The Italian Doctor

‘That with care, plus a lot of determination on your part, you will be back on your feet. It isn’t going to happen overnight nor will your hip ever be as good as it was when you were younger. As I explained, you’re suffering from osteoporosis, which means your bones are far more brittle than they used to be, so we are going to have to take that into account.

‘I’m going to replace the worn-out joint but you’re going to have to be very careful not to put too much pressure on it afterwards. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to regain your mobility, but I’m convinced that you’ll be able to get around unaided eventually,’ he stated firmly.

‘Then that’s good enough for me. Thank you.’ Alice’s eyes swam with tears of relief. ‘I know you’ll do your best and that’s all that matters. I was so afraid that nobody would bother, you see. You read all those dreadful stories in the newspapers and I thought that as I’m in my seventies everyone would think it was a waste of time and money to bother with me.’

‘No way!’ Luke’s tone was grim. Maggie was surprised by the vehemence it held. ‘Giving people the chance to lead a happy and pain-free life at whatever age isn’t something that can be counted in terms of dollars…or pounds.’ He gave the old lady’s hand a final squeeze. ‘I’ll see you in surgery in about an hour, Mrs Bradshaw. And that’s a date!’

He left the cubicle and Alice sighed softly. ‘I think I’ve been very lucky, don’t you, my dear? In fact, I’d say Dalverston is lucky to have a man like that working here. You don’t get many doctors like your Dr Fabrizzi.’

Maggie smiled but the word seemed to be buzzing inside her head. ‘Your Dr Fabrizzi…’

She took a deep breath when she realised that once again her mind was running off at tangents. Maybe there was an explanation for the way it had been behaving of late but she wasn’t going to waste any more time that day looking for one.

‘I’m sure you’re right,’ she said briskly as she straightened the old lady’s bed. ‘Now, try to have a little rest. One of the theatre staff will be up shortly to give you your pre-med.’

She moved away from the bed as the old lady closed her eyes, and glanced around the ward, automatically checking that everything was in order. The surgical ward was one of the busiest in the hospital and there was always something that needed doing.

Her eyes alighted on Luke, who had been waylaid by one of the male patients. The ward was a mixed one, although male and female patients were placed at opposite ends. Now Maggie watched with interest as he stopped to speak to David Garner, a young rugby player who’d been admitted the previous day with a shattered kneecap.

David was due for surgery that afternoon and was very worried about the after-effects of his operation and whether he would be able to play rugby again. Maggie couldn’t help wondering if Luke would have the same rapport with this patient as he’d had with Mrs Bradshaw. In her experience, men who got on well with women rarely related well to other men so it was interesting to observe what was happening.

A burst of laughter rang around the ward and she shook her head in amazement when she saw David Garner slap Luke’s hand in a high-five. To her mind, the two men shouldn’t have had a thing in common yet they looked as though they were the best of friends!

‘He certainly has a way with him, doesn’t he?’ Doreen paused on her way to fetch one of the patients a fresh jug of water. She gave Maggie a teasing look. ‘There’s a lot more to our Dr Fabrizzi than just a handsome face, isn’t there? Admit it, Maggie, he’s one heck of a doctor.’

‘I never said that he wasn’t!’ Maggie heard the snap in her voice and quickly moderated her tone. ‘It’s obvious that he’s highly skilled.’

‘But it’s going to take more than his expertise to win you over?’ Doreen shook her head. ‘I’ll give it a month and then I bet you’ll be as smitten as the rest of us, Maggie Carr. In fact, I’m so sure I’ll be proved right that I’m willing to put my hard-earned money on it. A fiver says that you’ll be a paid-up member of the Fabrizzi fan club by this time next month.’

‘You’re on!’ She shook Doreen’s hand to seal their bet. ‘A fiver will come in very handy, thank you. It will be easy money, too.’

The older nurse just laughed. ‘Oh, I don’t think so. It seems to me that our Luke has already got under your skin, Maggie. You could be in for a big surprise!’

Doreen went on her way, still smiling. Maggie rolled her eyes. Under her skin indeed? What rubbish!

Another burst of laughter had her gaze winging back down the ward and a shiver danced along her nerves. How could she explain the strange way she reacted around Luke? She could deny it until she was blue in the face but there was no doubt that she was unusually aware of him. Far too often in the past weeks she’d found her thoughts straying to him. Was it because they’d got off to such a bad start that she felt she had to be on her guard around him?

She sighed as she realised that she had no idea what the real answer was. She quickly headed for the office and a mound of paperwork that needed her attention. Maybe Doreen hadn’t been so far off track after all because it was obvious that Luke Fabrizzi was fast becoming a veritable thorn in her flesh!

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_d00240e0-c9cb-5afc-8d7d-1277d3b64bfb)

THE morning passed in fits and starts. There was the usual rush to get patients ready for Theatre, followed by a lull while they waited for them to be returned to the ward. Maggie completed her paperwork then decided that as there were three new admissions scheduled for that afternoon she would take an early lunch.

It was a trek to the bowels of the hospital where the makeshift canteen had been set up, and once there the surroundings left a lot to be desired. Maggie stared glumly at the sage-green-painted walls and murky brown ceiling. ‘Not very cheering, is it? Roll on when they get the renovations finished.’

‘Amen to that!’ Rachel Hart, a sister on Children’s Medical, picked up a plate of limp-looking sandwiches and stared despondently at it. ‘If this is the best we have to look forward to for the next six months then heaven help us!’

She plonked the sandwiches on her tray as Maggie laughed. ‘It should be good for our figures if nothing else. We certainly won’t be rushing back for second helpings.’

