Fiona McArthur

by The Surgeon's Special Gift

  'My next question.'

  'No. I'll drive myself.' And then I can bring myself home when I want to, she thought. Especially if I get a chance to tell him about William, I might need to leave.

  There was a small pause until he answered. 'See you soon, then.'

  Ailee put the phone down slowly and straightened up.

  'Who was that, darling?' Helen was on her way to the kitchen.

  'Someone from work, inviting me for a game of tennis.'

  'I hope you said yes.'

  Ailee looked at her mother and then she laughed. 'Yes, Mother. I will go out and play.'

  Helen smiled sheepishly. 'Well, you haven't left our sides except to go to work. You need to have your own life, especially while you are well.'

  Ailee hugged her mother. 'I'll be well again after this operation, too, so stop worrying.'

  When she arrived at the McVicker house there was a red sports car and a long saloon parked outside the front door. Two curvy blonde women sailed down the front stairs past Ailee and shook their heads.

  'Better him than us,' one of them said. She looked Ailee up and down and then smiled. 'If you're looking for a wild time, it's happening in there.'

  Ailee smiled bemusedly at the women and climbed the stairs. A slightly fazed Martha opened the door and ushered her in warmly.

  'Now, you might be able to sort this, Dr Green. I fear Fergus is out of his depth.'

  Loud music was coming from the library and Ailee searched her mind for the memory of a stereo. She couldn't remember one in the book-lined room.

  She walked across and opened the library door, and the music assaulted her ears, along with the visual impact of four short-skirted pre-teens in crop tops and tennis shoes gyrating.

  At first she couldn't see Fergus but then spotted him peering at the ghetto-blaster, obviously searching for the volume control.

  Sophie grinned and waved as Ailee dodged past the dancers with a little gyration of her own until she came up behind Fergus.

  'It's here,' Ailee shouted, but it was her finger, not her voice, that drew his attention, and she slid the volume control down to barely painful.

  As she did so, she turned to catch Sophie's eye and tapped her ears to explain the change in volume. Sophie shrugged and nodded but seemed happy enough.

  Ailee pointed to the connecting door to the observatory and Fergus agreed with fervour.

  The door shut out almost half of the sound but wasn't enough for him. He took Ailee's hand and steered her through to the outside terrace, and when that door was shut as well it was almost peaceful in the warm outside air.

  'Good grief. Thank you for coming.' He gestured to a white wrought-iron table and chairs and waited until she was seated under the shade of an open umbrella before he sat down.

  Martha appeared as if by magic with orange juice and ice cubes in tall glasses for them and a jug and smaller glasses for the invaders when they came.

  'Much more sensible outside, I agree, Dr Green.'

  'Please, call me Ailee, Martha, and thank you for this.' She gestured to her glass.

  'I see it's a little quieter now,' Martha teased Fergus. He took it good-naturedly as his housekeeper left them.

  Ailee laughed. 'You shouldn't have bought Sophie a portable sound system.'

  Fergus held up his hands and waved then. 'Not my fault. One of the little darlings brought it with her this morning.'

  'What an enterprising female. Why so deafening?'

  'Apparently that was Sophie's all-time favourite song and it needs to be at decibel ten to be really appreciated.'

  'You exaggerate, but it was loud.'

  His admiring gaze ran over her T-shirt and micro shorts then back to her face. 'You look gorgeous.'

  'Thank you, kind sir. I don't own a tennis skirt. You don't look bad yourself.' Fergus lounged in cargo shorts and an open-necked white shirt and they smiled at each other like idiots in mutual admiration.

  The peace was shattered as the girls poured through the conservatory door and circled their table.

  'Hello, Ailee.' Sophie grinned. 'Have you come to save Dad from us?'

  'Yep. So who have we here?'

  'Dianne, Prue and Angela.' Sophie pointed out each girl—one with braces, one with bright red nail polish and one with the sweetest face and smile.

  Mentally Ailee dubbed them dentist, polish and angel so that she would remember their names.

