Prognosis Irreconcilable Differences

by Andrews, Amy

  Four weeks. He’d been looking forward to coming back to his old job, knowing he’d get to see Lou every day. Because apart from their history she was the best damn nurse unit manager he’d ever worked with.

  Efficient, knowledgeable and resourceful.

  ‘No problem,’ he said emphatically, staring into her pretty face and blue eyes. ‘Who’s filling in for you?’ he asked.

  ‘Lydia.’

  Oh. Great. Just what he needed. The friend from hell. ‘Excellent,’ he said.

  There was a moment of awkward silence. ‘I suppose you’re here to familiarise yourself with the new computer system?’ she said, not seeing any point in continuing hostilities when they had to work together.

  ‘No, I have some other stuff to attend to first. I’m coming back this afternoon to get myself orientated with that. I actually came to see you. Check that we were... okay.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘I don’t know, Lou.’ He raked his hands through his hair. ‘You’ve thrown me for a bit of a loop, actually.’

  Welcome to my life. ‘Well, back at you,’ she said.

  The phone rang and Lou was grateful for the interruption. ‘Ward Two, Louise Marsden speaking.’

  ‘Everything okay?’ demanded Lydia.

  Lou smiled. ‘Fine.’

  ‘Do you want me to come in and kick his butt?’

  This time she laughed. Lydia would, she had no doubt. ‘Thanks, I have it under control.’ She hung up, still smiling.

  ‘Lydia?’ She nodded. ‘She doesn’t like me much these days.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I wasn’t aware I’d done anything to upset her.’

  Lou shrugged. ‘You didn’t. You left. You upset me. It’s enough.’

  ‘What else could I have done, Lou? Delvine was making it impossible. You were miserable. I wasn’t...we weren’t making you happy anymore.’

  ‘You did what you had to do, Will. I understand that. But it still hurt.’

  ‘So I do the only decent thing and I’m the big bad wolf? That’s hardly fair.’

  Lou nodded. ‘That’s what friends are for.’

  ‘Do they all hate me?’ he asked, feeling slightly apprehensive about working with a hostile staff.

  She shook her head. ‘Only about seventy-five percent.’

  The phone rang again, and it was the pharmacy checking on supplies. She replaced the phone and felt more on an even keel now the initial hostilities were over and they’d settled into polite chit-chat.

  Will shook his head. ‘Candy’s going to flip when I tell her you’re having a baby. She was just lamenting only yesterday how she didn’t have a little brother or sister to play with. You’re going to be her favourite person...but then I guess you always were.’

  Lou smiled, thinking about Will’s gorgeous eight-year-old daughter. ‘How is Candy?’

  ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Surprisingly so. I thought she might be more upset...withdrawn...But she’s amazed me. I’m lucky she’s so resilient.’

  Lou loved the way his mouth, his entire face softened when he talked about Candice.

  Just as well she was over him.

  ‘How long will Delvine be gone for?’

  Harold Yates, the Medical Director, had filled Lou in on Will’s new circumstances. Delvine had found herself a rich property developer and had decided to relocate to Italy with him.

  ‘At least two years. Probably more.’

  Lou shook her head. How could she walk out on her daughter, a sweetie like Candice, for such a long time? But then Delvine had always had the maternal instincts of a spider. And it wasn’t the first time Delvine had done a runner. She had taken off for two and a half years when Candy had been one, leaving Will a single dad.

  She felt the bulge of her belly and knew that although the baby inside her had never been a part of her future plans, it was her responsibility and she could no more walk away from that than fly to the moon.

  And the baby wasn’t even hers.

  Lucky for Candice she had a father who doted on her and was one hundred per cent committed. Hell, despite the custody arrangements, he had practically raised her. When Lou thought about the interference and stress Delvine had caused in Will’s life, their life, she wanted to spit.

  ‘She signed over custody to you?’

  He nodded. ‘I think she was looking for an out. Again. She was relieved I wouldn’t sign the passport application. To be honest, I don’t think she’ll ever return.’

  Lou nodded. ‘Are you back in the house?’ Will had a beautiful federation-style Queenslander, in the trendy suburb of Paddington.

  He nodded. ‘Why don’t you come over this weekend? She’s dying to see you.’

  Lou swallowed. She’d do anything for that little girl. But this? So soon? ‘I’m kind of busy.’ She fobbed him off. ‘I’ll see how things pan out.’

  There was another awkward silence. He looked so good. A year had been too long. The things she’d wanted to do with this man...to be with this man. Her tiredness was making her sentimental and emotional and she suddenly felt like crawling into his lap and bawling all over his chest.

  She’d missed him. Curse her hormones! She was over him, damn it.

  ‘Anyway, I’d better get back. Peter’s out there causing havoc, no doubt,’ she said, rising and crossing to the door like a spooked filly. She’d worked too hard to put him behind her to falter at the first real challenge.

