Page 99 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

Matt stood and placed a hand on my back.

The doctor glanced at him before speaking. “In cases like these there is usually an underlying issue and the hypoglycaemia is not the actual cause of your aunt’s symptoms but a secondary one. We need to find out why she has suffered such acute renal failure to determinewhat the problem is. Now if you’ll excuse me I have other patients I need to see.”

I was going to get rowdy.

“Listen up here, Dr,” I squinted at his name tag. “Yanic. I get that you’re busy, I appreciate that you have a difficult job and there are other sick people that need your help, but you haven’t answered the bloody question. When will my aunt wake up?”

Dr Yanic exhaled noisily and rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know, Ms DuMont. I’m sorry but until we can determine the root cause of her illness I can’t give you the answer to that question and it would be unwise of me to try to do so.”

Seeing the doctor’s resigned expression caused my anger to deflate. He didn’t know. They didn’t know how to fix her. I looked at Jamal, who was looking at Uncle David, who in turn was looking at me. I tilted my head up at Matt, blinking fast in an attempt not to cry.

“What timescales for a prognosis are we looking at?” Matt asked calmly.

Dr Yanic’s mouth quirked at Matt’s posh British accent. He observed my husband closely and his whole demeanour suddenly shifted. I think he recognized someone with power, being a doctor himself he wielded such power over the lives of his patients and their families. Matt, with his creased tux, tousled hair and tired face; still exuded a confident superiority that made anyone sit up and pay attention. I guess generational breeding of haughtiness had an upside.

“I’m hoping within the next 24 hours we’ll know more.” Dr Yanic replied as he fixed his coat and straightened his shoulders.

“My wife’s uncle mentioned earlier he barely spent any time with his wife, your patient,” Matt’s left eyebrow went up a fraction. “When will we be allowed to see her?”

Dr Yanic cleared his throat. “She’s in the ICU right now so you understand why it may be difficult to arrange that at the moment.”

The left eyebrow went up even further. Matt didn’t say a word, he just looked at Dr Yanic with his piercing grey eyes.

“I’ll see what can be done. The nurses will come get you when it’s time.” Dr Yanic hedged.

Matt didn’t look happy with that answer. His gaze narrowed while he silently observed the doctor. I knew they probably had rulesabout visiting hours within the ICU, but I also knew my husband.

“There are still a few tests we need to run,” Dr Yanic explained.

“And how long will those tests take?” Matt asked. His tone was even yet it held an unspoken world of displeasure. It got my back up and he wasn’t actually speaking to me. I could see the effect it was having on Dr Yanic though.

“About twenty minutes,” Dr Yanic replied defensively.

“Good,” Matt smiled politely at the man. “In twenty five minutes the nurses will come get us. Yes?”

That was not a question, sure the inflection of Matt’s voice implied it was a question but it definitely wasn’t a question. It was a command.

“Yes,” Dr Yanic said slowly. “Um, you are?”

“Matthew Bradley. Thank you for the update, I’m sure my wife’s aunt is getting the very best care from you and your staff,” A slight pause. “Dr Yanic, is it?” Matt was slick.

Of course he knew the man’s name, I’d said it out loud not five minutes ago. The way he spoke to the doctor…it was a loaded warning without actually being a warning. On face value very polite, friendly even; but the non-verbal threat that he would be watched and errors were not allowed came through loud and clear for Dr Yanic.

The man stared at Matt, dazed it seemed, and my husband’s smile disappeared as he said, “Your other patients must be expecting you.”

“Oh yes!” Dr Yanic broke out of his stupor, flashed my uncle a reassuring look and hurried away.

Matt sighed, his hand had remained on my lower back for the duration of that conversation with Dr Yanic. “Are you alright, poppet?” he murmured, edging me back to my seat.

I observed my distraught uncle and shook my head slowly as Matt eased me down into the chair. Once I was down, Jenny curled herself into my shoulder and I absent-mindedly stroked her hair while I went over Dr Yanic’s words. They didn’t know what was wrong with my aunt.

“Madi,” Jenny raised her tear-stained face from my shoulder. “Mom will be ok, right?”

I tried to smile, put a lot of effort into it, and still only ended up with a macabre sort of grimace. “Yes, Jenny penny, of course she’llbe ok. The doctors are going to find out what’s wrong and fix it.”

There. I was forsworn. I had done the exact same thing I had asked Matt not to do. I had confirmed something that might not come to pass. I turned my head to the side, unable to hold her gaze and scared she would see the fresh doubt filling my features. Matt winked at me, totally inappropriate considering the current situation, yet a real smile glossed over my lips. Even now he could drag a smile kicking and screaming from me.

The minutes ticked by, leaving us restless. Jamal paced, Uncle David stared at the floor, Jenny sniffled against my shoulder, and Matt kept a hand on my thigh while I chewed my lower lip raw.

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