girl.’
Olivia winced again as he nodded appreciatively. She didn’t have to be a genius to see that Clem wasn’t particularly politically correct.
‘I’m sorry to throw you in at the deep end but I see from your résumé that you can suture, which is an absolute luxury for me. I’ve never had a nurse here that can stitch and, frankly, I’ve never had the time to teach them.’
‘As long as the wound is examined by you before and after I suture, that’s fine.’
Clem nodded dismissively. ‘Well, in the treatment room I’ve got Alex Taylor. He’s gashed his hand on some barbed wire while mending a fence. I’ve had a look and there doesn’t appear to be any nerve or tendon damage, but the wound in itself is quite jagged and dirty and will need a lot of cleaning and debriding. If you could get started on him, that would be a great help. Buzz me when you’re finished or if you’ve any concerns.’
‘Right...’ Olivia hesitated. ‘I’ll get started, then.’
‘Good. He also needs a tetanus shot,’ Clem added, more as an afterthought, then, picking up his fountain pen, started to write on a patient’s file in a huge, untidy scrawl. Olivia stood there, not sure where to go. He hadn’t exactly given her a guided tour of the place.
‘Was there anything else?’ he asked, without bothering to look up.
‘Er, no,’ she replied hesitantly. He obviously wasn’t going to hold her hand. Perhaps Betty could show her where the treatment room and the equipment was. But back in the waiting room Betty was looking even more harassed than before. The phone was ringing incessantly, while she tried to force an uncooperative piece of paper into the fax machine. Oh, well, she’d just have to find her own way.
Alex was infinitely patient.
‘No worries, Sister,’ he said, adding reassuringly a little later, ‘Take your time, Sister, I’m in no hurry.’
Olivia bustled about, trying to find suture packs and local anaesthetic. Finally, with her trolley laid out and her hands scrubbed, she was ready to start.
‘Right, Alex, I’m with you now.’
‘Right you are, Sister.’ The elderly man nodded.
Olivia examined the wound carefully. Clem was right. It was indeed a nasty cut, very deep with untidy jagged edges and very dirty. After waiting for the local anaesthetic she had injected to take effect, Olivia once again inspected the wound, this time more thoroughly. The tendon and its sheath were visible, but thankfully intact.
‘Alex, everything looks all right in there. I’m just going to give it a good clean and then I’ll stitch it up. You shouldn’t feel any pain, but if it does start to hurt you be sure and tell me.’
‘Very good, Sister.’
Olivia was quite sure he wouldn’t. Alex hadn’t even let out a murmur while she’d injected the anaesthetic. ‘Dr Clemson said you were repairing a fence?’
‘Yep. The sheep were getting out and wandering off. I was gonna wait for me grandson to fix it, but he’s away at uni till the holidays and I can’t be doing chasing the stupid things. I’m too old for that.’ He went on to tell Olivia about his farm and how his grandson was studying agriculture. She encouraged the conversation to take Alex’s mind off his hand. Anyway, it was interesting to hear what he had to say.
‘He’s forever coming back from uni, full of new ideas and notions about what he wants to do with the land.’
‘And does that worry you?’
‘’Struth, no,’ Alex answered firmly. ‘I’m all for progress. Mind, I’m too set in me ways to be changing things myself. But as for the young fella, he can do what he likes as far as I’m concerned. Farming’s big business now it’s a science.’ He laughed. ‘It’ll all be his one day and I’m just glad he wants it. Not many young folk stay now. You just look at Clem. He wanted to stay in the city and carry on his work with the children.’
‘But he came back,’ Olivia ventured, curious despite herself at the insight into her boss. She had finished cleaning the hand and debriding the dead tissue. Aligning the edges, she started to suture.
‘Old Dr Clemson—Clem’s father—went to pieces after his wife died. His health started to fail. Clem came back to help out. He’s a good sort, not like his brother Joshua—he didn’t even make it in time for his own mother’s funeral. Anyway, then the old fella died, God rest him. By then, though, young Clem had fallen in love with Kathy, and she would never have considered leaving here. She loved Kirrijong and it loved her.’ Alex winced slightly and Olivia wasn’t sure whether it was from pain or emotion.
‘Is that sore, Alex? The anaesthetic is starting to wear off, but I’m just about finished now.’
‘I’m all right,’ he said, then continued his tale. ‘Kathy belonged here, and for a while so did Clem.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, he’s busy with building the hospital and he’s flat out here, but I don’t reckon his heart’s in it. I know he’s grieving and I reckon the place has just got too many painful memories for him. I reckon we’ll be lucky if he stays.’
Olivia’s eyes suddenly misted over. Poor Clem. She knew all about painful memories and being alone. But if Jeremy had died? To totally lose someone... She wondered how Clem even managed to get up in the morning. At that moment she heard Clem walk into the room. He stood over her as she tied the last knot, surveying her work. The bitter tang of his cologne was a heady contrast to the chlorhexidine solution she was using on Alex’s wound. Acutely aware of his closeness, her hand trembled slightly as she snipped the silk thread. Clem let out a low whistle and shook his head.
‘You’ve made a rod for your own back Livvy. I couldn’t have done a better job myself. You’ll be doing all the suturing now. Right you are, then, Alex. Keep it clean and dry, and I’ll see you again in a week. Here’s a script for some antibiotics—that’s a nasty cut and we don’t want it getting infected. Any problems in the meantime and you’re to come straight back.’
Alex rolled up his sleeve as Olivia approached with his tetanus shot. ‘Right you are, Clem.’ He got up from the trolley and added, ‘I hope you don’t go scaring this one off—she’s a diamond.’
Olivia blushed but Clem laughed.
‘I’ll try not to.’ He shook Alex’s good hand and reminded him once again to return if needed.
‘Bye, then, Sister. Thanks very much.’
‘No, thank you Alex, for being so patient.’ She smiled warmly at him and hoped all her patients would be as pleasant.
The rest of the morning passed in a whirl of dressings, recording ECGs and taking blood. An old lady eyed Olivia dubiously as she sat her down and produced a tourniquet.
‘Clem normally takes my blood. I’ve got very difficult veins, you know.’
Taking a deep breath, Olivia forced a smile and assured the woman she knew what she was doing, adding, ‘Dr Clemson is so busy this morning he didn’t want to
