Australian Affairs: Seduced: The Accidental Romeo

‘This is Marnie Johnson, the new nurse unit manager. You didn’t manage to come in for her interviews.’

‘No, I was on night duty for the first and on a day off for the other,’ Harry explained, ‘but Dr Vermont has said many good things about you.’ He let go of his daughter and shook Marnie’s hand, albeit briefly, because the little girl, as soon as she was let loose, started to wander off.

‘Charlotte!’ Harry warned, giving a brief eye-roll to Marnie before retrieving his daughter’s hand. ‘How many times do I have to tell you? You’re to stay with me.’

‘But I’m hungry.’

‘That’s because you didn’t eat your cornflakes,’ Harry said to his daughter as he returned to the group, and Marnie watched as Lillian’s lips pursed in disapproval. Marnie couldn’t see that there was an issue—clearly, Harry had just arrived for work and was taking his children to day care. It was hardly his fault that there was a group to meet him.

‘You and Marnie might already have met.’ Lillian pushed on with the conversation when really it would be far easier to make the introductions once Harry didn’t have his children with him. ‘Marnie, didn’t you train at Melbourne Central?’

Harry frowned. He looked at Marnie’s raven hair and china-blue eyes and couldn’t quite believe they might have worked alongside each other for three years and that he didn’t recognise her at all.

‘No,’ Marnie corrected Lillian. ‘I only did my first year of training at Melbourne Central. After that I transferred to the Royal.’ She turned to Harry. ‘I do remember you, though…’ Marnie said, and suppressed a smile at the slight flare of concern in his eyes—perhaps Harry might be a little uncomfortable with people who could remember him in his wilder days.

Perhaps, Marnie thought, noticing again, after all these years, his stunning green eyes, it was time for some fun. Dr Vermont was talking to Harry’s son and Lillian was briefly distracted by her pager going off and Marnie simply could not resist a tease, even though they had barely ever spoken. ‘You remember me, though, don’t you?’

‘Actually…’ Harry let go of Charlotte’s hand again as he rather worriedly scratched at the back of his neck. ‘Now I think back on it…’

‘Surely you remember,’ Marnie implored, enjoying herself.

‘Charlotte!’ Harry called, but Marnie could hear the relief in his voice at a brief chance of escape.

‘I’m just about to take Marnie on a tour and introduce her to everyone,’ Lillian interrupted the fun. ‘Marnie, do you want to go and get your jacket before I show you around?’

‘I’m fine.’ Marnie shook her head. ‘We’ll just get on.’

But Lillian had other ideas. ‘We actually like the managers to wear their jackets, especially for things like formal introductions—it adds a nice authoritative touch.’

‘I don’t need a jacket to be authoritative,’ Marnie responded, and it was Harry who was suppressing a smile now as he watched her walk off.

Not many people spoke to Lillian like that.

Clearly Marnie was setting the tone.

‘I think,’ Dr Vermont said as Marnie clipped off with Lillian moving fast to catch up, ‘that Marnie Johnson might be just what the doctor ordered—did you see Lillian’s face when she said that she didn’t need a jacket?’

‘I did.’ Harry grinned.

‘So, do you remember her from Melbourne Central?’

‘I don’t.’ Harry swallowed, paying great attention to Adam and failing to see the twinkle in Dr Vermont’s eyes.

‘She seems to remember you!’

‘I’d better get these two over to day care,’ Harry said, again glad of the excuse of the twins to escape. He walked behind Marnie and Lillian on his way to day care, trying and failing not to notice her very petite, trim figure in the navy dress. She had stopped to shake hands with Juan Morales, one of the new consultants who was just finishing up after a night shift. ‘And Dr Cooper starts when?’ Harry heard Marnie asking as he walked past.

‘In four weeks’ time, I believe,’ Juan answered.

Harry didn’t hang around to hear the rest of the conversation. Just wait until Lillian and Marnie found out that he had approved Juan’s annual leave, commencing in one week’s time! Yes, the place was almost running well with Juan finally on board, but it was all about to go to pot again some time soon.

Harry signed his name alongside Charlotte’s and Adam’s in the day-care register and tried to focus on today instead of worrying about the weeks ahead.

Since Jill had died, he had learnt that it was the best he could do.

‘Are you picking us up?’ Adam asked.

