Midwives On-Call

CHAPTER TWO

ISLA DID WHAT she could to repair the damage to her face—her eyelids were puffy, her nose was red and her lips swollen. Isla never cried. Even at the most difficult births she was very aware that even a single tear might lead back to that memory and so she kept her emotions in check.

Always.

She put on some sunglasses and made her way to Arrivals, where she stood, her eyes moving between the three exit doors and wondering if she would even recognise Darcie when she came out.

As it turned out, it was Darcie who recognised her.

‘Isla!’ Her name was called from behind the rail and the second she turned Isla’s face broke into a smile.

‘I was watching the wrong door.’ Isla greeted Darcie with a hug. ‘Happy New Year,’ she said.

‘Happy New Year, to you, too.’ Darcie smiled.

‘I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t recognise you when you came out,’ Isla admitted.

‘Well, I certainly recognised you. You’re as gorgeous as you are in the magazine I was just …’ Darcie’s voice trailed off and she went a bit pink, perhaps guessing that the article she had read on the plane might not be Isla’s favourite topic, given that it had revealed Rupert’s infidelity.

Isla let that comment go and they stepped out into the morning sun. Melbourne was famous for its fickle weather but this morning the sky was silver blue and the sun had been firmly turned on to welcome Darcie.

‘It shouldn’t take too long to get home,’ Isla said as they hit the morning rush-hour traffic. ‘Did you get much sleep on the plane?’

‘Not really.’ Darcie shook her head. ‘I shan’t be much company today.’

‘That’s fine.’ Isla smiled. ‘I’m dropping you home and then I’ll be going into work so you’ll have the place to yourself.’

‘You should have told me that you were working this morning!’ Darcie said. ‘I could have taken a taxi. You didn’t have to come out to the airport to meet me.’

‘It was no problem and I was there anyway to see Isabel off.’

‘Oh, of course you were.’ Darcie glanced at Isla. Despite the repair job that Isla had done with make-up and dark glasses, it was quite clear to Darcie that she had been crying. Now, though, Darcie thought she knew why. ‘It must have been hard to say goodbye to your sister.’

‘It was,’ Isla admitted. ‘I’m going to miss her a lot, though I bet she’s going to have an amazing year in England.’

They chatted easily as they drove into Melbourne. Isla pointed out a few landmarks—Federation Square and the Arts Centre—and Darcie said she couldn’t wait to get on a tram.

‘We’ll be catching one tonight,’ Isla told her. ‘I’ve organised for some colleagues to get together and have drinks tonight. It’s a bit of a tradition on the maternity unit that we all try to get together before a new staff member starts, just so we can get most of the introductions out of the way and everything. If it’s too much for you, given how far you’ve flown, everyone will understand.’

‘No, it won’t be too much, that sounds lovely. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone.’

‘Have you left a boyfriend behind?’ Isla asked, and Darcie shook her head.

‘No, I’m recently single and staying that way. I’m here to focus on my career. I’ve heard so much about the MMU at the Victoria—I just can’t wait to get started.’

‘There it is.’ Isla drove slowly past the hospital where Darcie would commence work the next day. It was a gorgeous old building that, contrary to outer appearances, was equipped with the best staff and equipment that modern medicine had to offer.

They soon pulled into the underground car park of the apartment block and took the lift to the penthouse.

‘Wow,’ Darcie said as they stepped inside. ‘When you said that we’d be sharing a flat …’ She was clearly a bit taken aback by the rather luxurious surroundings and looked out of the floor-to-ceiling windows to the busy city below. ‘It’s stunning.’

‘It will soon feel like home,’ Isla assured her. ‘I’ll give you a quick tour but then I really need to get to work.’

‘There’s no need for a tour,’ Darcie said. ‘I’ll just be having a very quick shower and then bed. I’ll probably still be in it when you get home.’

Isla showed Darcie to her room. It had its own en suite and Isla briefly went through how to use the remote control for the blinds and a few other things and then she quickly got changed to head into work. ‘I’ll try and get back about six o’clock,’ Isla said. ‘I’ve told people to get there about seven, but if I do get stuck at work I’ll send a colleague to pick you up.’

