The Doctor's Longed-For Family

by Joanna Neil

  ‘I’m sorry that you were upset by the camera crew this morning,’ he said, as they headed out of the hospital towards the car park. ‘I think they were just filming on the off chance of finding snippets of medical staff interaction, but it wasn’t quite the kind they expected. I made sure that they won’t be showing it—or at least that they will only broadcast stuff that makes us look like normal, caring professionals.’

  He sent her a sideways glance. ‘They’ll probably show a tiny fraction of our first encounter, when we bumped into one another, but they’ll edit out what was said and move on to where you told me about the baby who was ill. That will lead them into the part where you outlined his treatment.’

  ‘Are you sure that’s what they’ll do?’

  He nodded. ‘Yes, the producer said he would show me the film after it was edited. They might also include where we met up after I’d treated the little girl with the heart valve problem, but only to show us talking like colleagues for a moment or two. They aren’t going to include what we actually said.’

  ‘Thank heavens for that. I would never hold my head up in public again.’ She gave him an assessing look. ‘Thank you for taking the trouble to sort that out.’

  ‘You’re welcome.’

  By this time they had reached his car, and he held open the passenger door for her so that she could slide into her seat. The upholstery was luxurious, and there was a look of opulence about the vehicle, from the tinted windows to the smooth leather console and the gleaming instrument panel. Abby sat back and tried to relax.

  He drove to the school to pick up the children, and Abby waited, getting out of the car to stand by it, wondering how the two young children would respond to her presence here.

  ‘Hello,’ she said as a boy ran up to her a moment later. ‘Are you Jacob?’

  He nodded. ‘Are you a doctor?’

  ‘Yes, I am. I work in Accident and Emergency.’ She looked at him, noting the short black hair and the candid blue eyes that were the same blue as Matt’s. He was a lean little boy, with thin, sharp features, and he never seemed to stay still even as she was speaking to him. He seemed to be full of life, as though he was ready for take off at any moment.

  ‘Cool,’ he said. ‘Do you get to see the ambulances and the police cars? My dad says they put the sirens on when people get hurt and they go wooowaaawooowaaawoooaaa.’

  ‘That’s right, they do. I see the ambulances when they bring people to the hospital and there might be a police car as well, but not very often.’

  He seemed satisfied with that, and as Matt approached, Jacob tugged open the rear door of the car, bouncing with vigour into the child seat and scuffing the upholstery with his shoes in the process. Abby winced, but Matt didn’t seem to mind, which was just as well.

  Sarah was less exuberant, but she smiled shyly and said, ‘Hello,’ when Abby greeted her. She was a pretty girl, with long, chestnut-coloured hair, and Abby wondered if she took after her mother. Like her brother, her eyes were blue.

  ‘We’re going for a ride out to the TV studios,’ Abby told her as she slid into her seat. ‘Have you been there before?’

  ‘No, but I’ve heard about them,’ Sarah said. ‘There’s a river nearby, and a canal lock, where you have to open the lock gates to let the water through.’

  ‘We might be able to do that,’ Jacob put in. ‘That’ll be well good.’

  ‘Yes, it probably will,’ Abby said, with a smile.

  They chatted to her as they made the journey to the studios, mostly about what they had been doing at school and what the teachers had said or done when someone had done something wrong.

  ‘Jacob’s teachers have a lot to say about this and that,’ Matt said with a chuckle. ‘He seems to keep them on their toes, one way and another.’

  Matt was good with the children. He listened to what they had to say and asked about things that were important to them.

  When they reached the place where the recording was to be made, he showed them to the gallery overlooking the studio where he was being interviewed. ‘You can watch what’s going on from here,’ he said, ‘or you could take a tour round the props rooms, if you like.’ He glanced at Abby. ‘I’ll ask one of the secretaries if she’ll show you around. She’s always been very good about things like that, and she even offered to keep an eye on the children if I brought them with me.’

  ‘Can we see the dressing rooms?’ Sarah asked. ‘There might be one where someone famous has been.’

  ‘I imagine you could do that, providing nobody’s using them at the time.’

