Page 48 of Prognosis Bad Timing

‘That she does.’

A few more moments passed where they both sipped at their coffee and stared at the envelope. It was hard to believe that a piece of yellow paper could be so compelling.

Carrie glanced at him. What was he waiting for? Obviously whatever was in that envelope was big for Charlie.

Just what exactly did he have?

‘Are you sick?’

Charlie tore his gaze from the centre of the table. ‘I hope not.’ He picked the envelope up and stared at the address label. He couldn’t explain why he was reluctant to open it or why he hadn’t just gone into the computer system and looked up his own results.

Six months of his life had been focused solely on what was inside this envelope.

He glanced up at Carrie. She was looking at him expectantly. Waiting for him to elaborate. What the hell —he’d do anything to delay opening the envelope.

‘Six months ago I was pricked with a used syringe by a Hep B positive drug addict.’

Carrie gaped, her belly tightening into a mass of knots. She certainly hadn’t been expecting that. A familial disease maybe, hell, even cancer. But Hep B?

‘Oh, God. I’m sorry. How did that happen? Was it left in the clinic somewhere?’

Carrie knew that needle-stick injuries were an occupational hazard and that even the most careful practitioners could fall victim.

‘No. It was a deliberate attack here, late one night. It was Donny.’

Deliberate?‘Donny? Tilly’s uncle?’

Charlie nodded. ‘He came in late one night armed with a used syringe and demanded my wallet.’

Her eyes grew wider. ‘So you fought with him?’

‘No, I gave him my money. I only had twenty bucks. He became enraged because it was nowhere near enough and lashed out with the syringe and buried it in my arm.’

Carrie listened, wide-eyed, not really able to comprehend what Charlie must have been through. ‘But Donny seemed fine to me.’

Charlie nodded. ‘He is. Now. I know it’s hard to believe but he was addicted to heroin for many years. The incident with me was the catalyst for him to get clean. His rock bottom, I suppose you can say. He’s off the stuff now and is training to be a youth worker. I’d love to be able to employ him when the expansion goes ahead.’

Carrie ignored the reference to the expansion. ‘That’s very forgiving of you.’

He shrugged. ‘Drugs mess with your head. They turn you into someone that you’re not. Was I angry with Donny that he jeopardised my health? Yes. Do I blame him? No. The Donny who stabbed me a year ago is not the man he is now. Kicking the habit is hard. Very, very hard — but he did it. He got clean. And his remorse is strong.’

Carrie nodded slowly, remembering the hushed conversation she’d overheard between the two men the night Donny had brought the overdose case to the clinic. Donny’s concern for Charlie.

Still, it took an enormous amount of human decency to turn the other cheek. ‘So you’ve been living under this cloud ever since.’ Things were starting to fall in place for her now. She remembered how he had double-gloved when suturing Dana’s chin. It hadn’t been to protect him from anything she might have but the other way round.

‘Yes.’

Carrie searched back through her memory. It was amazing how much knowledge became rusty when it wasn’t being used every day. ‘Were you not immunised?” Surely working here, he would have to be?

‘I’ve had the Hep B scheduled immunisations twice now. But, as it turns out, I am a non-responder to the vaccine. About ten percent of people are.’

‘Well, that sucks.”

Charlie laughed. ‘Yes it does.’

‘You’ve already had some tests before this, yes?”

“Yes.’ He nodded. ‘Both negative.’

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