The Sicilian Doctor's Proposal

‘You’ll hate London.’

‘Actually, I find London unbelievably exciting,’ David confessed. ‘I love the craziness of it all, the crowds of people all intent on getting somewhere yesterday, no one interested in the person next to them—’ He broke off with an apologetic wave of his hand. ‘I’m getting carried away. But don’t you ever feel trapped here, Alice? Don’t you ever wish you could do something in this village without the whole place knowing?’

Alice sat back in her chair and studied him carefully. She’d never known David so emotional. ‘No,’ she said quietly. ‘I like knowing people and I like people knowing me. It helps when it comes to understanding their medical needs. They’re our responsibility and I take that seriously.’

It was what had drawn her to the little fishing village in the first place. And now it felt like home. And the people felt like family. More than her own ever had. Here, she fitted. She’d found her place and she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. She loved the narrow cobbled streets, the busy harbour, the tiny shops selling shells and the trendy store selling surfboards and wetsuits. She loved the summer when the streets were crowded with tourists and she loved the winter when the beaches were empty and lashed by rain. For a moment she thought of London with its muggy, traffic-clogged streets and then she thought of her beautiful house. The house overlooking the broad sweep of the sea. The house she’d lovingly restored in every spare moment she’d had over the past five years.

It had given her sanctuary and a life that suited her. A life that was under her control.

‘Since we’re being honest here…’ David took a deep breath and straightened, his eyes slightly wary. ‘I think you should consider leaving, too. You’re an attractive, intelligent woman but you’re never going to find someone special buried in a place like this. You never meet anyone remotely eligible. All you think about is work, work and work.’

‘David, I don’t want to meet anyone.’ She spoke slowly and clearly so that there could be no misunderstanding. ‘I love my life the way it is.’

‘Work shouldn’t be your life, Alice. You need love.’ David stopped pacing and placed a hand on his chest. ‘Everyone needs love.’

Something inside her snapped. ‘Love is a word used to justify impulsive, irrational and emotional behaviour,’ she said tartly, ‘and I prefer to take a logical, scientific approach to life.’

David looked a little shocked. ‘So, you’re basically saying that I’m impulsive, irrational and emotional?’

She sighed. It was unlike her to be so honest. To reveal so much about herself. And unlike her to risk hurting someone’s feelings. On the other hand, he was behaving very oddly. ‘You’re giving up a great job on the basis of a feeling that is indefinable, notoriously unpredictable and invariably short-lived so yes, I suppose I am saying that.’ She nibbled her lip. ‘It’s the truth, so you can hardly be offended. You’ve said it yourself often enough.’

‘That was before I met Trish and discovered how wrong I was.’ He shook his head and gave a wry smile. ‘You just haven’t met the right person. When you do, everything will make sense.’

‘Everything already makes perfect sense, thank you.’ She reached for a piece of paper and a pen. ‘If I draft an advert now, I just might find a locum for August.’

If she was lucky.

And if she wasn’t lucky, she was in for a busy summer, she thought, her logical brain already involved in making lists. The village with its pretty harbour and quaint shops might not attract the medical profession but it attracted tourists by the busload and her work increased accordingly, especially during the summer months.

David frowned. ‘Locum?’ His brow cleared. ‘You don’t need to worry about a locum. I’ve sorted that out.’

Her pen stilled. ‘You’ve sorted it out?’

‘Of course.’ He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out several crumpled sheets of paper. ‘Did you really think I’d leave you without arranging a replacement?’

Yes, she’d thought exactly that. All the people she’d ever known who’d claimed to be ‘in love’ had immediately ceased to give any thought or show any care to those around them.

‘Who?’

‘I have a friend who is eager to work in England. His qualifications are fantastic—he trained as a plastic surgeon but had to switch because he had an accident. Tragedy, actually.’ David frowned slightly. ‘He was brilliant, by all accounts.’

A plastic surgeon?

Alice reached for the papers and scanned the CV. ‘Giovanni Moretti.’ She looked up. ‘He’s Italian?’

‘Sicilian.’ David grinned. ‘Never accuse him of being Italian. He’s very proud of his heritage.’

‘This man is well qualified.’ She put the papers down on her desk. ‘Why would he want to come here?’

‘You want to work here,’ David pointed out logically, ‘so perhaps you’re just about to meet your soulmate.’ He caught her reproving look and shrugged. ‘Just joking. Everyone is entitled to a change of pace. He was working in Milan, which might explain it but, to be honest, I don’t really know why he wants to come here. You know us men. We don’t delve into details.’

