Page 17 of The Long Walk Back

‘It’s okay,’ she settled for saying.

‘Only okay?’ he pressed gently. Kate kept her eyes on her breakfast.

‘It’s a job, Captain. Trevor needed the help, so I came.’

Coop finished the dregs of his coffee. ‘Fair enough. Shall we get started then? Don’t want Trevor to think we’re slacking in here, eh?’ He started to pick up the debris from the table, resting it on his knees, then deposited the lot in the bin. Kate didn’t move to help; she knew he would hate it and she didn’t want to disturb his seemingly cheerful mood. Whatever made this day easier would be welcome. Finishing the last of her coffee, she stood and followed him to the bin, dumping her rubbish next to his. Wiping her hands, she reached for the clipboard. ‘Let’s get to work.’

A few hours later, and it was time for lunch. The facility used a cafeteria style of dining, with vending machines for out of hours snacking. Kate had access to a kitchen area but had yet to even think about travelling to the nearest supermarket to stock up. This morning’s breakfast treat had reminded her of just how much she missed decent coffee though, and she figured she had to at least consider the trek, perhaps the next day off she got.

Rita gave her a smile as she took her place in the lunch queue. ‘Afternoon, Dr Harper, how are we doing on this fine day?’

Kate smiled at her, taking a tray from the stack. ‘Rita, please, just call me Kate.’

Rita winked. ‘No point you doing all those years in school for me to call you Kate, is there? I like Doctor Harper anyway, sounds sophisticated.’

Kate shook her head good-naturedly. ‘What’s good today then?’

‘Rita, if I didn’t know better, I would say that the good doctor here was dissin’ your food.’ Kate whirled around, and almost clonked Cooper on the head with her tray.

‘Hey,’ he said, putting his hands up in mock defence. ‘Come on then, put ’em up, show me what you got, Missy!’

Kate put the tray back onto the service area, face bright red.

‘Captain, I’m sorry, you?—’

‘Ooh, Captain, is it?’ Rita chuckled. ‘You people with your titles, so funny!’

Cooper lowered his fists then, taking a tray from the stack himself. ‘You have a good point there, Rita. Tell you what, Doc, since we had our first breakfast together this morning, you can call me Thomas. Or Cooper, whichever. You have seen me naked, remember?’ He threw Kate a positively devilish look, and Rita guffawed.

‘Well, it’s all coming out now!’ She cackled as she walked into the kitchen area out back.

‘Thanks for that,’ Kate groaned. Kate selected a tray of salad and some warm chicken breasts, noticing that Cooper was laughing to himself beside her. He selected a plate with a beef burger and chips on, grabbing a side salad and an orange juice and laying them out on his tray. Ignoring him, Kate went for a bottle of water and turned to the nearest empty table to sit. Trevor often joined her, but today he was busy with meetings, so she was solo. She was just contemplating the rest of her day when the chair next to hers was abruptly yanked aside. Cooper put his tray down on the table, settling his chair into place.

‘Do you mind?’ she asked, mouth agape.

Cooper frowned. ‘Mind what, what have you done?’ He cut his burger in half, before popping a warm chip into his mouth.

‘I haven’t done anything, but you just told Rita I’ve seen you naked!’

‘I know,’ he chuckled. ‘Good times.’ Cooper ripped into the burger, turning to give Rita a thumbs up. She was setting more food out, and blew him a kiss in response, which made her kitchen assistant, Tyler, laugh out loud and roll his eyes. Kate willed the flush in her face to settle as she cut through her chicken breast.

‘You really are a surgeon, aren’t you?’ Cooper asked, looking at the way she had cut her chicken into neat, even portions.

Kate ignored him, tossing the chicken pieces into her salad with a fork, and adding dressing. ‘That your first question, or was that the vegetarian enquiry earlier?’

Cooper shook his head, finishing his mouthful. ‘Oh no, those questions will be coming, don’t you worry. I thought we could start this afternoon. You prepared, Missy?’

Kate ignored the annoying nickname he’d bestowed on her. Looking into his bright green eyes with all the game face she could muster, she wrinkled her nose. ‘Bring it, Cooper.’

She took a mouthful of salad, but it stuck in her throat. An orderly was wheeling a patient into the dining area. Sitting them at a small table in the corner of the room, setting the brake on the chair before talking into his patient’s ear then joining the lunch queue.

‘Why is he in here?’ she said quietly, almost to herself.

‘Why is who in here?’ Cooper asked, following her gaze.

Kate didn’t answer, she was already up on her feet. She approached the chair, which contained a very sad looking little boy. Pale-faced, gaunt even. He was wearing the latest trainers and a pair of tracksuit bottoms similar to the ones that Cooper himself wore. The darkness of the green on the youth’s Minecraft T-shirt gave the boy’s skin an eerie translucent quality, the opposite to how healthy a child looked when a buttercup was held under their chin. Kate lowered herself to her knees next to his chair, taking his hand, but the boy moved his away, twisting his head to look out of the window, above her head. Kate looked like she was going to speak, but she just patted one of the boy’s knees, and standing up, she headed out of the doors, not looking at anyone or stopping to pick up her lunch. Cooper looked at the boy, who hadn’t moved but was still looking out of the window. Kate’s untouched lunch, lettuce still stuck in the fork prongs, sat on the tray in front of him. Rita appeared at his side then, and she packaged the lunch back into its plastic container.

‘You’re working with Dr Harper this afternoon, right? Will you take her lunch please? That girl needs to eat, though lord knows what salad and water will do.’

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