The strange intern sought me out for coffee and meals at break times in the hospital cafeteria. I kept my words to as small a number as I could, in an effort to say as little as possible. The less I said, the less I could give away, and perhaps the less he would seek my company.
I said little and gave away less, but his interest in my company did not lessen in the slightest.
One morning, when the sun was shining through the cafeteria window and I’d just received word that Miranda and her premature baby had been allowed to go home for the first time yesterday, I smiled at Aidan as he sat across from me.
He looked surprised. “So you’ve heard the news about the mum and baby you saved?”
I smiled more broadly and nodded. “Both are well and have been released from hospital.”
He brought a hand out from behind his back, where he’d been hiding something. “So, we should have cake to celebrate!” He placed two of the cafeteria’s signature brownies on the table, the plates clinking as he put them down a little more heavily than necessary. He watched me nervously for my reaction.
I smiled and laughed. “Cake it is. Cheers.” I lifted one brownie, bumped it against the other, before taking a bite of mine.
The brownie was still warm inside. “This would be wonderful with vanilla ice cream,” I said, savouring the warm chocolate with my eyes closed. I thought of how my mother would enjoy this and resolved to find some brownies and ice cream next time I saw her in Perth. For the first time, I missed her.
“I don’t think they have any,” Aidan said quietly. I heard him crunch into his own brownie.
I swallowed and opened my eyes, to find him staring at me.
“I’ve known you for four weeks, but that’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh.” His smile was rueful. “I thought it was because my jokes just weren’t funny.”
I smiled to soften my words. “I guess I just don’t laugh much. I don’t find many things funny any more.”
He nodded, taking a huge bite of brownie. He had chocolate icing on his nose.
My smile remained as I finished my brownie, thanked him and finished the rest of my shift, wondering how long he’d kept his brown nose. Perhaps a kinder colleague than I would tell him he looked like a wombat.
I tried not to laugh when I met him in the corridor, perhaps an hour later. He still wore his wombat nose. I hadn’t the heart to tell him about it.
YOU ARE READING
Water and Fire - A Short Story
ChickLitWorking as a student midwife in an Australian country hospital is never easy, but Belinda finds more trouble than most. There's the intern doctor who follows her around like an overgrown puppy, the dangerous local wildlife and her own secrets she m...
