‘But don’t take any more than that and make sure you keep your finger completely dry. I’ll make an appointment for you to see Sophie on Thursday or Friday.’
‘And Dr McFadden,’ Mrs Neville reminded her firmly. She smiled rather dreamily at Janet. ‘Isn’t he wonderful? You’re so lucky to have found him!’
‘Mmm.’ Janet’s smile was automatic. She could hear an echo of Sharlene’s voice—a bitter memory that hadn’t surfaced for years. ‘Oh, you’re so lucky, Jan,’ her best friend—and room-mate—had sighed. ‘Where did you find him?’
Janet steered Mrs Neville towards the reception counter. ‘Sandy will fix you up,’ she said distractedly. ‘Call me if you have any problems.’
The afternoon settled into a blissful period of calm. Janet found she had time to make her recall appointments as Sandy took phone calls, welcomed new arrivals and sorted out the accounts of those leaving. After the miserable chaos of the morning, Janet couldn’t believe how smoothly the clinic was running. They even had time for a quick afternoon teabreak when Sophie arrived back from the hospital.
‘How is Mr Collins?’ Janet queried, handing Sophie a mug of coffee.
‘Amazingly happy.’ Sophie shook her head wonderingly. ‘I left him sitting up in the coronary care unit, surrounded by monitors and shouting at a poor house surgeon.’
‘What had the house surgeon done?’ Oliver grinned.
‘Nothing. Mr Collins lost his hearing aid somewhere between here and A and E.’
‘At least he can shout,’ Janet observed. ‘I had my doubts there for a while.’
Sophie chuckled. ‘Mr Collins has had an ‘‘out of body’’ experience. I heard all about it at least three times.’
‘What—tunnels and bright lights?’
‘More like kind of musical,’ Sophie said thoughtfully. ‘A full orchestra, he said.’
‘Playing hymns?’
‘No.’ Sophie chuckled again. ‘He said it sounded like the Crusaders’ theme song. What is it? ‘‘Conquest of Paradise’’?’
Janet nodded. ‘Vangelis, 1492. The boys have got it on tape and it gets hammered in our house whenever there’s a big rugby game coming up.’
‘Anyway.’ Sophie sat down with a sigh. ‘Mr Collins is alive to tell the tale, thank goodness. I’m exhausted.’ She looked up as Jamie McFadden entered the staffroom. ‘Hi, Jamie!’ Sophie’s face brightened. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to say hello properly. Come and sit down and have a coffee.’
‘Thanks.’ Jamie sat down beside Sophie. ‘I’ll pass on the coffee, though. I only drink tea.’
‘Just like Janet!’ Sophie exclaimed. ‘Must be a Scottish thing.’
‘That’s not all that Jamie and Janet have in common,’ Oliver informed his wife. ‘They knew each other in Glasgow.’
Sophie’s eyebrows shot up.
‘We just worked together in the same hospital.’ Janet placed a cup of tea in front of Jamie. ‘It was a long time ago.’
‘What an amazing coincidence,’ Sophie breathed.
Janet frowned. It was indeed. A little too amazing. Had Jamie McFadden found out she was here somehow? Through her sister, perhaps? Liz had been planning a return to the UK at some stage. What else might he know about? Janet swallowed nervously. ‘You don’t take sugar, do you, Jamie?’ she queried politely.
‘I do, actually.’ Jamie’s smile was equally polite. ‘But I’ll get it. You sit down.’ Jamie got to his feet with an easy grace and headed towards the kitchen bench. ‘How did your patient get on, Sophie?’ he asked over his shoulder.
‘He’s doing well. They were discussing the possibility of some angioplasty when I left. Mr Collins was very enthusiastic.’
‘Was he?’ Jamie’s eyebrows rose expressively. ‘Invasive interventional therapy isn’t usually an attractive option.’
Oliver laughed. ‘Our Mr Collins isn’t a usual patient. He has a keen interest in medicine—especially when he can apply it to himself.’
‘Just wait until Josh and Toni hear about this.’ Sophie grinned. ‘We’ll have to take every complaint seriously from now on.’ She shook her head. ‘I’ll never feel the same when I hear ‘‘Conquest of Paradise’’.’
Jamie looked confused.
‘It’s a rather stirring piece of music which our local rugby team has adopted as a theme song,’ Sophie explained. ‘Everybody in Christchurch—the whole of Canterbury, in fact—recognises it. Mr Collins reckons he heard it during his near-death experience.’
‘Is he keen on rugby, then?’ Jamie smiled.
‘Most people are when Crusader fever hits town. Everybody dresses in red and black and everybody gets sick of hearing ‘‘Conquest of Paradise’’. There could be a big game coming up next month if they get through to the finals. You’ll see what I mean then.’
‘Let’s hope Josh and Toni are back in time,’ Oliver put in. ‘Josh would hate to miss a big match.’
Jamie was adding a second spoonful of sugar to his tea. ‘They’re having a long honeymoon.’
‘They both needed a good break.’ Oliver’s glance included both Sophie and Janet, who nodded their agreement. Janet was pleased to notice Jamie’s expression, advertising his understanding of a bond of knowledge between the St Davids staff members that excluded the newcomer. She belonged here, her expression told him. He didn’t.
Sophie was peering into her mug with distaste. ‘I’ve gone right off coffee,’ she announced. ‘I think I’ll switch to tea.’
‘You should go home and put your feet up,’ Oliver advised. ‘You’ve had an awful day and it’s an early flight tomorrow.’ He looked worried. ‘This exam couldn’t be at a worse time for you. Maybe you should ask for a postponement.’
‘No way!’ Sophie decared. ‘All that swotting for nothing? I’ll be fine, Oliver—as long as there’s a toilet nearby. I wouldn’t mind heading home now, though. Do you think you can cope without me?’
‘Jamie’s doing a fantastic job already,’ Oliver informed his wife. Jamie shrugged modestly.
‘You’ve got a great set-up here,’ he complimented Oliver. ‘Your record-keeping is superb and you and Janet have been very helpful with my queries regarding prescriptions and so on.’
Oliver and Sophie exchanged glances. Then Oliver got to his feet. ‘I haven’t given you a proper tour of the place yet. Let’s do it while we’ve got a quiet spell. You’d better see where we keep the life pack and the oxygen and so on.’
Jamie nodded. ‘After your Mr Collins, I think that would be a very good idea.’
