“I did some artwork. Want to see it?” Tessa said, a bit louder than usual, and held up the canvas. Zoe quickly went to her side and looked down at it. It was such a familiar scene: the waterfall cascading down the rock face set against lush green foliage. “Oh, that is beautiful.”
“How on earth did you girls find that cabin?”
“One of Eva’s clients at the Interpreter Service told her that it was for sale, and well, Evy didn’t need to be told twice. We drove up there, and as soon as we saw it we knew it was perfect.”
“I’m glad you did, because it’s just so beautiful and quiet. Speaking of your lovely wife, what is this note about?” Stella asked and read out “‘Eva becoming good friends with Bessy, our toilet bowl. Please, speak to me when you come in. Z.’”
Tessa chuckled as she stepped on a two-step ladder and hung the artwork in the waiting room.
“Eva is sick and she’s been throwing up for a few days now. We think she’s coming down with a bug. You know how sensitive her stomach is, so I thought maybe you can come by the house tonight.”
“Absolutely. Why can’t I come over now? Isn’t she at home?”
“No, she’s at work. I asked her to stay home but she insisted on going in. You know how stubborn she gets. She was given a promotion whether she liked it or not and it’s been really difficult. Long story that doesn’t make sense to me, but Eva can explain it.”
“Other than throwing up, what are her symptoms?”
“She’s tired, short tempered, and cranky. She even told Earl off. Not like my very patient wife at all.”
Tessa looked around from where she had hung the canvas with a smile on her face. “If I didn’t know better, I would say she was pregnant. That sounds like morning sickness to me.”
“Were you like that when you were pregnant with Tommy?”
Tessa smiled and shook her head. “Goodness, yes. Poor Stella also had symptoms, which made life a little difficult.”
“Don’t I know it,” Stella exclaimed. “I was sick morning, noon, and night. Do we know that you’re not pregnant?”
“You know how my monthlies are; they vary, so I don’t know.”
“Sometimes it happens the first time a woman has sex and other times it takes some time.” Stella leaned in and kissed Zoe on the cheek. “Tessa fell pregnant the first time she had sex with a man.”
“Wow, just like that?”
“Just like that,” Tessa replied. “Karl and I were together just once and that was enough. Nine months later, my Tommy came into our lives. You just never know. Now, why was Eva upset with Earl?”
Zoe looked down with a half-hidden smirk. “About Tommy. Eva was frustrated that with all the flirting they were doing, nothing was happening. Eva doesn’t meddle in anyone’s personal life even if they are close friends.”
Tessa had a laugh and gazed at Stella. “My goodness, those two are just too precious. I’m quite sure he won’t want us involved.”
“Aunt Tessa, Eva lost her temper with Earl and told him to go kiss the boy. Eva prying into anyone’s private life is just extraordinary. Poor Earl didn’t know what to make of it.”
All three women stopped talking when a very distinctive rumble was heard and eventually stopped just outside the practice.
Zoe looked up at the clock, which read three p.m., which was too early for her brother to be home. She opened the door and poked her head outside and was taken aback to see it was indeed Theo. He was getting off Zoe’s old motorcycle, Mabel. She couldn’t help but smile on seeing her former prized motorcycle. Theo had taken one look at it and claimed it, since she wasn’t riding it anymore. He had also changed the color from bright yellow to black. Zoe opened the door wider and stepped outside. “Hey, Theo, everything alright at the estate?”
Theo shook his head and crossed over to the steps where Zoe, Tessa, and Stella were standing.
“What’s wrong, Tee?” Zoe asked as she came forward and put her hand on his arm.
“Uh, um...Debbie called me…she said that Eva was in an accident.”
Tessa put her arms around Zoe and gently pushed her down to sit on the steps.
“Oh, Evy...what happened?” Zoe stammered. She looked at Theo and then up at Tessa. “Where is she? How bad is she? Was it in the car?” She fired off the questions not allowing Theo to answer.
“She’s at the Queen Victoria...I don’t know the full story. Debbie told me they took her there and told me to come and tell you.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know a lot, Zoe; all I know is that it happened at work.”
“Didn’t you ask Debbie what happened?”
