Page 4 of Deep Down
Chapter 2
Alex
Alex moved away from the door of the treatment room but didn’t go far. He leaned against the wall opposite, crossing his arms and frowning at the floor. Something didn’t feel right about the couple in there. And he usually trusted his instincts when it came to work. He couldn’t shake the feeling he was missing something.
Knocking his head back against the wall, momentarily, he pushed away and headed to the nurses’ station. He needed to push for those tests to be completed as soon as possible, because the guy—Craig—was in serious pain, regardless of what he was outwardly showing.
“Hey, Dr Wick. How’re things?” one of the nurses asked.
“Sister Pendrake. How many times have I said to call me Alex?” Sister Pendrake was a lifer—a nurse forever and ever—and Alex loved her to bits. She had been there longer than he had and would, in all likelihood, be there long after he left. She loved her patients despite hating the shifts.
“And how many times have I asked you to call me Gloria?” she countered, placing a hand on her cocked hip.
“Touché, my dear. Touché.” Alex snorted as he sat at a computer to input his comments.
“You look deep in thought.” Gloria sat next to him.
Alex smiled over at her. “Thinking about what will be sitting in my stomach in an hour. I’m starving already.” He couldn’t express his concerns yet, he had no evidence to prove his instincts correct.
Gloria patted her rounded stomach. “I’ve had dinner. Brought with me a spicy soup and some homemade bread. Mmm!” Alex laughed. Gloria always complained that if she didn’t quit devouring the food her husband made, she’d never lose the weight she wanted to, but she couldn’t find it in herself to deny him his need to take care of her. Her husband was a chef in a Caribbean-style restaurant and made Gloria homemade meals every day; Gloria lamented her weight was piling on—which it was, but not dangerously so—but she didn’t want to upset him.
“Sounds nice. I keep telling you to get Kazembe to send in extra food for us all!” Alex drooled every time Gloria described the food her husband made. “I’m dying to try some.”
“You’ll have to come by the restaurant. He’ll more than happily feed you.”
“I never get time, Gloria! I keep trying, but work gets in the way more often than I’d like. One day, I will.”
Alex completed his notes and flagged the file, which would notify anyone who reviewed it that he wanted to be paged when something happened. He would be keeping an eye on Mr Talbot and his boyfriend.
He clapped his hands together as he stood. “Right. I’ve got a head injury to deal with. I’ll catch you later.” He squeezed Gloria’s shoulder as he passed by.
“Don’t work too hard.”
“Yeah, yeah. As if anyone could stop me.” He plucked the file off the desk for the little boy who cut his head when he fell off his bike, chuckling as he drifted away.
He entered the treatment room, closing the door behind him before introducing himself to the calm eight-year-old and his not-so-calm mother. Inspecting the cut, Alex saw it needed a couple of stitches but nothing major. He explained what he was going to do and asked them to wait there while he fetched all the supplies. He went back to the nurses’ station.
“Gloria, do you have someone who could help me with this head injury, please? The mother is freaking out about it, and I don’t want her to mess something up when I’m trying to stitch the little guy’s head,” he asked.
“Sure. I’ll send Lisa to you in a few, she’s finishing up with Abi.” Gloria’s eyes were fixated on the screen in front of her, but she acknowledged him with a wave of her hand.
“Thanks.” Alex strode to the supply cupboard, grabbed what he needed and hustled back to the treatment room. “Thank you for waiting. We’ll get you sorted in no time, buddy, and you’ll be free to go. I have a nurse coming in a few minutes to support while we do this, alright?”
“Why is someone else coming in? Are you in training or something?” the mother asked, her voice hiccupping her questions.
“Not at all. I’ve been a qualified doctor for four years now. It’s in case I need some extra supplies which she can fetch for me. No need to worry about it.” Alex had learned from the best how to twist the truth for patients or their carers. He wanted the nurse in here because he was sure the mother was going to freak out when her child started hissing with pain, and Lisa would be able to deal with her while he finished stitching.
The situation went exactly as he anticipated, with the mother calling him all names under the sun when the boy started wincing and gasping despite it being numbed. Lisa had to hold her back to allow him to finish while he was explaining what she needed to keep an eye out for overnight; concussion was no joke after all was said and done. She made a complaint to Gloria on their way out.
Alex shook his head. He understood it was a parent’s job to care for their child, but not when someone was helping their child in the first place.
He glanced up at the board to see if there was anything or anyone he needed to attend to, but the night had slowed down—not that he wouldeversay those words out loud, he knew better, doctor superstition and all.
“Gloria, I’m heading for lunch.” He patted the top of the desk as he passed.
“Lunch? It’s eleven at night!” She tittered.
“It’smylunchtime. I got up at five this afternoon. Makes it lunchtime for me.” He grinned as he walked past her to the doors leading to the rest of the hospital and weaved along the stark white corridors, which had the occasional splash of a coloured poster or the tempting view of lit courtyards showcased through large windows. When it was nice weather on his day shifts, he spent some of his time in those enclosures trying to soak up the mood-lifting rays of sunshine and smelling the flowery scent of the plants while he polished off his food.
