‘Yeah, me too,’ said the nurse. ‘They’re all pigs, aren’t they?’
* * *
At the end of her shift, Anna changed out of the theatre blues worn by all the doctors and nurses in A and E and into her own clothes.
She was walking to her car when, for the second time that day, she heard someone running towards her. And again it was Jack Harvey.
‘Anna!’ he said, calling to her from several metres away.
A prickle of irritation went through her. She wasn’t in the mood for talking, not to him or anyone. She just wanted to get home to the safe haven of her small apartment and continue the healing process on her own. The hurt inflicted by Liam was still very raw and it was going to take longer than a couple of weeks to heal. For that she needed to be by herself. Solitary confinement had a lot going for it, she decided. By the time Jack had reached her she’d taken out her car key and was fitting it in the lock, ready for a quick getaway.
‘Anna,’ he said again when he reached her. He was slightly breathless, having sprinted at top speed across the full length of the car park.
‘At least you’ve got my name right this time!’ she joked through clenched teeth.
He took a deep breath. ‘Will you come out for a drink with me?’ he asked, the words tumbling out all at once.
‘What? Now?’ She tried to keep the irritation from her voice.
He nodded.
The nerve of the man! The nerve of all handsome men! They just think they can snap their fingers and you’ll come running.
‘Sorry,’ she said, ‘got things to do.’
She opened the car door and slid into the driver’s seat.
‘Another night, then?’ he persisted, leaning into the car. ‘Perhaps we could have a meal?’ He looked so intense, so appealing and little-boy-lost that Anna almost weakened.
‘I’m afraid you’ll have to take no for an answer, Jack,’ she said pleasantly but firmly, her cool, serene looks emphasising that she really did mean no.
‘Look,’ he said, putting a gentle hand on her arm and fixing her with penetrating eyes, ‘you don’t understand. I’m in a bit of a state of shock right now. I’ve been in shock since I saw you coming out of the canteen earlier today. You see, you reminded me so much of someone else. That’s why I looked as if I’d seen a ghost.’
He was persistent all right, thought Anna. But although she wasn’t going to let him bamboozle her into a date, she was becoming a little curious about him.
‘You called me Anneka,’ she said. As she spoke the name she noticed that he flinched slightly as if she’d hit him. ‘Is that who I look like? Is she an ex-girlfriend or something?’
He stood stock still for a moment. ‘Anneka was my wife,’ he said quietly. ‘She died three years ago.’
Anna was now the one who felt as if she’d been struck.
‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ She kept her cool exterior but inside she was cringing because of the flippant way she’d been treating him, imagining that he was just trying to pick her up.
‘I’ve seen blonde women who looked a little like her,’ he said, ‘but until today I’ve never met anyone who could have been her double. It gave me a very nasty turn. I thought I was starting to hallucinate.’ He laughed a hollow laugh.
The haunting look of pain on his face won her over. ‘I’m sorry, Jack,’ she said. ‘I really can’t make it tonight, but I probably can tomorrow. Just for a quick drink.’
His face lost its tension and he smiled almost with relief.
‘Thanks,’ he said, before turning and walking away.
She drove home pensively. For the first time in two weeks her mind, outside working hours, was not on Liam and her broken heart. Jack’s loss had put her own pain in perspective. When Liam had left her it had felt almost like a bereavement. But, of course, she knew it wasn’t really like someone dying because that was so final, so sad. It had been three years, he’d said, since his wife’s death and still Jack had the mark of pain and suffering imprinted on his face. If seeing someone who looked like your dead wife had the power to make you react in such an obsessive and compelling manner after three years, how long was it going to take the poor man to finally get over his loss?
In some perverse way she found Jack’s situation faintly reassuring. Hopefully, she wasn’t going to be pining after Liam in three years’ time. Maybe solitary confinement wasn’t the complete answer for her. Perhaps going out with Jack could be another way of helping her in her own healing process?
* * *
The following evening, after they’d both finished their day shifts, they went out for a drink. Anna had come into work on the bus that morning, knowing that she would be given a lift home. Jack, although he’d only recently joined the Royal as the new casualty surgeon, was not a stranger to the area and he knew several pubs within a few miles of the hospital. He drove to one of the quieter inns, playing a classical music tape as they drove along.
‘That’s nice,’ she said conversationally. ‘It’s one of my favourites.’
He parked the car and turned off the engine.
‘I know all the drinking dives round here from my days as a medical student,’ he said as they got out of the car and walked towards the pub. ‘This one didn’t come high on our list. We used to head for the pubs with loud music, cheap beer and greasy food!’
Anna raised her eyebrows in alarm.
‘Don’t worry, this one’s just the opposite. No piped music, real ale and decent food,’ he reassured her.
‘But this is only for a drink?’ asked Anna, checking that he wasn’t trying to make it more of a date than she’d intended. She’d only agreed to go out with him because he’d mentioned that he’d lost his wife. For the foreseeable future she wasn’t planning on dating anyone…she was too bruised emotionally even to consider it.
‘Just a quick drink,’ he confirmed, adding with an amused grin, ‘I’m not going to press-gang you into a romantic candlelit dinner.’
He chose a secluded corner for them and then went to the bar to get their drinks. A few minutes later he returned with two glasses.
‘One white wine,’ he said, putting the glass of chilled Chardonnay on the small, marble-topped table alongside his pint.
‘Cheers!’ they said in unison.
Jack watched her like a hawk, his eyes never leaving her even as he took a long swig of his beer. She found his scrutiny unnerving.
‘So,’ she said lightly, ‘you’re no stranger to this area?’
‘No. But I don’t remember too much about it, if I’m being frank. After all, I was a student and I was working very long hours. But the area does have happy memories for