‘I’ll do my best to be here at six,’ Harry said. ‘But if it looks as if I won’t be able to get away on time, I will ring Evelyn and she’ll pick you up.’

Harry could not stand Adam’s nod, or that his son was trying not to cry. He knelt down to look Adam in the eye. ‘We had a good weekend, didn’t we?’

They’d had a brilliant weekend—the first in ages.

With Juan working, both Harry and Dr Vermont had finally had a full, undisturbed weekend without being rung for advice or called in urgently. Dr Vermont had taken his wife away to celebrate their upcoming wedding anniversary, which fell today. He himself had taken his children to the beach on the Saturday and had spent Sunday finally tackling the garden then watching movies in the evening.

Simple pleasures perhaps, but they hadn’t shared a weekend so straightforward in ages.

‘I just…’ Adam started, but he didn’t finish and Harry waited. He was worried about Adam’s talking, or rather the lack of it. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Adam said.

Oh, but it did.

Harry looked at Adam’s dark, serious eyes, so like his mum’s. And, like Jill, Adam never complained about Harry’s ridiculous work hours, which only served to make Harry feel worse. ‘Hey,’ Harry said. ‘Tonight we’re going to take those bruised bananas and make banana bread.’ It was completely off the top of his head. ‘So tomorrow you and Charlotte will have something nice waiting for breakfast that you can eat in the car if we’re in a hurry.’

‘Promise?’ Adam checked.

‘As much as I can promise,’ Harry said, because the very nature of his job meant that nothing could be guaranteed. ‘But if we don’t get to make it tonight then the bananas will be even blacker tomorrow and the banana bread even sweeter.’

Finally, Adam smiled.

‘I hate banana bread!’ Charlotte, the louder of the two, had to have her say as Harry gave her a kiss goodbye.

‘I know.’ Harry smiled. ‘But you do like eating the frosting.’

‘Can I make the frosting?’ Charlotte was more easily cheered, though, unlike Adam and Jill, she did protest loudly whenever Harry was late picking them up or was called into work.

‘Yep,’ Harry said, and then, because he had to, he qualified again. ‘If I get home in time.’

‘Try,’ Charlotte said.

It was all he seemed to be doing these days.

He hugged them both and then, as good as gold, they headed off to join their little friends to start their very long day.

Something had to give.

Harry headed back towards the department and tried, for now, not to think about the unpalatable decision that he was coming to.

As well as being an emergency consultant, Harry was also a renowned hand surgeon. He was reluctantly considering moving into the private sphere and focusing on his second love—hands. Emergency and single fatherhood, he had fast found out, simply didn’t mix.

Harry had decided that he was going to take some annual leave while he made his decision. Once Juan was back from his honeymoon and Dr Cooper had started work and the department was adequately staffed, he could take some proper time off and work out what to do.

He just needed to get through the next few weeks.

Harry headed straight for the changing rooms and took the ten minutes Marnie had noted that he needed. he quickly shaved, combed his hair and added a tie, then walked back into the department, and the first person he saw was Marnie.

‘That’s better!’ Marnie commented, when others perhaps would not have.

‘Better?’

‘You’ve shaved, put on a tie…’

‘I don’t need a tie to be a consultant.’ Harry made light reference to her jacket comment to Lillian but still he bristled. She should see how Juan dressed some days, stomping about in Cuban-heeled boots, and, until recently, Juan’s black hair had been longer than shoulder length—imagine what she’d have had to say about that! Harry had always prided himself on his appearance and tried to look smart for work, and he really didn’t need a lecture today.

Heading to her office, Marnie gave it a good wipe down with alcohol rubs and then, deciding it was too drab, she rang a local florist and asked for flowers to be delivered. Then she asked Cate Nicholls, who had been filling in after Christine had left, to bring her up to date with certain protocols and paperwork.

‘Most multi-trauma goes straight to the city, though it depends on transport availability, so we can get a sudden influx,’ Cate explained, but Marnie had gone through most of this at her interviews. The paperwork took a while—there were all the patient complaints and staff incident reports to go through.

‘They’re mainly about waiting times,’ Cate commented.

‘And cleanliness,’ Marnie observed, flicking through them. ‘Is there a protocol for cubicle preparation for the patients?’

‘Not one that’s written as such,’ Cate said.

There soon would be! Still, Marnie moved on to the budget lists and all the stuff that Cate had loathed but which Marnie just loved to tackle.