  Sarah giggled. ‘I’d sooner go in when someone’s there, because then I can ask for his autograph.’

  ‘Well, there is that, I suppose,’ Matt said cheerfully. He left them a short time later and they went on a grand tour, exploring the building as far as they were allowed, and looking out from one of the top-floor windows onto the landscape of the Thames and beyond. It was beautiful, with water eddying around small reefs of gravel and rock to form a weir, and in the distance there were swathes of green, where trees clustered together.

  It seemed that it was no time at all before Matt rejoined them. ‘Have you been OK?’ he asked. ‘Did you have a good time?’

  ‘It was great,’ Jacob told him. ‘The lady let me try some costumes on and I dressed up as a wizard. And Sarah was a princess.’

  ‘That sounds wonderful.’ Matt’s mouth curved with pleasure, and then he turned to glance at Abby. ‘What about you? Did you enjoy looking around?’

  ‘It was fabulous.’ She smiled up at him. ‘I’ve never been to one of these places before, and it was terrific fun to see all the sets, and realise that I’ve actually seen them before on programmes on television.’

  ‘I’m glad. You certainly look more relaxed than I’ve seen you in a long time, and that has to be good.’

  He was right. The experience had shown her how stressed she had been lately, and coming here with him had been all the medicine she needed. He had helped her to see that there was another world out there, one that she had forgotten about.

  ‘Shall we go and find a place to have our picnic?’ he asked. ‘I’m starving.’

  ‘That’s a good idea.’

  They went to Bushy Park and found a spot by Heron Pond where they could sit in the shade of trees and watch the wildfowl on the water. They were all hungry, and when Matt spread out a cloth on the grass and laid out the food, the children’s eyes widened and Abby’s mouth watered.

  ‘I’ve brought fresh crusty bread rolls and there’s an assortment of fillings to go with them—ham, chicken, cheese, and salad to have separately, if you want it. Help yourself.’ He gave Abby a sideways glance. ‘I made sure there are plenty of potato crisps and biscuits. Jacob and Sarah would live on them if they could. And there are cakes and fruit. Tuck in, or the ducks are going to have a feast.’

  ‘Not until I’ve eaten mine, they’re not,’ Jacob said. ‘They can have what’s left over. I bags the cake with the blue icing.’

  Sarah picked out a sandwich and gazed out over the water. ‘I wonder if herons ever come here,’ she said. ‘I haven’t seen one yet.’

  ‘I’m sure they do.’ Matt produced fruit juice and milk drinks and held them up for them to choose. ‘Which one?’

  ‘I love milk,’ Abby said. ‘Especially strawberry milkshakes. And it’s delicious when it’s made with ice cream, whipped until it’s thick, and cold from the fridge.’

  ‘I’ll make one specially for you one day,’ Matt promised. ‘For now this is straightforward strawberry milk, but it is fairly cool from the ice pack.’

  Abby sipped the chilled milk. ‘It’s lovely.’

  He smiled. ‘I’d have brought wine, but this is a family picnic, and I have to drive, and so do you, later, unless you’re going to let me drive you home.’

  ‘I’d better pass on that,’ she said. She leaned back against the bark of the tree, content to watch the children eat the biscuits and start on the apples.
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  ‘Uncle Matt, can we play ball?’ Jacob asked.

  Abby’s eyes opened wide. Uncle? Had Jacob said ‘Uncle’?

  Matt glanced at Abby and he must have seen her reaction to what the boy had said. ‘If you like. I brought a ball with me. It’s in the bag.’

  Jacob went to rummage in the bag. ‘Come on, Sarah. We’ll play football.’

  ‘Keep away from the water,’ Matt warned them as they ran off to find a clear expanse of grass. ‘And stay where I can see you.’

  ‘We will.’ Sarah waved as she ran to join her brother.

  Matt took a sip from his fruit juice, appearing unconcerned.

  ‘He called you Uncle Matt,’ Abby said. She pinned him with her gaze.

  ‘That’s right. They’re my sister’s children.’ He pretended to look surprised. ‘Didn’t I tell you that?’

