interests of the babies.
She felt trapped.
‘Fine, we’ll do it your way. I’ll attend,’ she said as the three of them stepped inside the empty elevator. ‘But I’ll need a few minutes to find the crèche and settle Bea in.’
‘Fine, you have ten minutes.’
‘Can’t you delay the consultation for half an hour?’
‘No.’
‘No?’ she repeated incredulously. ‘Not, perhaps...or I’ll see what I can do? Who made you the final decision maker? Oliver Darrington actually seconded me here, not you.’
‘But I’m Georgina’s OBGYN, so I make the final decision on this case. It’s how we run it at Teddy’s. Check with Oliver if you like, but he will without doubt defer to me.’
‘I don’t have time to chase down Mr Darrington.’
‘Good because I’m already running behind.’
The doors of the lift opened into OBGYN. The waiting room was full and all eyes turned to them. Charlie considered compromise was in everyone’s best interest. ‘I’ll give you twenty minutes to settle Bea into the crèche, Dr Turner. Then I’ll begin the Abbiatis’ consultation in Room Two-Thirteen.’
With that, Charlie disappeared down the corridor leaving Juliet and Bea standing opposite the nurses’ station. Juliet realised immediately that the middle ground he had offered had more to do with circumstance than generosity of spirit. The patients were all looking in their direction and had clearly been the impetus for the change in tone. She was well aware that he had the potential to be a medical ogre when out of earshot of others.
‘Dr Turner?’
Juliet looked up to see a very pretty willowy blonde nurse smiling back at her. ‘Yes.’
‘Hi, I’m Annabelle Ainsley. I’m the head neonatal nurse,’ the blue-eyed woman told her. ‘We’ve been expecting you.’
Juliet guessed the nurse to be in her mid-thirties as she stepped out from behind the station with her hand extended.
‘Juliet Turner,’ she responded as she met her handshake.
‘And who is this gorgeous young lady with the very pretty coloured cast?’
‘My daughter, Bea.’
‘Hello, Bea,’ Annabelle said.
Bea gripped her mother’s hand a little tighter as she looked up at the very tall nurse. Her long blonde hair was tied in quite a severe style atop her head that made her appear even taller.
‘Pink’s my favourite colour in the world,’ Annabelle continued and bent down a little to come nearer to the little girl’s height. ‘I love it so much I even have pink towels and pink soap.’
Bea loosened her grip a little. ‘Me too,’ she replied with her toothy grin and then smiled up at her mother before she continued. ‘I have a pink bed.’
‘Yes, you do, and a pink quilt. In fact your room is a pink palace,’ Juliet agreed.
‘Wow, that’s awfully special. I wish I had pink sheets and a pink quilt.’
Juliet was happy that Annabelle and Bea were engaging but she was becoming increasingly concerned about the timeframe she had to get to the consultation and she knew she was hiding the fact well.
‘Is there something I can help you with?’ Annabelle asked.
‘Yes, actually there is. I need to find the crèche as soon as possible. Dr Warren and I’ll be meeting with the Abbiatis shortly and I need to settle Bea in, and I haven’t had a chance to look over the last two days’ obs for Georgina as I’ve been travelling—’
‘I can help with all of that,’ Annabelle cut in.
‘You can? That would be wonderful. Thank you so much.’
‘Not at all,’ Annabelle replied with a smile. ‘I’ve just finished my shift and I have no plans so what if I take Bea to the crèche? It’s on the ground floor, and I’ll wait with her while you meet with Georgina and Leo. Bea and I can chat about all things pink.’
‘That’s so kind of you,’ Juliet said as she turned back to the lift. ‘We’ll have to hurry though as I have less than fifteen minutes to get to the crèche and back here for the consultation.’
Annabelle took a few long steps and pressed the down button. ‘If I may make a suggestion...what if you wait here and I take Bea to the crèche so you can read over Georgina’s notes? I’ve just refreshed everything after the ward rounds, so you can sit at the nurses’ station and read up for a few minutes. I’ll ask one of the nurses to take you to Room Two-Thirteen when you’re ready. It would be less rushed and you’ll be up to speed on the babies and mother’s condition in plenty of time for the appointment.’
Juliet was so grateful the world had given her a twenty-first-century Florence Nightingale but she also felt torn letting Bea go with a nurse she had known for less than five minutes. A brief internal battle prevailed, fuelled a little by Charlie’s initial judging of her parenting, but common sense and her need to attend the consultation won out. ‘I think Bea should be okay to go with you. She attends childcare two days a week.
‘Is it all right with you, Bea, if the nurse takes you to the crèche? It’s like Pennybrook back home when you go and play with the other children when Grandma and Grandpa don’t have you. It’s not far from here and I’ll be there in about an hour once I’ve seen the very special patient we came all this way to help.’
‘Are you going to help the lady with four babies in her tummy?’
‘Yes, I am.’
‘Okay, Mummy. I think you should go. Grandpa told me that you need to help the lady have the babies.’
Juliet smiled. Sometimes Bea was so wise and practical for a four-year-old. Spending quality time with her grandparents had brought an older perspective to her life and for that Juliet was grateful. She kissed the top of her daughter’s head and watched her and Annabelle step closer to the opening doors of the elevator. Bea’s fear, that was palpable in A&E, had all but disappeared. Annabelle did look a little similar to one of the pretty child-carers back at Pennybrook and that, Juliet surmised, went a long way to making Bea feel comfortable.
‘And you can meet the other children at the crèche. They’re all very nice,’ Annabelle added as she reached for Bea’s little hand and stepped inside the now fully open doors. ‘And you can tell me about everything you have back in Australia that’s pink. Do you have a pink kangaroo too?’
‘No, that would be silly,’ Bea said, giggling. ‘But I have a pink bear and a pink....’ The doors closed on Bea’s chatter and Juliet felt herself smiling as she waved goodbye. Annabelle was a lovely addition to an otherwise dreadful day and she was so grateful for her assistance.
As Juliet took a moment to gather her thoughts she knew, with Bea under control, she could concentrate on the task at hand. Making sure that Charlie Warren was put in his place. She had not travelled halfway around
