubes and filled in all the necessary paperwork before turning back to Charlotte.
“I reckon we should give him a ‘pink lady,’” Mackenzie said.
“Good idea,” Charlotte said as she snatched up the paperwork and bloods. “I’ll call the doctor.”
“You agree with me though, don’t you? Heartburn?”
Charlotte nodded. “Absolutely! Of course we won’t know ’til we get the bloods back, but yeah, I reckon that’s highly likely.”
“Heartburn?” Sharon spluttered. “Are you kidding me? It’s not heartburn, it’s a heart attack! I want to speak to the doctor!”
Ten minutes later Richard, the local GP, appeared and asked Wayne and Sharon all the same questions Mackenzie had. He concurred with the nurses and suggested Wayne might like to drink a pink lady – a mix of Mylanta and a local anesthetic which would take away some of the burning sensation caused by his heartburn. He ordered them to administer Wayne’s usual medications and some paracetamol, and three minutes after the doctor left, the moaning subsided and he reported he was pain free.
Hours later they discharged Wayne home with advice to stop smoking, lose weight and remember to take all his medications every day. Mackenzie highly doubted he would be compliant with any of their counsel. He and Sharon walked out of the department without as much as a thank you or a backward glance.
“Patients like that make my blood boil,” Charlotte said a few minutes later after they’d tidied everything.
Mackenzie shrugged. “Not much we can do about it. Are you heading home now?”
“Yeah. I hope the rest of your shift goes well. You’re off this weekend aren’t you?”
Mackenzie felt her cheeks heat. “Yes, I am.”
“Ah, that’s right,” Charlotte drawled. “I remember now. You and Nathan Kennedy are going camping aren’t you?”
“News travels fast around here.” Mackenzie turned away so she could hide her flushed face.
“You have no idea how fast. I heard all about you beating him at pool the other night at the pub within ten minutes of it happening. The guys there said the
air was very steamy and you only had eyes for each other. I also heard you walked out of there hand in hand, headed back to his place. So has he kissed you yet?”
“No!”
“But you want him to?” Charlotte asked.
Mackenzie’s silence and red face was answer enough.
“Ooh, a fly-in fly-out romance. Just what you need to spice things up while you’re here,” Charlotte said. When Mackenzie frowned, Charlotte continued. “They’re the best kind of relationships. If it doesn’t work out, you can just fly back out at the end of your contract and never have to see the guy again.”
“Oh, I’m not like that,” Mackenzie said with a quick shake of her head. “I’m not interested in the one-night stand thing.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Charlotte teased. “Let me guess, you want the whole ‘horse and carriage, love and marriage’ thing don’t you?”
“Maybe.” She wasn’t about to admit Charlotte had hit the nail squarely on the head.
“Well I’d have to say he’s perfect marriage material. He’s not my type – too clean cut for me – but I’ve often wondered why he’s still single. I reckon he’d be a great catch.”
“Have you known him long?” Mackenzie asked. “Has he gone out with anyone here?”
Charlotte shook her head. “I’ve only been here six months and he hasn’t been out with anyone in that time as far as I know. I heard he had a serious relationship with a girl in England. Ellie someone.” She shrugged. “Maybe she broke his heart and he’s still getting over her.”
“Hm. Possibly.”
Why had he never mentioned Ellie before?
“So you’re pretty keen on him then?” Charlotte asked, breaking into her thoughts.
“He’s a great guy and we get along well.” She sounded evasive, even to her own ears.
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