  ‘No, you didn’t.’ Her mouth made a crooked slant. ‘You brought me here under false pretences, didn’t you? You must have known I thought you had suffered some awful kind of loss, and it left me wrong-footed.’

  ‘Ah, but I did tell you that I was single, didn’t I?’ He gave her a wry smile. ‘I just happen to be looking after them while Amy and her husband are in Greece, looking to buy a holiday villa out there.’ He sent her a quizzical look. ‘Do you mind that I didn’t tell you the whole story? Only I was afraid that you might not come with us, and I did so want to get you away from the hospital and have you all to myself.’

  ‘No, I don’t mind.’ In fact, a little glow had started up inside her. He wasn’t married, and he hadn’t been married, and she was feeling good for the first time in a long while. ‘I’m glad that I came here with you today.’

  ‘So am I.’ He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the mouth, brushing his lips tenderly over hers.

  Abby was startled, but she realised that she liked the way he had moved in on her and she tilted her head a fraction so that she could appreciate the sensation for a little while longer. He gave a soft groan and deepened the kiss, winding his arms around her and drawing her close to him.

  Abby loved the feel of his strong body next to hers, and her lips softened, tantalised by the coaxing, sweet exploration of his kiss. She moved against him, wanting this closeness, delighting in the warmth and reassurance of his firm embrace.

  ‘Uncle Matt, we’ve lost the ball.’ Jacob’s piping voice brought her back down to earth with a crash.

  Matt reluctantly let his arms fall to his sides, and Abby looked up and waited for her world to stop spinning. Jacob was looking at them curiously.

  ‘It’s gone in the long grass over there and we can’t reach it because of the brambles,’ Sarah said. ‘Will you find it for us, please?’ She pointed to where it had fallen.

  ‘All right. Perhaps you’d better show me exactly where it is.’ Matt gave Abby a smile as he stood up. He started off in the direction of the brambles.

  Neither of the children went after him straight away.

  ‘Were you two kissing?’ Jacob wanted to know. He was studying Abby as though this was something he had never come across before and his interest was tweaked.

  Abby didn’t know quite how to respond to him and a ripple of guilt washed over her. ‘Um, yes, I suppose we were.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Um…I think it just sort of happened.’

  ‘Does it mean that you and Uncle Matt are going to get married?’

  ‘I…uh…well, we, uh…haven’t talked about that, Jacob. I really don’t think so.’

  Sarah dug her brother in the ribs. ‘You’re not supposed to ask that,’ she said.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Because you’re not.’ Sarah grabbed her brother and turned him around, so that they were both facing away from Abby. Perhaps that way she thought they might not be heard.

  ‘Mummy said Uncle Matt wasn’t the sort to get married,’ Sarah whispered. ‘She said he likes to have lots of girlfriends and…’ She stopped to think for a moment. ‘And he isn’t going to be ready to settle down for a long time.’

  Abby pulled in a deep breath. The children had no idea that they were giving her such an insight into what was going on. Had Matt’s sister worked out what Matt was all about? Even though he was half turned away from her, Abby could see Jacob’s puzzlement. ‘Settle down? Why?’

  ‘Daddy says he’s having too much fun as a bachelor.’

  The boy’s frown deepened. ‘What’s a bachelor?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Sarah was quiet for a second or two, mulling it over. ‘It must be a special kind of doctor that goes on the telly.’

  ‘Yeah, I bet it is.’ Jacob sounded pleased that the mystery was solved.

  Matt must have realised by then that the children hadn’t followed him, because he came back towards them and said, ‘I thought you were coming with me to show me where the ball had landed? When I turned around you weren’t there.’

  ‘Oh, we’re coming now,’ Sarah said.

  Matt glanced down at Abby. ‘Are you all right? You seem a little…stunned. I suppose that’s the word for it. Has something happened?’

  ‘No, nothing’s happened, nothing at all.’ She assumed a bright tone. ‘I’m fine, really.’ She got to her feet, adding, ‘I’ll come with you to find the ball.’

  ‘OK, if you’re sure you’re all right.’ Matt gave her a puzzled glance, but she put on a show of being her normal self and he eventually seemed to relax.

