The Emergency Specialist. Barbara Hart

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      Anna and Jack went into the changing room where they removed their surgical gowns, masks and hats.

      ‘I must have a shower before I even think of going home, I’m so hot and sticky,’ he said, reaching for a clean towel from the overhead lockers. ‘You look as fresh as a daisy,’ he said to Anna, his body very close to hers. ‘It’s always the way with the shift hand-over. The freshly laundered taking over from the jaded, perspiring ones!’

      As he stretched up and grabbed the fluffy white towel provided by the hospital laundry, the heady scent of fresh, male sweat invaded her nostrils.

      She was a fastidious person. Normally she couldn’t stand being too close to a sweaty person—man or woman. But she didn’t find Jack’s glowing proximity at all repellent. Far from it. She amazed herself by actually finding it quite attractive. She breathed in again and almost felt like swooning. Must be something to do with pheromones, she thought with an inward laugh…although she’d always believed those special sexual chemicals were reserved for the animal kingdom—in particular, moths! She found herself laughing out loud.

      ‘What’s so funny?’ he asked.

      ‘I was just thinking about moths,’ she said, then, moving away, added, ‘It’s too complicated to explain.’

      ‘Do you like Mozart?’ he asked.

      She puzzled over the connection between moths and Mozart.

      ‘Give up,’ she said. ‘I know he wrote something about a bat, Die Fledermaus? Or was that another composer?’

      Jack leaned on the metal doors of the locker, his body relaxed, all the tension from his long working day vanished. Her misunderstanding appeared to amuse him greatly.

      ‘Forget moths,’ he said, grinning at her. ‘I’m talking about a Mozart concert at the Bridgemore Hall. Do you fancy coming along?’

      Anna was about to refuse. Her mouth opened, but before she could get the words out he was one jump ahead.

      ‘I’ve checked your rota. The concert’s next week when you’re on the day shift.’

      ‘You checked my rota?’ She wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or annoyed at this evidence of snooping on his part. When he nodded, all she could bring herself to say was, ‘Oh.’

      ‘Do you like Mozart?’ he repeated. ‘When I mentioned loud disco music the other day you implied that your taste ran more along classical lines. And the tape I was playing in the car on the way to the pub was a Mozart symphony. You said you liked it…so I thought it would be nice to go to a live concert.’

      He’d certainly done his homework!

      ‘Well, I…’ began Anna.

      He’d put her in an awkward position. She liked him, and she was even beginning to find herself physically attracted to him, but she wasn’t ready to start dating anyone at the moment. And yet it was going to be very difficult to turn him down, particularly when he said, ‘I do hope you’ll come, Anna. I haven’t been out to a concert or a movie, or anything really, since I lost my wife. Going out on your own can be a very depressing activity in those circumstances.’

      ‘I’m sure you could have found someone to go with you,’ she exclaimed, before realising how crass it sounded. She bit her lip.

      ‘I’m sure I could,’ said Jack. ‘But that’s not the point. I haven’t wanted to ask anyone to come with me up to now. That’s the difference. But if you don’t like Mozart, I’ll give the tickets to Christine and she can take a friend along.’

      ‘Oh, but I do like Mozart,’ said Anna, who was beginning to feel this conversation was leading in one direction only. Jack was so determined that she would go out with him that she might as well give in gracefully.

      ‘What day is the concert?’ she asked.

      ‘Thursday,’ he said.

      ‘I’d love to come, Jack. Thank you very much. Now, you’d better take that shower and I’d better get back on duty.’

      * * *

      The next day, when she got back home after the night shift, there was a message on her answering machine.

      ‘Hi, Anna, it’s Rebecca. Give me a ring soon as you can, will you, darling? Bye for now.’

      It was the only message waiting for her and, even though she was desperate for a hot bath and a lie-down, she decided she’d better phone her older sister straight away and get it over with. Rebecca didn’t phone her all that frequently and she wondered if it could be something urgent, some family crisis perhaps? The tone of voice on the answering machine gave nothing away but then it never did as far as Rebecca was concerned. Her sister’s ‘telephone voice’ was always the same—bossy, assertive and with a touch of false jollity.

      She picked up the phone and dialled her sister’s number.

      ‘Thanks for ringing back,’ said Rebecca at the other end. ‘I thought you might have been at the hospital or on call or something.’

      ‘I’ve just come off the night shift,’ she said.

      ‘Oh, good, then we can chat.’

      ‘I’m very tired, Rebecca. Was there something special you phoned about? Otherwise I’d rather chat to you when I’ve had a bath and some sleep.’

      ‘I won’t keep you long, Doctor,’ said Rebecca, who reacted as if she’d been rebuked. ‘It’s about the Gypsies…about Dad, really.’

      Rebecca had always referred to their parents as ‘the Gypsies’ ever since their father had retired, sold the large family home and bought a small apartment and a top-of-the-range motor home. Their parents now spent a good part of the year travelling around Europe.

      ‘What about Dad?’ queried Anna. ‘He’s not ill, is he?’

      ‘Good heavens, no!’ replied Rebecca. ‘I was talking to Jennifer and we were saying that as it’s Dad’s sixtieth birthday soon we should be thinking of having some sort of celebration. It’s only a few weeks away and they’re planning to be back in England for it.’

      ‘Yes, you’re right,’ said Anna, her heart sinking at the thought of all the arrangements that would have to be made. ‘We ought to do something for him, but what?’

      ‘A party, of course,’ replied her sister. ‘That’s why I phoned. I’ve arranged to have a meeting with Jennifer one day next week so that we can discuss it. What about Thursday?’

      The day rang a bell with Anna. She knew she wasn’t on night shift…but…oh, yes, that was the day she’d agreed to go out with Jack.

      ‘Can’t do Thursday, I’m going to a concert,’ she blurted out, before realising what she’d said.

      ‘That’s nice,’ said Rebecca. ‘With a man?’

      Anna could visualise her sister’s antennae whizzing round like mad, hoping to pick up any signals regarding СКАЧАТЬ