‘There’s no need for that.’ Darcie was clearly very independent, Isla realised. ‘Just tell me the name of the bar and if you can’t make it home in time, I’ll find my own way there.’

Isla smiled, though she shook her head. ‘I’m not leaving you to make your own way there on your first day in Melbourne.’

Darcie was nice, Isla decided as she drove to work. She still felt a little bit unsettled from her breakdown earlier. She had never cried like that. In fact, she did everything she could not to think about that terrible morning. The trouble was, though, since Sean had arrived, that long-ago time seemed to be catching up with both Isabel and her. As if to prove her point, the first person she saw when she walked into MMU was Sean. With no dark glasses to hide behind now, Isla’s heart sank a little when he called her over.

‘I was wondering if you could have a word with Christine Adams for me,’ Sean said. ‘I know how good you are with teenagers and, in all honesty, nothing I say about contraception seems to be getting through to her. At this rate, Christine is going to be back here in nine months’ time. I inserted an IUD after delivery but, as you know, she had a small haemorrhage and it’s been expelled so I can’t put another one in for six weeks. She’s also got a history of deep vein thrombosis so she’s not able to go on the Pill. Can you just reiterate to her and her boyfriend that they need to use condoms every time? She’s told me that she doesn’t want another baby for a couple of years, and I think she’s right—her body needs a rest.’

‘She’s very anaemic, isn’t she?’ Isla checked.

‘She is. I was considering a transfusion when she bled but she’s going to try and get her iron up herself.’

‘I’ll have a chat,’ Isla agreed. She was very used to dealing with young mums and last year had started a group called Teenage Mums-To-Be, or TMTB, as it was known. Even though she couldn’t always be there to take the group, one of the other midwives would run it for her if necessary and they often had an obstetrician come along to talk to the young women, too. It was proving to be a huge success.

Christine had attended TMTB for two babies in one year. Robbie, who had been born a couple of days ago, was her second baby. This morning Christine was going home to look after a newborn and a ten-month-old with her iron level in her boots. Isla knew that Sean was right, she could be back again at the MMU very soon.

‘One other thing, Isla,’ Sean started as Isla went to head off, but whatever he’d been about to say was put on hold as he looked over Isla’s shoulder. ‘Good morning, Alessi, thanks for coming down—you’re looking very smart.’

Especially smart, Isla thought! Alessi’s good looks and easy smile she did not need this morning, especially as he was looking particularly divine. He was dressed in an extremely impressive suit, his tie was immaculately knotted and he was, for once, freshly shaven. He might as well be on his way to a wedding rather than dropping into the unit to check a newborn that Sean was worried about.

‘Good morning, all,’ Alessi said.

‘Morning, Alessi,’ one of Isla’s midwives called.

‘Looking good,’ someone else commented, and Isla bristled as she heard a wolf whistle come from the treatment room.

They were like bees to honey around him and Alessi took it all in his stride and just smiled, though it did not fall in Isla’s direction. They didn’t get on. Of course they were professional when they worked together. Their paths often crossed but they both tried to make sure that there was as little contact as possible. His flirting with her staff annoyed the hell out of Isla, however, and she was very tempted to have a word with him about it. She had recently found out that he was dating one of her students, Amber.

That made it sound worse than it was, Isla knew—Amber was a mature-age student and older than she herself was, but even so, Isla wasn’t impressed.

What she couldn’t dispute, though, was that Alessi was one of the hardest-working doctors she had ever known. As hard as he dated, he worked. He was there in the mornings when she arrived and often long after she went home.

‘What do you have for me?’ Alessi asked Sean, but before he could answer Isla made to go.

‘I’ll leave you both to it,’ Isla said.

‘Could you hold on a second, Isla? I still want to speak with you,’ Sean said, thwarting her attempt to make a swift getaway. He turned to Alessi. ‘I’ve got a baby I delivered in the early hours. He seemed to be fine when delivered but there’s no audible cry now. All observations are normal and he seems well other than he isn’t making much noise when he cries.’

