A Very Special Child

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘In a way. Perhaps it would help if I went through it with you again from the beginning?’ Mark offered. He glanced at Jessica and smiled as he picked up the toy rabbit she’d brought into hospital with her. The toy had a bandage neatly wrapped around its middle. ‘Poor old Bunny looks as though he’s been in the wars. What’s wrong with him?’

  ‘He’s got a poorly tummy like me,’ Jessica whispered shyly. ‘Nurse Laura put a bandage on him to make him better.’

  ‘Oh, I see. Well, with Nurse Laura to look after him he’ll soon be up and hopping about, just like you will, sweetheart.’

  He gave Laura a smile that brought the colour to her cheeks. The situation seemed to have improved since the talk they’d had that morning and she couldn’t deny how good it felt to know they were friends again. Maybe she had known Mark only a few days but he seemed to have earned himself an important place in her life and she’d missed this feeling of closeness.…

  She pushed that thought to the back of her mind as Mark explained to Jessica that he needed to talk to her mummy and daddy for a few minutes. Laura set about tidying the bed as the parents moved away then looked round as Mark called to her.

  ‘Would you mind coming, too, Laura, please? You’ll be responsible for Jessica’s care so I’d like your input, if you don’t mind.’ He shot a wry look over his shoulder at the couple and lowered his voice. ‘Not to mention that another referee wouldn’t go amiss!’

  She chuckled at that, her face alight with laughter as she went to join him. ‘Surely a big man like you isn’t scared?’

  ‘I’m an abject coward, didn’t you know?’ His grey eyes were teasing as they met hers. ‘I can face many things, but getting between a man and wife who are each determined to blame the other…Well!’

  He rolled his eyes, making her splutter with laughter. However, her amusement soon dried up as she happened to catch Cathy’s stony stare as she accompanied Mark from the ward. Belatedly, Laura realised that maybe she should have asked permission, but it was too late to go back now.

  Anyway, she reasoned, it wasn’t long before she was due to finish for the day. The night staff were already arriving and Cathy would be busy giving the night sister her report.

  Mark took Mr and Mrs Collins to one of the relatives’ suites. There were two of them attached to the ward, fitted out with money raised by the hospital’s League of Friends. Each suite comprised a bed-sitting room, with tea-and coffee-making facilities and en suite bathroom. A lot of parents made use of them but it just so happened that one was vacant at the present time. Mark waved the couple towards the settee which opened out to form a double bed when the room was in use.

  ‘Please, sit down. I’ve asked Nurse Grady to join us as she’ll be responsible for Jessica’s care on a daily basis.’ Mark waited until Laura had taken one of the straight-backed chairs before seating himself. ‘Hopefully, I’ll be able to introduce you to the nurse who’ll be in charge of your daughter during the night before you leave, but the nursing staff are just in the process of changing over at the moment.’

  He looked at the couple. ‘Right, let me explain exactly what’s wrong with Jessica. Your GP suspected that she might be suffering from coeliac disease. That is why he arranged for her to come into hospital to have a jejunal biopsy, which confirmed his diagnosis.’

  He paused, but as neither of the parents seemed inclined to question what he’d said he carried on. Laura was struck by his consideration as he carefully explained what was wrong with the child in the simplest of terms.

  ‘Jessica is hypersensitive to the protein, gluten, which is found mainly in wheat, rye and barley. Oats may also cause a problem but that’s something we’ll have to determine at a later date. This sensitivity has resulted in damage to the lining of her small intestine. The damage in turn has made it difficult for her to absorb necessary nutrients and minerals, which is why Jessica has been losing weight and is very anaemic. Are you with me so far?’

  He smiled encouragingly and Barbara Collins nodded. ‘Yes, thank you. I’m beginning to understand it a bit better now.’ She shot a look at her husband. ‘So it has nothing to do with my cooking, then?’

  Laura had to bite her lip. Surely Les Collins hadn’t accused his wife of that! She could hear the amusement in Mark’s voice but oddly the Collinses didn’t appear to be aware of it. It made her wonder if it was just that she was particularly receptive to Mark’s moods which made her notice things other people missed.…

  ‘Nothing at all, I assure you.’

