as he pored over the contents of a folder.
‘Ah, you’re just the person I wanted to see,’ he said, looking up, his tone brisk. ‘I take it you’re going off duty now?’
‘That’s right. Is there a problem?’
He shook his head. ‘Not at all.’ He waved a hand towards the corridor. ‘You have some visitors…your neighbour and his children. I sent them to the relatives’ waiting room.’
‘Oh, that’s good. Thanks for letting me know. Tom said he would come and pick me up. I just hope he managed to sort out whatever was wrong with my car.’
She would have gone to find them straight away, but she paused long enough to study Josh for a moment or two. There was something about his demeanour that put her on alert. ‘Is everything all right? You look as though you have something on your mind. Has your first day here not gone as well as you might have expected? I know you’ve hardly had a minute to yourself all day. It’s like that sometimes.’
She hesitated before adding, ‘The work in itself can be challenging, can’t it? We have to deal with things that you might come across only once in a blue moon, and there aren’t always simple answers. But generally we’re a supportive bunch of people, and we aim to rub along well together. Of course it’s different when you’re in charge, I suppose. You have a lot more to contend with, and you probably look at everything from a different perspective to the rest of us.’
‘Well, that’s certainly true. I wasn’t expecting to see hordes of bikers about the place this lunchtime. Nor was I expecting to have to make a speech almost as soon as I arrived.’ He frowned. ‘As to this latest request…’ He scowled at the folder he had been studying, tossing the file down on the desktop in a peremptory fashion. ‘I can’t imagine why I’m being asked to take part in a hospital radio show. Since I’m only going to be here for two days a week, I’m sure there are far more pressing demands on my time.’
Alison cast a quick glance over the file. ‘Oh, I see. It’s the outline for the Christmas radio programme. It goes out on air to all the patients, and they schedule it in advance. I don’t imagine the radio committee meant to cause trouble for you. It’s just that…’
‘I know. You don’t need to tell me…’ He put up a hand to stop her. ‘Steve Meadows always had a slot on the show. I’ve been hearing an awful lot about your former boss and his various good deeds. Apparently he was a member of the drama club and gave impromptu entertainment for the children on the wards, and he did charity runs and organised medical care for homeless people.’ His lips compressed. ‘He must rank among the saints, giving his time to every needy cause going. No wonder he suffered a heart attack. Was there anything that man didn’t do?’
‘Um…he did work tremendously hard, and he thought it was important to try to keep the patients happy—especially at Christmas time. It is the Christmas programme they’re asking you to look at, isn’t it?’
His jaw clenched. ‘That’s right…But they—the radio committee—had better think again. I’m a doctor, not a presenter, and at the moment I have more worthy matters to consider. Such as how to take care of the man I operated on this afternoon. If he manages to pull through after losing several pints of blood and having his heart put on bypass I shall count my blessings.’
He pushed the folder into the wastepaper basket with a broad sweep of his arm and then began to stride across the room. ‘I shall be in the resuscitation room if anyone needs me.’
Alison nodded, watching him go. ‘I’ll be sure to let the desk clerk know.’
Clearly he was worried about his patient and not in the best of moods right now. Maybe it was bad timing for the radio committee to lay their request on him on his very first day in the job.
She scribbled a message for the clerk, who was temporarily away from the desk. As an afterthought, she pulled the folder out of the wastebin and laid it to one side in a wire tray. Some decisions would have to be made regarding the programme before too long—but they could surely wait for the moment? The new boss obviously needed more time to settle in.
She hurried along to the waiting room. ‘Tom,’ she greeted her neighbour, ‘thanks for coming to fetch me. I’m sorry I’ve kept you waiting. I hope I’ve not put you out too much?’
‘Not at all.’ He was a tall man, with dark hair and features that were carved out of life’s experiences—crinkled lines about his blue eyes and a firm jawline that hinted at a rock-steady character. Alison had taken to him from the instant she met him.
He came towards her now, his arms enclosing her in a brief hug. ‘I had to come into town anyway. I ordered a replacement petrol pump for your car, and the spare parts place promised me they would have it in stock by this evening. Of course Jason and Rachel wanted to come with me. They both needed new trousers, so my wife gave me instructions on what to look out for in the local store.’ He frowned. ‘I can’t keep up with them. They’re forever wearing them out at the knees or snagging them on something or other. Nobody ever told me about the downside of having a family. I’ve become a walking money tree, and I feel as though my roots are beginning to wither.’
She gave him a wry smile. ‘It almost makes me glad I’m not a parent.’ She glanced around the room. ‘Where are they, by the way?’
‘They went out to fetch cold drinks from the machine in the main waiting room. I thought I’d better wait here, in case you wondered where I was, but perhaps we’d better go and see what they’re up to. They should have been back by now, and I daren’t imagine what they might get up to left to their own devices for too long.’
‘Good idea,’ she agreed, nodding. The children were eight and nine years old, and full of the joys of life. ‘Knowing Jason and his love of drawing, they could be trying out designs for a new mural by now.’
‘Oh, heaven forbid! Don’t say that, please. I can feel an ulcer starting already.’
She laughed, and they hurried away towards the main waiting room in search of the children. Unfortunately they were nowhere to be seen.
Alison gazed around her in dismay. ‘We’d have seen them if they were heading back to you in the waiting room, wouldn’t we?’
Tom nodded, an anxious look spreading over his face.
‘Can I help in any way?’ Josh came out of the resuscitation room and strode briskly towards them, delivering the words in an equally vigorous, no-nonsense fashion. ‘Are you looking for the children?’
Alison nodded, her heart sinking rapidly. He didn’t look at all content with the way his day was going, and his questions didn’t have the tiniest note of pleasant enquiry about them. Something was definitely wrong. ‘They came in here to fetch cold drinks,’ she said. ‘Do you know where they are?’
‘The last I saw of them they were playing in the courtyard outside the waiting room.’ He looked directly at Tom. ‘There’s still a lot of snow around, and they were trying to slide down the grass verge. Unfortunately Jason slipped on the ice and cut his knee. He’s okay, but I asked one of the nurses to clean it up and put a dressing on it before she brought the pair of them back to you. You’ll find them in Treatment Room Two, over there.’ He waved a hand in the direction of the room, and Tom thanked him and immediately rushed away.
Alison gave Josh a brief, apologetic look. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said. ‘It’s
