Rivals in Practice

by Alison Roberts

  ‘I feel great.’ Andrew smiled.

  Jennifer, who had her hands on his leg, feeling for inflammation around the edges of the wound, silently agreed. And she knew precisely what it was that was making Andrew’s skin feel so alive under her fingertips. She had an interest in this particular patient that was far from professional.

  ‘Jennifer was pretty worried about you for a few days there.’ Brian had moved closer to peer at the wound on Andrew’s leg. ‘That was a rather decent cut you had. Nice job of stitching, Jen.’

  ‘Thanks. They’re ready to come out now. It shouldn’t leave too much of a scar.’

  Brian was looking rather wistful. ‘Wish I’d been here. I do enjoy a spot of stitching.’

  ‘You should have been a surgeon,’ Andrew suggested.

  ‘I was—to some extent,’ Brian told him. ‘Back in the old days when I first started practising here we were a real cottage hospital. We had a theatre. My partner had anaesthetics training and we did quite a lot of minor stuff. Hernias and tonsils, for example.’ He watched Jennifer catch the ends of a stitch with tweezers and slide a scalpel through the loop to sever the thread. She pulled the stitch clear and dropped it into a kidney dish. ‘I did a Caesarean once,’ Brian continued. ‘But I never tried a splenectomy. Wish I’d been here,’ he repeated.

  ‘It’s just as well you had the history of surgery here,’ Andrew said, ‘otherwise we wouldn’t have had the equipment we needed for Liam.’

  ‘I’ve kept it in good shape.’ Brian nodded proudly. ‘More for the sake of nostalgia than anything, but it certainly paid off for Liam Bellamy.’

  Jennifer had the fourth stitch in her tweezers now. It was caught in well-healed skin and Andrew winced slightly as she pulled the knot clear. ‘Sorry. Won’t be much longer.’

  ‘I’ll leave you to it,’ Brian excused himself. ‘Come and have a coffee when you’re through, Andrew, and I’ll show you the old surgery records. If you’re interested, that is.’

  ‘Sure. I’d like that.’

  Jennifer could feel the atmosphere change as Brian left the room. She concentrated on her task. Only a couple more stitches to come out and she could clean the odd spot of dried blood from the wound and perhaps dress it with—

  ‘Are you listening to me, Jen?’

  ‘Of course.’ Jennifer glanced up, colour flooding her cheeks as she realised that the enjoyable tones of Andrew’s voice had been flowing over her without her catching more than a word or two. ‘You’re talking about Sass.’

  ‘And her dad.’ Andrew was watching Jennifer carefully. ‘And the fact that she wants to go back to Christchurch with him for a few days.’

  ‘Oh.’ Jennifer digested the information as she reached for a gauze swab and a bottle of antiseptic. ‘I’m so glad the meeting went well.’

  ‘Sass brought him back to the house to meet his granddaughter. It was love at first sight for both of them. She’s packing a bag right now.’

  ‘She’s leaving today?’ Jennifer’s jaw dropped. ‘That doesn’t give me much time to find anyone to help with the children.’ Distracted, Jennifer swabbed at Andrew’s leg, a worried frown crinkling her forehead. ‘Where’s Angus and what about meeting the other children after school? I’ve got a clinic. I can’t just cancel it and I don’t want Brian having to take over. I can’t believe Sass would take off just like this.’

  ‘Calm down,’ Andrew told her. ‘Saskia wasn’t just going to leave you in the lurch. I told her it was OK.’

  ‘What?’ Jennifer’s head jerked up. ‘Why did you say that? It’s not OK. I need time to organise my life if Saskia’s leaving.’ Jennifer’s anxiety turned to anger. ‘You’ve got no right to—’

  ‘Hold it!’ Andrew held up a hand to emphasise the command. He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed so he was now looking down at Jennifer. He held her gaze and spoke firmly. ‘Saskia is not leaving for ever. This will be a short visit. She wasn’t even going to consider leaving the children until I told her that I was quite happy to step into her shoes. I can do everything she normally does. However…’ Andrew paused, his voice still stern. ‘I draw the line at purple dreadlocks and a nose ring.’

  Jennifer laughed. Her anger dissipated. The anxiety diminished but didn’t fade entirely. ‘Are you sure you want to do that? It’s a lot of work, caring for four children.’

