Sue MacKay - You, Me and a Family

He accompanied the woman to Tommy’s room where he spent time checking the boy over again. Finally he stepped back and left Carla gripping Tommy’s hand and talking soothing mother things while watching her precious son as though he was about to vaporise into thin air.

His heart stuttered. Sophia’s mother had never been there for her child. Too busy having a good time to want to be tied down by her daughter. How the hell had she not loved sweet, lovable Sophia? What he wouldn’t do to tell Lucy exactly what he thought of her.

As a father he connected with Carla’s emotions. The two times Sophia had been severely ill he’d taken her hands in his and hung on for dear life, willing his own life source into her, urging her to come back to him. It had drained him completely, taken days to recover from, but he was her father and fathers gave their all to their bambinos. So should all mothers.

‘Have you got time to join me on the ward round?’ Alexandra spoke quietly from beside him. ‘Or do you want to stay with those two a while longer? I don’t mind waiting if you do.’

When he turned his head and looked down he met the direct but empathetic gaze of this enigmatic woman. ‘They don’t need me at the moment. Probably better off having time alone. Let’s go over patient notes in Kay’s cubbyhole she proudly calls her office. I’ll bring you up to speed.’

‘Right.’

Right. That’s it? Did that mean she was accepting his presence? Did she realise he’d been doing her job while she was away? Not to mention filling in for Liz. ‘Right,’ he snapped back, suddenly tired of this, wanting to clear the air between them now, not after they’d completed their round. But the interns were waiting, grouped around the nurses’ station, reading notes, and pestering the nurses. His teeth ground on a curse. He’d have to wait.

At Kay’s door he stood back to allow Alexandra to enter first, and as she passed he drew a lungful of sweet spring air that reminded him of freesias. On a freezing winter’s day? What was wrong with him? It was as though his brain had gone to hell in a wheelbarrow, leaving him delusional. It certainly wasn’t because he was attracted to this woman. Absolutely not. He liked his women pliable and fun, not to mention tall and blonde. Fun especially didn’t seem to fit Alexandra. Maybe he could show her some? Bah! Dumb idea. Perturbed at the direction his thoughts were heading he studied Alexandra from behind.

The shapeless white coat did not enhance her figure, but neither did it detract from her attributes. Her slim neck and cute ears poking from above the crinkled white collar appeared delicate. Nothing like the real Miss Prendergast at all.

‘Hi, Mario. How’s Sophia this morning?’ Kay grinned at him.

‘As quiet and good as ever.’ Sadness struck as he thought of his daughter and her fear of doing something naughty. At times he almost wished she’d throw a tantrum or refuse to do what he asked of her, instead of her quiet sobs in the night and her need to behave perfectly so no one would growl at her. It wasn’t normal to be so good. He’d probably never know everything that had happened to her before he’d come into her life. And for now it was more important to help her overcome the past, not make an issue of it. The only way he knew how to do that was to provide stability and loads of unconditional love, things she’d never experienced in her short and sad life.

‘I found some of my boys’ books and brought them in for Sophia. I hope they’re not too young for her but I was thinking that as she’s learning to read they’d be a good place to start.’

‘I’m sure Sophia will enjoy them. She loves all sorts of books. Just like her dad.’ His chest swelled, while at the same time he squashed a pang of annoyance. It was his place to provide everything Sophia needed. If he just had the time to go shopping.

Alexandra’s eyes were flicking back and forth between him and Kay, puzzlement darkening the green to the colour of pine needles. ‘Sophia’s my daughter,’ he informed her. Maybe telling her something personal would soften her attitude towards him. ‘She’s four years old.’

‘She’s gorgeous,’ added Kay, making his heart swell more.

‘Of course she’s gorgeous.’ She’s mine .

Alexandra’s eyes widened but she only said, ‘Let’s take a look at the patient files, shall we?’

‘Sì.’ Antagonising this woman wouldn’t help anyone, least of all him. He had no intention of finding another specialist position in another city. Nelson was where he belonged, where Sophia now belonged. They were here to stay—forever.

So buying a ticket to Mars was not an option, even if, at this very moment with Alexandra eyeing him up like something the cat had dragged in, all that isolation seemed like bliss.

As Kay handed Alexandra the first file she said in an aside to him, ‘I also brought in a chicken casserole for you to take home tonight. I made far too much for us to get through.’

‘You’re as transparent as glass.’ Mario smiled. ‘Thank you, but I really wish you wouldn’t. I do cook for Sophia every day.’ No need to admit that more often than not he heated up something from the freezer, or that often by the time he did have food ready Sophia had fallen asleep on the sofa in front of the TV.

‘Just helping you out.’ Kay winked, totally unperturbed by his annoyed tone. ‘Don’t forget to take the dinner home this time.’

Oops. So she’d noticed that the last meal sat in the staff fridge for days before he remembered it was there. Contrite, he smiled. ‘I promise I won’t.’ Quickly scrawling a word on the palm of his hand he shoved his pen back into his pocket and looked up, straight into the amused look on Alexandra’s face.

‘You don’t write memos on your hand?’ he asked.

‘No, I don’t. I have an excellent memory.’

‘Unfortunately.’ Kay grinned. ‘There are times when we all wish you could forget what you’ve told us to do.’

