A Very Special Surgeon

by Laura MacDonald

  ‘Ah,’ he said, ‘that’s all right, then. Like I say, I know that look that was on your face and I would hate to think that you were thinking about any other man while you were looking that way.’

  ‘Tom, there is no other man,’ she said softly. ‘You know that, I know that, everyone knows that—for heaven’s sake, even the patients know.’

  ‘The patients?’ He looked faintly alarmed. ‘Was that what that was all about back there?’ He jerked his thumb over his shoulder and when Kate nodded ruefully, he threw back his head and laughed. ‘Well,’ he said at last, ‘what does it matter? I don’t care who knows. As far as I’m concerned, I’m the happiest man alive.’

  ‘I’m glad to hear it, Mr Fielding,’ Kate stood up and smoothed down her uniform, ‘but, believe it or not, we have work to do.’

  ‘Oh?’ said Tom. ‘Do we have to? I was about to suggest we sneak off to Kingfishers for an hour or two.’

  ‘Mr Fielding! Whatever next? With Mrs Jackson about to give birth and Ros Burton’s twins imminent, I don’t know how you can think of such a thing!’

  ‘Quite easily actually,’ said Tom with a grin, ‘but it looks like I shall have to restrain myself, at least for the time being. But I warn you, Kate Ryan, it won’t last for long—either you come over to my place after work or I shall have to come and get you.’

  Because Kate was so happy the blow, when it came, had far more impact than it once might have done. As with so many of these things, it came with no warning. The day seemed no different from any other. It had started with a busy shift on Maternity with two births and a Caesarean section, and the only thing which seemed to make the day any more significant than any other came in the news that Maggie Sumner’s baby had successfully come through surgery to repair a hole in his heart. Maggie herself had also recently undergone cardiac surgery for a rare condition, which she had apparently been born with but which hadn’t manifested until she had gone into labour. Tom’s relief that he hadn’t been in any way to blame for Maggie’s collapse was enormous, and his reaction was similar when they received the good news about baby Stuart.

  ‘Thank God they are both all right,’ he said to Kate as they shared a lunchtime sandwich in the staff canteen.

  ‘I don’t think the public have any idea what we go through sometimes,’ said Kate.

  The shift ended without further incident and Kate went home to Copse End. She and Tom hadn’t made any plans for that evening but they were both looking forward to one of their family weekends. Aunt Bessie was in the garden, deadheading her rose bushes, and she greeted Kate cheerily.

  ‘I’ll just get changed,’ said Kate, ‘then I’ll make some tea. Are the children in?’

  ‘Siobhan is,’ Aunt Bessie replied, ‘but Connor had swimming after school.’

  She found Siobhan lying full length on her bed, talking into her mobile phone. Kate smiled at her daughter then hurried to her own bedroom to change. She was just brushing her hair when she caught sight of her daughter’s reflection in the mirror. Siobhan was standing in the open doorway.

  ‘That was Francesca,’ she said.

  ‘Oh?’ said Kate. ‘Is she all right?’

  ‘Yes, I think so…although, no, actually I don’t think she was.’

  ‘Why?’ The hairbrush poised in her hand, Kate turned to face Siobhan.

  ‘There’s been a huge fight apparently between her mother and Max.’

  ‘Well, I shouldn’t worry too much,’ said Kate. ‘Francesca has told you before that they are always fighting.’

  ‘This sounds a bit worse than usual,’ said Siobhan, holding out her hand and splaying her fingers in order to study the glittery nail polish she had just applied. ‘Francesca said there was a lot of swearing and shouting and slamming about, then Max packed a couple of holdalls and roared off in his Jag.’

  ‘I expect he’ll be back,’ said Kate.

  ‘We’ll see,’ said Siobhan.

  As her daughter ambled back to her bedroom and Kate turned to the mirror again, she felt the first twinge of unease.

  This feeling persisted throughout the evening until at last she received a call from Tom.

  ‘Kate?’ he said, and her heart gave the little flutter that it always did at the sound of his voice.

  ‘Tom, hello.’

  ‘Kate, I have a bit of a problem.’

  ‘Is it the children?’ she asked quickly.

  ‘In a way.’ He paused. ‘Have you heard anything?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Francesca phoned Siobhan.’

