The Perfect Christmas

by Caroline Anderson

  Poor girl. ‘It must have been tough, losing him,’ he said, fishing again, and she rose to the bait like a charm.

  ‘It was tough being married to him,’ she said flatly. ‘Losing him was the easy bit. Then…’

  ‘Then?’

  Julia looked at him blankly for a moment, as if she’d forgotten he was there, and then she shrugged. ‘He had other debts. A card. They caught up with me just after we moved.’

  ‘But surely you weren’t responsible for that,’ he said, puzzled, and her sad smile tore at his heart.

  ‘It was a joint card,’ she said. ‘It was my own fault. I should have been more on the ball. Still, you live and learn and, as I said, it’s been tough but it’s nearly over now, and we’ll survive.’

  She tucked her hair behind her ear again, her lips pressing together as if she’d said too much, and sure enough she didn’t go on.

  Still, she’d said more than enough. Unable to help himself, David reached across the table and laid a hand over her wrist, quelling the anger that rose inside him. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said gently. ‘I didn’t mean to pry.’ He was surprised to find he meant it. He’d obviously strayed into a very private part of her life, and one which, he guessed, she didn’t share easily.

  She flashed him a quicksilver smile, gone almost before he could register it, and he drained his coffee and stood up. Quit while you’re winning, he told himself.

  ‘Right, I’m off. I’ve got to go back over to my parents’ tonight, because my house is without electricity at the moment. I shall be glad when it’s done up and I can move in properly.’

  ‘Where is it?’ she asked, exhibiting a promising flicker of interest, and he reminded himself that she was probably only being polite.

  ‘Just outside Audley—a village called Little Soham.’

  ‘I know it,’ she said, nodding. ‘It’s nice there.’

  ‘It is. It’s got a pub and a village shop and a post office, and a church and a village hall, and enough people to make it all viable. It also has a tumbledown little cottage with wonderful potential but in need of a huge cash injection—or more time than I’m going to be able to find. Probably both, in fact, but that’s just my natural optimism leading me astray again.’

  Her chuckle warmed him, and as she preceded him up the hall to the door he could smell the faint drift of perfume or soap or something.

  She stopped suddenly and he bumped into her, her hair brushing his nose. Shampoo. That was what it was. She’d washed her hair, and it smelt of flowers and sunshine on a summer’s day.

  ‘Keys,’ she said, turning to look up at him as he murmured an apology and moved back.

  ‘I gave them to you.’

  She patted her pocket and smiled, retrieving two sets of keys. ‘So you did—and I forgot to give you yours back, didn’t I? Sorry. Brain like a sieve. I can never find the ward keys either.’ She paused, then looked up at him, her hand on the door catch. ‘Thank you so much for all you’ve done this afternoon. I really am grateful.’

  ‘My pleasure.’ He looked down into her guileless smudge-grey eyes, and wondered if she’d run screaming if he gave in to his instincts and bent and kissed those moist, soft lips.

  Probably. He smiled a little crookedly, took the keys of his BMW from her hand and walked down the path, his hand raised in farewell. Wise decision, he thought, because one kiss might not have been enough…

  Julia shut the door and leant against the wall, her heart skittering under her ribs. For a crazy moment there she’d thought he was going to kiss her, and she’d felt herself start to sway towards him.

  Thank goodness she’d caught herself in time! Imagine the embarrassment if she’d closed her eyes and waited like a lovesick fool for a kiss that hadn’t come!

  But she hadn’t, thank goodness, because if she had and by a miracle he had kissed her, she would have had the problem of telling him she didn’t get involved in relationships, and then having to work with him afterwards.

  Too, too awkward.

  Messy.

  She shrugged away from the wall and ran upstairs to check on Katie. She was fast asleep, her little arm flung up on her pillow, her hair spread like a golden halo, her face innocent in sleep.

  Julia reminded herself of all the reasons why she couldn’t afford involvement with another man—and they began and ended with her small, vulnerable daughter. She was far too important to Julia to risk in any kind of emotional entanglement that stood the slightest chance of going wrong, and there were no guarantees with love.