‘I hope everything is up to date,’ Cate said. ‘If it’s not…’

‘I’ll just ask you,’ Marnie answered.

‘I won’t be around, though,’ Cate reminded her. ‘I’m going on annual leave next week.’

‘Of course, you’re getting married…are you going anywhere nice for your honeymoon?’

‘We’re getting married in Argentina,’ Cate answered. ‘Juan and I—’

‘You’re marrying Juan?’

‘That’s right.’

‘The new doctor?’ Marnie checked, and Cate nodded.

‘How long are you going to be away for?’

‘Three weeks.’

Cate was still smiling. Perhaps, as most would be, she was waiting for congratulations—she just didn’t know Marnie, whose only interest at work was work. ‘Are you saying that Juan’s got three weeks off!’ Marnie exclaimed. ‘But he’s only just started.’

By nine a.m. both Lillian and Cate had glimpsed what was to come.

By midday the rest of the staff were starting to.

‘Are there four of her?’ Kelly, one of the nurses, grumbled as she sat on a stool beside Harry.

‘Sorry?’ Harry looked up from the notes he was writing. ‘Four of who?’

‘Marnie.’ Kelly sighed. ‘It seems that everywhere I go, there she is.’

Harry grinned. Marnie certainly wasn’t hiding in the office, as Christine had—she darted in and out and wherever you looked it seemed that she was there.

Harry had noticed and, as if to prove Kelly’s point, Marnie soon appeared.

‘Where are the nursing roster request forms kept?’ Marnie asked Kelly.

‘In here.’ Kelly opened a drawer and pulled out a large diary, which Marnie took.

Then Marnie sat on a stool at a computer, quietly working her way through the rosters before disappearing.

‘See!’ Kelly said. ‘She’s everywhere…’ She launched into another moan but her voice trailed off as Marnie returned with not just a new diary but instructions.

‘From now on, all of the off-duty requests are to be written in the new diary, along with a reason for requesting that date,’ Marnie said, as she pinned up a laminated note stating the same. ‘If you would prefer to speak to me personally, rather than write your reasons down, that’s fine.’

Satisfied the note was up straight, she turned and Harry realised that, though the nursing rosters had nothing at all to do with him, he was watching her. He quickly looked away, telling himself he hadn’t just been admiring the rear view of the new nurse manager and the way her dress had lifted just a fraction as she’d pinned up the note.

Surely he’d remember if anything had ever happened between them?

Surely?

‘Do you have a moment?’ Marnie asked.

‘Sure.’

‘Not here.’

Harry had guessed this would be coming—Cate had warned him that Marnie had been less than impressed about Juan taking time off. With a slight roll of his eyes he headed to her office and took a seat, leaning back in the chair and stretching out his legs, absolutely refusing to jump through hoops for Marnie, as everyone else seemed to be.

‘I was just looking through the doctors’ roster and it would seem that we are very short of senior medical staff.’

‘We have been,’ Harry said. ‘But things are steadily improving. We’ve got Juan now and there’s another new consultant—Dr Cooper—starting soon.’

‘Which would be great but I’ve just found out that Juan has been given three weeks’ annual leave, starting well before Dr Cooper commences.’

‘He’s going home to Argentina—you can hardly go there for a long weekend.’

‘But that will leave us with just you and Dr Vermont to cover the department.’

‘I’m aware of that.’ Harry was more than aware— things had only just started improving and now the nightmare was going to begin all over again, not that he was going to reveal the logistical nightmare to Marnie. ‘Juan’s getting married,’ Harry pointed out, assuming that there the discussion would end.

He just didn’t know Marnie.

‘Could he not have delayed his wedding till Dr Cooper had started?’

‘It was a whirlwind romance,’ Harry answered with a wry smile.

‘Please!’ She rolled her eyes. ‘There’s no such thing and, even if there was, surely true love could at least wait a month.’

‘Apparently not!’ Harry said. ‘Look, Juan is an amazing doctor and believe me when I say such a highly skilled doctor is usually pretty hard to entice to come and work at Bayside Hospital. Once immigration and everything is sorted, Juan’s going to be a huge asset to the place but he only agreed to take the role if I accommodated his annual leave request.’

‘You acquire annual leave,’ Marnie said. ‘Juan hasn’t acquired any, from what I can see.’

Harry tried a different tack. ‘The guy broke his neck a while back, he was barely able to walk when he got to Australia. As well as getting married, he really wants to return home and let his family see how well he’s doing.’