  ‘I seem to remember you told me I could stay as long as I wanted to. I want to help Sass out here. I know what it’s like to lose your family for ever. She has the chance of repairing something important. If you’d seen the look on her face when her dad was cuddling Vanessa, you would have said exactly what I did. You would have told her to go home and spend time with her father.’

  ‘You’re right.’ Jennifer took a deep breath. Then she smiled. ‘You know something, Andrew Stephenson?’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘You’re a nice man. I never knew that about you.’

  ‘You were always too busy arguing with me.’

  ‘You always started it.’ Expecting a contradiction, Jennifer was disarmed by Andrew’s ready grin.

  ‘It was the only way I could get your attention.’

  He had her attention now. Every ounce of it. His face seemed to have moved a lot closer.

  ‘Have you any idea,’ Andrew queried softly, ‘of just how jealous I was of Hamish Ryder?’

  If Wendy hadn’t been aware of the electrical atmosphere earlier, she couldn’t avoid being confronted by it head on when she opened the door of the treatment room in the seconds following Andrew’s words. They weren’t actually kissing but there was no doubt at all in Wendy’s mind that another split second would have closed that tiny gap between them. She flushed scarlet. ‘Sorry…I should have knocked.’

  Jennifer jumped visibly, stepping back from the bed and turning away from Andrew. She looked almost as embarrassed as her nurse. ‘Is the ambulance here already?’

  ‘No.’ Wendy’s glance strayed back towards Andrew. He grinned and Wendy smiled back. ‘It’s on its way. Susan’s husband just popped home to get the hairbrush he’d forgotten. Susan’s a bit worried about the ambulance trip, though, which is why I came to find you. She gets car-sick on the hill unless she’s driving. She wants to know if she can take something.’

  ‘Of course.’ Jennifer moved to a wall cupboard and unlocked it. She selected an ampoule and syringe. ‘This should last long enough for the trip. Give it intramuscularly now and it should be at maximum efficacy by the time they reach the hill.’

  ‘Nice to see you again, Mr Stephenson,’ Wendy said. Her glance was decidedly mischievous. ‘Sorry I interrupted.’

  ‘Call me Drew,’ Andrew invited. ‘And you didn’t interrupt anything that won’t keep.’

  The kidney dish Jennifer was holding rattled disconcertingly. The time was here already. Only the opportunity was needed now.

  The rest of the afternoon clinic went smoothly. Mrs Scallion’s blood pressure was down and she wasn’t experiencing any side effects from the medication. Her fasting glucose results had been abnormal and Jennifer started her on oral medication for diabetes as well as delivering her usual encouragement for her patient’s weight loss programme. John Bellamy came in to have the stitches out of his hand and Jennifer was delighted to catch up on news of Liam.

  ‘It’s a relief to have him out of Intensive Care,’ John told her. ‘All those tubes and machines are too much for me.’ He shook his head. ‘He’s complaining that it still hurts to breathe but I tell him he’s bloody lucky to be breathing at all.’

  ‘It’ll take a while for all those broken ribs to come right. I’m not surprised Liam’s finding it painful to breathe. He won’t be going out on the boat with you anytime soon.’

  John grinned. ‘I don’t think he’s in too much of a hurry to even get home. He’s got rather friendly with the nurses at that hospital.’

  ‘I’ll bet. He’s a good-looking lad.’

  ‘There’s a male nurse in the orthopaedic war
d he’s moved to. Liam’s got this idea that it might not be a bad sort of job. It’s not that I want him to follow in my footsteps but…’ John’s face was a picture of mistrust. ‘Seems like a pansyish sort of job for a bloke.’

  ‘Don’t you believe it,’ Jennifer told him firmly. ‘Nursing is a wonderful career and you can get a job anywhere in the world. Liam’s a caring person. I’ve watched the way he’s helped you with the younger children since Peggy died. He’d be great. And who knows? He might want a job here, and we’re always on the lookout for good nurses.’

  ‘Work here? You’d employ a man as a nurse?’

  ‘Wouldn’t hesitate for a moment. He might like to consider medical school as well. He could become a doctor.’ Jennifer grinned. ‘I’ll need a new partner one of these days.’

  ‘No way we could run to affording that kind of education.’ John didn’t flinch as the final stitch was pulled free. ‘But maybe nursing’s not such a bad idea.’