‘I’ll take a look.’ Alessi nodded.

‘So why are you all dressed up?’ Sean asked, given that Alessi usually dressed in scrubs and looked as if he had just rolled out of bed.

‘I’m having lunch today with the bigwigs …’ Alessi rolled his eyes and then they did meet Isla’s and he gave her a tight smile. ‘I’m actually having lunch with Isla’s father.’

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it but Isla knew that he was having a little dig at her.

‘Enjoy,’ Isla said.

‘I shan’t,’ Alessi tartly replied. ‘Sometimes you have to just suffer through these things.’

The lunch that Alessi was speaking about was due to the fact that he was soon to be receiving an award in recognition of his contributions to the neonatal unit over the past year. There was a huge fundraising ball being held in a couple of weeks’ time and Charles Delamere was attempting to push Alessi towards the charitable side of things—hence the lunch today, where it would be strongly suggested that Alessi, with his good looks and easy smile, might be a more visible presence. While Alessi knew how essential fundraising was and felt proud to have his achievements acknowledged, a part of him resented having to walk the talk. He’d far rather be getting on with the job than appearing on breakfast television to speak about the neonatal unit, as Charles had recently suggested.

Alessi chatted for a moment more with Sean but, during that brief exchange with Isla, he had noted the puffiness around her eyes and had guessed, rightly, that she had been crying. He was wrong about the reason, though. Alessi assumed Isla’s tears were because of the weekend reports about her boyfriend’s philandering. Even if she was upset there was still plenty of the ice-cold Isla, Alessi thought as she stood there. Her stance was bored and dismissive and she didn’t even deign to give him a glance as he headed off to examine the infant.

Isla was anything but bored, though. Seemingly together, she was shaking inside as Alessi walked off because she knew that Sean was going to ask her about Isabel.

‘How was this morning?’ Sean asked.

‘Fine.’

‘Isabel got off okay?’

‘She just texted to say that she’s boarding.’ Isla nodded and then did her best to change the subject. ‘What did you want to speak with me about?’

‘Just that,’ Sean answered. ‘Isla, my working here didn’t have any part in her decision—’

‘Sean, Isabel was offered a year’s secondment in England. Who wouldn’t give their right arm for that?’

‘It just—’

‘I’m too busy to stand here, chatting,’ Isla said, and walked off.

Yes, she could be aloof at times but it was surely better to be thought of as that than to stand discussing Isabel’s leaving with Sean.

Isla went to the store cupboard and got some samples of condoms. She put them in a bag and then headed in to speak with Christine, who was there with Blake, her boyfriend, who was also eighteen. Little Joel, their older baby, was also there.

Isla was usually incredibly comfortable approaching such subjects with her patients. She discussed contraception many times a day both on the ward and in the postnatal clinic but when she walked behind the curtains, where Christine was nursing her baby, she also saw Alessi’s shoes gleaming beneath the other side of the curtains. That he was examining the baby in the next bed to Christine made Isla feel just a little bit self-conscious.

‘Hi, there, Christine.’ Isla smiled. ‘Hi, Blake. I hear that you’re all going home this morning?’

‘I can’t wait to get him home,’ Christine said, and gazed down at Robbie. He was latched onto Christine’s breast, beautifully and happily feeding away.

‘You’re doing so well,’ Isla commented. ‘You’re still feeding Joel, aren’t you?’

‘Just at night,’ Christine replied, ‘though he’s jealous and wants me all the time now, too.’

Isla glanced over at Joel, who was staring at his new brother with a very put-out look on his face. Christine really was an amazing mum, but Isla could well understand Sean’s concern and why he was asking her to reiterate what he had said. Christine was incredibly pale and breastfeeding a newborn and a ten-month-old would certainly take its toll. ‘I wanted to have a word with you about contraception—’

‘Oh, we’ve already been spoken to about that,’ Christine interrupted. ‘The midwife said something this morning and Dr Sean has been in, so you really don’t need to explain things again.’

