missing his receptionist’s presence; her just being here brought life to the house. He discovered he liked her welcoming him back with a hot cup of tea, asking him as she always did, ‘How did the round go this morning … this afternoon … then, Doc?’ To which he would always reply in his curt manner, ‘Fine, thank you.’
It still managed to infuriate him that she insisted on addressing him as ‘Doc’, no matter how much he reprimanded her. He had every right to dismiss her for such patent lack of respect towards him … but, more and more, he was beginning to realise that he actually liked her more informal way of addressing him.
So far as her work went she hadn’t given him any reason to regret employing her. She seemed to be getting on with sorting the record cards, albeit it was taking her an age. Though, in fairness, it wasn’t exactly a straightforward job, there being over five thousand records for her to work her way through, and many for current patients that needed to be found quickly should they call in for a consultation. He’d be glad, though, when she’d finished it and be free to take more of the mundane jobs off his shoulders, such as the resharpening of the needles and instruments on the honing block and sterilising them by boiling; ordering the drugs, doing the accounts … how he detested that time-consuming job! He wouldn’t hand that over completely to her as what he ultimately earned was a private matter, but much of the preliminary work could be done by her.
The patients seemed to like her, judging by the favourable comments he had received from several of them during their visits. She did, though, irritate him with her endless questions whenever he asked her to do something she hadn’t done before, extracting every minute detail from him on just how he wanted the job doing in a way he felt an experienced clerical person like her shouldn’t need to. But he passed this off as her making sure she did exactly what he was expecting of her, so that there were no mistakes on her part. And he did prefer her to do that as mistakes could cost lives in his profession.
He became aware of the deathly silence again; that overwhelming sense of loneliness reinvaded him. For a fleeting moment he wished for nothing more in the world than Aidy to appear; her presence, her zest for life, to lift his gloom. He gave himself a mental shake. Now and again he was bound to feel lonely, bound to crave the company of other human beings, but it was the price he had to pay in order not to put himself in danger again.
Very conscious that he was already late on making a start on his afternoon round, he hurried into the kitchen to put together a sandwich to wolf down while he replenished items in his medical bag. Once there he stopped short, spotting that the plate and cup he’d used for breakfast and left in the sink to see to later had been washed and put away. On the kitchen table was a plate covered by another and a cup with a saucer over it. Curiously, he stepped over to look under the plate. He found a very appetising-looking cheese and pickle sandwich. Under a saucer, in an effort to keep it hot, was a cup of tea.
As time had worn on and he had still not returned, Aidy had obviously realised his round was taking him much longer than usual. Knowing he would not have time to prepare himself lunch before he’d need to depart on his afternoon round, she had taken it upon herself to prepare something for him. It was indeed both thoughtful and efficient of her. He was very appreciative of her gesture but wouldn’t express it to her, of course. For Ty, any relationship with a woman from now on would be kept strictly on a business footing.
At just after three o’clock that afternoon, basket of provisions for that day sitting at her feet, Aidy scanned her eyes over the children leaving school. They were mostly shabby and ragged-looking, a few with no shoes on their feet, spilling out of the school entrance and swarming across the playground to join their equally shabby mothers or else making their own way home with friends. There was no sign of any of her siblings. She hoped none of