  'Dianne, Prue and Angela.' The names matched the prompts and she had them in her memory now. 'How do you do?'

  After refreshments they all trooped towards the tennis court and Fergus watched his daughter hang back to walk with Ailee.

  Sophie looked shy for a second, which wasn't like her and made him realise how important Ailee's presence was. He hoped he was doing the right thing by encouraging this friendship.

  'Thanks for coming, Ailee,' Sophie said.

  'Thank you for the invitation.' She glanced con- spiratorially at the young g'irl. 'I wouldn't have missed your father with his hands over his ears. All we need to do now is beat him at tennis and I can go home happy.'

  Sophie glanced across at her father with a smile and Fergus savoured the laughter on both their faces and the fact that he was included in his daughter's warmth.

  'I may give you a run for your money,' he said mildly as he put the racket bag he was carrying down on the bench beside the court.

  'You girls have a game first and we'll watch and then Ailee and I will play the losers in a knockout.'

  The morning passed with much, hilarity, especially when Ailee teased Fergus about his poor level of play.

  They'd swapped the teams around several times and Ailee and Sophie were playing against Fergus and Prue.

  'We win,' Ailee crowed, as they met at the net to shake hands. She laughed up at Fergus and he grinned down at her.

  'Will we tell her?' Fergus asked his daughter.

  Sophie giggled. 'Dad's been playing with his left hand all morning and he's right-handed.'

  'That's terrible. Here I was thinking I wasn't too bad at all. I won't have it. Play with your right hand and don't hold back, Fergus McVicker.'

  One more game later, Ailee and Sophie walked off without having scored a point and now the other girls wanted to play Fergus with his right hand.

  Sophie and Ailee sat down beside one of Martha's jugs of iced orange and Ailee pretended to be offended.

  'He's too good.'

  Sophie looked across at her father, who had easily lobbed a shot back to the far corner of the court to have his opponents scrambling. 'He's been hilarious today. My friends said he was a crack-up.' She looked a little surprised to be proud of him.

  'His sense of humour is a wonderful part of him. Along with his rotten left-handed tennis skills.'

  Sophie smiled and then her face became more serious. 'We haven't used the court together since my mother died.'

  'You should play together more often. I know he misses being your friend.' She tested Sophie's reaction to talking about Stella's death. 'Your father said it was a shock to everyone when your mother had complications after surgery.'

  Sophie stared across the grass. 'It should never have happened. How can a doctor not be able to save his own wife? How could Dad let it happen?'

  Ailee slipped her arms around Sophie's shoulders and hugged her before sitting back. 'Anger is a part of grief. Your dad is a very talented surgeon but I guess they wouldn't have let him anywhere near your mother because surgeons aren't allowed to operate on or look after their own family.'

  Sophie looked at Ailee. 'Has anyone died while you were operating?'

  'No, but sometimes I've had to operate on people who have just died so they can donate their organs to others.'

  Sophie shook her head as if to ward off the mental picture. 'I don't want to think about that or that part of my dad's work.'

  Ailee raised her eyebrows. 'OK. But it's a big part and he's one of the leaders in Australia.' Ailee filled both their glasses with
more juice.

  'So tell me about when you boarded at school. Is it better as a day student now?'

  'Heaps better. Actually...' she looked across at her father '...I think it made me appreciate Dad more. I missed him when I stayed away all week even though he's not here much.'

  Ailee smiled. 'I think he missed you, too.'

  'He must have.' Sophie glanced across at her father, who was shaking hands at the net with her friends. 'He asked if I'd rather come home again.'

  The others joined them.

  Fergus poured himself a glass of juice and raised it to his daughter. 'You played really well, Sophie. I'm most impressed.' Sophie glowed with the praise and Fergus put the empty glass down and rubbed her back with affection. Ailee was pleased to see Sophie lean back into her father and smile up at him. Things were definitely getting better there.