Theo glanced over Zoe’s head at Tessa and then back at his sister. “Listen to me. We will go over there and find out. I don’t know anything other than she had an accident.”
Zoe rose to get up but found her legs would not hold her up. She leaned against Theo for a long moment before she regained her composure. “Give me the keys to Mabel…”
“Hell, no, I’m not doing that,” Theo exclaimed. “You’re going to get into an accident yourself. How do I explain that to Eva?”
“Theodore!” Zoe angrily said, and tried to get the keys herself.
Theo held Zoe at arm’s length. “Listen to me. It’s not going to help if you get hurt. We will take Aunt Stella’s car and I will drive.”
“I’ve got Eva’s medical records. Let’s go.” Stella announced. She had gone inside her office, collected the records, and quickly come back out.
CHAPTER 13
The ride to the hospital was exceedingly long, the traffic on the bridge was going too slow, and Zoe once again questioned Theo about his speed.
“We can’t speed.”
“Yes, you can. Do it.”
“We can’t. We may have an accident ourselves and it won’t help Eva if that happens,” Theo responded. “She’s going to be fine,” he tried to reassure Zoe.
Zoe gave him a weak smile. Not knowing what had happened, not knowing the extent of Eva’s injuries, her mind was in turmoil. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing Eva. She tried not to think of the unthinkable happening.
Theo talked to himself as he tried to find a parking spot near the hospital. “You would think they would have a decent car park,” he groused.
He finally found a spot and parked the car. They walked briskly down the road towards the huge edifice. The Queen Victoria was the largest hospital in Sydney, and the oldest. Its sandstone entrance was quite beautiful, and under other circumstances Zoe would have stopped to admire it, but she paid little attention to it. They entered the lobby area, which, with its high ornate ceilings, looked almost like a church, with a tiny chapel to the right.
Zoe was impatient to find Eva. “Come on,” she muttered as a man on crutches was being helped by a nurse. They were blocking the narrow entrance to the lobby and the other visitors had given them some room to go about their journey.
Tessa put her arm around Zoe and leaned down. “Breathe, darling. Eva will need you to be strong.”
As soon as the nurse and her patient made their way out, Zoe ran down the corridor to the Casualty Department. She pushed open the doors and quickly scanned the waiting area. Waiting at the chairs were Debbie, Percy, and Jana. Zoe went directly to Debbie.
“Where is she? What happened?” she asked.
Tessa put her arm around Zoe and turned her face towards her. “I want you to calm down. You’re not going to do Eva any good if she sees you upset. You know how upset she gets if you’re upset,” she whispered into her ear.
Zoe looked up at Tessa, who leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “It’s going to be okay,” Tessa reassured her. “You need to be calm.”
“I can’t, not—”
“Eva will need you to be calm. You can do this,” Tessa softly said and took her by the hand. “I will be here with you, alright?”
Stella went past them and into the nurses’ station, where she was led inside.
Jana wa
lked up to Zoe and took her hand. “You must be Zoe. My name is Jana Hester, Eva’s new boss. Let’s sit down for a minute. I want you to listen to me, okay?”
Zoe nodded. She wasn’t calm at all, and the last thing she wanted was to listen to Jana Hester right now. What she wanted was to be with Eva. Tessa’s presence helped her, but she didn’t want to sit down, didn’t want to listen to anyone. She wanted answers and to see Eva.
“What happened?”
“Eva was hurt when she was hit by a paint drum,” Jana said. Zoe blinked and turned to Debbie.
“When Eva walked out of her office, the painters lost control of their ladders,” Debbie said. “Henry was with her out in the corridor,” she added. “He saved Eva’s life.”
“Saved her life?” Zoe wasn’t sure how to react. She wanted to race out of that room and find Eva, find her and never let go, but she didn’t know where Eva was. “What do you mean he saved her life? What was Henry doing there?”
“I felt Eva needed to get out of the place for lunch. As it happened, Henry had called me about a file he wanted and I suggested the lunch with Eva. He had arrived to take Eva out when the accident happened. The ladder was going to fall on Eva and Henry threw himself over her to prevent that.”
