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‘My grandmother looked after me till I went to boarding school and in the holidays I stayed with her.’ He saw her frown. ‘My parents are good people. They were just very, very focused. Anyway, when I went to my grandmother’s for Easter one year, she was very confused. Just completely off the wall. I rang my mother and she pretty much would have had her shipped off to a nursing home that day.’
‘Really?’ Candy said.
‘Really!’ Steele nodded. ‘But the GP came and it turned out all she had was a urine infection. He explained the confusion it could cause in the elderly. Anyway, two days later she was completely back to herself. It just stayed with me, I guess.’
‘My nonna lived with us.’ Candy yawned. ‘I think my mother thinks she’ll be living with me …’
‘Did your mother work?’ Steele asked, and Candy shook her head. ‘You do, though. You have a career.’
Candy looked at him. Right there, right then, she felt as if he knew the wrestle in her heart because though she loved her parents they clashed a lot as Candy struggled to be independent when they didn’t want her to be. ‘I do have a career,’ Candy said, ‘and I had to fight to have one.’
‘Have your rest.’ He smiled and Candy nodded.
She’d had to fight to simply be here, Candy thought as she closed her eyes. Her parents had wanted her to marry Franco, and for her to work in the family business. They hadn’t understood that she’d wanted to study to become a nurse.
Candy fell asleep but it felt about twenty seconds later that her phone bleeped and told her that her hour was up and it was time to go back to work. The staffroom was empty and when she went round to the ward Steele wasn’t there either.
She liked him.
Candy knew it properly then because she preferred the feel on the ward when he was around.
The rest of the night flew past quickly. Candy helped out with Mrs Douglas while Abigail took her break and then it was time to start her morning routine. At seven-thirty, after handover, Candy said goodbye to her patients and told Macey that she would be in tomorrow morning and, if Macey liked and Candy had time, then she would do her nails.
Macey said nothing.
As Candy walked along the main entrance corridor she saw Steele on his way into work. His hair was damp from his morning shower and he was wearing a dark grey suit and fresh shirt, though he hadn’t yet done up his tie. He was standing looking at one of the pictures that lined the corridor, images of the hospital and the changes over the years. Renovations were taking place throughout the Royal.
‘What are you looking at?’ she asked.
‘Come and see,’ Steele invited, and as she stood beside him he started to do up his tie. ‘Do you recognise anyone?’
Candy peered at the image that he had been focused on. It was a group of nurses and doctors standing in the gardens at the rear of the hospital. It looked like a presentation had just taken place as some of the nurses were sporting medals. Candy smiled when she saw the long dresses and aprons that the nurses were wearing as well as their hats and capes. Then she saw just who it was that Steele was looking at. ‘Oh, my goodness, it’s Macey.’
‘It is indeed.’
She had the same wild curly hair, though it was tamed by a frilly white cap. Her cheekbones were high and her lips, though smiling, looked a touch strained. Her cape was around her shoulders and Candy smiled at the red cross that it made on her chest.
She looked incredibly young but certainly it was Macey.
‘Do you think she’ll come out of her depression?’ Candy asked.
‘Now I do.’
‘What do you mean?’
But Steele didn’t answer her directly. ‘You were very good with her last night. I’m glad she had a drink and got up to the bathroom. How was she this morning?’
‘Still very quiet, but she had another drink and I made her biscotti, which she ate.’
‘Biscotti?’
‘Biscuits in warm milk, all mashed in.’ Candy smiled and then groaned as her stomach rumbled just at the thought. ‘Now I’ve gone and made myself hungry, I’ll have to have some when I get home.’
‘Did you feed her?’
‘I did.’ Candy nodded. ‘She’s very shaky.’
‘It’s all the new medications,’ Steele said, ‘and a lack of sherry, but it should soon start to settle down.’
‘How did you know that she was drinking?’
‘Because drinking is incredibly common in the elderly. Far more than people realise. It’s not all bad.’ Steele smiled. ‘Macey can’t ask her niece to get her four bottles of sherry a week, or however much it is that she actually drinks. At least it keeps her walking to the shops each day. I admit that I worry what will happen when my oldies all discover online shopping.’
Candy realised she was doing her dental commercial smile at him again.
He made her smile.
‘I’m going home.’ Candy hitched up her bag. ‘I’ll say goodnight because it’s night-time to me.’
‘Have a good sleep,’ Steele said, ‘and don’t talk too much.’
‘I don’t talk in my sleep.’ She smiled back at him. ‘At least, I don’t think I do.’
As she walked off his deep voice caused her shoulders to stiffen.