  Fergus met Ailee's eyes over the top of his daughter's dark hair and he looked content. Any positive results for Fergus's relationship with his daughter made her visit worthwhile. Ailee smiled back at him. But she should go and let them have some time together. There wasn't going to be an opportunity to discuss William today.

  'Let's go up and have lunch.' Fergus rounded up the rackets and repacked the bag, and Ailee collected the glasses.

  They all carried glasses and jugs and trooped up to the house where Martha had sandwiches and savoury pies ready to serve.

  The other girls left soon after lunch and Ailee glanced at her watch.

  'I might head off, too.'

  Fergus looked up with a frown and Sophie pouted.

  Ailee smiled at Sophie. 'Have some time with your dad. He doesn't get you to himself very much and you have all afternoon. I have to do some things at home.'

  'Will you come back another time?'

  'Absolutely.' She pretended to scowl at Fergus. 'Right after I have tennis lessons.'

  But any future visits had to wait because the chance of Sophie becoming distressed about Ailee's operation was becoming more likely the more she saw of the young girl. Sophie was crying out for a female role model and at this point in time Ailee felt she was being dishonest with her.

  Sophie laughed at the tennis reference and they walked Ailee out to her car. Sophie hugged Ailee and Ailee encircled the young girl's slim form and hugged her back. 'Thanks for asking me, Sophie.'

  Sophie smiled up at her. 'I thought Dad might need adult reinforcements.' She glanced at her father and then Ailee and turned to leave. 'I'll leave you two to say goodbye.'

  'Thank you, Sophie.' Fergus raised his eyebrows at Ailee and waited until his daughter was out of sight.

  'So when do we have this talk, Ailee Green?'

  'Soon.'

  'Early tomorrow morning?'

  'I run in the mornings.'

  'Ah, yes. I remember. Along Balmoral beach.'

  On Sunday morning, Ailee woke to a feeling of decision. The next time she saw Fergus she would explain about William and discuss if and why she needed to distance herself from Sophie, at least until after the operation.

  Her heart pounded and suddenly the weight of the bedclothes on her chest was too heavy. She threw the covers off and sat up. She needed to get out of there because she couldn't sit still until it was done.

  Dressed and with her hair tied back, the cold air struck her face as she opened the front door and turned her joggers along the path towards the beach. She needed to be as healthy as possible before the operation to help her get over it more quickly.

  The scar from the nephrectomy would go a third of the way around her body and she would be doing little exercise for the next few weeks. She tried to eat healthy foods and prepare herself to be in optimum fitness for the coming operation.

  She'd been warned that the operation site pain would be considerable but there would be medication she could take for that, although if Fergus performed the operation, the keyhole method was apparently less traumatic and shortened the recovery time.

  Dr Harry was old-fashioned and was the expert on open excisions. He believed there was less trauma to the donated kidney via the open method and Ailee, was happy for William to have her kidney in the best condition it could be in.

  The sun rose above the horizon and shone into her eyes. It was earlier than she usually ran and there were not many other runners up, which seemed unusual for the paths around Balmoral.

  Ahead, a lone figure sat on a bench overlooking the beach and there was something about the set of his shoulders that reminded her of Fergus.

  Ailee's heart began to pound and as she drew level she saw she hadn't been mistaken. Her feet slowed and she came to a stop beside him.

  'Fergus,' she said, and he turned to look at her.

  'Ailee. Well met.' His glance warmed her already pink cheeks. He looked strong and fit but there were lines of fatigue under his eyes and her heart contracted.

  Had she done this to him? He was a good man and didn't deserve being messed about.

  'You're walking early. Why's that?' She thought she knew.

  'For walking? I couldn't sleep. For ending up here? Someone I know lives around here and she told me she ran on this beach.'

  'Come back for breakfast and then I'll run you home,' she offered, not sure what she would tell her mother.

  He smiled ruefully. 'Do I look that worn out?'

  Ailee pretended to consider. 'Put it this way—I don't think you'll enjoy the walk home.'

  'How about we have a coffee here on the beach?' He pointed to the vendor setting up his stall.