  She dragged her thoughts back as Mark continued, wishing that it weren’t so difficult to stop them wandering all the time.

  ‘We’ll completely exclude gluten from Jessica’s diet,’ he explained. ‘And over the next couple of weeks we expect to see a marked improvement in her health. The swelling around her tummy should subside very quickly as there won’t be undigested food in the large bowel causing fermentation. However, it will take several months before everything settles down, and you must realise that Jessica will need to avoid gluten for the rest of her life.’

  ‘Well, I still don’t know how she got it,’ Les Collins said belligerently. ‘It’s going to make things right awkward. I mean, if she can’t have wheat that means she can’t eat bread, doesn’t it?’

  ‘There are substitutes,’ Laura put in quickly. ‘The dietician will explain all that to you, but you can buy gluten-free bread, flour and pasta. And there are no restrictions on Jessica eating meat, fish, eggs, fruit and a whole lot more. It’s simply a case of adapting her diet.’

  ‘Doesn’t sound too bad, I suppose.’ Barbara sounded relieved. ‘I thought it was going to be worse than that, didn’t you, Les?’

  ‘It’s bad enough,’ Les replied. ‘I bet this gluten-free stuff costs a packet!’

  ‘It’s available on prescription in cases like this,’ Mark assured him. He turned to Laura, obviously not intending to let the man grumble on. ‘As I said, Laura will be taking care of Jessica while she’s with us. We like to involve parents as much as possible so maybe she would be kind enough to take over from here?’

  Laura nodded. ‘Of course. First of all there are no restrictions on visiting times in the children’s ward. You’re welcome to come in at any time and we’re keen that you take as active a role as you want in looking after Jessica.’

  ‘How do you mean?’ Barbara Collins frowned as she considered that.

  ‘I mean that you can help wash and dress Jessica, play with her, even help when we perform simple treatments like taking blood samples.’ Laura smiled as she saw Barbara shudder. ‘You don’t have to do anything you don’t feel comfortable with. There are no hard and fast rules, but most children find it reassuring to have their primary carer, usually their mother, around—’

  She broke off as Jane popped her head round the door. ‘Sorry to interrupt but there’s a phone call for you, Laura. It’s urgent.’

  Laura’s heart turned over at the thought that something might have happened to Robbie. She looked at Mark, who nodded. His face mirrored her concern as she hurried from the room. She ran straight to the office and picked up the receiver, but the line was dead.

  Thinking that perhaps Claire had got cut off, she quickly dialled her friend’s number. It was Sean who answered and he was obviously surprised to hear her. When Laura explained what had happened, he quickly assured her that the call hadn’t come from them and that Robbie was fine.

  ‘Thanks, Sean. I’ll see you later…well, fairly soon now,’ Laura said in relief, although it was a puzzle to know who had wanted to speak to her so urgently.

  ‘How about staying for a meal?’ he offered. ‘Go on, why not? It’s ages since we had time to chat. Claire was just saying that all you seem to do at the moment is race in and out of the door!’

  Laura laughed at that. ‘Trying to make me feel guilty, are you? All right then I’d love to have dinner with you. See you later.’

  She hung up and turned to find Mark standing just inside the room.
There was the oddest expression on his face, a mixture of pain and disappointment, which disappeared so fast that she found herself wondering if she’d imagined it. However, there was no way that she could have imagined the chill in his voice.

  ‘In future, Nurse Grady, would you ask your friends not to phone you at work unless it really is an emergency. The children in this ward have to come before your social life during working hours.’

  It was so unfair and uncalled for that she opened her mouth to protest, but just at that moment she caught a glimpse of Cathy in the corridor behind him. The look on the other woman’s face made Laura feel sick. She refused to argue and give Cathy even more to gloat about!

  ‘I apologise, Dr Dawson,’ she said stiffly, walking towards the door. He stepped aside to let her past without uttering another word but that didn’t mean Laura wasn’t smarting. Who did he think he was, speaking to her that way? She put one hundred per cent commitment into her work—she always had—and to be accused of being lax in any way stuck in her throat.

  She hurried to the staffroom to collect her coat as it was time to leave. Jane was already there and she looked round as Laura slammed the door.

