Page 37 of New Dreams for the Village Nurse
‘It’s a shame Dr Stokes won’t be with us for long; it’s not often Darryl takes to a man. He’s very wary, you know. Feels safer with women.’
‘We’ve still got Dr Cheadle, and she’s a woman.’
‘Yes, but even so, I think it might have been good for him to build up some trust with a man, you know? There’s been nobody since his dad and, well…if I’m honest, Darryl and his dad didn’t always understand each other. His dad could get impatient and Darryl got frustrated; they didn’t communicate well, even though they loved each other.’
Should Ottilie mention that Simon might well be staying in Thimblebury? She quickly decided not to. The matter was far from settled and she didn’t want to get Ann’s hopes up. Besides, if Fliss decided to offer him a part-time position and continued to work herself then Simon wouldn’t always be the GP who visited on the occasions when they needed one. He’d clearly made an impression on them, though. And he was starting to make quite an impression on Ottilie too. Nobody had asked him to come and check on Ann before he’d gone home but he’d done it anyway, and he’d taken the time to search for a book he’d known Darryl would like. She was beginning to hope that Fliss would offer him a permanent position and that he’d say yes. She liked him more and more with each day she worked alongside him.
Darryl lifted the book to his face and almost squealed with delight.
‘Must have seen a good one,’ Ann said with a fond smile.
‘Must have done,’ Ottilie agreed. She drank her tea. It was a bit hot, but she could see she wasn’t needed here and there was plenty to do down at the surgery. ‘If you two are OK I’d better get off. Thank you for the sandwich.’
‘I thought you probably haven’t had breakfast yet.’
‘As always, you’re spot on.’
‘Would you…?’
Ann was suddenly shy and she hesitated.
‘Yes?’ Ottilie picked up her sandwich.
‘Would you mind taking something to Dr Stokes. He’s there today, isn’t he?’
‘Yes.’
Ann went to the fridge and took out a plastic container. ‘It’s some millionaire’s shortbread,’ she said, flushing as she handed it to Ottilie. ‘I gave him the last bit of one yesterday and he said it was delicious so I made another one.’
‘I’m sure he’ll love it,’ Ottilie said. ‘That was a lovely thing to do.’
‘He’s been so kind to us, and I know he’ll be leaving soon, so…’
Ottilie smiled as Ann flushed again. It seemed the charming and handsome and very kind Dr Stokes had been weaving his magic spell here too. He seemed to do that everywhere he went. Unless Ottilie was very much mistaken, Ann was a little bit in love with him.
‘I’ll make sure he knows where it came from,’ Ottilie said as she waved them goodbye and headed off to work.
The lunchtime tradition of eating together that had been instigated by Fliss had fallen by the wayside in her absence. Simon mostly stayed in his consulting room and ate whatever sandwiches he’d brought with him while he caught up on paperwork, and while Lavender and Ottilie still got together in the kitchen, more often than not, they also ate food they’d brought in from home for themselves. Lavender had agreed that with only two of them contributing it just wasn’t the same and didn’t seem worth it.
Lavender was already in the kitchen eating a salad when Ottilie arrived, her stomach growling after her clinic had overrun by a good twenty minutes.
Lavender looked up from her plate. ‘What happened?’
‘Mrs Icke.’ Ottilie flopped into a chair and Lavender grinned.
‘You should have phoned through to me – I’d have cooked something up to get rid of her.’
‘You’d have needed the three-minute warning to shift her today,’ Ottilie said wearily.
‘But she’s so deaf she wouldn’t have heard it.’
‘She’s not deaf, though, is she? She’s selectively deaf. Hears well enough when it suits her.’
‘Fliss is in,’ Lavender said.
Ottilie sat up. ‘Here?’
‘In with Simon.’