‘I do.’

‘I’ll leave you to it, then.’ Blake went to stand but Isla shook her head.

‘Oh, no.’ Isla smiled as Blake reluctantly sat down. ‘I want to speak with both of you. As you know, the IUD insertion didn’t work. That happens sometimes, but now it’s better that the doctor waits for your six-week checkup to put another in.’

‘Dr Sean has explained that,’ Christine sighed.

‘You do know that you can’t rely on breastfeeding as a form of contraception,’ Isla gently reminded them, and Christine started to laugh as she looked down at Robbie.

‘I know that now—given that I’m holding the proof.’

‘And you understand that you can’t take the Pill because of your history of blood clots,’ Isla continued as Christine vaguely smiled and nodded. She really wasn’t taking any of this in. ‘You need to use condoms every time, or not have intercourse …’

‘There’s always the morning-after pill,’ Christine said, and Isla shook her head. Privately she didn’t like the morning-after pill, unless it was after an episode of abuse, not that she would ever push her own beliefs onto her patients. It was the fact that Christine had a history of blood clots that ruled it out for her and Isla told her so. ‘You need to be careful—’ Isla started, but Christine interrupted again.

‘I’m not waiting six weeks and he …’ she nodded her head in Blake’s direction ‘… certainly can’t wait that long.’

‘I’m not asking you both to wait till then,’ Isla said patiently. ‘Though you don’t have to have penetrative sex, there are other things you can do.’ Christine just rolled her eyes and Isla ploughed on. ‘If you are going to have sex before the IUD is put in then you are to use condoms each and every time.’ She looked at Blake. ‘That’s why I asked to speak to you, too.’

‘Oh, leave him alone.’ Christine grinned.

‘Christine, you’re very anaemic and the last thing your body needs now is another pregnancy. I’m just asking Blake to make sure that he’s careful.’

‘It’s not his fault, he tries to be careful,’ Christine said, happy to leap to Blake’s defence. ‘Haven’t you ever got so carried away that you just don’t care, Isla?’

Isla glanced at the shoes on the other side of the curtain and just knew that Alessi could hear every word and was no doubt having a little laugh.

Rarely, her cheeks were pink as she looked back at Christine.

‘Well?’ Christine demanded. ‘I think you know what I’m talking about, Isla.’

‘But this isn’t about me,’ Isla answered calmly. ‘I’ve raided the store cupboard.’ She handed Blake what would hopefully be adequate supplies. ‘One each time!’ Isla said. ‘Or I’ll be seeing see you very soon. Perhaps with twins this time, wouldn’t that be nice? Four under two, what fun!’

She saw Blake blink and he glanced at Christine and then back at Isla, and hopefully the message had sunk in. ‘Got it?’ Isla said.

‘Got it,’ Blake agreed.

As she left them to go through their goody bag she walked straight into Alessi, who was wearing a smile, and there was an extremely rare truce because all Isla could do was let out a little laugh.

‘You didn’t answer the question, Isla,’ Alessi teased.

‘No, I didn’t.’

‘A case of do as I say, not as I do?’ Alessi nudged and Isla gave a non-committal smile. He’d die on the spot if he knew the truth but thankfully the small armistice was soon over and Alessi got back to talking about work, which Isla knew better how to handle. ‘I’m very happy with the baby that Sean just asked me to see. There’s no sign of infection—I think he has a floppy larynx, which is causing the husky cry. Still, I’m going to do a blood test and can his temperature be checked every two hours? Any deterioration at all then I’m to be called straight away.’ He watched as Isla nodded and he again took in her puffy eyes and was tempted to say something.

But what could he say?

I’m sorry to hear that your boyfriend’s been screwing around on you again?

Alessi wasn’t sorry.

Well, perhaps he was sorry for the hurt that had been dished out to Isla but he wasn’t sorry that her relationship with Rupert was over.

Close to a year on, despite not particularly liking her, Alessi still found himself thinking about that night.

Still, despite her cool disdain, despite having been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, as opposed to the plastic café one that he had been born to, he could not quite get her out of his head.

