The Perfect Christmas Village by Bella Osborne

Author:Bella Osborne [Osborne, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781804542675
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

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Owen indicated and turned into the hospital car park. Vicky was expecting to feel a sense of relief but instead she felt a jolt of panic. This was really happening. The sight of the hospital brought the situation into sharp focus. Owen and their complicated past didn’t matter. All that mattered was Eden. Owen stopped outside, jumped out and pulled the seat forward to get Eden out. ‘Leave her. I’ll take it from here,’ said Vicky, reaching in to release Eden’s seat belt and lift her out – which was a tricky manoeuvre as she was still scrunched up. As Vicky lifted her she vomited. The back of the driver’s seat took the brunt of it. ‘Sorry,’ said Vicky, reversing out with Eden in her arms. ‘And thanks for the lift.’

She rushed inside as fast as she dared and was relieved to see there was no queue at the desk, although a quick glance around told her they were in for a long wait. There were so many people waiting that every seat was taken and people were standing up.

‘My daughter’s sick and in pain. Please help me,’ said Vicky, embarrassed at the sound of her voice cracking.

‘It’s okay, we’ll get someone to triage her as soon as you give me some information. Name?’ asked the receptionist.

Vicky gave Eden’s details and the woman asked her to take a seat. Vicky stepped away from the desk and was frantically searching for somewhere to put Eden down when a door opened and they called Eden’s name. For a moment Vicky felt relieved that they wouldn’t have to wait but that was short-lived as she feared they would only call her in so quickly if this was serious.

The triage nurse was lovely and he had a calming influence on Vicky as he took them straight through the back of the small room and asked Vicky to lay Eden on a bed that dwarfed her. He asked questions while checking Eden over. He even managed to make Eden smile despite her clutching a cardboard sick bowl. He pulled a large green curtain around the bed and popped out but soon returned with a woman about Vicky’s age.

‘Hi. I’m Doctor Karavadra. I’m going to take a look at Eden.’

‘What’s wrong?’ asked Vicky as the doctor checked Eden over and noted when she winced.

‘It could be a number of things. Let’s get her up on the ward and run some tests.’ She squeezed Eden’s hand. ‘We’re all going for a ride in the big lift. I only get to go in that one with special patients.’

The nurse put a label on Eden’s wrist and checked back her details again. It reminded Vicky of the label they’d put on her as a newborn. She remembered thinking how big the wristband had been and how tiny and delicate her daughter was. She still had that label, safely tucked in an envelope alongside a number of treasured items in a keepsake box. It had seemed special at the time; the first time Vicky had seen her daughter’s name written down had been on that label.

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