  She knew that to her cost, and so did Katie. Fatherless at two years old because of an act of mindless stupidity, and it had taken the best part of the next year to get her back on an even keel. Even now, nearly four years later, she was still a little clingy if Julia went out at night.

  So she didn’t, because nothing, and most particularly not herself, was more important than her daughter.

  She’d do well to remember that.

  ‘New admission with acute cholecystitis, woman of thirty-three, no previous history.’

  ‘OK, Sally, thanks.’ Julia perched a hip on the desk and tipped her head on one side. ‘Have we got a bed?’

  ‘Yes—Nick Sarazin’s registrar just discharged two, so we’ve even got a spare!’

  Julia grinned. ‘Wonders will never cease. Right, let’s go and get the bed ready.’

  ‘You’re too slow. The others have gone home and the beds have been done.’

  ‘You’re a love. I was only gone half an hour.’

  ‘You ought to go for longer—just think what we could achieve!’

  ‘I might leave you with the rota.’

  Sally held up her hands, two index fingers crossed and held out towards her. ‘Not the rota!’ she begged theatrically. ‘Anything but the rota!’

  ‘It’s the one thing I really hate about being ward sister,’ Julia said with a grimace. ‘I always seem to get it wrong.’

  ‘Well, you know what they say. You can please some of the people some of the time…’

  ‘Tell me about it. So, has David Armstrong seen his new patient?’ she asked, going back to the original subject.

  ‘I gather not. She’s coming from a GP. She’ll be here shortly—Ah, here’s a trolley. This looks hopeful.’

  It was, indeed, their patient, accompanied by her anxious husband, and Julia got her settled in a bed and started the ball rolling with a urine sample and a set of charts, a NIL BY MOUTH sign over the bed and the woman’s first set of observations taken, while Julia soothed and studied her watchfully and took mental notes ready to report to David.

  A firm, brisk tread behind her alerted her to his presence, and within the space of a heartbeat her skin was tingling, her breath had jammed in her throat and her legs felt like rubber.

  Get a grip, girl, she scolded herself, but it was a fruitless task. Ever since she’d met him five days ago, her body had decided on its own response to his presence, and she might as well save her energy for more useful tasks—like dredging up what might pass for a smile.

  Julia approached him, the smile fixed firmly in place, and quickly ran over the patient’s present status.

  ‘She’s a bit shocky—seems to be in quite severe pain, her blood pressure’s a little elevated, her respiration is light and fast, she’s been vomiting and she seems very upset and distressed.’

  He nodded. ‘OK. Let’s have a look at her, and then we’ll start her on IV opiates to relieve the pain and see how she is then. I want her fluid balance done, please, and IV antibiotics. Have you got a tube down her?’

  Julia shook her head. ‘She only just arrived a few minutes ago. I’ve done a battery of urine tests. The results are written up.’

  She handed him the notes, and he scanned them before approaching the patient and speaking gently to her and her husband. While he examined her she was very edgy and finally refused to allow him to touch her. It was a typical response to an acute attack of cholecystitis, and he covered her up again and turn
ed to her husband.

  ‘I don’t think there’s any doubt that she’s got a handful of gallstones making a bid for freedom, but we’ll run some tests once she’s more comfortable and, depending on the results, I’ll operate after the weekend. If the X-rays and tests show what I suspect, then we’ll treat her conservatively over the weekend to let it resolve a little, and I’ll operate on Monday morning. Pain relief first, though,’ he went on, turning to Julia, ‘and fluids, and I’ll see her again later unless you’re worried. OK?’

  Julia nodded, avoiding those gorgeous piercing grey eyes, and after a moment he turned back to their patient. ‘Right, Mrs James, Sister Revell is going to get you some pain relief, and then everything should start to feel a bit better, OK? We’ll talk some more when you’re more comfortable.’

  The woman nodded slightly and moaned, and Julia quickly set up the intravenous line and gave her the first dose of painkiller. Within minutes she was feeling the benefit, and her breathing eased and she relaxed visibly onto the pillows.

