once in a while,’ she said as calmly as she could. ‘However, I think we’re basically too level-headed to be swayed by it.’
‘Speak for yourself!’ Alice retorted. ‘This young man could turn my head if I was thirty years younger, and I don’t mind admitting it!’
The old lady’s tone was so wry that Maggie had to laugh. ‘You’re shameless! Whatever will Dr Fabrizzi think?’
‘That if we could magic away those thirty years then I would be having to get to the back of the line. I can’t imagine that the guys around here are slow to spot a good-looking woman,’ Luke replied dryly.
‘Well, I had my share of admirers in my younger days, I have to admit.’ Alice’s lined face broke into a delighted smile so that Maggie had a glimpse of the lovely young woman she must have been in her prime.
She felt her heart warm when she realised how much the compliment had meant to the old lady. Far too often doctors failed to think of the elderly as anything more than a set of medical conditions, but not Luke. He saw the old lady as a real person with real feelings, not just as an illness that needed treating. It surprised Maggie how pleased she felt to know that.
‘I bet you did.’ Luke’s smile was warm as he squeezed the old lady’s hand. ‘And I’m sure you’ll have more in the future once we get this hip sorted out.’
Alice sighed. ‘Will you be able to fix it though, Doctor? The thing that scares me most is the thought of ending my days in a wheelchair. Oh, I know I can’t do half the things I used to do when I was younger, but I value my independence. I don’t want to end up being a burden to my family.’
‘I’m not going to lie to you, Mrs Bradshaw, and claim that this is going to be easy. And I’m not going to assure you that you’ll be back to normal in a couple of weeks either.’
His tone was uncompromising yet Maggie saw the old lady smile. ‘Then what are you going to tell me?’
‘That with care, plus a lot of determination on your part, you will be back on your feet. It isn’t going to happen overnight nor will your hip ever be as good as it was when you were younger. As I explained, you’re suffering from osteoporosis, which means your bones are far more brittle than they used to be, so we are going to have to take that into account.
‘I’m going to replace the worn-out joint but you’re going to have to be very careful not to put too much pressure on it afterwards. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to regain your mobility, but I’m convinced that you’ll be able to get around unaided eventually,’ he stated firmly.
‘Then that’s good enough for me. Thank you.’ Alice’s eyes swam with tears of relief. ‘I know you’ll do your best and that’s all that matters. I was so afraid that nobody would bother, you see. You read all those dreadful stories in the newspapers and I thought that as I’m in my seventies everyone would think it was a waste of time and money to bother with me.’
‘No way!’ Luke’s tone was grim. Maggie was surprised by the vehemence it held. ‘Giving people the chance to lead a happy and pain-free life at whatever age isn’t something that can be counted in terms of dollars…or pounds.’ He gave the old lady’s hand a final squeeze. ‘I’ll see you in surgery in about an hour, Mrs Bradshaw. And that’s a date!’
He left the cubicle and Alice sighed softly. ‘I think I’ve been very lucky, don’t you, my dear? In fact, I’d say Dalverston is lucky to have a man like that working here. You don’t get many doctors like your Dr Fabrizzi.’
Maggie smiled but the word seemed to be buzzing inside her head. ‘Your Dr Fabrizzi…’
She took a deep breath when she realised that once again her mind was running off at tangents. Maybe there was an explanation for the way it had been behaving of late but she wasn’t going to waste any more time that day looking for one.
‘I’m sure you’re right,’ she said briskly as she straightened the old lady’s bed. ‘Now, try to have a little rest. One of the theatre staff will be up shortly to give you your pre-med.’
She moved away from the bed as the old lady closed her eyes, and glanced around the ward, automatically checking that everything was in order. The surgical ward was one of the busiest in the hospital and there was always something that needed doing.
Her eyes alighted on Luke, who had been waylaid by one of the male patients. The ward was a mixed one, although male and female patients were placed at opposite ends. Now Maggie watched with interest as he stopped to speak to David Garner, a young rugby player who’d been admitted the previous day with a shattered kneecap.
David was due for surgery that afternoon and was very worried about the after-effects of his operation and whether he would be able to play rugby again. Maggie couldn’t help wondering if Luke would have the same rapport with this patient as he’d had with Mrs Bradshaw. In her experience, men who got on well with women rarely related well to other men so it was interesting to observe what was happening.
A burst of laughter rang around the ward and she shook her head in amazement when she saw David Garner slap Luke’s hand in a high-five. To her mind, the two men shouldn’t have had a thing in common yet they looked as though they were the best of friends!
‘He certainly has a way with him, doesn’t he?’ Doreen paused on her way to fetch one of the patients a fresh jug of water. She gave Maggie a teasing look. ‘There’s a lot more to our Dr Fabrizzi than just a handsome face, isn’t there? Admit it, Maggie, he’s one heck of a doctor.’
‘I never said that he wasn’t!’ Maggie heard the snap in her voice and quickly moderated her tone. ‘It’s obvious that he’s highly skilled.’
‘But it’s going to take more than his expertise to win you over?’ Doreen shook her head. ‘I’ll give it a month and then I bet you’ll be as smitten as the rest of us, Maggie Carr. In fact, I’m so sure I’ll be proved right that I’m willing to put my hard-earned money on it. A fiver says that you’ll be a paid-up member of the Fabrizzi fan club by this time next month.’
‘You’re on!’ She shook Doreen’s hand to seal their bet. ‘A fiver will come in very handy, thank you. It will be easy money, too.’
The older nurse just laughed. ‘Oh, I don’t think so. It seems to me that our Luke has already got under your skin, Maggie. You could be in for a big surprise!’
Doreen went on her way, still smiling. Maggie rolled her eyes. Under her skin indeed? What rubbish!
Another burst of laughter had her gaze winging back down the ward and a shiver danced along her nerves. How could she explain the strange way she reacted around Luke? She could deny it until she was blue in the face but there was no doubt that she was unusually aware of him. Far too often in the past weeks she’d found her thoughts straying to him. Was it because they’d got off to such a bad start that she felt she had to be on her guard around him?
She sighed as she realised that she had no idea what the real answer was. She quickly headed for the office and a mound of paperwork that needed her attention. Maybe Doreen hadn’t been so far off track after all because it was obvious that Luke Fabrizzi was fast becoming a veritable thorn in her flesh!
THE
