‘Where are you based at home? City or country?’
‘Auckland. Biggest city in the country. And up there in the top cities of the world to live in. You should come and visit sometime.’
‘Oh? What’s so great about Auckland?’
The conversation, as they swapped details about their home towns and talked about how little they knew of what was to happen tomorrow, was lively but Kate was only half listening.
Why was it so unsettling, she wondered, to be disappointed that she’d made a mistake? It wasn’t as if Luke had ever been anything more than a friend.
On his side, anyway.
On her side, too, after she’d got over that silly crush. And it hadn’t been that hard, had it?
Humiliating, maybe, when she’d felt invisible as anything more than a friend, but they had been very good friends and that was something special. Something that often lasted way longer than any romantic relationships. They’d studied together, competed fiercely to see could get better marks in exams and had supported each other in those first, nerve-racking encounters with real patients in real hospitals.
They’d kept in touch all through those early years of their careers after medical school, even though they’d ended up in different cities and she’d convinced herself that she was genuinely delighted when he’d fallen head over heels in love with the gorgeous Nadia—a nurse he’d met in his first year as a surgical registrar. She hadn’t been the one for Luke but she’d cared enough about him to wish him complete happiness with the woman who’d been lucky enough to be chosen.
Okay, it had been more than a little hurtful when contact had ceased but she’d always hoped that, one day, when Nadia felt more secure, the friendship would somehow be rekindled. A hope that had been slowly evaporating over the years, however. She hadn’t even thought about Luke for quite a long time. Until she’d thought she’d spotted him...
Maybe, when she got home, she’d find out where he was working these days. Drop him an email, even, and just say hi.
The plan was satisfying enough to enable her to put the distraction firmly to one side and tune in properly to the conversation around her. New Zealand was a place that had always fascinated her and she was keen to hear about what it was like to live and work there.
By the time she followed the others to get to the welcome ceremony and briefing, she had completely forgotten about Luke Anderson. It was taking more than enough concentration not to lose sight of Georgia or their new friends as they squeezed into a very crowded room.
‘Excuse me...’ She had to turn sideways to get past a group of medics wearing heavy coats with fluorescent stripes and rescue insignia. They were big men and maybe they hadn’t heard her because one of them stepped back and pushed Kate into the person on the other side of the space she’d been trying to get through. She felt hands grip her arms as someone tried to prevent her falling.
‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ Kate could feel her face reddening as she regained her balance.
‘No problem. It’s a bit of a squeeze in here, isn’t it?’
Kate’s jaw dropped as she lifted her head. She knew that voice so well...
‘Oh, my God... Kate?’
A huge, dumb grin was spreading over her face but words had deserted her. Not that she needed them for a moment because Luke had enveloped her in a hug that was making it difficult to take a breath.
‘Kate?’
The voice came from behind her and she turned as the tight hold loosened.
‘Oh, thank goodness. I thought I’d lost you.’
‘Georgie...this is my friend, Luke...’
Someone was tapping on a microphone, which triggered a screech of feedback that made people groan.
‘Sorry about that but welcome, everybody... If we could have a bit of quiet, please?’
Kate shut up immediately but Luke didn’t appear to have heard the request.
‘What on earth are you doing here?’
‘It was a birthday present,’ she muttered. ‘Long story...’
‘Shh,’ someone behind her hissed. ‘We’re trying to listen.’
Luke made an apologetic grimace but then winked at Kate.
‘Later,’ he mouthed, turning to peer over the heads of others to see who was speaking.
Kate started listening, too. After the welcome speech and a list of how many countries were participating, another speaker got up to share important information.
‘Between eleven-thirty and midnight tonight, you will all receive your list of events. You will be given the GPS coordinates of the scenario and a start time. Please be there at least ten minutes before that time. If you are late, you will not be admitted and you will not be marked in that section of the competition.’
Georgia elbowed Kate. ‘No chance of that happening,’ she whispered. ‘Not when I’m with you.’
The dig at her compulsion to follow directions to the letter failed to bother Kate. How could it when she was feeling so unexpectedly good?
She had Luke standing on her other side and, every so often, they glanced sideways—apparently at the exact same moment—to catch each other’s gaze. And every time it happened, the feeling got stronger.
It was like going home. Or back to a beloved place, like where you’d had your summer holidays all through childhood. A feeling of something so familiar you could relax completely. Of something that had the promise of delivering the same good things it always had.
And, yes...there was something more.
A flicker of that initial crush, perhaps? A realisation that none of her own relationships had ever worked well enough because that flicker had never been fanned into something that had felt as meaningful as even her friendship with Luke had been?
‘The rally covers a period of twenty-four hours and you will have both a daytime and a night-time section. There will be twelve tasks for you to complete but there will be breaks in your schedule during which you can take meals or have a rest.
Time to catch up properly with an old friend, perhaps? The feeling of anticipation took on a softer edge for Kate. A warm glow, even.
There were pictures on a big screen on the wall now. There was a map of the local area as an official explained how far they might have to travel to get to some of the scenarios and what local landmarks and hazards to watch out for.
Finally, there were reminders of the rules.
‘The competition is held in English. All instructions will be in this language and your patients are fluent enough to answer any relevant questions. The officials grading your performance will also be doing this in English and teams will be marked down for communication in any other language.’
Kate