“Is...ah...Henry alright?”
“Henry’s a little banged up. The painter fell on his leg and broke it, and also the ladder fell on him,” Debbie quietly added.
“Huh?” Zoe didn’t know who to turn to. What they were saying didn’t make any sense to her. “Painters? What happened?”
“Did she say painters?” Theo asked in Greek.
“Yes, painters,” Tessa replied in Greek.
“The maintenance department sent painters to our temporary office instead of our new office and—”
“What?” Zoe blinked and shook her head. “Eva’s hurt because some idiot got it wrong?”
“Yes.”
“How?” Zoe asked and turned to Jana for the answer.
“We don’t know what happened exactly, but somehow the painters lost control of the ladders and down they came.”
“Eva walked out at the wrong time. It was too late for her to do anything and the paint drum knocked her into the wall. She was bleeding—”
“She was what?” Zoe exclaimed in alarm and turned to Tessa. “This isn’t going to be alright, Aunt Tessa.”
“Yes, it will. Stay calm.”
“Zoe, it’s not all that bad. Scalp wounds tend to bleed a great deal. Look, when the doctor comes out he can tell you better than I can. I told the admitting nurse that Theo is Eva’s husband, and since he doesn’t understand English all that well, and you are her sister-in-law, you won’t have a problem being here with her.”
“When are they coming out?”
“We don’t know. We’ve been here for an hour and they said they would come out when they had news.”
Zoe took a shuddering breath. “Where’s Henry?”
“He’s in one of the beds in Casualty.”
“I want to see him.” Zoe got up. She stopped and didn’t know which way to turn. “I need to see him.”
Tessa stood and took Zoe’s hand. “We will find him.”
Zoe looked around, saw the sign that led to the nurse’s station, and walked away. Tessa quickly followed. Zoe walked up to the nurses’ station and impatiently tapped her hand on the desk to get the nurse’s attention. The nurse, who was on the phone, looked up expectantly. Zoe stared at her for a moment before she reached out to grab the phone. Tessa intervened and drew Zoe away from the desk.
“I want you to calm down. I know you are going out of your mind with worry, but antagonizing the nurses won’t make things easier.”
Zoe didn’t say a word. She shoved her hands in her pockets and waited for the nurse to finish. As soon as the nurse hung up the phone, Zoe pounced. “Where is Henry Franz?”
“I’m sorry, Miss…? Who are you?”
“I’m his sister, Zoe Lambros,” Zoe lied and waited for the nurse to contradict her.
The nurse looked down at her notes until she found what she was looking for. “Zoe Lambros?”
Zoe glanced back at Tessa in surprise before she turned to the nurse. “Yes. I’m Zoe Lambros. Isn’t that what I just said?”
“He’s in cubicle number four,” the nurse replied with a patient smile.
“Thank you,” Tessa told the nurse as Zoe turned around and went looking for cubicle number four.
It was a busy place with three beds to the left and three to the right, and a nurses’ station in the middle. Each bed was separated from the others by a curtain. Bay four was on the other side of the room. Zoe made her way down the long room, past the nurses’ station. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but as soon as she rounded the privacy curtain, she stood very still.
Henry was in a bed, his shirt was off, and he had a bandage on his shoulder. His leg was elevated. He must have sensed someone was there and he opened his eyes. “Zo,” he rasped and indicated for her to come forward. “How’s my sister?”
Zoe went up to him and, without a word, embraced him. “Oh, Henry,” she said and gingerly touched his shoulder. “What happened?” she asked on seeing flecks of blood on Henry’s chest.
Henry followed Zoe’s gaze and looked up at her. He took her hand and held it. “It was a stupid accident. There were painters out in the corridor and they somehow lost their balance on the ladders.”
“Is that Evy’s blood on you?”
Henry shook his head. “Nah, that’s mine. I got spiked with the wooden ladder and I bled like a stuck pig,” he said with a wry smile. “I’m alright. Alexandra will nurse me again.”
“You’re lying to me,” Zoe murmured and cupped his face in her hands. “You’re lying to me and I know why you’re lying. I love you for wanting to spare me the truth but not this time, Henry. Tell me the truth.”