  ‘What did she tell her?’ he asked.

  ‘That her mother and Max had had a huge fight and Max had stormed out. I told her he would probably soon be back.’

  ‘I think there’s a bit more to it this time,’ he said, and Kate felt the second pang of unease. ‘Jennifer has got herself into a terrible state and Joe and Francesca are both pretty upset. I’m going over there to see if I can help sort things out. I thought I’d let you know in case you were trying to contact me.’

  ‘Yes, all right, Tom,’ she replied flatly.

  ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ he said.

  ‘Yes…’

  ‘Oh, and, Kate?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I love you,’ he said.

  ‘I love you, too,’ she said, but in spite of that her heart was heavy with foreboding as she replaced the receiver.

  Kate spent a troubled night, tossing and turning and lying awake for hours as all sorts of mental pictures filled her mind and endless questions teemed through her brain. What had Tom found when he had arrived at Jennifer’s home? Just how distraught had his ex-wife been? And how upset were Joe and Francesca? What would happen next? Would Max go back? Come to that, where had he gone? On and on the questions went as Kate fitfully drifted in and out of sleep.

  She must have slept more soundly towards dawn because when she awoke she found she had overslept and felt tired and heavy-eyed. Her telephone remained ominously silent and when, unable to contain herself any longer, she tried Tom’s number there was no reply.

  Maybe, she comforted herself, he had already left for work, but when she arrived at the hospital it was to be told that Mr Fielding had rescheduled his appointments for that day and had taken a few days’ annual leave.

  ‘Kate, are you all right?’ asked Natalie halfway through the morning. ‘You look really tired.’

  ‘I am,’ Kate admitted. ‘I didn’t sleep too well last night.’

  ‘Any reason for that?’ Natalie raised her eyebrows. ‘Nothing to do with a certain consultant cancelling his list this morning, by any chance?’

  ‘Well, partly, I suppose, but I’m sorry, Natalie, it isn’t something I can discuss, even with you.’

  ‘OK,’ Natalie replied, ‘but you know where I am if you change your mind. All I will say is that you’ve been happier in the last few weeks than I’ve seen you in a very long time. I would hate for anything to spoil that.’

  So would I, thought Kate as she made her way to the labour suite to assist with an imminent birth. And, really, she didn’t know why she was worrying because, no doubt, by now everything would have sorted itself out. With that comforting thought uppermost in her mind, she turned her attention once more to the job in hand.

  The patient, Nola Ayles, was a woman in her thirties and her baby was her third. Between contractions she managed to give Kate a potted version of her life history. It appeared her husband had left her after the birth of her second child and this third baby was the result of a relationship with a twenty-year-old man.

  ‘Doesn’t he want to be here for the birth?’ asked Kate as she and Mary prepared for the baby’s arrival.

  ‘No.’ Nola shook her head. ‘I’ve finished with him,’ she stated.

  ‘Really?’ Mary turned from the cot in surprise.

  ‘Yes, it was a mistake—it would never have worked out. I thought I loved him but it wasn’t real. Oh, it was exciting, there’s no doubt about that, but it wouldn’t have come
to anything. I can see that now.’

  ‘Does this mean you are on your own now?’ asked Kate.

  ‘Oh no. Kevin’s come home—he’s my husband,’ Nola explained, so there could be no doubt. ‘When he said he wanted to come back I gave Justin his marching orders. The kids are over the moon—they couldn’t wait to have their dad back. And this little one…’ She looked down at the huge mound of her abdomen. ‘Well, Kev has said he’ll bring it up as if it were his own.’

  At her words Kate felt a sudden tug at her emotions as she thought of Tom and his children—would he go back to Jennifer for their sakes? But she mustn’t think about that now, she told herself, firmly trying to dismiss the thought. She had a job to do and, besides, it was highly unlikely that would happen. But hearing Nola talk of her tangled relationships had thrown it all sharply into focus.

  ‘Oh!’ Nola suddenly gasped as she was seized by a fresh contraction. ‘Here comes another one. I’m going to push this time, Sister…’

  Nola’s baby was safely delivered an hour later, a healthy boy who cried loud and lustily until he and his mother were transferred from the labour suite to the postnatal ward. But for Kate, even though Nola had gone, the disturbing thoughts she had stirred up refused to go away, and by the time she came off duty she was desperate for news of Tom.

