Page 37 of Anxious Hearts
They’d prepped her for his. Even had something called B-roll, which she learned was footage of her and Imogen, the little girl she was authorised to discuss. The segment was completely rehearsed and had taken up valuable hours during the week that would have been better spent preparing for her clinical exam. But Kelly was glad of it now because she was able to recite her script without stumbling while the footage played on the monitor at their feet.
‘Imogen came in with shortness of breath but no other clear symptoms. We couldn’t find anything through regular testing, so we decided to run a specialised test called a CT angiogram. Through that test we found a dissecting aneurysm and rushed her straight to surgery. If she hadn’t gone into theatre, she probably wouldn’t have made it through the following twelve hours.’
Gerry assumed his sombre face. ‘She would have died?’
Kelly flinched at his directness. Doctors were trained to be more tactful. And this question hadn’t been included in her preparation. But this was live television. ‘Yes,’ Kelly said simply.
‘And whose idea was it to run those tests?’ he asked, although he already clearly knew the answer.
Kelly hesitated. This was another unrehearsed question. ‘Well, ultimately, it was the consultant who was on duty that night. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to name him.’
Gerry waved her response away. ‘Oh, no need for that. Modest, brilliant and beautiful. What a combination.’
Wait, what? Beautiful? What the hell was that?
Gerry walked in front of Kelly and gave her a wink away from the camera. He stood next to Finn. ‘No wonder she’s caught you in her net, Finn Walsh,’ Gerry said and laughed.
Finn laughed along with him but there was no humour in his eyes or his smile.
‘Now you need no introduction, Finn. Star ofHenderson Springs, the man every single woman wants to marry and the man every mother wants her daughter to bring home. Tell us, how long have you and Kelly been an item?’
Finn chuckled awkwardly. ‘Oh, no, we’re not together. We’re just old friends.’
‘Right,’ Gerry said. He turned away from Finn and looked down the barrel of the camera. ‘Just old friends.’ As he spoke, he tapped the side of his nose with one finger. He drew back from the camera and stood beside Finn again. ‘Just old friends who hold hands before they go on live TV.’
The monitors played recorded footage from only moments earlier, when Kelly had reached out and taken hold of Finn’s hand. It zoomed in at the moment she’d squeezed it and he squeezed back. It was so achingly intimate that Kelly felt her skin burn at the violation.
Finn laughed it off. ‘I should know by now that the cameras are always rolling, Gerry.’
‘They never stop!’ Gerry yelled, as though this was the greatest blessing life could offer. He pushed his finger into his ear and fell silent for a moment. Then he held his other finger up. ‘I’m hearing from our producer,’ he said to nobody in particular, ‘that we have a caller on the line who says she’ll give one thousand dollars if you two kiss. What do you say to that?’
Kelly’s muscles drew taut in a powerhouse of outrage and defiance. This was a telethon to raise money for a hospital that treated dying kids; she was one of the doctors who treated those dying kids. Wasn’t it enough that she’d spent six years at university and three more after that studying and working? Wasn’t it enough that she was unparalleled in her clinical skills or that she’d given up all hope of a social life or committed relationship? Not enough that she was completely out of touch with what it meant to be a young woman in her twenties? This caller wouldn’t just give the money to the hospital because Kelly was who she was, had achieved what she had. No, Kelly had to kiss Finn to be provideentertainment. To beworth it.
But every sacrifice, every missed party, every date she turned downhadbeen worth it. All of it. Because she wasDrKelly O’Mara, and she was going to be the best paediatrician this hospital had ever seen.
Finn was shaking his head. For the first time, he looked like he wasn’t in complete control. ‘We’re not going to do that, Gerry.’
Gerry feigned incredulity. ‘Not for a thousand dollars? For the kids!’
‘I’m sure the caller will still give the money.’
Gerry did his earpiece routine again but this time he stood up straight and shook his head mournfully. ‘We’ve had fifteen other callers say they’ll match the offer if you two kiss. That’s sixteen thousand dollars to save sick kids.’
It was a lot of money and Kelly knew where it could be used. The extra equipment it could buy. But Finn gave her a sideways glance and shook his head so gently, only she would have noticed. She nodded just as imperceptibly and slowed her blink by half.
He understood.
They turned towards each other.
Gerry stood between them as though he was about to cut a ribbon. ‘Here we go, everyone, the sixteen thousand dollar kiss!’
Kelly stared up at Finn. It was okay. Finn was safe. Finn was her friend.
Finn had kissed her before.
***
The rain was coming down so hard it was almost impossible to discern where the downpour ended and the ocean began. But Kelly could still see the pier, its ethereal shape seeming to float through the sheets of pelting rain. Her windscreen wipers beat as furiously as her panicked heart. She had to get there on time. She had to find him before it was too late.
