Page 17 of New Dreams for the Village Nurse
‘She’s not sick, Charles is. That’s why she’s off.’
‘Oh. What’s wrong with him?’
‘Heart attack.’
‘Is he dead?’
‘No,’ Ottilie said patiently. ‘He’s sick.’
‘I’m not surprised.’ Flo folded her arms and gave a supremely knowledgeable look. ‘The way they drink, the pair of them. Surprised it hasn’t happened to one of them before now.’
‘That’s not exactly helpful, Gran. You’re supposed to say how sorry you are to hear it.’
‘To Ottilie? It’s not her who needs to hear how sorry I am. Doesn’t make any difference to her, does it? She’s not ill. And I’m not sorry. He should have looked after himself better. His wife’s a doctor – you’d think if anyone knew how to look after himself, it would be him. And they say it’s old people bogging down the health service.’
Ottilie’s cheeks flared. She was fond of Flo, and usually she could take her rantings with a pinch of salt, but this was a step too far.
Heath glanced at her and then shot his gran a warning look. Not that Flo noticed.
‘She needs to lose weight as well,’ she continued. ‘Or she’ll be next. And she had the nerve to send me for tests for my heart.’
‘If you recall, I asked her to do that!’ Ottilie stood up. ‘I’m going to…Sorry…Just getting some air…’
She marched down the hallway and out into the cool evening, swallowing breaths to control her temper. She didn’t want to fall out with Flo, and she knew it was only idle gossip, but Fliss was suffering and she was a loyal friend to the people of Thimblebury. She didn’t deserve to be the subject of cruel, unthoughtful comments like Flo’s. It was as if Flo was enjoying it.
‘Ott…’
She turned to see Heath at the front door.
‘I’m all right. It’s been a weird day, that’s all.’
‘I know. And Gran gets it now. She wants to say she’s sorry; she didn’t know it would be so triggering for you.’
‘Triggering? So that’s her word, is it?’
‘Well’ – Heath gave a wry smile – ‘I’m paraphrasing. But she does realise she’s out of order.’
‘I’m sure it’s nothing Fliss wouldn’t admit herself. She’s always said she knows they drink and eat far too much, but nobody asks for illness, do they?’
‘Of course not. We’re all guilty of that “it’ll never happen to me” mentality from time to time.’
‘Exactly.’
‘Come in. Half an hour and then we can go back to yours.’
‘We don’t need to do that. Just give me a minute.’
‘You’re still mad?’
‘No; I’m not mad. It’s…My brain is all over the place. I need a minute to get it in order. Go and talk to your gran; I’ll be in shortly.’
He was silent for a moment, making no move to go inside.
Ottilie sent him a silent question.
‘It’s about more than Fliss and Charles, isn’t it?’ he asked, and she let out a sigh.
‘I can’t get anything past you, can I?’