Oh, but Marnie was having none of it. ‘So Juan breaking his neck means you have to bend over backwards and break yours to accommodate his love life?’

Harry was sure then that he hadn’t slept with her!

He’d certainly remember—Harry had never met anyone like her in his life! ‘You’re not a romantic, I take it?’ Harry’s voice was dry.

‘There’s not a single romantic bone in my body,’ Marnie said. ‘But so long as you can assure me that the department will be adequately covered with senior medical staff then it’s not my issue.’

‘It will be covered.’

‘Good.’

Harry stood up and turned to go, but how well they might have known each other was driving him crazy, so he decided to simply bite the bullet and ask, ‘What year were you at Melbourne Central?’

‘You really don’t remember?’ Marnie said. ‘I was blonde then, if that helps.’

‘Blonde?’ Harry looked at her very thick black hair. ‘That would have taken some peroxide.’

‘It did,’ Marnie said. ‘You still don’t remember me, do you?’

She loved his discomfort—loved the small swallow in his neck—and she watched as he drew in a breath while attempting to come up with a suitable answer. Then those green eyes met hers and a smile spread on Harry’s lips, lips that had been just a little insolent and teasing in their day, Marnie recalled, and they were becoming that now.

‘How could I ever forget you, Marnie?’

The little game Marnie had been playing had suddenly gone too far because it was Marnie, most unusually, who struggled to calm a blush, and she rapidly decided to put an end to it, while still keeping the upper hand. ‘It’s okay, Harry, I’ve been teasing you. You don’t have to worry—I’m very possibly the only student nurse at Melbourne Central that you didn’t sleep with.’

‘Glad to hear it,’ Harry said, still smiling back at her, except the smile sort of wavered, because maybe that wasn’t the right answer to give.

What was the right answer to a statement like that? Harry wondered as he walked off.

He couldn’t make Marnie out. She was a strange mix. Forthright yet distant, funny yet stern but, even if he was smiling at the little game she’d played on him, Harry knew as he headed back to the patients that the holiday was over. Not that you could ever call this place a holiday, but there would be no asking Marnie if she could keep an eye out for the twins in the staffroom, even if it was right near her office. There would be no appealing to her feminine side and asking her to grab them from day care, or would she mind if one of the nurses in the obs ward kept an eye on them for an hour.

Harry just knew it.

CHAPTER THREE

YES, MARNIE WAS everywhere.

As Harry sat having his lunch he found out, if he hadn’t known already, just how forthright she was—the pint-sized Marnie didn’t even try to mince her words when she answered a personal call.

Marnie didn’t excuse herself from the staffroom to take the call—instead, she tucked the phone between her neck and chin and squirted salad dressing over her home-made salad. As she thanked Dave for returning her call, she stirred in the dressing.

Oh, her accent was as soft as butter as she spoke but you could almost feel it choking the rather unfortunate Dave’s arteries.

‘Absolutely, I signed the contract but let me ask you this, Dave—was one month’s rent really worth it? I certainly shan’t be staying on when my lease is up.’ Harry listened as she made it very clear that she wouldn’t be using him in the future and hopefully, if the hospital grapevine served her well, neither would anybody else from Bayside. ‘So, to be clear,’ Marnie concluded, ‘you have my notice and I have photos of before and after so I’ll be expecting to receive my deposit in full—the place was nothing but a filthy swamp before I set to work.’

‘Ripped off?’ Kelly asked, and Marnie nodded.

‘It’s my own fault for signing a lease on a place that I hadn’t seen. He only showed me the first half of Beach Road…’ She didn’t elaborate and she didn’t sit around for much longer—after finishing her salad, Marnie stood and left the staffroom.

‘I can’t make up my mind whether or not I like her,’ Kelly grumbled.

‘Well, I’ve made up my mind and I don’t.’ Abby, another of the nurses, sighed. ‘I was given a ten-minute lesson on the correct way to wash my hands, as if I didn’t already know. I think that she’s got OCD!’

‘She’s got ADHD,’ Kelly grumbled. ‘She just never stops.’

‘Ladies!’ Dr Vermont said, and didn’t even look up from his newspaper as he delivered a warning for the nurses to stop gossiping.

Though, a few hours later, he indulged in a little gossip of his own as he put on his jacket to head for home. ‘What do you think of Marnie?’ Dr Vermont asked Harry.

