Page 5 of The Secret Life of Beatrice Alright

I hang up and am about to slide my phone into my pocket when instead I pause and call reception at the hospital.

‘Hello, St Helen’s. ‘

‘Hi, Órlaith.’

‘Oh, Bea. Hi,’ my favourite receptionist says. ‘Everything okay? Didn’t I see you leave?’

‘Yeah. I’m on the bus now. Listen, Órlaith,’ I say, shuffling closer to the edge of the seat as bags challenge me for space. ‘There’s an elderly man sitting on a bench not far from the maindoors. I don’t think he’s a patient but it’s so cold and icy. I fell already.’

‘Oh, you didn’t. You’re not hurt, are you?’

‘No. No. I’m fine. But the path isn’t salted down there and, well…’

‘Oh, Bea, what are we going to do with you? You really are a worrier, aren’t you?’

‘He says he’s fine. But if he fell, he could be there for a while and no one would even know.’

‘Okay. Okay,’ Órlaith says, and I can tell she’s smiling. ‘I’ll have one of the porters walk down, have a little look around, make sure everything is okay.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Now, go home and run yourself a warm bath. Sounds like you need it.’

I close my eyes. The wet patch on my coat and uniform nips at my back and I fantasise about a hot bubble bath. ‘Good night, Órlaith,’ I say.

‘Na’night, love.’

THREE

I slide through the doors of the crèche at one minute to six. The relief that I made it is so great, I can hardly feel that my heel is completely skinned and has started to bleed.

‘Evening,’ I say, wanting to bend in the middle to catch my breath.

Alannah looks up from behind the reception desk, which is painted in rainbow colours that are chipped on one side, and checks her watch.

Smiling, she says, ‘Hi, Bea. How was your day?’

‘Oh…you…know,’ I puff out, tilting to the right slightly as I yield to a stitch. ‘Same old, same old.’

‘I’ll fetch Ellie for you now. Have a seat.’

I sit down in the waiting area next to a water cooler that is always empty and make small talk with the handful of other parents waiting too. A dapper father in a suit arrives at two minutes past six. He pushes his long, warm coat off his hip to fetch his wallet.

‘Sorry about this,’ he says, pulling his card out. The other woman on reception, whose name I can never remember, tilts the card machine towards him and he taps his card casually.‘Hammered in work,’ he goes on, shaking his head. ‘I’ll probably be late all week, I hope that’s okay.’

‘It’s no problem,’ she says, smiling brightly as she twirls a strand of bleached-blond hair around her finger. ‘It’s what we’re here for.’

‘Mammy,’ Ellie squeals, running towards me.

I stand up and lift my little girl into my arms.

‘What’s this?’ I tuck her golden curls behind her ear to reveal a graze and bump above her left eyebrow.

‘Josh hurted me,’ Ellie says, scrunching her face disapprovingly.

‘Well, that’s not quite true, is it?’ Alannah is quick to cut in.

‘Oh.’

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