  He phoned her almost as soon as she arrived home. It was such a relief to hear his voice that for a moment words seemed to stick in her throat.

  ‘Kate?’ he said, when he must have misunderstood her silence. ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘Yes, Tom,’ she managed to say at last. ‘How are things with you?’

  ‘A bit traumatic,’ he admitted. ‘Jennifer was in a terrible state when I got there so I called her GP. He gave her something to calm her down but I felt I had to stay there—for Joe and Francesca’s sakes as much as for Jennifer, really.’

  Kate’s hand tightened on the receiver. ‘Yes, of course,’ she heard herself say. ‘So what’s happening now?’

  ‘The children went to school and I’ve come home. I’ll be picking them up in a while—after that, I’m not sure.’

  ‘Do you know what happened?’ she asked. ‘About the fight, I mean, and Max leaving?’

  ‘The usual thing, apparently,’ Tom replied. ‘It was about his wife not giving him a divorce so that he and Jennifer can marry.’

  ‘But surely that isn’t his fault—is it?’ she asked uncertainly.

  ‘You try telling Jennifer that—she simply won’t listen to reason. I think deep down she believes that Max will eventually go back to his wife—that is, if he hasn’t done so already.’

  ‘Do you think that’s a possibility?’ she asked. The sense of foreboding that had been with her ever since Siobhan had told her about Max leaving home seemed to be gaining momentum by the hour.

  ‘Could be,’ Tom replied. ‘We don’t really know where he is. Jennifer thought he might be at his chambers but when we enquired they said he hadn’t been in all day.’

  ‘It’s all a bit of a mess, isn’t it?’ she said helplessly.

  ‘Yes, it is,’ Tom admitted. ‘But it’s not your problem, Kate, and I don’t want you to worry about it. I’ll try and sort things out over the next few days so, please, bear with me for the time being.’

  ‘Of course I will, Tom,’ she said. ‘And, please, let me know if there is anything I can do.’

  ‘Thanks, Kate,’ he said, and his voice softened. ‘I’ll let you know. I have to go now and get over to Waterhouse to pick up Joe and Francesca.’

  Once again, before he hung up he told her he loved her, but still Kate felt unsettled, as if all the happiness of the past few weeks was about to come crashing down around her ears.

  In the end she confided in Aunt Bessie later that evening after both Siobhan and Connor were in bed and she had gone downstairs to share a bedtime drink with her aunt. She hadn’t intended saying anything but Aunt Bessie had asked her point blank what was wrong.

  ‘I know something is wrong, Kate,’ she said firmly when Kate tried to deny it. ‘You seem to forget I’ve known you since you were a baby. I watched you grow up. I knew then when something was wrong in your world, and I know now.’

  ‘It’s Tom,’ said Kate, at last as she peered miserably into her mug and watched the froth settle on her Horlicks.

  ‘I thought it might be,’ Aunt Bessie replied calmly, ‘so come on, tell me, what’s the problem?’

  ‘His ex-wife’s boyfriend has left her and may have gone back to his wife.’

  ‘So why should that pose a problem for Tom?’

  ‘Apparently she is in a terrible state and Tom went there last night. He called her GP who gave her a sedative, and Tom thought he should stay there with Joe and Francesca.’

  ‘Very wise,’ said Aunt Bessie philosophically, ‘especially if their mother was in such a state as all that.’ She paused and looked at Kate over the top of her glasses. ‘But I’m still not sure what the problem is.’

  ‘Neither am I really.’ Kate shook her head. ‘Tom said he was picking Joe and Francesca up from school. Maybe he will be taking them back to his place…I don’t really know.’

  ‘And their mother…?’

  ‘Maybe,’ said Kate again. ‘He didn’t say.’

  ‘And that’s what you’re worrying about? That somehow this situation might bring them back together?’

  ‘I don’t know…I suppose…Oh, I really don’t know.’ Helplessly Kate stared at her aunt. ‘I just have this awful feeling—it’s been there ever since Siobhan told me that Max had walked out on Jennifer—that somehow this could be the start of Tom and his ex-wife getting back together.’

