Coming Home to Liverpool

by Kate Eastham

  ‘All right, Maud,’ said Alice, pulling her closer. ‘You have a way of always making me do the right thing. I think you must hypnotize me, or something … So, are you back with us on Female Surgical tomorrow, or has Sister Law found a way of hypnotizing you so you never leave her ward?’

  ‘Oh, I’ll be back tomorrow.’

  ‘That’s goo—’

  ‘Aargh!’ screamed Maud and Alice together, as a black shape wearing some kind of cloak lunged at them from the shadows.

  ‘Rarrrr!’ roared their assailant.

  Maud immediately stepped in front of Alice, with her right hand balled into a fist. Until, that is, she heard their assailant stifling a laugh. And as she stepped closer, in the evening light, she could see it was Eddy, laughing her head off.

  They both pounced on her, pretending to rough her up as she doubled over with laughter.

  ‘I saw you both coming,’ she gasped at last. ‘Tripping along and chit-chatting as you went. I couldn’t resist it. I had to leap out. Oh, that was so good!’

  ‘Well, what if I’d really walloped you?’ said Maud, balling her fist again.

  ‘And me,’ said Alice, pretending to throttle her.

  Eddy was still laughing. ‘I thought I could safely take my chances,’ she said at last, holding her ribs. ‘After all, I had the advantage of surprise … oh, that was so good. Anyway, you two,’ she said, straightening up and removing the hat that was hanging off her head. ‘What were you talking about?’

  They were almost back at Stella’s before they were finished telling Eddy all of their news. She listened carefully, glancing from one to the other, as they linked arms on either side of her.

  ‘What about you, Eddy?’ asked Maud, as they headed through a cloud of steam outside Lime Street Station. ‘What have you been up to?’

  ‘Busy day, as usual. Mr Berzins is still doing well. But I’ve got another consumptive case, a young one. And you remember me telling you about Sylvia, the one with the two young children – Rosanna and Archie? She’s deteriorating again, I think. It’s so sad, seeing them rally, these cases. And then, inevitably, they start spitting blood again and, bit by bit, they fade a little further. Until they’re so weak they’ve no resistance. Tuberculosis is such a cruel disease.’

  Maud gave Eddy’s arm a squeeze with her own.

  ‘At least they’ve got you and all the other district nurses to look after them,’ she said.

  ‘Mmmm,’ replied Eddy, ‘but I just wish we could do more. If there was only some effective treatment, or some vaccination, like the smallpox one. I know it doesn’t work every time, but at least it’s something that can stop it dead in its tracks.’

  ‘All we can do is hope,’ said Maud, ‘and there are scientific discoveries being made all the time. Let’s hope it’s not too long before they find a vaccination for tuberculosis as well. It’s strange, though, isn’t it, how you district nurses don’t often catch it yourselves? I’ve heard of many nurses catching typhus fever, some cholera, pneumonia, even diphtheria …’

  ‘Jeez, Maud,’ laughed Eddy, ‘you need to stop going through the list. I’ll be too scared to go out there again at this rate. It’s bad enough dealing with the dogs and the sticky-fingered children!’

  ‘Sorry,’ said Maud, ‘I do have a tendency to get a bit grim sometimes.’

  ‘You do,’ said Eddy. ‘Thank goodness Harry will be back soon. There’s a man who knows how to lighten the mood.’

  As soon as they reached the blue door, Maud stood back whilst Alice went through. She was followed by Eddy, already fluffing out her hair.

  ‘Come on, let’s all get a cup of tea,’ called Alice, leading the way down the corridor and into the kitchen.

  The nights were cooling now. Maud could feel the difference even in the short time that she’d been back in the city. It wouldn’t be long before the biting cold started to seep in from the Mersey. It was still just warm enough for them all to sit out in the backyard, though, snuggled up in their capes. These times that they could spend together, like they used to when they were all living in the Nurses’ Home, were special to Maud. She knew that it was only a short while before she would be moving out to be with Harry. It made her feel a little sad as she sat there, seeing the steam rise from her hot cup of tea, listening to the murmur of voices and the insistent tap, tap of the moths against the window as they were drawn inexorably to the glow of lamplight from within the house.