  I will not cry.

  ‘Wait. Lou...’

  Lou stopped at the door, her hand on the knob. ‘Yes?’ she said, a tremble husking her voice, refusing to look back at him.

  ‘I’m sorry about before,’ he said, joining her at the door. Her body was so close, and his burned hot with memories of how good it had felt to hold her.

  ‘It’s fine,’ she said briskly, turning the knob and pulling before she gave in to the urge to lean back into him.

  ‘No,’ he said, pushing the door shut with his hand up high on the frame, keeping it there, his other hand automatically reaching for her hip. He could feel the unfamiliar flare of her abdomen where once had been the jut of bone. ‘It’s not. I was shocked. I acted like a Neanderthal.’

  ‘Yes, you did.’

  There was a moment of silence, of stillness, full of things unsaid. His hand at what used to be her waist was burning a hole in her side.

  ‘Lou...’

  ‘Don’t,’ she begged him quietly.

  Her hair smelt fantastic, as always, and he wanted to touch it so badly his fingers itched. ‘I missed you,’ he whispered. ‘I missed this,’ he said, removing his hand from her hip and giving in to the urge to feel her hair.

  The skin at the nape of her neck broke out in goose bumps as his fingers lingered there a little, before moving down the length of her plait.

  ‘I’ve dreamt about touching it again. I’d forgotten how heavy it is. How glorious.’

  She couldn’t do this. She was going to have a baby in a couple of months. It was no longer just about her. The baby deserved a stable home life. Not some male figure who had too much of his own baggage to commit to them. She had to think even harder about who she let in.

  ‘Let me out,’ she said, holding on to the last shred of her sanity.

  Will sighed, releasing her hair, and stepped away from her.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said, opening the door hastily and walking out into the cool air outside.

  Lydia was hovering outside, and looked relieved when Lou appeared intact. Will took a moment to collect himself, and then stepped out of Lou’s office.

  ‘Help! I need help in here!’ came a raised voice from one of the bays.

  The voice held just the right note of panic, and they ran. Lou, Lydia, Peter and Will, with Lou reaching the bedside first. ‘What’s wrong, Kristy?’

  ‘I think she’s having an allergic reaction to the penicillin,’ said Kristy, her face pale.

  ‘Stop it the drug,’ Will ordered as he looked down at the panicked, wide-eyed child
in question.

  The little girl was naked but for a nappy, and had large red welts forming all over her body before their eyes. Her lips were looking very puffy, and Will didn’t need a stethoscope to hear the wheezes coming from the lungs.

  Anaphylaxis.

  ‘I’ll get the resus trolley,’ said Peter.

  ‘Oxygen, adrenaline, phenergan, hydrocortisone and some ventolin,’ Will directed, as everyone sprang into action around him.

  Lou drew up and administered the drugs, Lydia attached a sats probe, Peter assembled the ventolin and Kristy took care of the oxygen.

  ‘How old is she? What’s her diagnosis?’ Will asked.

  ‘Erica’s eighteen months,’ Lou told him. ‘Cellulitis from a possum bite.’

  ‘Is this Erica’s first dose?’

  ‘Second,’ said Kristy.

  He nodded. Anaphylactic reactions weren’t usually seen until the second or subsequent exposure to the particular allergen. Will looked around for a stethoscope and found one being thrust into his hand by Lou. Efficient. He smiled at her gratefully.

  The wheezes had reduced markedly, and Will breathed a sigh of relief that they had halted the rapid progress of a condition that could have been fatal in minutes.

  ‘Let’s get her into the high dependency bay. We’ll special her for the next little while,’ said Lou.

  Her hands shook slightly as she helped push the cot to the bay opposite the nurse’s station. Thank God Will had been here. Having an experienced paediatrician in an emergency on Ward Two was a definite bonus.

  Will hung around while the nursing team got the little girl settled in her temporary locale.

  ‘Possum bite?’ he asked as they trooped back into the nurses’ station.

  ‘Camping with the family,’ explained Peter. ‘Tried to pat one of the friendly possums. It bit her arm.’

  ‘Ouch.’ Will winced.

  ‘Hey, Pete,’ said Lydia casually. ‘I’ve an idea. Why don’t you ask our new colleague about the shave?’ She nodded towards Will.

  Pete’s eyes lit up. ‘Good idea, Lydia. Brilliant. Just brilliant.’

  Pete smiled at Will and rubbed his hands together.

  Lydia gave him a baleful smile. ‘What?’ Will said warily.

  ‘Dr Galligher,’ said Pete, narrowing his eyes speculatively. ‘You do know what they say about bald men, don’t you?’

  Will nodded, still wary. ‘Ah, but is it true, Pete?’

  ‘Never had any complaints.’ Pete winked. ‘But seriously, Shave for a Cure is on in a few weeks, and I just need one more person to agree to have their hair cut.’

