Page 48 of A Scottish Love Story
‘Does that mean the pain will be just as bad?’ Amy asked wearily.
‘No, it does not. We can almost — almost I say — guarantee you will have no pain so long as you are patient and do exactly as we tell you. It means you will be in plaster for several weeks and you must not try to walk or put any weight on it. You cannot live alone.’
‘I shall be there every minute of the day and night,’ Roxie said quickly, giving Amy’s hand an affectionate squeeze.
‘That is reassuring.’ Mr Whittaker nodded. ‘I am pleased to hear that. You will need to be in a wheelchair to begin with, Mrs Baxter, and you will need visits to the physiotherapist once the plaster comes off. You must follow his, or her, advice and do the exercises recommended.’ He turned to Roxie. ‘Do you think you’ll be able to supervise this?’ he asked with a smile.
‘I shall certainly do my best, and both Amy and I shall be encouraged if we know there will be no pain at the end of it all.’
‘You’re right there, lassie,’ Amy said, reaching for her hand again. ‘So stupid of me to land myself in here before you got back.’
‘The main priority for all of us right now is to get you fit and well again,’ Roxie said.
‘You’re a good lass, Roxie.’ She looked up at Mr Whittaker. ‘I suppose I shall still have a limp?’ she asked.
‘Not if we can help it, but we can’t guarantee that at this stage. I think you should know that Mr Morgan and I have worked together before. We make a good team, isn’t that right, Jonathan?’ he asked with a smile.
‘If you say so, it is,’ Mr Morgan said with a grin, which made him look almost boyish in spite of being a senior consultant here at the local hospital. He looked at Amy and her visitors. ‘It is some time ago now, but I was fortunate to complete the last nine months of my training under Mr Whittaker. He is a fine surgeonand a good teacher. We shall certainly do our best for you, Mrs Baxter.’
‘How long do you think I shall need to stay in here,’ Amy asked anxiously.
‘We must take one step at a time. I know you had intended to pay for the operation yourself so I have no hesitation in suggesting that if you make a good recovery during the early days, you could probably go home if you would agree to pay for the care of a private nurse to stay with you at your home, as well as your young companion.’ He glanced at Roxanne. ‘I can thoroughly recommend a nurse who concentrates on the care of her patient, but she does not undertake cooking or household tasks.’
‘We could agree to that,’ Amy said. ‘Is she willing to travel each day? Roxanne lives with me. I can recommend her cooking and her company so there is no need to worry about daily chores.’
‘In that case I shall introduce you to my friend, Mrs Anne Munro, when you have had a day or two to recover from the operation. You will probably have more attention at home than we can manage here, at the hospital, and Anne is a very experienced nurse if you should need to return.’
‘I would be happy with that arrangement,’ Amy told them.
‘I shall be staying down here overnight,’ Mr Whittaker told her. ‘So that I can check on you this evening and again tomorrow morning, before I return to Glasgow. I have every confidence in Mr Morgan’s judgement, but I shall come down again to see you before you are discharged into the care of the nurse and your friend here.’
‘That all sounds good to me, Mum,’ Ciaran said. ‘Don’t you agree?’
‘I will agree to almost anything so long as you can ease this awful pain,’ Amy said.
‘In that case we must ask you two to leave now. We shall prepare you for the operation without further delay.’ Mr Whittaker spoke briskly, noting the lines of pain Amy was struggling to hide.
Chapter 16
Amy’s surgery took longer than anticipated, but both surgeons were aware that she should never have been sent home as she had been the first time and were determined to do their very best for her. Although Amy was heavily sedated, by the following morning, Mr Whittaker and Mr Morgan were pleased with their patient’s progress and satisfied with the operation they had performed.
Ciaran wanted Roxie to stay with him at the farm — Don, Jenny and Peter having returned to their own home — until his mother was well enough to be back at the bungalow. She shook her head.
‘I have the greatest respect for your mother. I would hate her to think badly of me and I think staying here together would be a temptation neither of us would find easy to resist. Am I right? Or is it only me?’
‘You’re right in my case, my darling Roxie.’ Ciaran sighed. ‘I am pleased to know you feel the same, though. I wouldn’t be able to resist sharing your bed if there were only the two of us in the house.’
‘I know your mother is very tolerant, Ciaran, but I think she might be disappointed in us if we stayed here on our own and set tongues wagging, as they certainly would. Anyway, I can never hide anything from her. She is a very perceptive person. Before we know it, the butcher, the baker and the candlestick-maker would all know.’ She grinned at him. ‘I don’t think I could face the comments the butcher would make.’
‘I know you’re right, especially if Billy realises we’re here on our own.’ Ciaran sighed again. ‘I do want you so very much though, now I know we love each other. It seems ages to wait until September for our wedding. It’s only May! Weare tentatively agreed on September, aren’t we? Though it will depend on Mum, I know.’
‘I agree, it does seem an age.’ It was her turn to sigh. ‘But early September works well. It will give your mum time to recover and I hope she will have a really good recovery this time, after all she has been through. Also, my friend Lucy will be up here on holiday then, and I would really like her to be at our wedding, and to meet you, Ciaran. If I’m back at the bungalow, rather than at the farm, I can focus on getting things ready for your mum’s return from hospital, too, and allow me to give her all my attention when she first comes home, and we have the nurse visiting. I can prepare a few dishes for the freezer and I would like to fill up the tins too, for you, as well as us.’
‘All right,’ Ciaran said. ‘I have some catching up to do myself. All the animals seem to be settling in well, though, after their long journey, but Billy is in a bit of a mood. You would think we had brought half a herd of extra milk cows and asked him to milk them all himself. He has not been very cooperative about anything since he was off with his broken leg. He doesn’t seem to understand what a nasty shock it has been to arrive home and find Mum in hospital.’
‘I guessed something was troubling you, as well as Amy’s operation,’ Roxie murmured.
‘I shall always be glad I went to the sale and saw all your father’s herd before it was dispersed, Roxie. I am pleased I met your brother, and your friends too.’