‘I don’t know what to think,’ Harry admitted. ‘She’s not exactly here to make friends, is she? Marnie doesn’t seem to care who she offends.’

‘I like that about her,’ Dr Vermont said. ‘The trouble with Christine was that she was either your best friend or your worst enemy.’ He thought about it for a long moment. ‘I know that it’s very early days but so far I’m impressed.’

Dr Vermont was more than a colleague to Harry. He was a friend and mentor and Harry admired him greatly. If Dr Vermont liked Marnie, that was high praise indeed and almost as good as a reference.

‘Well, so far so good,’ Harry conceded. ‘But enough about this place—hadn’t you better get going?’

‘Sorry that I have to dash off.’ Dr Vermont didn’t elaborate. They both knew that it was his wedding anniversary today and Dr Vermont was kind enough to realise that milestones such as the one he and Marjorie had just reached might cause a twinge of pain for Harry.

‘You go and enjoy yourself,’ Harry smiled. ‘Forty years is quite an achievement.’

‘I know that it is,’ Dr Vermont agreed. ‘We’ve got all the family coming over tonight…’ He paused as Harry took a beautifully wrapped bottle from his desk and handed it to him.

‘Well, you’d better hide this from them, then.’

Dr Vermont thanked Harry and after he had gone to celebrate with his wife and family Harry sat for a long moment.

Jill had been dead now for more than a year and a half. Birthdays and two Christmases had passed. Two wedding anniversaries had been and gone as well—and still it hurt. Some days more, some days less, but the pain was always there. Not just for Jill and all that she was missing out on, but for himself and more pointedly for the twins. Harry twisted the ring on his finger—he still couldn’t bring himself to take it off. It wasn’t just the hurt, there was also guilt—perpetual, constant guilt about whether or not he was doing a good job with the children. Certainly they weren’t being brought up as Jill would have wanted. She had wanted to stay home at least until the twins had started school.

Yes, he was doing his best—he was just all too aware that it wasn’t quite enough.

Harry headed back out to the department, which was, for once, quiet. The late staff were all trying to pretend to be busy as Marnie sat at the nurses’ station and went through the policy manual, and of course she was making notes and had several questions for Harry.

‘Sheldon just brought back a puncture wound of the hand for review in the hand clinic tomorrow.’ Marnie had been surprised; it was a very small injury that could easily have been followed up by a GP. ‘When I questioned him he said it was policy. Now I’ve checked and it says here that all hand injuries, regardless of how small, are to be brought back the next day for review in the hand clinic.’

‘That’s right.’

‘All?’

‘All.’ Harry nodded. ‘A lot of things get picked up in the hand clinic and for the most part the patients are in and out in less than a minute. It’s worth it, though, because something that seemed minor at the time is often picked up. I’ve found it works better to just bring everyone with a hand injury, no matter how small, back the next day for review.’

‘Fair enough.’ Marnie turned the page and then glanced up at the clock. ‘What time do you finish?’

‘Now,’ Harry said. ‘Day care closes at six.’

‘Dr Morales comes on at nine?’ Marnie checked.

‘That’s right. Though you can call me for anything you’re concerned about—all of the staff know that.’

‘They do,’ Marnie said. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, then.’

‘You shall.’ Harry smiled. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Marnie, and I’m very glad that we never…’ He halted. He wished he could take that back and wondered what had possessed him to even go there in the first place.

‘New girl’s tease.’ Marnie smiled. ‘I couldn’t help myself.’

‘I thought it was supposed to be the other way around, that we were supposed to be teasing you.’

‘I make my own fun,’ Marnie said.

She really was the oddest mix and, if there was any doubt as to that, she proved it when she continued talking. ‘I should be offended really that you’re so relieved nothing ever happened.’ Marnie winked. ‘’Night, Harry.’

He turned to go but as he did so the alert phone rang and Miriam, one of the late staff, took the call. ‘There’s a multi-trauma coming in, they’ve just diverted and are bringing him here,’ Miriam said. ‘ETA ten minutes. Harry, would you like me to run over and grab the twins for you?’

‘That would be great,’ Harry said, taking off his jacket but pausing midway as Marnie’s soft voice carried the length of the nurses’ station and promptly halted everyone.

‘Instead of running over to day care, Miriam, shouldn’t you be setting up for the multi-trauma?’