Page 55 of Doc Hollywood

“You texted me that, too,” she said with a laugh.

“It’s pretty creepy.” He shuddered, holding the camera up so she could see the near-empty operating theatre he was standing in.

“Hospitals are strange when they’re quiet.”

“Yeah.” He turned the camera so it faced the machine that had been pushed into the corner of the theatre. “This isn’t an anaesthetic machine?”

“Nope.” Clara shook her head.

“Are you sure?”

“It’s for your kidneys, so not even close.”

“I met Doctor Thackeray today; he sounded so convincing. He corrected my technique in holding the instruments you had shown me. I just assumed that I had forgotten a bit.” Taylor ran his hand through his hair. “Shit. Mr Atrosky gave him the script, and he made some corrections to the medical jargon according to his recommendations. Shit. Right, hang on. I’m going to speak to Mr Atrosky. I’ll phone you back in a minute.”

“Sure.” Clara was about to hang up when Taylor spoke again.

“It’s great to actually talk to you. We should do this more often.” And with that, Taylor hung up.

Clara sat at her kitchen table, tapping her fingers on the wooden surface, a little stunned, and when her phone rang again, she hadn’t managed to move.

She answered the FaceTime call. “Hi, Taylor.”

“Clara, I’m going to add Damien Atrosky to the call. He likes to be called Mr Atrosky.” He waited for her to nod, and then another man appeared on her screen. A man who looked to be in his sixties, with a very well-groomed grey beard and slicked-back hair, stared back at her.

“Good evening, Doctor Upford,” Mr Atrosky greeted her formally.

“Mr Atrosky,” she replied.

“I’d like to get right to the point. Taylor has informed me of an issue with some of our equipment.” Mr Atrosky leaned towards the camera.

“Yeah. The machine in the photo I’ve been sent isn’t an anaesthetic machine.”

“Rest assured, an expert has reviewed all our equipment,” the Director snapped.

Clara flinched at his hostility but didn’t let it upset her. “And the name of your expert?”

“Doctor Michael Thackeray. He is a Professor of anaesthetics at Sydney University.”

“Really?” Clara queried. “Where did you find this doctor?”

“He responded to an advert our production department placed,” Mr Atrosky stated. “Are we done here?”

Clara turned her phone to the website open on her computer screen. “This is Mr Thackeray’s medical qualifications. He isn’t a medical doctor; he’s a chiropractor,” she informed him, then waited, giving the Director a chance to read the medical register before she typed her name into it. “And this is me, Doctor Clara Upford. As you can see, I’m an anaesthetist on the specialist register. So Mr Atrosky, when I tell you the photo I received isnot an anaesthetic machine and is, in fact, a dialysis machine for kidney failure, I expect to be listened to.”

Mr Atrosky didn’t speak for a long moment until he swore loudly, “Shit. He was so convincing, and I didn’t personally check his background. It’s not like when I first started making movies and had complete control of everything. Productions are now so huge these things can slip through the cracks. Anyway, the buck stops with me, and Mr Thackeray will be fired immediately.”

Clara stared at the agitated man on the top of her screen, then down at Taylor, who was wide-eyed and silent, obviously in awe of the Director.

“This is a huge problem. Doctor Upford, do you have availability in your calendar for some medical advisor work?” Mr Atrosky had his phone in his hand, and was already sending messages to people.

Clara was slightly stunned, replying hesitantly, “Um, sure.” She noticed the broad grin on Taylor’s face when she said yes.

“Excellent. My assistant will contact you tomorrow with the contract and an NDA, which is required, as I’ll be sending you a copy of the script. I’ll have the parts that Mr Thackeray changed highlighted so you can correct them. We have a small amount of flexibility in our shooting schedule to ensure the two weeks we’ll require you on set are suitable. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes, Mr Atrosky.”

Clara had a lot of annual leave saved up and knew Sadie would be delighted if she got to spend some more time with Taylor, so hopefully, getting time off wouldn’t be a problem.

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