Alice sighed and glanced at the CV on her desk. He’d probably only last five minutes, but at least he might fill the gap while she looked for someone to cover the rest of the summer.

‘Well, at least you’ve sorted out a replacement. Thanks for that. And what happens at the end of the summer? Are you coming back?’

David hesitated. ‘Can we see how it goes? Trish and I have some big decisions to make.’ His eyes gleamed at the prospect. ‘But I promise not to leave you in the lurch.’

He looked so happy, Alice couldn’t help but smile. ‘I wish you luck.’

‘But you don’t understand, do you?’

She shrugged. ‘If you ask me, the ability to be ruled by emotion is the only serious flaw in the human make-up.’

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake.’ Unexpectedly, David reached out and dragged her to her feet. ‘It’s out there, Alice. Love. You just have to look for it.’

‘Why would I want to? If you want my honest opinion, I’d say that love is just a temporary psychiatric condition that passes given sufficient time. Hence the high divorce rate.’ She pulled her hands away from his, aware that he was gaping at her.

‘A temporary psychiatric condition?’ He gave a choked laugh and his hands fell to his sides. ‘Oh, Alice, you have to be joking. That can’t really be what you believe.’

Alice tilted her head to one side and mentally reviewed all the people she knew who’d behaved oddly in the name of love. There were all too many of them. Her parents and her sister included. ‘Yes, actually.’ Her tone was flat as she struggled with feelings that she’d managed to suppress for years. Feeling suddenly agitated, she picked up a medical journal and scanned the contents, trying to focus her mind on fact. Facts were safe and comfortable. Emotions were dangerous and uncomfortable. ‘It’s exactly what I believe.’

Her heart started to beat faster and she gripped the journal more tightly and reminded herself that her life was under her control now. She was no longer a child at the mercy of other people’s emotional transgressions.

David watched her. ‘So you still don’t believe love exists? Even seeing how happy I am?’

She turned. ‘If you’re talking about some fuzzy, indefinable emotion that links two people together then, no, I don’t think that exists. I don’t believe in the existence of an indefinable emotional bond any more than I believe in Father Christmas and the tooth fairy.’

David shook his head in disbelief. ‘But I do feel a powerful emotion.’

She couldn’t bring herself to put a dent in his happiness by saying more, so she stepped towards him and took his face in her hands. ‘I’m pleased for you. Really I am.’ She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. ‘But it isn’t “love”. She sat back down and David studied her with a knowing, slightly superior smile on his face.

‘It’s going to happen to you, Alice.’ He folded his arms across his chest and his tone rang with conviction. ‘One of these days you’re going to be swept off your feet.’

‘I’m a scientist,’ she reminded him, amusement sparkling in her blue eyes as they met the challenge in his. ‘I have a logical brain. I don’t believe in being swept off my feet.’

He stared at her for a long moment. ‘No. Which is why it’s likely to happen. Love strikes when you’re not looking for it.’

‘That’s measles,’ Alice said dryly, reaching for a pile of results that needed her attention. ‘Talking of which, little Fiona Ellis has been terribly poorly since her bout of measles last winter. I’m going to check up on her today. See if there’s anything else we can do. And I’m going to speak to Gina, the health visitor, about our MMR rates.’

‘They dipped slightly after the last newspaper scare but I thought they were up again. The hospital has been keeping an eye on Fiona’s hearing,’ David observed, and Alice nodded.

‘Yes, and I gather there’s been some improvement. All the same, the family need support and we need to make sure that no one else in our practice suffers unnecessarily.’ She rose to her feet and smiled at her partner. ‘And that’s what we give in a small community. Support and individual care. Don’t you think you’ll miss that? In London you’ll end up working in one of those huge health centres with thousands of doctors and you probably won’t get to see the same patient twice. You won’t know them and they won’t know you. It will be completely impersonal. Like seeing medical cases on a production line.’

She knew all the arguments, of course. She understood that a large group of GPs working together could afford a wider variety of services for their patients—psychologists, chiropodists—but she still believed that a good family doctor who knew his patients intimately was able to provide a superior level of care.

‘You’ll like Gio,’ David said, strolling towards the door. ‘Women always do.’

‘As long as he does his job,’ Alice said crisply, ‘I’ll like him.’