What if he snapped at her for disturbing him?
But he didn’t.
He simply said ‘I’ll be right there,’ and replaced the phone before she could respond.
‘You’re brave,’ Kelly muttered. ‘Girlfriend’s prerogative, I suppose.’
‘I’m not his girlfriend.’ What was she? She didn’t know. She was having his baby and soon everyone would know that, but…
Ella pushed the problem out of her mind. ‘Send him to me when he arrives. I have a toddler with abdominal pain that I’m worried about.’
She returned to the cubicle to find the mother reading quietly to Harry.
Ella checked the child’s temperature again. ‘I’ve spoken to the consultant. He’s on his way.’
‘Will he yell at me?’ Carol was looking anxious. ‘I wish I hadn’t come now. Harry hasn’t cried or anything since you left the room. He looks fine, which is great, obviously but now I’m feeling like a fraud.’
‘Why would you feel like a fraud?’ Nikos strode into the room and Ella felt her heart flip as it always did whenever she saw him.
What had he done with the diamond ring?
His brief searing glance told her that they had unfinished business and her insides were suddenly caught in a turbulence that left her breathless.
‘Sorry to disturb your meeting. This is Harry,’ she said quickly, relieved that they had something else to focus onother than their relationship. ‘He’s been suffering from abdominal pain for two days, and Carol feels like a fraud because she has already seen the GP.’
Nikos washed his hands. ‘And his diagnosis was…?’
Carol flushed. ‘Tummy bug. He said only time would help. He also told me that I had to relax a bit about parenting and that I was overreacting. And maybe I am, but—’
‘What is it about Harry that is making you uneasy?’ Nikos’s tone was gentle as he squatted down so that he was the same level as the child. ‘Is it anything specific or just a feeling?’
‘He’s been having these screaming fits that last a few minutes and then…’ Carol shrugged helplessly. ‘The GP said they were probably just tantrums, but he looks as though he’s in pain to me. He just isn’t himself. Normally he’s cheeky, lively and into everything. Now it’s as if he just doesn’t have the energy.’
‘Give me details, from the beginning.’
‘Well, he had a bit of a cold—I didn’t really think anything of it to be honest, and then he started holding his stomach and moaning that it hurt. It seemed to only last a few minutes and then it would go and he carried on as if nothing had happened.’
Nikos questioned her about the child, and about the consultation she’d had with her own doctor.
‘Did he examine Harry’s stomach?’
‘No. He said it was just a virus and that I should have waited until after the weekend to bring him back.’ Carol’s eyes filled again. ‘So I took Harry home, but he looked so awful and all morning he’s been getting worse. I didn’t know what to do so I just thought I’d bring him here. I know you probably want to yell at me too…’
As if on cue, another toddler in the waiting room started to cry and Nikos winced.
‘As you can hear, it’s the children that do the yelling in this department.’ His tone dry, he rose to his feet and closed the door of the cubicle. ‘I want to examine Harry properly, Carol. Can you lift him onto the trolley for me? Ella, do we have any toys? Something to distract him?’ His smile was disarming. ‘Normally I have toys, but I have just come from a meeting with the hospital manager and I have never yet persuaded them to take play seriously.’
Ella fished a different car out of the box and then tried a puppet, but in the end no distraction was needed because Harry lay quietly on the trolley while Nikos gently examined his stomach. Watching his skilled, confident hands move gently over the toddler’s tiny body, Ella felt some of the tension leave her. She had no doubt whatsoever that he’d be able to
But he didn’t.
He simply said ‘I’ll be right there,’ and replaced the phone before she could respond.
‘You’re brave,’ Kelly muttered. ‘Girlfriend’s prerogative, I suppose.’
‘I’m not his girlfriend.’ What was she? She didn’t know. She was having his baby and soon everyone would know that, but…
Ella pushed the problem out of her mind. ‘Send him to me when he arrives. I have a toddler with abdominal pain that I’m worried about.’
She returned to the cubicle to find the mother reading quietly to Harry.
Ella checked the child’s temperature again. ‘I’ve spoken to the consultant. He’s on his way.’
‘Will he yell at me?’ Carol was looking anxious. ‘I wish I hadn’t come now. Harry hasn’t cried or anything since you left the room. He looks fine, which is great, obviously but now I’m feeling like a fraud.’
‘Why would you feel like a fraud?’ Nikos strode into the room and Ella felt her heart flip as it always did whenever she saw him.
What had he done with the diamond ring?
His brief searing glance told her that they had unfinished business and her insides were suddenly caught in a turbulence that left her breathless.
‘Sorry to disturb your meeting. This is Harry,’ she said quickly, relieved that they had something else to focus onother than their relationship. ‘He’s been suffering from abdominal pain for two days, and Carol feels like a fraud because she has already seen the GP.’
Nikos washed his hands. ‘And his diagnosis was…?’
Carol flushed. ‘Tummy bug. He said only time would help. He also told me that I had to relax a bit about parenting and that I was overreacting. And maybe I am, but—’
‘What is it about Harry that is making you uneasy?’ Nikos’s tone was gentle as he squatted down so that he was the same level as the child. ‘Is it anything specific or just a feeling?’
‘He’s been having these screaming fits that last a few minutes and then…’ Carol shrugged helplessly. ‘The GP said they were probably just tantrums, but he looks as though he’s in pain to me. He just isn’t himself. Normally he’s cheeky, lively and into everything. Now it’s as if he just doesn’t have the energy.’
‘Give me details, from the beginning.’
‘Well, he had a bit of a cold—I didn’t really think anything of it to be honest, and then he started holding his stomach and moaning that it hurt. It seemed to only last a few minutes and then it would go and he carried on as if nothing had happened.’
Nikos questioned her about the child, and about the consultation she’d had with her own doctor.
‘Did he examine Harry’s stomach?’
‘No. He said it was just a virus and that I should have waited until after the weekend to bring him back.’ Carol’s eyes filled again. ‘So I took Harry home, but he looked so awful and all morning he’s been getting worse. I didn’t know what to do so I just thought I’d bring him here. I know you probably want to yell at me too…’
As if on cue, another toddler in the waiting room started to cry and Nikos winced.
‘As you can hear, it’s the children that do the yelling in this department.’ His tone dry, he rose to his feet and closed the door of the cubicle. ‘I want to examine Harry properly, Carol. Can you lift him onto the trolley for me? Ella, do we have any toys? Something to distract him?’ His smile was disarming. ‘Normally I have toys, but I have just come from a meeting with the hospital manager and I have never yet persuaded them to take play seriously.’
Ella fished a different car out of the box and then tried a puppet, but in the end no distraction was needed because Harry lay quietly on the trolley while Nikos gently examined his stomach. Watching his skilled, confident hands move gently over the toddler’s tiny body, Ella felt some of the tension leave her. She had no doubt whatsoever that he’d be able to
Similar Books
