Page 86 of New Dreams for the Village Nurse
‘A little over a year.’
‘What did make you come home if it wasn’t the pay?’
‘Oh, I felt my time was up there. When you know, you know, right? I woke up one day and felt I’d done what I could there – at least what I’d wanted to do.’
‘Which was?’
Simon shrugged. ‘It’s quite hard to sum it up. How long have you got?’
‘But if you had to sum it up,’ Heath insisted.
‘I suppose I wanted to make a difference somewhere. Earn my place on the Earth, you know? I didn’t want to just take up space; I wanted to contribute.’
Flo coughed loudly, and when Ottilie looked she could see some scepticism. Simon’s ideals had sounded laudable, and while she totally got him, she could imagine Flo might find it all a bit pretentious.
‘Anyway’ – Simon smiled warmly at them all – ‘help yourself to anything – nibbles or drink or anything that’s out. I wanted to come over to thank you for being here. It means a lot to me to be here myself, in this village with such a great team of colleagues and new friends and neighbours.’
‘Which reminds me,’ Flo said as Simon left them with a good-natured nod. ‘Where’s Lavender?’
‘Good question,’ Ottilie replied, searching the room. ‘She told me she’d be late but I didn’t think she’d be this late.’
‘Perhaps she couldn’t get in past Simon’s halo,’ Heath said in a low voice.
Ottilie turned sharply to him as Flo chuckled. ‘What was that?’
‘Well…you’ve got to admit he’s too good to be true, isn’t he?’
‘You said that before.’
‘And I still think it.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with trying to do good in the world.’
‘Of course there isn’t, but there’s doing good in the world, and then there’s expecting a medal for it.’
‘He’s never said he wants anything for doing it!’ Ottilie squeaked, and then realised how her voice was rising and tried to get it under control. ‘What’s got into you?’
‘Nothing’s got into me. I could ask you the same thing.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with me.’
‘I make a bit of a joke and you’re down my throat.’
‘That wasn’t a joke. Jokes are meant to be funny and that was just mean.’
‘Come on, you two…’ Flo cut in, and she looked concerned now. ‘Settle down.’
‘We are settled,’ Heath said.
‘It looks like it.’
‘Gran, butt out.’
Flo’s mouth fell open and Ottilie scowled at Heath. ‘There was no need for that.’
‘Sorry, Gran. Ottilie says you should keep interfering.’
‘I’m not standing for this!’ Flo yelped and marched off in the direction of Janet from the community kitchen, who’d not long arrived and was helping herself to a handful of nuts.
