‘We were all shocked when Steven was taken ill,’ she said. ‘He’s a lovely man…exceptional…irreplaceable…no one could possibly match up to him. He worked so hard, and he was so good with the patients.’
‘I can see that I have a lot to live up to,’ Josh said in a faintly whimsical tone. ‘I promise you I’ll do my best to fill his shoes.’
She groaned inwardly. Having her foot in her mouth was getting to be a habit. ‘I didn’t mean to imply that you wouldn’t be able to do that.’ She straightened her shoulders. ‘And about my being late—you have to understand I’m not usually tardy. My car wouldn’t start this morning. I had to beg a lift off my neighbour.’
He nodded, as though he had no problem with that, and then he turned his gaze to her holdall. ‘What’s all this, then? Are you planning on going away somewhere after work? Judging from the weight of it, you’ve packed for the long-term.’
She smiled as she shook her head. ‘No, nothing like that. I brought in some goodies for the cheque presentation ceremony later…just a few nibbles for people to snack on. I wasn’t sure whether anybody would have thought to make an occasion of it, and it occurred to me that we should do something to make it special. I expect you’ll be making a short speech, won’t you?’
He frowned. ‘I’m afraid you’ve lost me there. I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘Oh, dear.’ She floundered for a moment. ‘I was sure Management would have filled you in. They usually arrange for the press to be on hand—all in aid of good relations with the public and so on.’ She ran a hand through her silky hair in a distracted fashion, conscious of time running away with her. ‘I ought to drop off this holdall in the doctors’ restroom and let it be known that I’m on duty.’
He nodded, and walked with her along the corridor. ‘Perhaps you should tell me about this presentation? There’s nothing in the diary, and my secretary doesn’t come in until this afternoon. What’s it all about?’
‘Fund-raising. A group of people do their best to collect funds for the hospital—in particular the A&E unit. Of course most of the money they raise goes towards buying equipment for the hospital. Every year in December they drop by to present us with a cheque. Partly so that we can start arranging Christmas festivities for the patients. They bring presents for the children who will be staying in hospital over Christmas, either on the paediatric wards or in A&E, or on the observation ward next to A&E. Of course we don’t give them out until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.’
He was still frowning. ‘Isn’t it a bit early for this kind of thing?’
She looked at him askance. ‘Hardly. It takes time to organise things around Christmas…decorations, presents, food. And sometimes we arrange a short entertainment or radio show. We can’t throw it all together in a couple of days, you know, and if we have a pantomime group coming to do a brief production we need to pay them an advance.’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t see why everyone has to make such a fuss around the occasion. The world seems to go crazy at this time of year. It amazes me that the shops are full of Christmas stuff from as early as the end of September. Why we have to suffer three months or more of hype is beyond me.’
‘Hype?’ She sent him a doubtful look. Where was his sense of Christmas cheer? Was he one of those dour people who were averse to celebrations? ‘Well, that’s the way it is. Personally, I appreciate having plenty of time to make preparations—and I love the atmosphere in town at this time of year, with everyone crowding out the stores, looking for gifts for their loved ones.’
His expression was sceptical. ‘You’re a sentimentalist.’
‘So what if I am?’ She lifted a finely arched brow. ‘I see nothing wrong with that, and I’m certainly not alone in feeling that way.’ She straightened her shoulders and moved on towards the doctors’ room. If he had a problem with the festive season that was his loss, and she wasn’t going to argue the point.
‘Christmas is my favourite time of year, when all the family gets together.’ She smiled, thinking about it. ‘My grandparents live about fifty miles away from here, but they’re coming over to the Pennines to spend the holiday with us, and my brother will be home from university.’
‘Really? It sounds as though you have a good time to look forward to. I can’t say I’m that enthusiastic about the season for myself.’ He frowned. ‘So, what’s the plan for this cheque presentation?’
She studied him for a moment or two. How could anyone not enjoy this special time of year? Was there something more to his indifference than a simple aversion to hype?
‘Well, Dr Meadows…Steve…always said a few words on these occasions. And since you’re the one in charge here today, I imagine they’ll expect you to be on hand if it’s at all possible.’ She added a warning note. ‘We do try to show how much we appreciate all their hard work. They take on all sorts of fund-raising activities for us throughout the year, and they bring a lot of good feeling into the hospital.’
He pushed open the door of the doctors’ lounge and sent her a thoughtful glance. ‘I’m glad you told me about this. What time are they likely to arrive?’
‘Around lunchtime, I would imagine…perhaps twelve-thirty. I expect one of the managers will deal with the actual proceedings.’ She began to empty the contents of her holdall on to the table, and a variety of plastic containers filled with pastries spilled out. ‘Perhaps I’d better ask one of the desk clerks if she can find time to put the food out in Reception.’ She glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘I hope no one in A&E is desperately in need of attention from me right now.’
‘Only a youth with a badly gashed hand. One of the nurses will tend to him in the first instance, but as soon as she’s cleaned the wound it will need suturing. After that there are half a dozen walking wounded who could do with your help.’
‘Oh, right.’ She stacked the containers neatly on the table and then said, ‘Again, I’m sorry about being late. My neighbour’s going to have a look at the car for me to see if he can figure out what’s gone wrong with it. He said it sounded as though there was a problem with the fuel pump.’ She shrugged out of her jacket and hung it up on a hook at the side of the room, before going in search of her stethoscope. She found it in her locker, along with other bits and pieces that she pushed into the deep pocket of her skirt.
‘Is your neighbour a mechanic, then?’ Josh asked.
Alison shook her head, sending her hair into a flurry of activity. His gaze followed the ripple of silk before settling on her features once more.
‘No,’ she said, ‘but he can turn his hand to most things. He fixed the plumbing when it went wrong, and then he looked at the washing machine when it refused to work. If we waited for the landlord to sort things out we’d still be waiting now.’
‘We?’
‘My flatmate and I…Katie. She’s a senior house officer, too, working with me in A&E.’
‘I see.’ He nodded. ‘I take it she made her own arrangements for coming in here today?’
‘That’s right. She had an early case conference to attend, so she was gone before I realised I had a problem.’
‘Hmm.’ He absorbed that. ‘Wouldn’t it have been better to have a garage mechanic look over your car? What if your neighbour can’t fix it for you?’
She started towards the door. ‘Well, then I suppose I’ll have to do that.’ She guessed he was trying to make sure that her lateness wasn’t going to be a frequent occurrence. ‘It would be unfortunate, though, because it will probably cost me an arm and a leg if I have to go to a garage, whereas this way I can give Tom a realistic amount of money for his time and trouble—that will give him a boost and help him to get back on his feet, and I’ll benefit at the same time.’
‘Does he need