‘Make that three things that I have to find out about you.’
Oh, my God, Candy realised.
They were flirting.
More than that, she was considering revising her recently put in place rule—to never again get involved with someone at work.
He was that good.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘CAN I HAVE a hand to turn Mr Worthington, please?’ Candy asked Elaine the following morning.
She had slept all of Saturday and had then got up for dinner and gone out for a couple of hours with Kelly, only to be in bed by ten and asleep again in a matter of moments.
And she was still tired.
Elaine was very brusque and efficient and they soon had Mr Worthington turned. ‘Why isn’t his radio on?’ Elaine asked, turning it on. ‘Toby likes to have his radio on, especially on a Sunday morning. I wrote it down in his care plan.’
‘Sorry,’ Candy muttered as Elaine marched out.
As bossy as she was, though, Elaine’s heart really was in the right place because Toby started humming a little as Candy shaved him and all too soon she found herself singing along to the Sunday morning hymns. It made Toby smile and his eyes encouraged her and he even started singing along to some of the choruses, which only made Candy sing louder.
‘Mr Worthington!’ Gloria popped her head in. ‘Your family are here to see you.’ She smiled at Candy. ‘They’ll be pleased to see him looking so cheerful. Steele was just having a word with them.’
Candy quickly tidied up the room and moved the trolley out of the way as Toby’s family thanked Steele and then smiled at Candy as they made their way in.
‘Did you enjoy your little singalong?’ Steele asked when she came out.
‘Actually, I did,’ she said, ‘although I’m not sure quite what Toby would have to say about it if he was able to talk.’
‘Oh, I’m sure that, with the amount of morphine he’s on, your voice sounded pretty fantastic.’
‘Are you telling me that I’m tone deaf?’
‘Ooh, just a touch,’ Steele teased, but it didn’t faze Candy.
‘I’m going to sing louder next time.’
They would have chatted for longer but Matron Elaine was back and ready to move things along. ‘Come on, Candy, we’re falling behind. I’ll help you with Macey.’
Candy would really prefer that she didn’t.
‘Have fun!’ Steele said as Candy rolled her eyes.
The strangest thing was, though, that Candy did enjoy herself.
In fact, she had more fun then she’d had in a long time and so did Macey!
‘Good morning, Macey.’ Candy smiled as she pulled the curtains around the bed. ‘Would you like to have a shower?’
Macey gave a slow shake of her head.
‘Well, Elaine and I will give you a wash in bed, if that’s okay, and we’ll give you some nice fresh sheets and things. Then I’ll do your leg dressing.’
‘I’ll do Macey’s leg dressing,’ Elaine said. ‘I need to practice my aseptic technique.’
‘Sure,’ Candy agreed, and then spoke to Macey. ‘Would you like me to wash your hair? We can do it in bed. I just need to take the bedhead off. It might make you feel a little bit better,’ Candy pushed gently, but again Macey shook her head.
Elaine had everything set up on the trolley to wash Macey and she was busy collecting sheets and pillowcases for the bed change as Candy washed Macey’s face. She then offered her the cloth to wash her hands but Macey didn’t take it so Candy washed Macey’s hands in the bowl. ‘I’ll take that nail varnish off in a little while and do your nails.’
‘There isn’t time to do nails,’ Elaine said as she returned.
‘I’ll do it on my coffee break,’ Candy said as they turned Macey and washed her back. Elaine was starting to seriously get on her nerves. ‘I like painting nails.’
Delightfully, though, as Macey was turned back from her side she caught Candy’s eye and gave her a tiny wink. This showed Candy she was coming back to the world and that Macey understood how difficult Elaine might be to work with.
She returned the wink and soaped up the cloth again.
‘Would you like to wash yourself down there?’ Candy offered, so that Macey could wash her private parts herself, but both Candy and Macey blinked at the same time when a loud voice interrupted them.
‘No!’ Elaine said. ‘We do not speak down to our patients. You are to call it by its proper name.’
Candy shared a brief yikes look with Macey.
‘I apologise, Macey,’ she said, looking into Macey’s eyes as they both tried to fathom what it was that she was supposed to say.
‘Would you like to wash your private parts?’ Candy offered and saw Macey’s lips start to twitch into a smile, especially when Elaine chimed up again.
‘No!’ she said. ‘You’re to call it by its proper name.’
Given that Candy was the qualified nurse, she could have told Elaine to simply be quiet, but there was a glimmer in Macey’s eyes that hadn’t been there for a long time and, Candy guessed as they shared a smile, she was more than happy for the exchange to continue.
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