  10

  ‘A nurse should be … cheerful, hopeful, not allowing herself or her patient to become discouraged …’

  Florence Nightingale

  ‘In case I forget, will you remind me to ask Sister Pritchard about booking my half day off for when Harry comes back?’ said Maud as she stood tying Alice’s apron for her, three days later.

  ‘Yes,’ grimaced Alice. ‘That’s a bit tight, Maud. Just slacken it off a bit, will you?’

  Maud untied the firm bow and retied it with less force.

  ‘I know it’s a couple of weeks off yet, but I want to get it booked. And given that I seem to be working between the two surgical wards, I might have to ask Sister Law as well,’ she continued, as they made their way out through the door and ran down the stone stairs.

  ‘I would, just to make sure,’ said Alice. ‘You know what Sister Law’s like, unless you make it clear. In fact, give it to her in writing so there’s no mistake. Though, of course, you can’t tell her what you need it for. As far as she’s concerned, you’re a single woman.’

  ‘That’s true,’ said Maud, ‘I’ll need to get my story straight.’

  ‘Think of something good. You have to make sure she agrees,’ insisted Alice. ‘You have to be there to greet your husband, for goodness’ sake.’

  As they walked up the ward, Alice called by Sue’s bed to give her the customary morning greeting. When Maud saw Sue sitting there, all smiles, her chest began to feel tight – today was the day that the dressing would be removed. Maud felt confident enough of her dressing, and the rigorous checks she’d made post-operatively, to be hopeful that all would be well beneath that pad of innocent white lint. But the thought of seeing Sue’s beautiful face, and having the extent of that cruel wound exposed for all to see … it filled her with dread.

  When Mr Jones’s ward round approached Sue’s bed, Sister Pritchard gestured for Maud to attend.

  ‘Now, my dear,’ murmured Mr Jones, perching himself at the edge of Sue’s bed. ‘We are very pleased with your progress. You are doing well,’ he smiled.

  Maud felt proud of Sue as she sat up in bed in her clean white nightie, beaming.

  ‘I can’t watch,’ murmured Alice in Maud’s ear as she passed by, on her way to Mrs Jenkins at the top of the ward.

  Maud felt her stomach tighten as she stood waiting.

  ‘The time has come for us to remove the dressing,’ continued Mr Jones.

  Maud wasn’t sure but she thought even his voice sounded a little nervous. It felt like the whole ward was watching.

  Mr Stafford tried to step forward, but as Mr Jones got up from the bed, he beckoned for Maud to approach.

  Here goes, she said to herself, pasting a confident look on her face and mustering a smile for Sue.

  ‘Now, Sue,’ said Maud, ‘you don’t need to do anything. I’ll just unwind the bandage, and then I’ll tell you when I’m going to remove the dressing pad – it might catch a bit and pull on the stitches underneath.’

  ‘That’s all right, Maud,’ said Sue, taking her hand just for a moment. ‘I’m ready.’

  Maud nodded and went straight to the unravelling. It looked good so far; there was no sign of any suppuration, and the swelling around Sue’s eye had gone down very nicely.

  ‘I’m just going to remove the pad over your eye now …’

  Sue blinked a few times and then opened the injured eye.

  ‘Can you see?’

  ‘Yes!’ smiled Sue. ‘I can see with both eyes now.’

  ‘Right, so here goes with the
dressing pad. I’ll be as gentle as I can.’

  Sue nodded.

  Maud grasped the top corner of the dressing and carefully peeled it away. She saw the first black silk suture and the top end of the wound. It looked good – clean and dry and well knitted together. The lint snagged on the next couple of stitches but Maud found only a little resistance as the pad came away. As she continued to gently peel the dressing, the whole row of black stitches was revealed, bit by bit. Maud didn’t look at the full extent, not yet. She concentrated on removing each section, one at a time. Finally, after some gentle persuasion, the dressing came away from the girl’s face and the wound stood bare.

  There was a moment of complete quiet around the bed as Sue sat there smiling.

  ‘Well done,’ Maud murmured, ‘you’ve been so brave.’