Startled, Alexandra looked away from this annoying man to gawp at Kay. ‘Am I that much of a taskmaster?’

The nurse rolled her eyes and widened her grin. ‘The only thing missing is the whip.’

Kay was teasing. Right? A little? What if the staff did think she went too far with her demands of them? ‘I can be difficult at times, yes, but I’m only thinking of my patients. I’m not a tyrant. Am I?’ She’d been away too long. This was where she faced the world from, wrapping the ward and its inhabitants around her like a security blanket. Now worry gnawed at her. Because she’d found everyone falling over backwards to please Mr Forelli?

Kay chuckled. ‘Your little patients adore you, their parents trust you and we all like working here. There, satisfied?’

Mario cleared his throat. ‘The patient files?’

The files. Her head jerked up, turning in the direction of that voice that reminded her of red wine and crackers by the fire. Mario Forelli. To be going off on a self-pity tangent was so unlike her. She was tired, and the dregs of her headache still knocked at her skull, but they weren’t good enough reasons for this ridiculous behaviour.

Kay tapped her shoulder. ‘You’re doing it again, going all pale on me.’

‘Here.’ Warm, strong fingers gripped her elbow, directed her to a chair. ‘Take a seat. You must still be jet-lagged. It’s a long flight from Los Angeles.’ That voice was a balm to her stressed mind, tense muscles.

It also undermined her position as boss. But it was too late to argue. She already sat on the proffered chair. How had she got there so quickly, so effortlessly? Mario Forelli. That’s how.

‘Thank you. I’m fine, really.’ But she stayed seated and reached for the first file. ‘Tell me about Gemma Lewis.’

‘Gemma has spina bifida. Her family moved here nearly a year ago. Her father is a district court judge. When Gemma required surgery to realign her knees they came to see me rather than return to Wellington.’ Forelli’s confidence came through loud and clear.

Listening to Forelli explain the surgery he’d performed Alex tried to still the niggling sense of standing on the edge of a precipice. Of falling into a deep chasm she might never find her way back from. Who was Mario? Other than a paediatrician. In no time at all and with no knowledge of the man her thought processes had been hijacked in a totally distracting way. Not a good place to be. Especially, since he had a child, there was obviously a wife. Or a partner.

Or was he a widower? A million questions zapped around her skull, cranking up the throbbing behind her eyes. She should’ve taken a day at home to fully recover from her trip before facing all these changes.

‘Anything you want to ask me about Gemma, Miss Prendergast?’ Mario’s voice cut through her confusion, and focused her on the job.

‘I take it that you’re a paediatric surgeon, Mr Forelli.’

His mouth tightened, and she waited for an angry retort.

He didn’t disappoint. ‘I am, yes. Which is why Judge Lewis was comfortable with letting me look after his daughter.’

‘I see.’ He hadn’t really told her anything but this wasn’t the right arena to be asking with other staff hanging on to his every word like he was a god.

‘The next file is Tommy Jenkins’s. You know about him so we’ll move on.’ He lifted the third file from her fingers. ‘Amelia Saunders, ten years old, contracted dengue fever while on holiday in Fiji. Her liver took a pounding but with drugs her LFTs are slowly returning to normal and she’s starting to feel a little better. I’m thinking of letting her go home by the end of the week.’ The file slapped down on top of Tommy’s and another one was tugged from her light grip. ‘Andrew Frost. Fractured femur after falling off a horse.’ On and on went Mr Forelli. Completely in control. He answered all her questions without hesitation or referring to the patient notes. He knew his stuff. Very impressive.

Finally he said, ‘Let’s go and see these patients.’

‘Of course.’ Why was he in such a hurry? Did he want to get the upcoming conversation in her office done and dusted as much as she did? She pushed out of her chair. ‘If you’d like to accompany me, Mr Forelli.’ And she led the way out the door as Kay’s phone rang.

‘I’ll be right with you,’ Kay called after them.

Mario squashed down his annoyance with her. ‘Can’t you start by calling me Mario?’ He gave her a charming grin that defied her to disagree. ‘Everyone else does.’

‘I think you’ll find I’m not everyone else,’ she retorted, her proud eyes little warmer than a glacier.

‘How true.’ He huffed an annoyed breath. ‘You’re head of paediatrics with a reputation that’s the envy of all your peers.’ He stopped and leaned oh-so-nonchalantly against the closed doors of the lift access, easing another wide smile across his mouth as he assessed her. Again. What was wrong with him today? Taking all this time to suss out a woman? A woman who clearly didn’t want him here. Sure, he was tired after a sleepless night with Sophia but that was nothing new.

Then his mouth got further carried away with, ‘You dress superbly.’ Any woman would kill for that perfectly fitted navy blue suit and soft draping white blouse.

‘Thank you.’ Alexandra’s tone was still sharp but her eyes were warming. Just.

He started walking. ‘How long have you been working in Nelson?’ Where do you live? Who do you live with?

‘Three years.’

‘And before that?’ Have you got bambinos running around somewhere? Though if you do, then why aren’t you at home with them? And why did he want to know these things? This was his boss. Her private life was of no interest to him whatsoever. Just being friendly. And testing the temperature .