“Zoe…”
“Please, Henry,” Zoe whispered. “You saved Evy’s life.”
Henry didn’t say a word as Zoe leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “Are you in pain?”
“No, they gave me some painkillers. Have you seen Eva?”
“No, not yet.”
“They won’t tell me what’s going on.”
“I promise to come and tell you after I see her. Mrs. Hester said it was a scalp wound.”
Henry nodded. “Yes, those bleed a lot,” he murmured and lowered his eyes.
“She was hit with a paint drum? Those things are small. How does she hit the wall if a tiny paint bucket falls on her?”
“It was a five-liter drum.”
“That’s not a small paint bucket!”
“No, they use five-liter metal buckets.”
Zoe’s hand covered her mouth in an attempt not to scream. Henry reached across with his good arm and steadied Zoe as she leaned against the bed. She took a shuddering breath.
“She was hit with a five-liter metal bucket?” Zoe asked her voice just above a hoarse whisper.
“Yes.”
Zoe buried her face in her hands and doubled over. She sobbed while Tessa held her in arms. “Oh, my god,” she cried. After a long moment she looked up. “How…”
Henry glanced at Tessa for a moment before he turned his attention to Zoe. “The ladder was going to crash onto her so I threw myself on her. She’s going to be sore with having me on top of her.”
“You saved her. Thank God you were there, Henry. You saved her life.” Zoe threw her arms around Henry. He grunted but didn’t move.
“Why don’t we let Henry rest up and we can go and wait for Stella to come back out?” Tessa interrupted them.
Zoe nodded. “I’ll come back, Henry.”
“I’ll be here.”
***
Zoe stood at the window looking out deep in thought, oblivious to anyone around her or to the garden outside. She took a drag of the cigarette Earl had given her. Casualty was one of the busiest places in the hospital, and the noise level was like a rea
l life tower of Babel with the multitude of voices and languages. The doctors still had not come out to speak to them and it was driving her crazy with worry.
News of Eva’s accident had reached their friends. Earl had excused himself from his remaining classes at the local high school and drove straight to the hospital. Friedrich, David, and Elena all showed up. Alexandra had seen to Henry and also arrived with a basket of sandwiches for everyone while they waited for news.
Zoe was about to go up to the nurses’ station and ask yet again about news when a middle-aged man wearing green scrubs walked into the waiting area along with Stella. They briefly spoke, then he handed Stella the chart and left.
Zoe almost ran to her aunt and reached her before she got the chance to turn around.
“Let’s go inside.” Stella indicated the small room next to the waiting area. Zoe was on the verge of tears again until Theo came up beside her and took her by the hand. Tessa had come in and had taken her spot on the other side of Zoe.
The room was very sparse, with two green cloth covered chairs on one side and a sofa that had seen better days on the other. One wall held a chalkboard; the other, a window that overlooked the jacaranda trees outside.
Zoe sat nervously on the edge of the seat, her hand in Theo’s larger one. He gave it a small squeeze and a smile before turning to Stella.
“How is she and when can I see her?”
“Zoe, I want you to stay calm. Alright?” Stella quietly spoke. “Now, the drum that hit Eva—”
“Henry said it was a five-liter steel drum.”
“Yes, it hit her and then propelled her into the wall. Eva is a very lucky woman that she wasn’t killed by it hitting here.” Stella gently put her finger on Zoe’s temple. “The paint bucket smacked into her on the back of the head, and when she fell forward, she hit her head against the wall. She has a hairline fracture above the eye socket.”
“A hairline fracture? What’s that?” Zoe quickly asked.
Stella got off the sofa and used the chalk to draw a head with eyes, adding a single line above one eye. “That’s a hairline fracture. It’s a crack, if you like. It will heal on its own, but we will have to monitor her. She sustained a brain bruise from the bucket at the back of her head.” Stella also drew a brain inside the skull to illustrate her point. “The brain sits in fluid, and when the head collides with something, like a metal drum, the brain bounces around and hits the skull. That bruises the soft tissue, and basically you have a brain bleed.”
[Intertwined Souls 05.0] No Good Deed Page 12