  Mr Jones cleared his throat and approached, scrutinizing the suture line. ‘This is healing very well indeed,’ he said, frowning. ‘I think we can leave the wound exposed now and remove the stitches in a few days’ time, once they’ve loosened a little.’

  ‘Does that meet with your approval, Nurse Linklater, Sister Pritchard?’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ smiled Sister Pritchard.

  Maud nodded warmly. And before she knew it, the ward round moved to the next bed and she was left with her patient.

  ‘It feels so much better now that the bandage is off,’ said Sue, reaching a hand up towards her face.

  ‘Try not to touch the stitches, Sue,’ Maud offered gently. ‘It’s good for them to have the air, but we need to keep them as clean as possible.’

  ‘All right,’ said Sue, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She’d got used to wandering up and down the ward in her nightie, chatting to the other patients.

  ‘Just stay at the side of your bed until Mr Jones has finished the round,’ said Maud. ‘Then you can go for a walk.’

  Sue nodded and rooted out the small drawstring bag that she kept under her pillow. Alice had brought it in for her to store her small treasures in. She’d already added to her trove: a pebble that she’d found on the hearth of the ward fire and a shiny penny that one of the patients had given her. And now she brought them all out together, arranging them into different patterns on the bed.

  Glancing back as she walked up the ward, Maud swallowed hard to get rid of the lump in her throat as she saw Sue still happily swinging her legs at the side of the bed. The girl was smiling to herself, completely unaware of the scarlet line of the wound, punctuated by harsh black sutures, puckering one side of her face.

  Alice passed her on her way down the ward and they exchanged a glance. Maud could see the sadness in her friend’s eyes but she knew that Alice would muster a bright smile and speak confidently to Sue. They’d already talked about what they would do and agreed that they would wait for her to ask to see the wound. That’s when they would show her.

  Later on, Maud found Dolores Williams very excited. She’d just been given the all clear to go home.

  ‘My Jim’s coming at visiting, and he can take me home. I mean, I never thought that I’d enjoy coming into hospital – and I’m not saying I’ve exactly done that – but when I came in, Nurse Linklater, I don’t know if you could tell, or not. But I was scared stiff.’

  ‘Yes, you did look worried,’ smiled Maud, remembering how terrified Dolores had been.

  ‘And I want to say thank you, to you in particular, Nurse Linklater, for telling me about all the things related to the baby. And I’ve been meaning to ask you something else … well, do you think you would be able to come and deliver it for me?’

  ‘Oh,’ said Maud, taken aback for a moment, ‘well, that’s very nice of you to ask, but I’ve only ever delivered one baby. I don’t have any real experience, I’m afraid. You’ll need to find yourself a local midwife – ask the women on the street where you live, they’ll know who to use – or you could come in here, to the hospital, on to the lying-in ward.’

  ‘Oooh,’ said Dolores, ‘I might like to come back to hospital. What do you think?’

  ‘Well, to be honest, if everything is straightforward and you have a good local woman who knows her stuff, then you’re probably best staying at home. They have doctors on the lying-in ward, but that doesn’t mean to say that the service the women get is any better.’

  ‘Mmm, I see what you mean. I’ll have to think about it. I’ve got a good few months to go, anyway. But thanks, Nurse Linklater … for everything.’

  ‘You are very welcome, Mrs Williams. And don’t forget to keep drinking the barley water once you get home. You know how to brew it up, don’t you?’

  ‘Oh, me mother used to brew it all the time. I was born and raised on that stuff,’ she laughed.

  Maud nodded to Jim Williams as he came through the door at visiting, with his eager face and measured stride. He’ll be pleased when he finds out he can take his new wife home, she thought to herself, silently wishing the newly married couple well as she walked along the corridor towards Male Surgical to see Sister Law about her afternoon off.

  As she walked up the ward she raised a hand to Mr Langer. She’d been into Male Surgical every single day to monitor the wound on his shin. He’d been fevered and mildly delirious for two days, but this morning, as the natural suppuration of the wound had begun and there was a promising flow of light yellow pus, he was much more settled. It was good to see him sitting up in bed with his visitors around him. The small woman with dark hair must be his wife, Clara, and she could see the three children. The eldest one was tall for his eight years of age, and he had pale brown hair, like his father. And the two little girls, with blonde hair and ribbons, she knew were only five and three. He’d told her just this morning that they were called Frieda and Martha, and they were the light of his life.