  ‘Better now?’ Julia asked gently, and her patient nodded, a weak smile of relief touching her pale face.

  ‘Yes, thanks. Oh, that was awful.’

  ‘I’m sure. Right, we’re going to slip a little soft tube down your nose and into your stomach to empty it so you don’t have to keep being sick. That’ll make you feel much better, too. Mr James, why don’t you wait out in the corridor for a moment, and I’ll call you back as soon as your wife’s more comfortable?’

  Sally helped her, and the procedure seemed to bring yet more relief to the beleaguered Mrs James. ‘Oh, thanks, that’s better,’ she said weakly once her stomach had been drained. Her lids fluttered down and, after making her comfortable, Julia and Sally left her for a while to settle, her husband at her side again.

  Two hours later David was back on the ward, striding towards Julia and doing silly things to her heart again.

  ‘How’s Mrs James?’ he asked without preamble, but he made no move towards the woman.

  ‘Settling. Quiet now, but still uncomfortable. Her obs are better.’

  ‘Good. How’s the car? Ready yet?’

  She nodded. ‘I rang them this morning—they said I could take the one you lent me over there and swap them, because they had to service it or something.’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘I have no idea where the garage is, of course. Can you give me directions? I’ve only got the phone number.’

  ‘I thought so.’ He smiled, sending her off-kilter again. ‘I thought I could do it for you this evening, if it helps. Take ours over and pick yours up.’

  She chewed her lip doubtfully. ‘I have to pay the bill,’ she told him, but he shrugged it aside.

  ‘I’ll pay it for you—you can give me a cheque later.’

  ‘If you’re sure,’ she said reluctantly. ‘You seem to be going to a lot of trouble. I could do it myself quite easily.’

  Except, of course, that Andrew’s parents would be arriving to take Katie home with them for the weekend, and so she would have to be at home for that. Rats, she hated being beholden to anyone.

  ‘I’ll tell you what,’ David went on. ‘Take the BMW home, and I’ll go straight from here with my parents’ car and do the swap then run yours over to you. There’ll be less messing around that way, and I’d have to take the runabout in for servicing anyway. Satisfy you?’

  Julia smiled, relieved that it was sorted and that she’d get her own car back. She’d been having fits of guilt all week about driving his parents’ car, and she’d been worrying about how she could do the swap that night. David’s suggestion was the perfect solution—if only she didn’t feel so guilty about accepting his help yet again.

  And because she did, her guilt prompted a rash and silly suggestion.

  ‘Andrew’s parents are taking Katie for the weekend,’ she told him. ‘They’ll pick her up at about six. Why don’t you come for supper later when you bring the car back? Nothing exciting, just some pasta or something, just to say thank you.’

  His eyes warmed with a smile. ‘That would be really nice. What time?’

  Julia shrugged. ‘Seven?’ To make sure that Andrew’s parents were right out of the way and not likely to ask any awkward questions. Not that it was any of their business, and not that they would mind, but since there was nothing to know, really, they might as well not start to speculate. ‘Is that all right? Or would you rather come later?’

  ‘It’s fine. I’ll look forward to it. Now I suppose I really ought to go and see Mrs James.’ He smiled at her a little crookedly, and she felt herself melting again.

  ‘Do you want me to come?’

  ‘Got time?’

  ‘I can make time,’ she said, thinking of all the things she still had to do before she went off duty, and how, if she was going to feed him tonight, she would have to find time to take Katie to the supermarket on the way home, so she couldn’t afford to leave late.

  They walked down the ward together to Mrs James, and found her asleep, her husband drowsing beside her.

  ‘Mr James. How is she?’ David asked him, and he blinked sleepily and straightened.

  ‘Oh, Mr Armstrong. Sorry. She’s better, thank God. We had an awful night last night before she’d let me call the doctor.’

  ‘I’m sure.’ David scanned the notes and nodded. ‘She seems to be improving gradually. I think if we can just get her through this episode, I’ll have a better chance of sorting her out on Monday without risk of infection. I don’t really want to do it before then.’