  The clinic was over by four p.m. but Jennifer found some extra people in the waiting room. Saskia was sitting beside an older man who had Vanessa sitting on his lap.

  ‘This is my dad, Jen. Drew said he told you about everything.’

  ‘I’m delighted to meet you.’ Jennifer’s gaze was watchful. ‘Ken, isn’t it?’

  The man nodded as he extended his hand. Jennifer took the firm grip. Vanessa gurgled and Ken took a moment to smile down at the baby. ‘I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for Sass. I’d never have left her alone if I’d known about the baby, you know.’

  ‘And we wouldn’t have had the pleasure of her company for the last year.’ Jennifer smiled. ‘We’re going to miss Saskia.’

  ‘It’s only for a few days,’ Saskia assured Jennifer. The teenager’s face was radiating pride as she looked at her baby and her father. Pride and happiness. Jennifer doubted whether Saskia would ever come back for more than a visit and she hoped that it would work out that way. Andrew was right. The family bond was too important to lose—especially at Saskia’s tender age.

  ‘Anyway, Drew’s cooking is heaps better than mine. He’s doing roast chicken for you tonight.’

  ‘Maybe you should stay for dinner,’ Jennifer suggested.

  ‘Kind of you, but we’d better head off.’ Ken stood up, still holding Vanessa. ‘We want to get back home before dark if we can.’

  ‘Have you got everything you need for Vanessa? Did you take the car seat? What about nappies?’

  ‘You’ve done so much already,’ Saskia’s father said. ‘We’ll borrow the car seat and buy anything else we need once we get back to town.’

  Jennifer left the hospital a short time later. It felt odd driving home, knowing that Saskia wouldn’t be there with the children. It felt even more odd when she drove into the yard and parked her vehicle beside the barn. The dogs were nowhere to be seen. Neither were any cats or children. On the verge of becoming anxious, Jennifer scanned the yard and its surroundings. All was quiet. Too quiet. The ducks on the paddock pond looked untroubled but the group of nearby birds were far less happy. A flock of disgruntled hens had been herded into the corner of Button’s paddock and were now being guarded meticulously by Zippy. And if Zippy was there, Michael couldn’t be far away. Her dogs chose the objects of their loyalty and once they’d chosen they were admirably faithful.

  Rounding the corner of the barn, Jennifer found them all. The twins sat on either end of the water trough and Angus knelt between them, busy floating a plastic duck in the water. Elvis lay morosely to one side, his gaze skyward. Jennifer grinned as she followed the dog’s line of vision. Andrew was perched on the roof of the henhouse facing Michael, who had nails held between his lips and a hammer in his hand.

  ‘Mike’s fixing the roof,’ Sophie told Jennifer. ‘Molly’s nest won’t get wet any more.’

  ‘That’s great. How was school, Jess?’ Jennifer held out her arms to Angus who came running for a hug.

  ‘Saskia’s gone,’ Jessica informed her. ‘Who’s going to read our story tonight?’

  ‘I will,’ Jennifer promised.

  ‘Hi, Jen.’ Andrew was concentrating on helping Michael. ‘Hold the nail and tap it gently until it catches,’ he advised. ‘Then it’s less likely to bend when you really hit it.’

  Michael hadn’t even noticed Jennifer’s arrival. He took the last nail from his mouth. ‘Do you reckon we’ll need another shingle here, Drew?’

  ‘I reckon.’ Andrew handed one to the boy before looking down again. ‘We’ll be through here in a few minutes, Jen. Could you go and check the oven? I think the potatoes might need turning over.’

  ‘Sure.’ Jennifer took Angus’s hand. ‘Come and have your bath, Angus. Don’t forget to bring yellow duckie.’

  ‘We’ll come, too,’ Sophie declared. ‘This is boring. Drew won’t let us climb up on the roof.’

  ‘I’m pleased to hear that.’ Jennifer grinned. ‘Did you collect the eggs?’

  ‘No. We were too busy watching.’

  ‘How ’bout you get the eggs and then come inside and wash your hands? It’ll be teatime soon.’

