Carol Marinelli - Australian Affairs - Seduced

‘Well, so far so good,’ Harry conceded. ‘But enough about this place—hadn’t you better get going?’

‘Sorry that I have to dash off.’ Dr Vermont didn’t elaborate. They both knew that it was his wedding anniversary today and Dr Vermont was kind enough to realise that milestones such as the one he and Marjorie had just reached might cause a twinge of pain for Harry.

‘You go and enjoy yourself,’ Harry smiled. ‘Forty years is quite an achievement.’

‘I know that it is,’ Dr Vermont agreed. ‘We’ve got all the family coming over tonight…’ He paused as Harry took a beautifully wrapped bottle from his desk and handed it to him.

‘Well, you’d better hide this from them, then.’

Dr Vermont thanked Harry and after he had gone to celebrate with his wife and family Harry sat for a long moment.

Jill had been dead now for more than a year and a half. Birthdays and two Christmases had passed. Two wedding anniversaries had been and gone as well—and still it hurt. Some days more, some days less, but the pain was always there. Not just for Jill and all that she was missing out on, but for himself and more pointedly for the twins. Harry twisted the ring on his finger—he still couldn’t bring himself to take it off. It wasn’t just the hurt, there was also guilt—perpetual, constant guilt about whether or not he was doing a good job with the children. Certainly they weren’t being brought up as Jill would have wanted. She had wanted to stay home at least until the twins had started school.

Yes, he was doing his best—he was just all too aware that it wasn’t quite enough.

Harry headed back out to the department, which was, for once, quiet. The late staff were all trying to pretend to be busy as Marnie sat at the nurses’ station and went through the policy manual, and of course she was making notes and had several questions for Harry.

‘Sheldon just brought back a puncture wound of the hand for review in the hand clinic tomorrow.’ Marnie had been surprised; it was a very small injury that could easily have been followed up by a GP. ‘When I questioned him he said it was policy. Now I’ve checked and it says here that all hand injuries, regardless of how small, are to be brought back the next day for review in the hand clinic.’

‘That’s right.’

‘All?’

‘All.’ Harry nodded. ‘A lot of things get picked up in the hand clinic and for the most part the patients are in and out in less than a minute. It’s worth it, though, because something that seemed minor at the time is often picked up. I’ve found it works better to just bring everyone with a hand injury, no matter how small, back the next day for review.’

‘Fair enough.’ Marnie turned the page and then glanced up at the clock. ‘What time do you finish?’

‘Now,’ Harry said. ‘Day care closes at six.’

‘Dr Morales comes on at nine?’ Marnie checked.

‘That’s right. Though you can call me for anything you’re concerned about—all of the staff know that.’

‘They do,’ Marnie said. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, then.’

‘You shall.’ Harry smiled. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Marnie, and I’m very glad that we never…’ He halted. He wished he could take that back and wondered what had possessed him to even go there in the first place.

‘New girl’s tease.’ Marnie smiled. ‘I couldn’t help myself.’

‘I thought it was supposed to be the other way around, that we were supposed to be teasing you.’

‘I make my own fun,’ Marnie said.

She really was the oddest mix and, if there was any doubt as to that, she proved it when she continued talking. ‘I should be offended really that you’re so relieved nothing ever happened.’ Marnie winked. ‘’Night, Harry.’

He turned to go but as he did so the alert phone rang and Miriam, one of the late staff, took the call. ‘There’s a multi-trauma coming in, they’ve just diverted and are bringing him here,’ Miriam said. ‘ETA ten minutes. Harry, would you like me to run over and grab the twins for you?’

‘That would be great,’ Harry said, taking off his jacket but pausing midway as Marnie’s soft voice carried the length of the nurses’ station and promptly halted everyone.

‘Instead of running over to day care, Miriam, shouldn’t you be setting up for the multi-trauma?’

Miriam hesitated and when Harry gave her a nod, instead of racing to get the twins, Miriam headed into Resus.

‘You’d better get going,’ Marnie said to Harry. ‘You don’t want to get caught up in this.’

No, he didn’t want to get caught up but if it was serious he would call for the trauma team to come down and if it wasn’t serious Sheldon could deal with it, except Marnie was already speaking into the phone.

‘Could you fast-page the trauma team to come to Emergency?’ she said, but as she replaced the receiver Harry was waiting for her.

‘They might not be needed.’

‘Hopefully not,’ Marnie said, ‘but if they are then surely it’s better for the patient to have them waiting here.’

Harry heard the overhead intercom crackle into life to summon the team.

‘’Night, Harry,’ Marnie said again.

For Harry it was the strangest feeling to be leaving the department knowing full well there was an emergency on its way in.

He was always running towards an emergency; instead, this evening, he was walking away.

It just didn’t feel right.

And however assured Marnie was, he couldn’t help but wonder how she’d deal with a less-than-impressed trauma team if she’d called them at five to six for something minor, just when they were due to go home…

Harry paused as he reached day care, dropped one ball from the many he was juggling as he heard the sound of his colleagues’ footsteps racing down the corridor to greet whatever was being brought in.

Harry let out a breath and walked into day care. No, he wasn’t the first parent to get there but at least he wasn’t the last.

‘Daddy! We thought you’d have to help with the emergency!’ Charlotte squealed, and flung herself at him. Her brown curls were bobbing and her green eyes, the same as her dad’s, were smiling with excitement as she realised it was home time. And she remembered the promises made.

‘Can I make the frosting?’

‘You can.’

Even though the trauma team was arriving, the blasted intercom was summoning the team for the second time as Harry signed the twins out.

As he walked down the corridor, carrying Charlotte and holding Adam’s hand, he felt Adam still as the stretcher was raced in. He looked down and saw Adam blinking. ‘He’ll be okay,’ Harry assured him.

But the injured man on the stretcher didn’t upset Adam, he’d seen way more than most children had already. No, he was bracing himself for his father to return them to day care, Harry realised, or to pop them around to the staffroom; instead, they headed to the car.

‘Who’s looking after him?’ Adam checked, because normally his father was needed.

‘He’s going to be fine,’ Harry said, wishing for the hundredth time his children didn’t know or see so much, but the hospital day-care centre was his only choice if he was going to work here. ‘There is a team of specialists waiting for him.’

Harry strapped the twins into their car seats and drove the short distance home as Charlotte filled him in on her day, talking non-stop till they were turning into their street.

‘How about your day, Adam?’ Harry asked, trying to encourage Adam to speak.

‘We did paintings.’ Adam looked at his father as if Harry must have briefly lost his mind. ‘Charlotte just told you.’

‘I know.’ Harry smiled. They were just so different. Charlotte liked every gap in the conversation filled with her voice, whereas Adam was only too happy to sit back and listen.