  Maud would keep an eagle eye on Mr Langer’s wound. She knew that they were at an early stage, as yet. A wound like that had to heal from the bottom up: a very lengthy and laborious process with, all the while, the ever present threat of deep suppuration or gangrene setting in. She prayed that Mr Langer would stay the course.

  Sister Law was standing to attention at the top of the ward, surveying her patients and the visitors who were emerging tentatively through the ward door. When she saw Maud, she seemed to almost smile, but then thought better of it. Maud took a deep breath and ploughed ahead.

  ‘If possible, Sister, I need to book a half day off in advance,’ she gabbled. ‘I know that I’m based on Female Surgical and I’ve asked Sister Pritchard and she has approved. But given that I work in theatre on Male Surgical as well, I thought it best to book the date with you also.’

  Sister Law pursed her lips. ‘Mmmm,’ she said, narrowing her eyes, ‘a half day, is it?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ said Maud, her heart racing.

  ‘And when is it?’

  ‘In two weeks. It’s a Thursday.’

  Sister puffed out her chest. ‘And what is so special that you need to book your half day off so far in advance?’

  Maud was stumped for a moment. She’d been so busy on the ward, she’d forgotten to practise a reason. And she couldn’t very well tell Sister Law that she was meeting her husband off the ship from New York.

  ‘Well, I have a … I have a dear friend, a very respectable lady, who is ill, and I’ve promised to spend the afternoon with her.’

  Sister Law frowned.

  ‘It’s her birthday,’ blurted Maud. ‘It’s her birthday. That’s … why I need that particular day.’

  Sister Law narrowed her eyes again. ‘And so, Nurse Linklater, you’ve promised this time, this Thursday afternoon, to your friend, without consulting me first?’

  ‘Yes, sorry,’ said Maud, starting to feel desperate.

  ‘Well, Nurse Linklater …’ said Sister, moving her face closer so that she could scrutinize Maud’s expression.

  For a moment there was complete silence. Maud held her breath.

  ‘… you have worked extremely hard since your return from America.
And I am impressed with the time you have spent ensuring that our Mr Langer’s wound is satisfactory. Therefore, just this once … I will grant your request.’

  Maud breathed again. ‘Thank you, Sister. I’ve written the details here, in a letter,’ she said, passing her the envelope, before turning on her heel and retreating down the ward as quickly as she could.

  The interaction had temporarily made Maud feel that two weeks hence was a distant place, set far in the future. But in fact, she was so busy with her work that the time was flying by. She hadn’t even been able to get up to the Blue Coat again to see Alfred. And given the way that things were going, she knew that she would have to reconcile herself to the fact that she wouldn’t see him until the day of Harry’s arrival. She’d written to him and they’d already arranged that she would collect him at two fifteen on the day. The ship was due in about three. But depending on tides and the sheer number of other vessels vying for position on the river, Maud knew that it could vary. But now that she had confirmation of her half day off, she was on countdown, and she would be there, waiting with Alfred, no matter what.

  As Maud walked back towards Female Surgical, she was startled by a piercing cry that came from the ward. Her heart thudded and she instantly picked up her pace. Coming through the door, she could see the anguished face of Sue’s mam as she held on to her daughter, and now she was sobbing uncontrollably. Alice was coming down the ward very fast, and Maud headed straight to the scene, too.

  ‘Mrs Cassidy,’ she soothed, trying to put her arm around the woman’s shoulder.

  ‘My poor baby, my little girl,’ wailed Mrs Cassidy, ‘what an awful thing to happen to you.’

  The girl sat rigid in the bed, her eyes wide and her face terrified.

  Alice was there with her now at the other side of the bed.

  ‘Mrs Cassidy, please try to calm down,’ Maud tried to coax. Clearly, the woman was in shock, but Maud could see how frightened Sue looked.

  ‘Look at her,’ wailed Sue’s mam. ‘How will she get a husband now?’