A Collection of Short Stories and Poems by Paul Kelly

Author:Paul Kelly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: poems, poetry, story, stories, fiction, author, collection
ISBN: 9781782342502
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited 2012
Published: 2012-09-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Father Patrick lay groaning in his agony, hoping no doubt, that everyone knew exactly the pain that he had to endure... and indeed all did... well perhaps with the exception of Fathers Maurice and Eugene.... and Eric of course, who was still asleep. Maurice made every joke imaginable about Father Patrick’s burnt parts, but nobody laughed... and Eugene said it served him bloody well right for taking a bath on the day when, according to the rota on the notice board, it should have been his. What was the good of keeping a rota for these sort of things if you didn’t stick to it...

It was Maurice who made the first visit to the patient who was unable to move in his bed for the excessive pain he had to endure and his tortured face proved without doubt that he really was bordering on martyrdom....except at meal times, when it was discovered that he hadn’t lost his appetite... Maggie Muldoon had to do almost everything for him and she complained that it was a job for a trained nurse, as she wasn’t used to applying cream to parts that were normally covered and out of sight, which started Maurice off in his old music hall jokes...

“Did I ever tell you about the nurse who... ”

“No you didn’t and I don’t want to know either, thank you very much...”

“Oh! well, please yourself then...”

Finally, it was decided amongst the brethern that a nurse should be hired for the duration of Father Patrick’s illness, as the task was too much for Maggie Muldoon and the motion was put to the vote.

“Why can’t I have a man to look after me,” argued Patrick, “there surely must be plenty of male nurses around,” but Maurice thought it would be nice to have a little female company at the Home... just to give that little personal and homely touch that was so often missed when men were obliged to live together... and Eugene argued that she would come in and take over the Community, just like Maggie Muldoon had done and there would be no living with her... Stanislaus suggested that Father Patrick’s burnt parts would be better cream rubbed by a proper rubber, so his suggestion was thrown out the window, but Paschal agreed with Hubert and Eric hiccuped through it all... so that within a few days, Nurse Sylvana Boteche arrived at the Bon Succeur, amidst the panic and excitement of the elderly residents.

Nurse Boteche wasn’t exactly white, nor was she exactly black, but she was definitely a female and the inmates of the Home suddenly went quiet for quite some time...except for Father Maurice who thought she was an angel from heaven and invited her to pray with him on several occasions, hoping that her healing hands might also cure his own ailments, but she never did... Father Eugene said she was a no-good woman as she wore her skirt too high... and her vest too low. He also complained strongly that

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