She selected a plate of the uninspiring sandwiches for herself, added a cup of tea to her tray, then followed Rachel to a table in the corner once they’d paid for their meals. There were quite a lot of staff taking early lunches and the sound of their voices echoed in the cavernous room.

‘What a din!’ She winced as she drew out a chair from the table and its legs made a horrible screeching noise as they dragged across the concrete floor. ‘Oops, sorry.’

Rachel carefully eased out a chair and sat down. ‘You’d think they could have come up with something better than this, wouldn’t you? It’s an absolute disgrace. I am seriously thinking about having a word with our union rep about it.’

Maggie shrugged, although she couldn’t help thinking that it wasn’t like Rachel to complain. She was normally such a positive person and made the best of any situation. ‘I suppose it was all the management could think of in the circumstances. It can’t be easy, fitting everything around the refurbishment programme.’

‘I suppose not. Sorry, I didn’t mean to moan.’ Rachel grimaced. ‘I feel a bit down in the dumps at the moment so everything seems to be getting on top of me.’

‘Any particular reason for it?’ Maggie queried, taking a bite of her sandwich and discovering that, thankfully, it tasted better than it looked.

‘Oh, you know…this and that,’ Rachel replied noncommittally. She picked up her cup then abruptly put it back on the saucer. ‘Can I ask you something, Maggie? In confidence, I mean.’

‘Of course. Fire away.’ Maggie frowned, wondering what her friend wanted to ask her. She and Rachel had become friends during their training when they’d worked together on the children’s ward, and it bothered her to see the other woman looking so downcast.

‘Has Luke mentioned anything about Tom?’ Rachel coloured when Maggie looked at her in surprise. ‘I thought he might have said something in passing about how Tom is getting on.’

She tailed off uncertainly and Maggie stifled a sigh. Rachel had been dating Tom Hartley before he’d flown to Boston on the exchange scheme. Although she didn’t know what had gone on between him and Rachel, she’d always suspected that her friend had been very fond of the young surgical registrar. However, there was little she could tell Rachel for a number of reasons which she thought it best not to go into. To admit that she and Luke hadn’t held a single civilised conversation in the whole two weeks he’d been at Dalverston General wasn’t something she wanted to admit to anyone, least of all Rachel, who would be bound to ask questions.

‘I’m afraid not,’ she replied evasively. ‘Tom’s name hasn’t cropped up, but you could always ask Luke yourself, couldn’t you? Maybe he knows where Tom is staying while he’s in Boston so you could write to him.’

Rachel shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think so.’

She quickly changed the subject by telling Maggie about the pop concert she’d been to the previous weekend with her niece. Maggie didn’t try to pursue the subject but she couldn’t help feeling guilty that she hadn’t been able to help. It made her realise how bad the situation really was between her and Luke, and that worried her. She didn’t like the idea of being so much at odds with someone she worked with.

The thought lingered at the back of her mind after she and Rachel had parted company to return to their respective wards. One of the afternoon admissions had arrived early so Maggie went to get her settled in while Angela and Doreen went for lunch.

The patient’s name was Lauren Atkins, a nineteen-year-old ballet dancer. She’d sprained her ankle very badly during rehearsals the previous day. Subsequent investigations had shown that the ligaments were torn and would need to be surgically repaired. Lauren was accompanied by her mother and it took only a few minutes for Maggie to realise that she was going to need a lot of tact and patience to deal with the older woman.

‘If I’d had my way Lauren wouldn’t be here!’ Gloria Atkins glared at Maggie as though it was her fault her daughter had needed to be admitted to hospital. ‘Lauren should be treated privately, not by the NHS. It’s her whole future at stake here, everything we’ve worked so hard for. I don’t want just anyone operating on her ankle!’

‘Mum—please!’ Lauren implored, looking embarrassed. Maggie gave her a reassuring smile. It wasn’t the first time she’d encountered this sort of attitude neither would it be the last. A lot of people were under the illusion that paying for treatment ensured they would receive better care. They seemed to overlook the fact that it was often the same surgeons who operated on both private and NHS patients.

‘I assure you that Lauren will receive the very best treatment possible, Mrs Atkins. The surgeons here are some of the best in Britain.’

‘Hmm, I have my doubts about that. Not that I’m reassured, of course.’ Gloria refused to be mollified. ‘Everyone knows that the really innovative medicine comes from the States. If I’d had my way then Lauren would have been on the first flight over there this morning. However, her father took the decision to let her come here.’

Maggie felt her hackles rise. However, a glance at Lauren’s miserable face was enough to make her swallow her sharp retort. The poor girl must be worried enough, without having to listen to that sort of nonsense.

‘How long have you been dancing, Lauren?’ she asked instead, helping the girl onto the bed and ignoring her mother.

‘Oh, years. Since I was three or four.’ Lauren grimaced. ‘I must be mad, mustn’t I?’

Maggie smiled although she’d heard the faintly resentful note in the teenager’s voice. ‘You must be dedicated. I know how gruelling ballet dancing can be and how much work you must have put in to reach your present standard.’

‘She has a natural talent. Everyone says so.’ Gloria leaned over and fussed with her daughter’s hair. ‘She takes after me, you see. I was a ballet dancer, although I never had the advantages Lauren has had.’

Maggie didn’t say anything. She had seen the shadow that had crossed Lauren’s face and couldn’t help wondering if the girl believed that she’d been so lucky. Had Lauren been pushed by her mother into choosing ballet as her career? It seemed a distinct possibility.