  ‘Uh-oh! Don’t tell me that Cathy has taken another pot shot at you,’ she exclaimed sympathetically.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Laura frowned.

  ‘Oh, just that she really seems to have it in for you. Understandable, I suppose. She’s been lusting after Mark Dawson ever since he set foot in this place so I don’t suppose she likes the idea that he has his sights set on someone else.’

  Jane shut her locker and grinned. ‘Not that Mark has ever shown the least bit of interest in her, I might add. But that isn’t going to stop our Cathy. She intends to get him by fair means or foul!’

  Laura’s head was whirling. It wasn’t the first time someone had said that—Rachel had said much the same thing earlier. Not that either of them were right about Mark being interested in her, of course! The way he blew hot and cold was proof of that!

  ‘See you tomorrow!’

  Jane was almost out of the door when Laura gathered her addled wits. ‘By the way, who phoned me earlier? Did they leave a name? They’d rung off by the time I got to the phone,’ she explained as Jane paused.

  Jane shook her head. ‘Sorry. I’ve no idea who it was. Cathy just said there was a call for you and it was urgent. I told her that you were in a meeting but she said to fetch you.’

  ‘And she didn’t mention what it was about?’

  Jane shrugged. ‘No. In fact, I never even heard the phone ringing. It was Cathy who heard it.’

  ‘I see. Well, thanks anyway.’ Laura managed a smile as the other nurse left, but her thoughts were nothing to smile about. Had there really been a phone call for her or had Cathy invented the whole thing to make her look bad in Mark’s eyes?

  She sighed as she opened her locker. If it had been a trick then it had worked! The question now was what she should do about it. Or should she do anything? After all, she didn’t owe Mark Dawson any explanations, not when he’d been so quick to jump to conclusions! It was her business what she did and with whom she did it.…

  She gave a bitter laugh as the stupidity of that thought hit her. She didn’t do anything, neither was there a whom to do it with! Since Ian had died she’d done nothing but look after Robbie and struggle to make ends meet. Suddenly it struck her how empty her life was. Yet what was the alternative? To forget about Ian? To make a new life for herself with someone else?

  She closed her eyes as Mark’s face sprang to mind. Pain welled up inside her as she realised how futile it was. It would be the ultimate betrayal of the man she’d loved, and she couldn’t do it! No matter how she felt about Mark Dawson, he couldn’t replace Ian. As long as she had Robbie, she had something to live for. She didn’t need anything more!

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ‘THAT was delicious! I’ve been eating out of tins for the past couple of days so you can’t imagine just how good that tasted.’

  Laura realised what she’d said the moment she saw her friend pause. She steeled herself as Claire gave her a frowning look.

  ‘What do you mean, you’ve been eating out of tins?’ Claire put their dirty plates on the table and glared at her. ‘I had a feeling that you were hiding something, Laura Grady! Just how bad is your house?’

  ‘Well…’ Laura sighed as she looked down at the pretty floral place-mat. When she’d arrived at her friends’ house it had been to discover that the two boys had eaten their tea. She’d been glad that she’d taken the time to go home first and change when she had seen the effort Claire had made.

  They’d eaten in the dining-room, a lovely room that looked out over the back garden, where Robbie and Ben were happily building a snowman. Claire had laid the table with her best china and linen so that the simple roast chicken she’d served had seemed all the more special.

  Laura appreciated all the trouble her friend had gone to on her behalf. It made it that more difficult to avoid a truthful answer by glossing over the facts, as she had been doing for the past few days.

  ‘Pretty bad,’ she admitted at last. ‘I’ve managed to get the place clean but that’s about all.’

  ‘Have you had someone in to check the wiring?’ Sean asked quietly. He sighed when she shook her head, his handsome face filled with concern. ‘Why not, Laura?’

  ‘Why do you think?’ She shrugged, trying to make light of the situation. ‘Money is a bit tight at the moment. I’ve scraped together enough to get a plumber in to repair the broken pipe but the rest will have to wait till I get paid.’

