when Nonna had told her all about the village that she had grown up in. The reminiscent ones when Nonna had spoken about falling in love and the parties and dancing. The sad ones—leaving Italy and the death of her husband, Candy’s nonno. Candy had been comfortable too with the silent mornings, when Nonna had just eaten quietly, lost in a world of her own, as Macey was now.
‘Do you want a bedpan?’ Candy offered Macey when the milk was gone.
‘I’ll go …’ Macey sighed and pulled back the bed covers.
Glad to see that she was making the effort to get out of bed, Candy helped her with her slippers and got Macey her walking frame and they walked over to the bathroom.
Candy waited outside and when Macey came to wash her hands Candy sorted the taps and squeezed the soap for her. Macey washed her hands very thoroughly. Her nail varnish was chipped and Candy watched her examine her nails for a moment, clearly less than impressed with the state of her hands.
‘I’ll sort your nails out for you on Sunday,’ Candy offered, and then took Macey back to her bedside, where she asked her to sit for a moment. ‘Sit there and let me make it up all nice and fresh for you to get into.’
Candy made the bed so nicely that she wanted to climb in it herself. ‘You’d better get in quickly or I will.’
‘You look tired,’ Macey said, and Candy smiled at the first invitation to conversation.
‘I am, though I shouldn’t be,’ Candy said. ‘I slept all afternoon.’
She got the older woman into bed, put up the bed rails and tied the call bell to the side. ‘Press it if you need anything,’ Candy said. ‘I hope you have a lovely sleep.’
Candy sorted out her other patients and, by one a.m., when Abigail asked if she’d mind taking the first break, Candy was more than ready for an hour to rest. It would seem she wasn’t the only one who needed a doze, because when she walked into the break room there was Steele, asleep on a sofa with the television on in the background.
‘Aloha,’ he said sleepily, when Candy disturbed him as she took a seat.
‘Aloha.’ Candy smiled. ‘How come you’re still here?’
‘I’m waiting for some relatives to come in for Mrs Douglas.’
Candy remembered from handover that Mrs Douglas wasn’t expected to make it through the night.
‘How long is it now till your holiday?’ Steele asked.
‘Three weeks,’ Candy said, and set her phone alarm for an hour’s time. She saw the date and that it was now Saturday morning. ‘Actually, just under three weeks. I fly on a Friday night.’
‘Are you working right up till then?’
Candy nodded and then yawned at the very thought. ‘I almost go from here to the airport.’
‘Is it just you going?’
‘Yep.’
‘I thought Hawaii was more a couples’ destination,’ Steele said, fishing shamelessly.
‘I think you may be right but I saw an advert and I couldn’t resist,’ Candy admitted and nodded to the television, where an infomercial for knives was showing. ‘It was a limited offer, with a huge discount for the first ten to call … I fall for it every time’
‘Yep.’ Steele nodded. ‘And me. I bought the juicer, the chopper and some blender thing until I finally worked out that nothing is going to make me like vegetables.’
‘It’s one of the perils of working nights,’ Candy agreed. ‘What looks appealing at two a.m. seems stupid when the parcel arrives. Anyway, I saw the advert for the holiday when I was feeling particularly miserable. It looked absolutely beautiful and I really needed to get away …’
‘How come?’
‘Lots of things really.’
‘Such as?’
Candy hesitated. She hadn’t really spoken to anyone about the fact she was considering leaving. She glanced at Steele and realised that by the time she got back from Hawaii he’d be gone, so it really made no difference. ‘I’m not sure if I still want to work in Emergency.’
‘It must be a pretty stressful job.’
‘It is at times.’ Candy nodded. ‘Though it’s not just that. I made a mistake couple of months back.’ She didn’t elaborate; instead, she lay down on the sofa, determined to squeeze in some sleep during her break.
‘A professional mistake?’ Steele probed, and Candy let out a small laugh at his very direct question.
‘No, it was a personal one.’
‘Do tell.’
‘No way.’
‘So there are two things I have to find out about you now,’ Steele teased. ‘The story behind your name and the mistake that Nurse Candy made.’
‘You can try, but it won’t get you anywhere,’ Candy said, and closed her eyes. ‘I’m going to have a little rest.’
‘Hopefully you talk in your sleep.’
She smiled with her eyes closed and was mildly surprised when after a moment or so Steele continued to speak.
‘We all make mistakes, Candy,’ he said. His lovely deep voice was soothing and broke into her semi-doze. ‘If I’ve learnt one thing in this job, it’s that everyone makes so-called mistakes and also that everyone wastes way too much time regretting them.’
She opened her eyes and looked at him. ‘You really do like your job,’ Candy said, and it wasn’t a question, more an observation, and Steele nodded.
‘I really do.’
Yes, she should sleep and her aching body might regret it later but she chose to forgo the full hour of sleep just to find out a little more about him. She lay there and peeked over to Steele, who was still looking at her.
‘Did you always want to work in geriatrics?’
‘Not really,’ Steele said. ‘It sort of found me, I guess. I was pretty much raised by my grandmother …’
‘Are your parents …?’ Her voice trailed off and Steele grinned.
‘They’re not dead.’
‘Good.’
‘My parents are both doctors and were very serious about their careers. I was a late accident. I don’t think they ever really wanted to have children. My mother was a top thoracic surgeon—which means she had balls.’
Candy laughed.
‘My grandmother looked after me till I went to boarding school and in the holidays I stayed with her.’ He saw her frown. ‘My parents are good people. They were just very, very focused. Anyway, when I went to my grandmother’s for Easter one year, she was very confused. Just completely off the wall. I rang my mother and she pretty much would have had her shipped off to a nursing home that day.’
‘Really?’ Candy said.
‘Really!’ Steele nodded. ‘But the GP came and it turned out all she had was a urine infection. He explained the confusion it could cause in the elderly. Anyway, two days later she was completely back to herself. It just stayed with me, I guess.’
‘My nonna lived with us.’ Candy yawned. ‘I think my mother thinks she’ll be living with me …’
‘Did your mother work?’ Steele asked, and Candy shook her head. ‘You do, though. You have a career.’
Candy looked at him. Right there, right then, she felt as if he knew the wrestle in her heart because though she loved her parents they clashed a lot as Candy struggled to be independent when they didn’t want her to be.