  ‘So she’ll definitely need an operation, then?’

  David nodded slowly at Mr James. ‘I’m pretty sure she will, I’m sorry to say, but I’ll do it with keyhole surgery if I possibly can, so she’ll be up and about again within a couple of days and she should be home by Thursday next week, if all goes well. We’ll see after the weekend. All right?’

  Julia went with him up the ward, pausing to talk to one or two patients on the way, then he glanced at his watch and sighed. ‘Back to the grind,’ he said with a grin. ‘I’ve got a clinic now. I’ll see you later. Ah. Keys.’

  Julia blinked. ‘Oh—yes. Idiot me.’ She went into her office and fished about in her bag for them. ‘There might be one or two things in the car, I’m not sure.’

  ‘I’ll take them out and bring them back to you.’ They swapped keys, and with a smile and a wave he was gone, leaving her with too much to do and a total lack of concentration to help her to do it…

  The Revells were late, of course, but it was just as well because Julia had been held up in the supermarket after dithering over the supper menu.

  Not that she had a great deal of choice, on her limited budget, but even though there was nothing between her and David Armstrong, somehow it still seemed important to do it right, and so she’d hovered and dithered in the salads, and debated the grossly expensive mange tout for three minutes before common sense had prevailed.

  She still didn’t know what her car was going to cost, after all, and she had to clear the rest of Andrew’s debts. She’d chastised herself, bought ingredients for a simple lasagne and then had had to queue for five minutes, even in the supposedly quicker basket queue.

  Then she’d spent another five minutes looking for her car in the car park before remembering that she’d had David’s. By the time she’d got home she’d been flustered and panicking, and she’d snapped at Katie for dawdling over the packing of her little case and had then felt racked with guilt.

  By the time Andrew’s parents arrived, the lasagne was in the oven, the salad was washed and torn up and she and Katie were friends again.

  ‘Hello, dear,’ Annette Revell said, kissing Julia’s cheek fondly. ‘We thought you weren’t here—we couldn’t see your car.’

  ‘No, it’s in the garage. It broke down the other day. I’m getting it back later,’ she explained, being frugal with the truth.

  ‘Mummy’s borrowed a car,’ Katie piped up, dumping her in it, then a
dded, ‘from a friend,’ just so there was no possibility of pretending it came from the garage.

  ‘How kind,’ Annette said distractedly, too preoccupied to take her up on it, thank goodness. ‘Darling, we need to hurry,’ she said to Katie. ‘Grandad’s parked on a yellow line—are you all ready?’

  Katie nodded cheerfully, kissed her mother goodbye and left without a backward glance for another weekend of being spoiled rotten. Ah, well. Normally Julia would stress about it. Today she had too much else to worry about—like why on earth she’d invited a man to come to supper who did things to her blood pressure!

  David parked Julia’s car as near as he could to her house, then paused for a moment before going in. For some unaccountable reason he felt nervous, but it wasn’t as if this was a date.

  A thank you, she’d said, and she’d looked as if the invitation had been squeezed out of her by her conscience. If he’d had any decency, he’d have said no, but he really wanted to spend time with her.

  Except that now he was here, he was suffering a little pang of what felt just like stage fright. With a wry chuckle he rammed his hand through his hair, dragged it down the back of his neck and sighed.

  ‘Come on, Armstrong. It’s just supper with a colleague. She doesn’t have any interest in you. Chill.’

  He scooped up the wine and the chocolates, hoped the Italian red would go with the pasta and that she hadn’t changed the menu, and headed for the door. The bell rang, echoing through the house, and after a few moments he saw her through the glass running down the stairs.

  ‘Hi,’ she said breathlessly, pulling the door open. ‘Sorry, the Revells were late taking Katie and I was a bit behind. Come in.’

  Julia looked gorgeous, slightly flushed, her eyes wide, her hair flying like strands of silk, and his body leapt to attention. She might not have any interest in him, he thought wryly, but he sure as eggs was interested in her…

  ‘So how often does she go to stay with them?’ David asked.