‘Not great to do that,’ he admitted. ‘But I’d do what I did again to save a life.’
‘Why didn’t the young woman come out with everyone else?’
‘I think she got disorientated. She said she’d been in the bathroom when the alarm sounded and she panicked. She tried to run to the back door but couldn’t find her way – she was an intern; it was her first day. Someone said she’d left already; someone else was adamant that she hadn’t. I would never have forgiven myself if I hadn’t checked the building was definitely empty.’
‘And I never would have forgiven you if you’d died.’ She pushed his arm gently, the warmth of skin on skin sending sparks of euphoria zapping through him in a way not even a strong medication had managed to do yet. He and Bess had hugged as friends plenty of times, been in close proximity to each other, they’d danced at their mutual friend’s wedding. And yet, now, every look and every touch felt more intimate.
‘I’m not sure what shook that young woman up more, you know – the fire or me in all my breathing apparatus finding her and scooping her up to take her to safety.’
‘She’s alive and kicking thanks to you.’
‘Yeah, and apparently I’m a hero.’
‘So you told me after we gave you the good drugs.’
He put a hand across his face. He didn’t remember. God, what else had he said? Nothing too incriminating, he hoped.
‘What else did I say?’ he asked her.
She grinned. ‘That’s for me to know…’
‘Come on, you can’t leave me to think the worst.’
Just then, a nurse popped in to check his blood pressure and ask whether he needed more painkillers, but right now, he didn’t. Seeing Bess seemed to be bringing on enough feel-good endorphins.
‘Did you talk to your mum yet?’ he asked when the nurse left them to it. They hadn’t talked much since they’d met on scene that day and Bess had found out in a difficult way that her mum was dating. ‘Have you met the boyfriend? Malcolm, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, it was. And no, I’ve not met him yet. I should, though.’
‘You still don’t like the idea of her having a boyfriend?’
‘I’m not too happy that I didn’t know about him,’ she said, ‘but I’m getting used to the idea.’ She flipped the questioning around. ‘Talking of mothers, how long is yours in town?’
He was momentarily confused with the unexpected question, and it took him a moment to cast his mind back to the meeting in the supermarket. He gestured for her to pass the spare pillow sitting on the windowsill he couldn’t reach from his bed.
‘Where do you want it?’ she asked.
‘Behind me will do.’ He wished he’d made more of a fuss and that she wasn’t so efficient because the pillow was in place quickly and he wouldn’t have minded feeling her hands againsthis shoulder for a bit longer as she wriggled the pillow behind him.
Now he was more propped up, the fluorescent light wasn’t firing directly into his line of vision and he answered her question. ‘I’m not sure how long Mum is staying.’
She would remember from their days in the shared house that it was a constant worry for him that his mother would show up unannounced. To be fair, she never had; he’d always been the one to go to her. Back then, he’d felt an attraction towards Bess but with his family hassles and his family history, he didn’t have the headspace to go in for anything serious. He’d met the odd boyfriend of Bess’s during that time – one total knob who gave her the run around, another more serious type she’d ended it with because he wanted to move back to Ireland and she didn’t want to go with him.
‘I know you two have had your problems over the years,’ she said.
‘That’s putting it mildly.’ An exasperated sigh left his lips. ‘Our family has been through a lot; you know some of what happened. She claims to have reached a turning point this time, though.’
‘That’s a good thing, isn’t it?’
She was good at this: liaison with her peers. He’d seen it with people at the scene on a job, how she was a comfort to a patient, the fact she always seemed to know the right thing to say. Not everyone did.
Bess picked up her jumper when she saw three of his colleagues coming into the ward. ‘That’s my cue to move on.’
‘Please stay a bit longer.’
She paused briefly, maybe considering it.
‘Don’t make me beg.’
