Page 14 of New Dreams for the Village Nurse
Ottilie tried to catch the rest of the conversation, her interest piqued by his last statement, but it was too muffled once they were beyond the heavy kitchen door for her to make it out. But she wasn’t curious for long – at least, not about Dr Stokes. Her mind went back to their own, their much-loved Fliss. She hoped everything was all right there, but she was very much afraid that it wasn’t.
She unlocked her phone and dialled Fliss’s number. It was in vain, because there was no answer. She’d expected as much, but, not knowing what else to do, it had seemed worth a try. Poor Charles and poor Fliss. Fliss joked about him all the time and pretended he drove her mad, but for all her banter, she adored him. Ottilie wished for the best, as if she could manifest it, because she knew what it was like to lose a husband too soon, and she wouldn’t wish that on her friend, not for anything.
CHAPTER SIX
Just after the last patient of the day had left, before Lavender locked the front door and Dr Stokes got his coat on to leave, Fliss walked into Thimblebury surgery. At the sound of her voice, Ottilie looked up from the computer where she and Lavender were trying to work out what to do with the following day’s patients.
‘Good afternoon,’ she said, and although it was her usual robust tone, the sight of her drawn, pale face and swollen eyes told a different story.
From nowhere, the urge to hug her swept over Ottilie, and where she might have tried to restrain herself, today she acted on it. Whether it would be welcomed or not didn’t matter because she couldn’t help herself. Fliss had never been a hugger and obvious displays of affection weren’t in her nature, but she allowed Ottilie’s arms to envelop her for a moment before pushing her away with an expression that was something like regret.
‘I’m all right,’ she said briskly. ‘It’s Charles in hospital, not me.’
‘What happened?’
‘Heart attack.’
Ottilie sucked in a sharp breath, and Lavender’s hand shot to her mouth.
‘Oh, Fliss…’ Lavender murmured. ‘How is he? I mean…’
‘Not dead, if that’s what you mean,’ Fliss replied. ‘But he’s been better.’
‘Oh, Fliss, I’m so sorry.’
‘Never mind. At least he knew what to do as soon as it struck. I’ve trained him well, it seems. I would say with our lifestyle that I might have had a bit of a premonition about this sort of thing, but that would be a lie. I see cases of heart disease every day, and I warn enough people of the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle, but somehow, when it comes to me and my own, I never thought it would happen.’
‘Thank goodness you were able to act fast.’
‘That was all down to Charles. I’m only glad he managed to call for an ambulance and didn’t mess around phoning me here and asking silly questions about it.’
‘That was lucky,’ Ottilie said. She’d seen enough heart attack victims during her career to know that many of them wouldn’t have been able to speak or function, let alone phone for an ambulance. From that perspective he might well have saved himself.
‘Wasn’t it? Anyway, I came in to see if everything is all right here.’
‘You shouldn’t be worrying about us,’ Ottilie said. ‘We’re fine.’
‘Still, I thought I’d better check. And to let you know that I won’t be in for a few days.’
‘Yes, the locum said he’d been contracted for the rest of the week.’
As Ottilie said this, Dr Stokes walked in, coat on and satchel in hand.
Fliss shot him a shrewd look. ‘You’re covering for me?’
For a moment, he looked taken aback. Ottilie could see how her tone might sound a little confrontational, but her briskness was never rudeness, only practicality.
‘Yes. I think…Dr Cheadle?’
‘Fliss.’ She stuck out her hand for him to shake. ‘And you are…?’
‘Simon Stokes. How’s everything with you? I believe your husband is…?’
He hadn’t been present for the explanation Fliss had given to Ottilie and Lavender, and so Fliss briefly filled him in on the basics while he pulled a sympathetic face.
‘Do you think you might be off longer than this week?’ he asked finally.
‘It’s hard to say,’ Fliss replied. ‘Possibly, but I won’t know until I get more information from his consultant. Can you be available for longer if it’s necessary?’
