Just One Night?

‘I shan’t,’ Alessi tartly replied. ‘Sometimes you have to just suffer through these things.’

The lunch that Alessi was speaking about was due to the fact that he was soon to be receiving an award in recognition of his contributions to the neonatal unit over the past year. There was a huge fundraising ball being held in a couple of weeks’ time and Charles Delamere was attempting to push Alessi towards the charitable side of things—hence the lunch today, where it would be strongly suggested that Alessi, with his good looks and easy smile, might be a more visible presence. While Alessi knew how essential fundraising was and felt proud to have his achievements acknowledged, a part of him resented having to walk the talk. He’d far rather be getting on with the job than appearing on breakfast television to speak about the neonatal unit, as Charles had recently suggested.

Alessi chatted for a moment more with Sean but, during that brief exchange with Isla, he had noted the puffiness around her eyes and had guessed, rightly, that she had been crying. He was wrong about the reason, though. Alessi assumed Isla’s tears were because of the weekend reports about her boyfriend’s philandering. Even if she was upset there was still plenty of the ice-cold Isla, Alessi thought as she stood there. Her stance was bored and dismissive and she didn’t even deign to give him a glance as he headed off to examine the infant.

Isla was anything but bored, though. Seemingly together, she was shaking inside as Alessi walked off because she knew that Sean was going to ask her about Isabel.

‘How was this morning?’ Sean asked.

‘Fine.’

‘Isabel got off okay?’

‘She just texted to say that she’s boarding.’ Isla nodded and then did her best to change the subject. ‘What did you want to speak with me about?’

‘Just that,’ Sean answered. ‘Isla, my working here didn’t have any part in her decision—’

‘Sean, Isabel was offered a year’s secondment in England. Who wouldn’t give their right arm for that?’

‘It just—’

‘I’m too busy to stand here, chatting,’ Isla said, and walked off.

Yes, she could be aloof at times but it was surely better to be thought of as that than to stand discussing Isabel’s leaving with Sean.

Isla went to the store cupboard and got some samples of condoms. She put them in a bag and then headed in to speak with Christine, who was there with Blake, her boyfriend, who was also eighteen. Little Joel, their older baby, was also there.

Isla was usually incredibly comfortable approaching such subjects with her patients. She discussed contraception many times a day both on the ward and in the postnatal clinic but when she walked behind the curtains, where Christine was nursing her baby, she also saw Alessi’s shoes gleaming beneath the other side of the curtains. That he was examining the baby in the next bed to Christine made Isla feel just a little bit self-conscious.

‘Hi, there, Christine.’ Isla smiled. ‘Hi, Blake. I hear that you’re all going home this morning?’

‘I can’t wait to get him home,’ Christine said, and gazed down at Robbie. He was latched onto Christine’s breast, beautifully and happily feeding away.

‘You’re doing so well,’ Isla commented. ‘You’re still feeding Joel, aren’t you?’

‘Just at night,’ Christine replied, ‘though he’s jealous and wants me all the time now, too.’

Isla glanced over at Joel, who was staring at his new brother with a very put-out look on his face. Christine really was an amazing mum, but Isla could well understand Sean’s concern and why he was asking her to reiterate what he had said. Christine was incredibly pale and breastfeeding a newborn and a ten-month-old would certainly take its toll. ‘I wanted to have a word with you about contraception—’

‘Oh, we’ve already been spoken to about that,’ Christine interrupted. ‘The midwife said something this morning and Dr Sean has been in, so you really don’t need to explain things again.’

‘I do.’

‘I’ll leave you to it, then.’ Blake went to stand but Isla shook her head.

‘Oh, no.’ Isla smiled as Blake reluctantly sat down. ‘I want to speak with both of you. As you know, the IUD insertion didn’t work. That happens sometimes, but now it’s better that the doctor waits for your six-week checkup to put another in.’

‘Dr Sean has explained that,’ Christine sighed.

‘You do know that you can’t rely on breastfeeding as a form of contraception,’ Isla gently reminded them, and Christine started to laugh as she looked down at Robbie.

‘I know that now—given that I’m holding the proof.’

‘And you understand that you can’t take the Pill because of your history of blood clots,’ Isla continued as Christine vaguely smiled and nodded. She really wasn’t taking any of this in. ‘You need to use condoms every time, or not have intercourse …’

‘There’s always the morning-after pill,’ Christine said, and Isla shook her head. Privately she didn’t like the morning-after pill, unless it was after an episode of abuse, not that she would ever push her own beliefs onto her patients. It was the fact that Christine had a history of blood clots that ruled it out for her and Isla told her so. ‘You need to be careful—’ Isla started, but Christine interrupted again.

‘I’m not waiting six weeks and he …’ she nodded her head in Blake’s direction ‘… certainly can’t wait that long.’

‘I’m not asking you both to wait till then,’ Isla said patiently. ‘Though you don’t have to have penetrative sex, there are other things you can do.’ Christine just rolled her eyes and Isla ploughed on. ‘If you are going to have sex before the IUD is put in then you are to use condoms each and every time.’ She looked at Blake. ‘That’s why I asked to speak to you, too.’