  She gave herself a mental shake. It was true, wasn’t it? She was fine. Nothing had really changed. She had been given a reality check, that was all, and it had pulled her back from the brink of disaster just in time. Matt was a single man, through and through, and any dalliance with her was purely that, a diversion, an un-complicated way of passing the time.

  CHAPTER SIX

  ‘SO YOU went for a trip out to the riverside yesterday?’ Helen said. ‘You had a good day for it, anyway. We must have had the best weather for months.’

  Abby’s brow indented in a small frown. It was true that her afternoon had been bathed in sunshine, but she hadn’t commented on her outing to anyone. ‘How did you know that I went out anywhere?’

  She was adjusting the infusion pump so that the child she was treating would get a slightly higher dose of the drug, which would counteract the bacteria circulating in her bloodstream.

  Helen’s mouth made a wry twist. ‘I guess the grapevine has been working overtime. When you start going out with a TV personality, you’re taking a big risk if you think you can get away with it without anybody noticing. Don’t you realise that people around here watch Matt’s every move?’

  ‘I hope people would have better things to do, and anyway I’m not going out with him, as such.’

  Helen raised a sceptical brow. ‘That’s not what I heard.’ She reached for her patient’s chart.

  Abby made a face. ‘So who’s been talking?’ She didn’t want to reminisce about those few hours she and Matt had spent together, but the quiet time they had spent by the small lake had been uppermost in her mind ever since it had come to an end. It had been perfect, an idyllic time, except for the children’s revelations about Matt’s love life. She ought to have guessed that he would have a casual attitude to relationships, but perhaps she had tried to push that to the back of her mind. His kiss had put her head in a whirl and awakened feelings in her that she had not experienced in a long while.

  After the picnic in the park they had gone for a walk by the lock, and she and Matt had helped the children to open and close the lock gates to allow the canal boats to pass through on their way upstream. All in all, it had been a heart-warming experience, and one that she would treasure.

  ‘You and Matt were the ones who did the talking, apparently,’ Helen said. ‘Have you forgotten that you were on camera in the hospital yesterday?’

  Abby was shocked. ‘Any conversation was supposed to have been edited out.’ Had that not happened? Helen was telling her that she was the talk of the A and E department,
and that was difficult for her to accept. She had expected that her private life would stay that way, but clearly that was not the case. ‘Are you saying that millions of people have listened to what we said?’ The thought horrified her.

  ‘No, you’re safe, don’t worry.’ Helen chuckled. ‘We just saw a rough cut of the show. Actually, it was Martin, the cameraman, who inadvertently gave the game away.’

  ‘Did he? I can’t think why the cameraman would want to let anyone know what I do in my free time.’

  ‘I think he was a bit down in the dumps. Martin has the hots for you, haven’t you noticed?’

  Abby blinked at that. ‘I can’t say that I have. I’ve noticed, though, that some members of the crew would be more than happy to get to know you better…And I heard that one of the nurses has a date with the producer. This whole place has gone into meltdown.’ She should never have allowed the cameras in here.

  Helen grinned and added some notes to the little girl’s chart. ‘I had no idea that it was going to be such a pleasure to come into work this past week. I thought the first programme turned out really well.’ She gave Abby a sideways glance. ‘Some of us watched bits of the preview tape in the doctors’ lounge, and we’ll be able to see the rest of it later. Of course, seeing you and Matt on film, talking in the corridor on several occasions, was a bit of a give-away where the grapevine is concerned. I’m sure the outside world will think it was perfectly innocent, but we folks at the hospital know better.’

  ‘They know how to gossip,’ Abby retorted. ‘All I know is that wherever I go, the cameras are lurking, and I shall be more than happy when they go and lurk somewhere else.’

  She went to the ambulance bay to greet her next patient, and found that the camera crew had managed to catch up with her once again.

  ‘Martin, could you not find something more interesting to film?’ she asked, glancing at the man behind the camera. ‘I’m sure Helen must be doing some really fascinating treatments.’

  The camera made an undulating motion as though it was doing a happy jig. ‘She knows my name…She knows my name,’ Martin said gleefully.