Page 57 of Lost in Love
Chapter 17
Katherine felt the quiet of the house even more keenly since it had been so full at the weekend. Her surgery wasn’t due to start until 1:00 p.m. that day. She was dreading it; her first appointment was Harry.
She hadn’t seen Anna since she’d broken things off with her. She hoped she wouldn’t come but knew she would and should. Having enough knowledge of Anna’s routine, she had been careful not to cross paths with her. She’d gone to the library on a different day to normal and completely avoided the tearoom.
She’d spent most of the morning moping around the house doing odd jobs, overseen by Virginia’s watchful eye. Every room Anna had been into she could feel her presence. A memory would flash back into her mind of conversations they had there, where they had sat and laughed.
The kitchen was worse, given the memory of the time they had kissed, and Anna had pushed her against the kitchen cabinets. Her stomach tingled every time she thought of it. She knew it would get easier as time went on; the voices would disappear into the walls, as Anna once put it.
Katherine hadn’t heard back from Adrian since she’d instructed him to give the council a response. She wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or not, but she knew enough of the process to know it could take some weeks, even months.
Desperate for a distraction from Anna and the boredom of home, she decided to head to work early. She looked through the patient names on her appointment list and yawned. Her passion for medicine came from its unpredictable nature and its ability to challenge her; something in abundance in a city hospital. She could feel her love for it slipping away with every case of haemorrhoids and verrucas that came through her office door.
Before long the clock told her it was one o’clock, and she knew she couldn’t put it off any longer. It wouldn’t be wise to hold Anna up anyway as she may cause a scene. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
She looked out into the busy waiting room and spotted Harry, Anna at his side as always. Something in her manner reminded her of the old Anna, the one she had met at his first appointment. She looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders yet again. This time Katherine felt responsible for some of it, and this time she had no way of easing it either.
“Harry Walker.”
Anna’s eyes shot up from the floor to meet Katherine’s. This was going to be harder than she thought.
“Come through.” She watched as they took the same seats as before.
Katherine took her seat behind the desk. She decided to avoid addressing Anna for as long as she could.
“Harry, how have you been?”
“Missing your big telly, that’s for sure, doc,” he replied casually.
Katherine and Anna’s eyes met each other’s in an instant. Anna turned to her dad.
“She means how have you been managing with the Parkinson’s, Dad?”
“Oh, all right, doc, but the tablets you gave me don’t seem to be working much these days.”
Katherine wanted to ask why he hadn’t told her before now but realised it was wholly inappropriate. It also hit home that a line had been crossed and he didn’t feel comfortable talking to her as a doctor.
“Well, shall we up the dose a little?”
Harry nodded.
“How are you sleeping at night?”
“Not great, doc.”
“He gets up a lot for the toilet,” Anna added.
“I’m going to reclassify you as late-stage three now.”
“You have to reclassify him to increase the dosage?” Anna asked.
“Well, yes and no. Obviously, I’ve been monitoring his abilities quite closely over the last few weeks, and there is a change in his range of movements which I think warrants it. I’m also going to give you a sleeping tablet. Hopefully, it will prevent the number of occasions he gets up in the night.”
Anna nodded.
Katherine pulled the two prescriptions off the printer and signed them. “Again, let me know of any problems with the increased dosage. Ensure he takes his medication early in the morning, and it will interfere less with his sleep, though the sleeping tablets are there if you need them.”
Katherine held out the prescription slip to Anna. She took the other end. Katherine held her end and looked directly at Anna. “Anything else, please let me know.”
