it’s one of the days, like today, when I leave early to go and help out at the coral reef.’
She frowned. ‘I had it all wrong from the beginning. When Ben mentioned his connection with you and the reef I thought that’s what you did for a living—that you were a marine biologist or some such.’
He smiled. ‘No, nothing like that. I see to the health of the divers and make sure everyone involved in the conservation work is okay. It’s on a part-time basis, but I provide cover whenever I can. We actually need more people to fill in on occasion.’
‘Oh, I see. Ben talks about the conservation sometimes. I know he enjoys helping out at the reef in his spare time.’
He nodded. ‘He’s a good diver and he’s thorough in his research. It’s just a pity he lets things slide in other ways.’
She frowned. ‘He’ll still be able to work with the group, won’t he?’
‘Yes, of course. I’m not in charge of the project.’ His glance moved over her fleetingly. ‘If you were interested, I could show some of the work we do. It would be good to have you come along with me.’
She wasn’t sure how to react to his invitation. Would it be wise to get involved with him outside the hospital? Then again, maybe she could help sort things out for Ben by going along with him? ‘Possibly.’ She made a noncommittal shrug.
José didn’t seem too concerned by her response. Perhaps he felt sure enough of her to bide his time.
By now they had reached the main A and E unit, and he showed her where equipment was stored and where she would find all the necessary forms. Theatre scrubs were kept in the locker rooms, but for the most part the doctors wore their own clothes when treating the children. ‘It’s less frightening for them,’ he said.
Robert joined them a few minutes later as José was telling her about the daily routine in the department and their procedures for admitting patients.
‘Hi.’ He acknowledged José and gave Jessie a quick smile. He seemed preoccupied but said, ‘I have to go and deal with an adult trauma emergency, so I thought you might like to look in on one of my younger patients—she’s a three-year-old and has one of those tropical diseases we have to deal with out here every now and again. I don’t know if you’ve heard of the chikungunya virus?’
Jessie thought about it. ‘Isn’t it spread by the Asian tiger mosquito? It can cause some nasty, flu-like symptoms and a lot of joint pain but, as I understand it, so far there’s no cure.’
‘You’re right.’ Robert’s mouth curved. ‘You’ve obviously been reading up on it.’
‘Well, I thought I ought to do some research if I was going to come out here to work,’ she said quietly. ‘I hope there’s something we can do for the child?’
‘We’ll give her supportive treatment,’ José commented. There was a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. ‘It’s good that you’ve made an effort to get to grips with tropical medicine from the outset. Let’s go and see how she’s doing, shall we?’
‘Okay.’
Robert hurried away to go in search of his trauma patient while Jessie went with José to the paediatric treatment room, where a nurse was looking after the crying infant.
‘Perhaps you’d like to take the lead on this one?’ José suggested, and Jessie gave a cautious nod. This would be a testing time for her, and maybe he meant it to be that way. No matter that he was attracted to her, he was putting her through her paces to make sure he’d hired the right person for the job.
She’d heard of the virus, but she’d never treated anyone who had it, and certainly not a small child.
She spoke quietly to the child’s mother and then attempted to examine the little girl, conscious all the while of José looking on. The toddler was obviously poorly, breathing fast, feverish and irritable, and it took a while to persuade her to let her check her over. Jessie looked at her eyes and mouth, felt her glands and listened to her chest with the stethoscope.
‘She says her arms and legs hurt,’ the mother said, ‘even her hands … and she’s burning up. Her brother has the same virus, but he’s not ill like Marisha. She’s really tired, and short of breath.’
‘It can affect people in different ways,’ Jessie explained, pushing her stethoscope down into the pocket of her cotton jacket, ‘and Marisha does seem to have been unfortunate in her response. We can prescribe anti-inflammatory medication for the pain, though, and it should help to bring down her temperature.’ She turned to the nurse. ‘Would you set up an ECG, please? I’d like to see a printout of her heart rhythm.’
‘Yes, of course.’ The nurse quickly applied pads to Marisha’s chest and started the trace while Jessie took advantage of the distraction to take blood samples from the little girl.
José studied the printout with Jessie. ‘What’s the verdict?’ he asked in a low voice. He was assessing her, she was sure.
‘Her heart rate is too fast—we need to slow that down and that in turn should help slow down her breathing. I suspect the virus has inflamed her heart muscle, causing congestion, so I want to prescribe a cardiac glycoside to regulate the heartbeat, along with a diuretic to control her blood pressure. And she’ll need to have a low-sodium diet until she’s managed to fight off the virus. She needs to rest and build her strength, so with luck she won’t suffer any long-term effects.’
‘Excelente.’ José looked at her with renewed respect. ‘I’ll leave you to see to all that, then,’ he said. ‘She’s obviously in good hands.’ He started to walk away, but gave her a questioning glance. ‘Perhaps we should meet up at lunchtime in the hospital restaurant and you can tell me how things have been going? About one o’clock?’
It sounded like more of a request than a suggestion, and she nodded, watching as he left the room a moment or two later. It seemed she’d passed the test … and relief flowed through her.
‘How has the morning gone for you?’ Robert asked when she ventured into the upper-storey restaurant a couple of hours later. It was a little before one o’clock. He stood alongside her in the queue at the food counter, loading his tray with a dish of curry and rice, and adding a dessert of passion fruit.
‘Fairly well, on the whole, I think,’ she told him with a smile. ‘Amanda’s been helping me out by showing me where equipment is stored, and so on. José showed me a fair amount, but there were bound to be gaps.’
They found a table by a window and Jessie was overwhelmed by the stunning view. Beyond the rolling, green-clad hills away from the town, she glimpsed the glorious deep blue of the sea.
José came to join them after a minute or two. ‘I’m glad to see you’re eating a hearty meal,’ he said, looking with approval at Jessie’s chicken ragout. ‘You need to keep up your energy level in this job.’
He tucked into pork tenderloin with potatoes and root vegetables, listening as Robert and Jessie compared notes on the morning’s work and interjecting occasionally to add a comment.
‘How did you get on with our small patients?’ Robert asked. ‘I know you’ve had some experience in paediatrics.’
‘Oh, the children are lovely,’ she answered. ‘Even the little girl who pushed a bead up her nose and didn’t want to let me touch her.’
Robert chuckled. ‘That’s the only problem with treating youngsters—you need to get their cooperation or you’re stymied.’
‘I saw the girl who had the bead up her nose,’ José said. ‘I looked in on her as her mother was talking to the nurse. Her little brother pulled a pearl from the girl’s hair ornament and tried to copy what she had done. I managed to stop him in the nick of time.’
They chuckled, and the conversation turned to the wonderful view of the harbour and coastline. ‘Have you