  'So much for my run,' Ailee complained, but she knew which she'd rather do and there were things she'd been waiting to say. She paused for him to stand and they crossed the street together.

  When they were seated back on the bench with their polystyrene cups, neither seemed eager to start the conversation.

  Ailee practised her opening sentence to explain about William. It was the right thing to do. When he knew about her brother, she'd leave the decision to him.

  'I'm sorry I kissed you on Friday,' he said.

  Ailee's train of thought derailed. That wasn't what she'd expected him to say. 'Why is that?' She looked at him.

  He didn't say anything for a moment and, in fact, he really didn't have to say a word. The searing look he gave her made his words superfluous. 'Because I haven't slept since then and I want to do more than kiss you right now.'

  He leant towards her and she found herself drawn closer as if pulled by an unseen force, but the moment was lost in a screech of tyres that shattered the peace of the beach on the road behind them. Two horns blared at each other before the cars roared off in different directions.

  Ailee and Fergus both winced and sighed with relief at the lack of impact, more aware than a lot of people about the fragility of life.

  Ailee looked back at him. This was crazy. Fergus could melt her with one look and they were dancing around the attraction as if they had all the time in the world to choose to fall in love.

  'I'm not sorry you kissed me.'

  'Oh, really?' His mouth lifted and the glint of humour made her lips twitch.

  'Yep, but we have to talk.' She did care for him but there were obstacles. She wasn't backing away this time.

  His hand reached across the bench and lifted her fingers and turned them over palm-up. 'Fine. But let's do it somewhere more private. Sophie went off last night to sleep at Prue's house and won't be home until after lunch.'

  He pulled her closer along the bench until her hip rested against his. 'Come home with me for a while.'

  Her lips twitched. 'Are you propositioning me, Mr McVicker?'

  He raised one eyebrow. 'My word, I am.' When he lifted her hand to his lips, she closed her eyes briefly just to feel it all.

  He kissed her hand softly, warm and tingling in the centre of her palm, and the sensation travelled straight to her stomach where it glowed like a single hot coal that had lain dormant since Singapore.

  His voice dropped and seemed to brush against her skin.
'Why have we danced around this so long?'

  She shook her head, without an answer.

  Suddenly it was tragic. She sighed. 'There are things you don't know about me.'

  He shook his head. 'Whatever I don't know can't change the feelings that I have for you.'

  She still wasn't sure she had the right to intrude, and grow larger, in his and his daughter's lives with so much indecision hanging over her. They would talk about that and she could hardly wait.

  In unison they dropped their unfinished drinks into the waste bin and he squeezed her hand as they turned towards her house.

  Her mother had dropped William at dialysis, and when Ailee ran in to collect her car keys there was no one to see her flushed cheeks. She dashed off a quick note to say she'd be home around lunchtime.

  As they drove towards Mosman, Ailee could feel the warmth of his gaze, and when she glanced across he smiled and rested his hand on her leg. It all felt so right. She looked down at his fingers curved around her thigh and grinned. 'Nobody has held my leg since high school.'

  'I'd like to do a lot more but I'm playing it safe while you drive.'

  'That seems a sensible idea.' She felt like laughing out loud just because she was with him and suddenly the day was brighter and more exciting than any before.

  He squeezed her leg briefly and then took his hand away. 'But incredibly difficult to stick to.'

  The tension mounted as they drove in through the gates and this time Fergus took her hand and led her around the back of the house and in through an enormous kitchen with a black slate floor.

  Ailee followed, glad they didn't see anyone because Fergus took her straight up to his room with no pretence of conversation. Her heart pounded and her mouth dried.

  Fergus towed her into a bedroom similar in size to the one she'd been in the other day, but this one was in greens and blues and looked a little more lived-in.

  They stopped in the middle of the room and he captured her other hand so that she swung around and faced him.

  He stared down into her eyes. 'I know we have to talk. But after Friday I know it isn't going to change anything. So can you wait?'

  She shook her head in denial but her body leaned into him.

  Fergus smiled. 'Should I ask you again?'