  ‘Kate, this is only supposition on your part,’ said Aunt Bessie firmly. ‘You don’t know for sure that this is what will happen, now, do you?’

  ‘No,’ Kate admitted, ‘I don’t.’

  ‘And has Tom ever given you any reason to suppose that he might take his ex-wife back?’

  ‘Not really,’ said Kate slowly, ‘although I have wondered whether he would give his marriage another try for the sake of the children. She did come back to him once but it didn’t last and she left again.’

  ‘There has to be a limit to that sort of toing and froing,’ said Aunt Bessie firmly. ‘And I still think you are worrying unnecessarily.’

  ‘I hope you’re right.’

  ‘Kate, I want to ask you something,’ said Aunt Bessie after a moment. ‘You can tell me to mind my own business if you like but I’m going to ask anyway.’

  ‘Go on,’ said Kate with a weak smile.

  ‘Do you love Tom?’ asked Aunt Bessie.

  ‘Yes, I think I do,’ Kate replied. ‘I really didn’t think it would happen—not after Liam—and it didn’t exactly happen with a crash of cymbals this time. Instead, it sort of crept up on me slowly, if you know what I mean.’

  ‘Yes, I do know what you mean,’ said Aunt Bessie. ‘It was like that between your uncle and me.’

  ‘Really?’ said Kate in surprise. ‘I thought you two had been childhood sweethearts.’

  ‘Oh, we had,’ said Aunt Bessie quickly. ‘Then I met someone else and, believe me, it was the crashing cymbals variety, but it ended almost as quickly as it had begun. Your uncle was there to pick up the pieces and very gradually I came to realise he was the one for me.’ A far-off, dreamy look had come into her eyes as she’d been speaking, then, as if she’d suddenly became aware of the silence between them, she seemed to give herself a little shake. ‘So you love this man,’ she said. ‘And what about him? Does he love you?’

  ‘He’s told me he does—’ Kate began, but Aunt Bessie cut her short.

  ‘Well, what more do you want, for heaven’s sake?’ she said. ‘You have to trust him, Kate. If he truly loves you he will sort things out. Now, finish your drink, get yourself to bed and have a good night’s sleep. I’m sure things will look much better in the morning.’

  And they might have done, but just as Kate was dropping off to
sleep she felt a light touch on her hand and, opening her eyes, found Siobhan beside her bed.

  ‘Siobhan? What is it?’ She was instantly wide awake.

  ‘Mum.’ Siobhan looked troubled. ‘I’ve just had a call from Francesca.’

  ‘What?’ Kate sat upright. ‘At this time of night! Siobhan…’ She peered at her bedside clock, its face just visible in the light from the landing. ‘It’s nearly midnight!’

  ‘I know,’ said Siobhan casually, as if that was the sort of thing they did all the time. They probably did, thought Kate, mentally making a note that some ground rules would have to be laid down over the use of mobile phones.

  ‘What did she want?’ she demanded.

  ‘She wanted to tell me,’ said Siobhan, ‘that her mum and dad are getting back together again.’

  CHAPTER TEN

  KATE stared at her daughter, unable to speak as her worst fears threatened to become reality.

  ‘She sounded really excited,’ said Siobhan, ‘but…’ she paused. ‘That isn’t good for us, is it, Mum?’ she added anxiously.

  ‘Let’s wait until we know for sure what’s happening,’ said Kate, struggling to stay calm.

  ‘Francesca sounded sure,’ said Siobhan. ‘She said she heard her mum tell her dad that she wanted them to get back together again, that they owed it to them, Francesca and Joe, to give their marriage another go.’

  ‘Siobhan, I’m not sure you should be repeating all this—’ Kate began.

  ‘But it’s what she said,’ said Siobhan. ‘Francesca heard them. She said they were upset but that that was what was going to happen and that they would all be living together again.’ She paused. ‘Does it mean we won’t be able to see them any more?’ she demanded.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Kate, fighting to contain the sudden wave of nausea that swept over her as she grappled with the fact that in light of what her daughter had just revealed, her relationship with Tom might be finished. ‘I expect you and Francesca would be able to still see each other—I don’t really know,’ she added helplessly. Suddenly she felt hopelessly inadequate at giving her daughter the reassurance she craved.