‘What time is everybody meeting tonight?’ he asked.

‘About seven.’

‘Good. Shall I see you there?’

‘You shall.’

This was as close to a personal conversation they’d had since that night.

And that was how it would remain, he decided as he walked off.

He didn’t like his attraction to her, didn’t like that eleven months on, the scent of her was a familiar one whenever they were close, and he didn’t like that, despite trying not to, today he had found himself with no choice but to smile into her eyes.

Stay back, Alessi, he told himself.

He liked to keep things light with women. Since Talia he hadn’t liked to get too involved. But all that aside, Alessi was determined that Isla Delamere would not be changing her mind on him twice.

CHAPTER THREE

ISLA GOT CAUGHT up in a delivery and didn’t make it home until well after six, but Darcie was up and it was actually nice not to come back to an empty flat but share in a glass of wine as they got ready.

‘Can I borrow your hair dryer?’ Darcie asked. ‘The adapter that I brought isn’t working.’

‘Sure,’ Isla said, and went and got it. ‘I’ll just text Rupert and let him know that I’m running a bit late and to meet us there.’

‘Oh, so you’re still seeing each—’ Darcie abruptly halted whatever it was she’d been about to say. ‘I’m so sorry, Isla. That is absolutely none of my business. I think I must have left my manners in England!’

‘It’s fine.’ Isla shrugged. ‘My sister said pretty much the same thing this morning. Look, it really isn’t awkward. I don’t get upset by what’s said in the magazines, they’re full of rubbish and lies …’

‘Of course they are. It’s nice that you can trust him.’ Darcie smiled but Isla could see a small flicker of pity in her eyes and knew that Darcie, like everybody else, assumed that Isla was being taken for a fool.

Isla went to have a very quick shower, though perhaps it wasn’t quite as quick as the one she had intended to have.

New Year, new start, Isla decided as she soaped up.

She was going to break up with Rupert.

Isla already knew that she had to stop hiding behind him and certainly she didn’t like it that people thought she was somehow standing by her man as Rupert seemingly made a fool of her.

Rupert had rung and explained what had happened before the news had hit. The actress had the same agent as Rupert and the supposed tell-all had been at the agent’s direction. Only when the exposé had happened had Rupert found out it had been planned.

‘Not good enough,’ Isla had said. Still, she found it hard to be cross with him—after all, she knew that what had been said in the article was all lies.

Isla was determined to end it, though she was tempted to put off the break-up. She had asked Rupert to stick close to her tonight and she was nervous about the charity ball coming up in a couple of weeks. Alessi’s award meant that he would be sitting at the same table as her father—the same table as her!

Yet things had seemed better when they’d spoken today, Isla thought, recalling the smile he had given as she’d come out from behind Christine’s curtain. She closed her eyes for a moment and remembered their kiss that night and just how nice it had been to briefly be in his arms. She stood in the shower, the water cascading over her, as she returned to the blissful memory. Her hands moved over her hips as she remembered his there, and then her eyes snapped open as one hand started to move down of its own accord as she ached, honestly ached to return to the memory and bring it to a more fitting conclusion. She wanted to know what might have happened had she not said no. She wanted to explore the possibilities, her body was almost begging her to.

Isla stood, stunned by her own arousal.

She had buried her sexuality completely.

Since the night she’d delivered Isabel’s baby she’d just quashed that side of herself.

Now, though, her breasts felt so heavy she was fighting herself not to touch them and the intense ache between her legs refused to recede. For the first time she wanted to explore her own body.

Shocked, Isla turned off the shower taps and stepped out. She quickly dried herself and pulled on some underwear and dressed. She wore a very pale green summer dress that did nothing to reduce the flush on her cheeks. She simply couldn’t stop thinking about Alessi and that he’d be there tonight and so, too, that smile.

And the memory of that kiss.

He’d use you, Isla reminded herself as she put on lip gloss. The same way he’d worked his way through half of MMU.

Not that any of the staff seemed to regret their flings with Alessi.