Page 52 of Prognosis Bad Timing

Charlie looked back towards Carrie, who was now busying herself with her things.

‘We’re still on for The Mill tonight?’

Charlie wasn’t really listening to his friend. He was too busy watching Carrie withdraw into her shell. The woman who had just kissed him into oblivion, hiding behind her papers and pinstripes.

‘Charlie!’

‘Hmm, what? Oh...yes,’ he said distractedly.

Carrie ground her teeth as she powered up her laptop and then castigated herself for her reaction. Why wouldn’t he be out there again? Six months was a long time for a virile male to go without, wasn’t it? She thought about her own nearly five-year record and felt suddenly depressed.

It hadn’t seemed to matter until now.

‘Charlie.’ Angela bustled into the room. ‘Your first patient’s here.’

‘Right,’ he said, still staring at Carrie. He willed her to look at him but she tapped away on her keyboard instead. ‘See you later, Carrie,’ he said.

‘Uh-uh,’ Carrie replied, staring resolutely at the screen.

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Carrie dragged herselfinto work the next morning after a sleepless night. Every time she’d shut her eyes the kiss had replayed in her head and heat had surged through her body, making sleep impossible. And then she’d got angry with herself. She’d bet Charlie wasn’t lying awake, tortured by images of their kiss. He was, no doubt, making out with some babe he’d picked up, their intimate moment completely forgotten in his rush to get laid.

But it became apparent quite quickly that Charlie was as grumpy, if not grumpier, than her. Carrie raised an eyebrow at Joe as Charlie snapped at him over something trivial and stormed back to his office.

‘I take it no one fancied him last night?’ The idea seemed ludicrous to her but he certainly wasn’t acting like a man who’d spent a night divesting himself of months of sexual frustration.

‘Are you kidding? They were swarming. He just wasn’t interested. If I were him, I would have been champing at the bit to clean out -’ Joe stopped in mid-sentence, realising it was hardly an appropriate thing to say at work to a female colleague. ‘Er...well, you get my gist.’

Carrie laughed. ‘Yes, Joe. I get your gist.’

‘I think celibacy has fried some of his brain cells.’

Carrie felt stupidly smug and surprisingly happy that Charlie hadn’t cheapened their kiss by going out and finding himself a convenient warm body the very same day.

Not that the kiss had meant anything, of course.

It had just been a crazy spur-of-the-moment celebratory thing. Pure reaction to good news. A release of pent-up emotions. She knew that.

But maybe, it had meant more to him?

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By lunchtime the nextday, however, Carrie was wishing Charlie had got laid. They all were. His mood seemed to get worse as each minute passed. Angela and Joe were ready to have him committed. Joe had decided not to even come to the clinic and play basketball at lunchtime and Angela, who usually ate in the staffroom, decided that anywhere but the centre would be a good place to eat.

Carrie was working through lunch as usual, munching on a sandwich at the front desk while she performed a data search on Angela’s computer. Two girls came rushing in the front door.

‘Help.’

Carrie looked up over the bench. One of the girls was heavily pregnant and clutching at her stomach. She didn’t look any older than sixteen and was panting furiously.

‘Charlie,’ Carrie called, raising her voice as she rushed to the girl’s aid. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘She’s having the baby.’

Charlie strode out of his office. ‘Treatment room,’ he urged.

‘What’s your name?’ Carrie asked as she ushered the girls into the room.

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