Page 32 of A Doctor's Promise
Edie put her glass down again and squatted down next to Mary’s chair. She took the woman’s hands in her own, they were cold, despite the warmth of the day streaming in through the small windows.
“We want to help you Mary, but at the same time, I don’t want to have to be doing this. Life is unfair sometimes, and this is an awful injustice.”
“Life is what it is, Edie. I have come to terms with my diagnosis, I just feel for Anna. She won’t remember this when she’s older. She probably won’t remember me. So, promise me you will always talk to her about me, remember me to her so she knows I cared.”
Edie felt the tears dropping down her cheeks before she knew she was crying. Anna and Finn burst into the room with Monty swinging from Finn’s shoulders.
“Mummy, look, Monty’s having a piggy-back ride, and Doctor Cooper said I could have one too when I next see him,” the little girl said, rushing around the room like an airplane.
Edie took the opportunity to wipe away her tears on her sleeve. She stood up and took Finn’s hand.
“Let’s go and leave these guys in peace,” she said. “Mary, we’ll be in touch tomorrow with the paperwork once we’ve had it okayed by the department. Take care of yourselves.”
Edie gave Anna a hug and her and Finn saw themselves out of the cottage.
“I am utterly drained,” Finn said, his shoulders sagging under the weight of his tiredness.
Edie slipped her arm through his and guided them both out of the garden and back to their cars, hoping that they hadn’t just made a terrible mistake and prematurely raised Mary’s hopes.
13
“Number 22 scalpel, please.” Finn could feel the beads of sweat trickling through his hair and onto his neck, despite the cool air-conditioning in the surgical theatre.
His hand stood poised, above the quiet heart of Mary, waiting for the bravery to make the first incision. His team had re-routed Mary’s blood through the artificial heart and Finn had been watching, his own heart in his mouth as the young mother lay there completely given over to their hands.
The last few days had been difficult. Both himself and Edie had been neck-deep in paperwork and, on top of that, Finn had been doing as much research as he could on the intricacies of this type of tumour. He had worked so hard for the previous two surgeries, but he thought that there must have been another peer review or journal orsomethingthat would give him an extra boost or guidance. They had barely had a chance to see each other, let alone a chance to talk about their relationship. All Finn knew was that he was taking strength from the certainty of his feelings for Edie, and hers for him.
The board of hospital governors had been up in arms at Edie and Finn’s proposal. The board had shot them down at every angle Finn and Edie had come at them with. The hospital director had been particularly hard on Finn because he’d already been told to not make any promises to Mary about Anna, and he’d gone against those direct instruction in the most dramatic way possible. In fact, Finn had been told he would be spoken to alone about this, and he was fairly sure his career at Norfolk Coastal General was about to come to an abrupt end.
But this didn’t faze him as much as he feared anymore. He had the strength of Edie, and he had underestimated how her friendship would make him feel about himself. Over the past few weeks he felt like a new man. His team were talking to him instead of hiding when he came into the room. People in the corridors no longer avoided him. His world seemed like a brighter place to be because it had other people in it. And he had Edie to thank for all of that.
The clinical trial that Finn had been fearing so chronically had actually done something positive, and not just for the patients whose future he was trying to help. Yes, the first two surgeries had been unsuccessful for Kenneth Bates and Georgina Harper, but their hearts had shown Finn things he hadn’t known about the disease, and with each surgery he had learnt new techniques that could prove a chance to save others.
And now it was Mary’s turn. This surgery was not only her last chance, Finn felt like it was his too. His job was on the line. His relationship with Edie and Anna. His new found friendships at the hospital. His reputation as a surgeon. Every detail in his life was up for scrutiny if this surgery failed.
As Finn held the scalpel as steady as ever, he knew completely and starkly that none of that mattered right now. Mary was prone on the table in front of him andshewas all that he was focused on. It was her life in his hands, all of her future wishes and dreams. The life of a young mother with so much to offer. And Anna; little Anna needed her mother.
He steadied his breathing, as he did before all surgical incisions, and cut into the strong muscle.
Edie paced back and forth across her already threadbare carpet. Anna sat in the corner, reading from one of the books she had brought with her. Monty was gripped so tightly in her little hands; Edie thought his head might pop off. The pages of the book hadn’t been turned for the last half an hour, Edie knew Anna was doing the best she could to stay calm and, under the circumstances, she was doing a great deal better than Edie.
A quick glance at the clock on the wall told Edie that Finn had been in theatre for a little over three hours. The last two surgeries had taken a similar amount of time, so Edie was classing this as ‘no news being good news’. The sun streamed through the window onto the floor where Anna was sitting. Her hair was dappled with the rays. Edie felt a pang of love for the young child. Despite only knowing her for a few weeks, Edie’s protective instincts had appeared. She would do anything to make sure Anna was safe and happy. Edie’s hands stroked her own child absentmindedly, her bump had popped out even more over the last few days and hiding it was becoming almost impossible.
Luckily Edie had been so busy, and Finn had been working all hours of the day, that they’d barely seen each other. Edie wasn’t sure how much longer she could hide her unborn child for.
What a whirlwind life I’ve had over the last few weeks,she thought as she walked back to her desk chair and tried to concentrate on her emails.
There was one from the hospital director that Edie filed away to look at when her nerves weren’t already frayed to within an inch of their life. Then she saw it, an email that made her skin feel like it was on fire. She recognised the name immediately, not because she shared the surname, but because the person behind it had been her first true love.
Robert Fletcher
“What on earth do you want? And how did you find me?” Edie asked her computer.
“What’s that, Auntie Edie? Is it mum?” Anna asked, and she was up off the floor and over to Edie in a second.
“No, love, no, just a work email,” Edie said, stroking the girl’s hair.
She could see the worry in Anna’s wide eyes and decided to take them both out for a treat.