  The evening sped past. It seemed to take no time at all to feed and bathe the children, to supervise homework and read stories and get them all into bed. Michael offered to let Angus sleep in his room so he wouldn’t feel lonely with Saskia and Vanessa gone. It took no time and yet it took for ever. Because as soon as the household had settled, Jennifer and Andrew were going to be alone. The time was here and with no one but peacefully sleeping children in the house—so was the opportunity.

  And yet they waited. They washed the dishes and discussed the children and what needed to be done around the house the next day. After today’s success with mending the henhouse roof, Andrew and Michael were now planning to build a treehouse and Andrew wanted to know where to go for hardware supplies. They talked about the patients Jennifer had seen at the hospital and what the investigations now scheduled for Susan Begg by the cardiology department might reveal. They sat by the fire later and shared the hope that Saskia and her father were starting to repair the damage of the last few years. Until, finally, they ran out of things to talk about and just sat in silence. A long, long silence that Andrew was the one to break.

  ‘I’m in love with you, Jen,’ he said softly. ‘I always have been.’

  The words seemed to hang in the air, radiating an energy that had the potential to transform Jennifer’s life, if she dared to let it. Right now, she was having enough trouble catching a breath.

  ‘I always thought you hated me.’ Jennifer couldn’t meet the gaze she knew was upon her. She could feel the echo of Andrew’s words like a physical touch but she couldn’t trust them. Not yet. There were too many memories of the antagonism that had always been between them. ‘You never tried to be anything other than competitive.’ Jennifer risked a quick glance towards Andrew. ‘Ever. No matter what I did, you were trying to do better.’

  ‘Maybe it was the only way I could attract your attention,’ Andrew suggested with a gentle smile. ‘I wouldn’t have stood a chance with Hamish Ryder so keen. He was the golden boy. For you and everyone else.’

  Jennifer had to admit the ploy had worked. She had never failed to notice Andrew Stephenson. Neither had she failed to notice the attention he had attracted from other women.

  ‘You always had a girlfriend.’ Her glance towards Andrew was challenging this time. ‘Lots of them.’

  ‘Maybe that was competition as well. You had Hamish. I didn’t want you to think that nobody wanted me. And there were lots of them because there was never anyone special enough. Nobody that I wanted as much as I wanted you.’ Andrew’s tone dropped to a whisper. ‘Nobody.’

  Jennifer caught these words. She absorbed them and allowed the intensity of her reaction a foothold.

  ‘I wish I’d known.’ Jennifer hesitated, momentarily overwhelmed by the significance of what she wanted to say. ‘Maybe I felt the same way and just convinced myself I didn’t because you were so
obviously uninterested.’ Her smile was almost shy. ‘I certainly thought about you enough. Competing with you was the driving force that kept me going. I missed it after we graduated.’

  Andrew stood up slowly. He stepped over Zippy and skirted Elvis so that he was standing in front of Jennifer. His gaze was very serious, his words utterly sincere.

  ‘I love you.’

  ‘I…love you, too.’ Jennifer cleared her throat. It was time to trust. Time to risk exposing the same vulnerability that Andrew was trusting her with. ‘I think I always did,’ she told him softly. ‘But I’ve only just realised it.’

  Andrew held out his hands and drew Jennifer to her feet. She needed the support of his hands. Her legs felt dangerously unsupportive.

  ‘I want you.’ It was Andrew’s turn to clear his throat. ‘So much that it hurts.’

  Jennifer was standing very close. She only had to lean forward a little further to be aware of how truthful Andrew was being. As the length of his body contacted hers she had to catch her breath at the overwhelming wave of her own desire. She couldn’t have voiced her need—words had entirely deserted her—but the communication was clear enough in her face and body. The pressure of Andrew’s body against hers increased and his hands held her face when his mouth claimed hers. The kiss was merely a hint of what either of them could expect, and they both knew it could only get better. Andrew pulled back, his gaze locked on Jennifer’s.

  ‘Let’s go upstairs,’ he suggested. ‘I think it’s time we went to bed.’

  Their first night together was a seal on a declaration of love more profound than any other two people could have possibly experienced. The next two weeks confirmed that no other two people could have melded their lives so seamlessly. They belonged together. The connection had always been there—just waiting to be slotted together and locked into place. How else could Jennifer find an explanation for the fact that amidst the circus of children, animals and juggling a demanding full-time job, she suddenly had a refuge that provided laughter, safety and a physical fulfilment that only became more intense the more they learned about each other.