if you’re sure.’
‘I am, Mr Phillips.’
The man looked around to see other parents sitting beside their babies so tentatively he sat and began unconsciously wringing his hands. ‘How long will he need to stay here in Intensive Care?’
‘I can’t give you an accurate idea yet. Premature babies need additional help while their bodies catch up on the growth and development they missed in the womb. He’ll need assistance to stay warm because he can’t control his own body temperature yet. And Liam is just over two pounds, so he’s still too immature to feed. He’ll need a tube that carries milk into his stomach,’ Mitchell told him as he warmed the stethoscope and gently placed it on Liam’s tiny chest.’
‘But my wife wants to breastfeed. She told me that.’
‘She can express milk until Liam’s strong enough to feed but we need to get his weight up and feeding is tiring so we need to make it easier for him,’ Jade added, aware that Mitchell was listening to Liam’s heart.
The man understood and remained silent until Mitchell removed the stethoscope and put it back around his neck.
‘How many staff do you have here to take care of the babies?’ he asked. ‘Will there be enough to look after Liam if more babies arrive?’
‘Yes, there are more than enough staff to cover the patients and any unexpected arrivals such as Liam. You will see many different staff providing care to your son over the coming weeks. Neonatal Intensive Care has a number of special nurses like Alli who you just met, and we are very fortunate to have Jade, who is over from the States, bringing her knowledge and expertise from a large teaching hospital is Los Angeles.’
Mitchell spoke with pride about Jade and it wasn’t lost on her.
‘Then there’s Laura, the senior nurse in charge of the unit,’ he continued. ‘And the neonatologist, who, in Liam’s case, is me. I’ll be leading your baby’s care. On top of that there are other specialist doctors, such as surgeons if the need arises, and physiotherapists to help with your baby’s development, radiographers and dieticians, and then there are social workers to help you with family issues and support that might be needed after you take your baby home in a few months’ time. There is quite literally a small intensive care army to provide everything that your family will need over the coming weeks and months.’
Jade was still listening as Mitchell handled the barrage of questions with ease. He related so well and wasn’t short with his answers. He took his time to quell the man’s heightened anxiety and let him catch his breath. And the way he had spoken about her made her feel valued and important and it resonated in her heart.
‘It’s important that you visit as much as possible and no matter how many staff are attending to Liam, remember first and foremost he needs you and your wife. Having a parent here as much as possible makes such a difference to the child.’
Jade saw the man relax his shoulders into the chair. He had arrived feeling out of his depth and overwhelmed, but Mitchell had given him a sense of purpose and validated his questions.
‘I’m just going to continue my examination and you are most welcome to stay, or if you would like to check on your wife and let her know Liam is safe with us, you could come back down together. I’ll be here all afternoon and can answer any other questions you have. And there will be new questions every day so don’t hesitate to ask anything you’re concerned about. This neonatal unit has an open-door policy so parents can visit twenty-four hours a day.’
‘I think I might go and see my wife then and let her know everything’s under control,’ he said, climbing to his feet. ‘But if anything changes and you want me back here, call my wife’s ward and I’ll be straight back down.’
‘We’ll be sure to let you know, but Liam is stable at the moment. So you come back down when you’re both ready.’
Jade watched the man shuffle out of the unit in somewhat of a daze. There was so much to take in and he was clearly also concerned about his wife. They had a long road ahead of them until their son was in the nursery and preparing to go home.
‘Have you had dinner yet?’ Mitchell asked Jade as she was leaving NICU for her tea break.
‘Heading there now. I have an hour, so I intend to put my feet up and grab a wrap or a salad in the cafeteria.’
‘I’ve got a better idea,’ Mitchell said as the elevator doors opened and they both stepped inside. ‘A little Italian restaurant across the road. They serve the best pasta and they do it quickly. They know we don’t have much time. It’s delicious and just like being in Italy.’
Jade was surprised by the invitation but it happened so quickly she didn’t have time to refuse. Or think it through. Perhaps that was a good thing, she surmised as they stood at the traffic lights a minute later, waiting to cross the main road as darkness was falling.
‘I should have asked if you like Italian food,’ he said after a minute or two. ‘I guess I just assumed everyone does.’
‘You guessed right with me, I love Italian.’
The meal came out quickly and they were halfway to finishing their risottos when Mitchell decided to tell her about the pool and what he’d seen. He had been thinking it over since it had happened and had decided that he wanted and needed to be honest with Jade. He had no intention of embarrassing her but he felt she had the right to know.
He just wasn’t entirely sure how to raise it.
‘You seem quiet suddenly,’ Jade commented as she pushed the risotto around with her fork. She was borderline full but searching for more of the tasty grilled chicken pieces. The herbs were amazing and Mitchell was right, the food was great.
‘There was something I wanted to tell you,’ Mitchell began, and then hesitated. He wasn’t sure how Jade would react but he hoped she might see the humorous side of it. He had definitely not taken advantage of the situation by looking back at her after the initial shock sighting.
‘Go on,’ she urged as she gave up on trying to fit in any more food and just sipped on her iced water.
Mitchell took a nervous sip of his own water. ‘The other morning, I came to the house to assemble the sound system. Arthur had no clue how to put it together so he asked me to do it.’
Jade had no idea where the conversation was heading and why Mitchell thought there was a need to tell her about his handyman work. ‘Was this when you served me breakfast in bed with Amber?’
‘Yes.’
‘So did you get it done before I woke up?’
He drew a deep breath and continued. ‘No, it was later in the morning.’
‘But I was home all morning after Maureen and Arthur took Amber out, and I didn’t see you,’ she returned with a puzzled look.
‘No, you didn’t see me, but I saw you sun-baking by the pool.’
Embarrassment hit and Jade put her hand to her mouth and closed her eyes for a moment. ‘I thought there was no one home or I would never have gone out in the sun like that.’
‘I just wanted to say that I looked away as soon as I realised what you were doing. Your secret’s safe with me but I wanted us to have a level of honesty. I didn’t want to keep it from you.’
‘What I was doing? What are you talking about? I was sun-baking … that’s all. You hardly had to avert your eyes, I’m sure you’ve seen it a million times before.’
Mitchell stared at Jade with a puzzled look. She was so casual about sunbathing naked and it took him by surprise.
‘Hardly a million,’ he remarked.
‘There were so many bikinis on the beach the other day.’
‘Yes, there were, but you chose not to wear one and … and