  ‘I hadn’t realised things were so grim!’ Claire sounded upset as she sank onto a chair. ‘I wish you’d told us, Laura. I’m sure that Sean and I can lend you some money.…’

  ‘No, really.’ Laura fixed a smile into place. ‘Everything will work out so there’s no need to worry.’

  ‘I suppose you’ll be able to claim on your insurance eventually, but it does tend to take time to get things sorted,’ Sean said thoughtfully.

  ‘Mmm.’ Not for the world would she admit that there was no insurance. Laura hurriedly changed the subject, not wanting her friends to guess just how dire her circumstances were. Claire and Sean needed all the money they had with a new baby on the way, although she appreciated their generosity.

  ‘Anyway, how’s junior doing? How long is it now, Claire?’

  ‘Six weeks.’ Successfully distracted, Claire smiled happily. ‘I went for a check-up this morning and everything is fine. The Blimp is coming along nicely.’

  ‘The Blimp?’ Laura laughed. ‘I hope you’ve got a few other names in mind aside from that!’

  ‘We’re still arguing about them.’ Claire stood and dropped a kiss on her husband’s head. ‘But Sean will come round to my way of thinking by the time he or she is born.’

  Laura felt a lump come to her throat as she saw the loving look that passed between the couple. Their happiness was almost palpable, making her own life seem even emptier in contrast. It seemed such a long time since she’d had anyone to share the joys and sadness with, to turn to at a time of crisis like at the present.

  Unbidden, Mark’s face sprang to mind before she swiftly blocked it out because there was no point thinking along those lines. Turning to Sean, she asked him how his job was going, listening with genuine interest as he regaled her with stories about his work in Dalverston General’s busy A and E department. He was halfway through a tale about an elderly man he’d treated that morning when the doorbell rang.

  ‘I wonder who that can be.’ He stood up as Claire appeared, carrying a delicious looking apple pie. ‘I’ll get it, darling. You sit down.’

  He hurried from the room and the sound of voices drifted back into the room as Claire set about slicing the pie. Laura barely heard what her friend was saying as she recognised an all too familiar laugh coming from the hall. Her heart was pounding even before the door opened and Sean ushered Mark into the room.

 
; ‘Mark! How lovely!’ Claire exclaimed, jumping up to welcome him.

  ‘Hello, Claire. Sorry if I’m interrupting your supper.’ He came further into the room and Laura knew the exact second he saw her. His smile wavered before he collected himself, but not fast enough to hide the fact that he was surprised to see her.

  ‘Hello, Laura. I didn’t know that you were here.’

  Laura smiled grimly, knowing just how true that was. If Mark had known she was here she doubted whether he would have turned up! It hurt to realise it so that her tone was chilly. ‘So I gathered. Hello, Mark.’

  His eyes darkened as he heard the lack of welcome in her voice, but surprisingly it wasn’t annoyance that caused the change in them. Laura took a much-needed breath as he turned to reply to something Sean had said, struggling to control the turmoil she felt. Why had Mark looked at her with such relief? It was very odd.

  ‘You must have a slice of this pie…No, I insist!’ Claire turned to her husband, effectively cutting short Mark’s protests. ‘Can you fetch another plate for Mark, please, darling?’

  ‘Of course. Sit yourself down, Mark. Believe me, you’ll be glad you let Claire bully you when you taste that pie. She has a way with pastry…and a lot of other things we won’t mention!’

  ‘Sean Fitzgerald!’ Claire’s cheeks were bright pink as she picked up a napkin and hurled it after her husband. She rolled her eyes when he merely laughed as he left the room. ‘That man will drive me insane one of these days!’

  It was obvious that she meant it in the nicest possible way and Mark laughed deeply. ‘Mmm, you don’t look too bad on it, Claire.’ He looked at Laura, making an obvious effort to be polite. ‘Does she?’

  ‘Indeed not.’

  Laura groaned inwardly as she heard the stilted note in her voice. She stared down at her place-mat as she felt Claire look at her curiously. However, her friend obviously decided not to say anything as she steered the conversation towards more impersonal topics, like the weather.

  ‘It’s started freezing again,’ Mark said in reply to Claire’s question. ‘It’s going to make the roads very dangerous unless the gritters get out soon.’