  ‘That’s for the Leukaemia Foundation?’ Will asked.

  Pete nodded. ‘I’ve been trying to convince Lou.’

  Will looked at Lou and her beautiful hair, completely horrified by Pete’s suggestion. ‘That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard,’ he said dismissively.

  ‘No, no,’ Pete said, shaking his head emphatically. ‘Think about it. That plait is famous in this hospital. It’s been part of the history here for years. We’d raise a fortune. People would come from all over the hospital to finally see Lou lose the plait.’

  ‘Sacrilege.’ Lydia shook her head.

  ‘Hear, hear,’ agreed Will, suddenly warming to Lydia again.

  ‘Yes, I can see the signs around the hospital now. “Come see our Lou lose her plait”,’ Pete said, staring at a point in mid-air.

  ‘Are you insane?’ asked Will incredulously. How could the man even think of cutting off Lou’s gorgeous locks?

  Lou listened to their conversation about herself and her hair, feeling suddenly invisible. Like a life support system for a head of hair.

  ‘Oh, come on, there wouldn’t be one person who hadn’t thought about snipping it off as she’s walked past all these years. And it would make such a glorious wig,’ Pete said, lifting Lou’s plait and examining the blend of colours.

  ‘Ah, excuse me — I am actually standing here in the same room,’ said Lou, bemused by their in-depth discussion.

  ‘The plait stays,’ Will said firmly.

  ‘Lou?’ Pete entreated, appealing to his boss one last time and Lou opened her mouth to graciously decline.

  ‘No, Pete,’ said Will, even more firmly this time. ‘Absolutely not.’

  Lou turned and raised her eyebrow at Will. She knew he’d always been obsessed with her hair, but this was ridiculous. He was looking at her as if he owned her hair.

  As if he owned her.

  She felt the early simmer of her blood pick up to a slow boil. Did he really think he actually had a say over what she did with her hair?

  Or any other part of her body?

  Did he think he could walk back in after a year and she’d just fall back into her old Will-worshipping ways?

  If she was going to hold on to herself and her sanity now Will was back, he had to know that their old dynamic was dead. No more following meekly wherever he led.

  I am over you, buddy boy.

  Time to draw a line in the sand. ‘I’ll do it,’ she said, talking to Pete, but looking pointedly at Will.

  ‘Oh, no,’ gasped Kristy.

  ‘Lou,’ warned Lydia.

  ‘Yes!’ Pete rubbed his hands together with glee and picked up a pen.

  ‘No. Don’t put her down. I’ll do it,’ Will instructed, still holding Lou’s gaze.

  Lou broke eye contact. ‘Do not listen to him. Long hair with a baby is not a good combination. I’m doing it.’

  ‘He doesn’t need you now,’ said Will, placing a stilling hand on Pete’s, hovering above an official form, pen poised. ‘I’ve already volunteered.’

  Everyone in the nurses’ station looked at Lou. She felt as if she was in a tennis match, her colleagues looking left and right as they lobbed the bone of contention between them.

  She shrugged. ‘You want to as well — fine. But I’m not changing my mind. He can have both of us.’

  ‘Lou,’ said Will, realising his fatal error. ‘You’re just trying to prove a point now. You don’t have to do this.’

  ‘No, my mind is made up. It’s for kids with cancer. I’m the kids’ ward nurse unit manager. It’s a good cause. I normally go along, sponsor everyone, sell raffle tickets, do my bit. But this year I’m going to lead by example.’

  Will shook his head, not able to believe that she was seriously going to go through with it.

  ‘Are you really going bald?’ asked a mystified Kristy.

  ‘No.’ Lou laughed, not quite indignant enough to agree to that. ‘But shaved all over. Like Lydia’s Matt. How short does he have his?’ she asked her friend. Lydia’s ten-year-old son always got a crew cut.

  ‘He usually gets a number four blade,’ Lydia said, almost as horrified as Kristy.

  ‘Good.’ Lou nodded emphatically. ‘A number four it is.’

  Will still couldn’t believe the direction of the conversation. He searched around for something to deter her, one last-ditch effort.

  ‘Jan will have a fit,’ he said. Lou’s sister probably coveted Lou’s hair even more than he did. Jan had always bemoaned her thin, stringy, can’t-do-anything-with-it hair, especially as Lou’s was the exact opposite.

  Lou blinked, and braced herself for the inevitable pain. She heard a slight gasp come from Kristy, and felt rather than saw the sudden tension emanating from Lydia and Pete.

  It was suddenly deathly quiet, as if the entire ward had chosen that moment to cease all noise and activity.

  ‘Hardly,’ she said, keeping the gut-wrenching sorrow from her voice. ‘Jan’s dead.’

  And she pushed herself off the desk and calmly walked away, before she did something awful — like burst into tears at the unexpected reminder of her sister’s tragic death.

  You can grab your copy of Prognosis Do Over HERE!

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