More From A Nurse's Life: More drama, love and laughter from a 1950s nurse (Nurse Jane Grant Book 2) by Grant Jane

Author:Grant, Jane [Grant, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: heart-warming, 1950s, doctor, nurses, hospital, nostalgia, medical fiction, romance, doctors, nurse
Publisher: Corazon Books (Doctors and Nurses)
Published: 2014-08-03T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

I went back to the sterilising room and turned on the steriliser, then overcome by gloom, I sat down in the office. What a terrible, terrible mess, I thought, how can people get themselves into such a mess?

How unlucky it was that Phyllis had to come up to St Bernard’s this night of all nights. Why hadn’t she left it till tomorrow? Would she have found out anyway? The question of what to say and what not to say revolved round in my mind until I was dizzy.

Why did Mary want to go out with Mike anyway, I thought? He wasn’t all that attractive. Gradually all my anger turned on to him. How could he behave in this way when he knew Mary and Phyllis were age-old friends? Why should he have put me in such a jam by forcing this situation on to me?

That Mike was just as unhappy about the whole thing as everyone else was did not occur to me then. I was gloomily anticipating my interview with Phyllis when the door burst open and in walked Charles.

‘Jane, my angel! I saw the light on and I thinks to myself thus. Charles (that’s my name) Charles, how would you like to be a real old lad tonight and go and have coffee somewhere? I recoiled at the thought of such a daring exploit – but then my baser self asserted itself so here I am,’ he concluded lamely.

‘Oh, Charles!’ I said weakly, and promptly burst into floods of tears.

Charles looked at me in horror. ‘Well, if you don’t want to you needn’t,’ he said. ‘No need to howl about it.’

‘Don’t want to what?’ I sobbed.

‘Have coffee, you owl.’

‘Oh, you ass,’ I said, torn between laughter and tears, ‘I’d love to, but I can’t, because Mary’s gone out with Mike and Phyllis has come up to town.’

‘Oh yes? Would you mind saying that lot again?’

‘Well,’ I sniffed, ‘Mike is Phyllis’s boyfriend, but he’s taken Mary out tonight, and Phyllis has found out.’

‘Goodness me,’ said Charles in a shocked voice. ‘What will these young things think of next?’

‘But you see,’ I said miserably, ‘I’ve got to go and face Phyllis now and I don’t know what to say.’

‘Yes, I see your point. Well can’t you sneak out the back way,’ he suggested hopefully.

‘Charles,’ I said firmly, ‘do stop being idiotic and say something helpful!’

There was a pause during which we both stared blankly at each other.

‘This Phyllis,’ said Charles at last, ‘she has quite a few irons in the fire, hasn’t she. I mean –’

‘I know what you mean,’ I said acidly.

‘Well – couldn’t we fix her up with someone else, sort of, temporarily of course –’ he added hastily, seeing the disapproving look on my face.

‘Charles,’ I said wearily, ‘you don’t understand. Mike is the only man for her. She won’t look at another. She hasn’t been out with anyone else – at least not seriously –’ I concluded weakly.

Charles leapt at the hint of uncertainty in my voice.

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