‘No, but I can’t recommend you for future surgery if you haven’t seen the extent of your current injuries, Alice. Any further operations would be optional, and I have to be sure you’ve made a sound and informed decision. Right now, I don’t think I can confidently say you have. There is a huge amount of support here for you if you need it. We have a fantastic team of counsellors, if you wanted me to refer you to speak to someone?’
Been there, done that, and it did sweet fuck all.
‘Thank you, doctor.’ Sarah, sensing Alice’s tension, took control. ‘I think Alice might need some more time to think this all through, but it’s important information that we needed to know.’
‘Of course, take your time. You know where I am if you have any further questions. I’ll do my examination quickly and then be out of your way, but remember we are all here to help you.’
She didn’t need their help. Alice had everything she needed right here. It wasn’t that she couldn’t – she just didn’twantto face up to her injuries yet. Her limbs she could cover up, find ways to mask and deflect attention away from the disfiguring scar tissue. But her face … Now that was a whole different story. Knowing what she’d be stuck with for life was too big a task to comprehend, but it seemed unavoidable. It wasn’t that she’d been fixated on her physical appearance before the accident. Truthfully, it had never been something she’d focused on too much. Looking back, she wondered whether that was because she didn’t need to. She knew she wasn’t unattractive, and she’d had enough propositions throughout her life to know she was blessed with a good set of features. Features she’d taken for granted. A face she had unknowingly underappreciated, until the moment it was taken away from her. Now she had no idea what she was left with; reality had come knocking and it was refusing to go away.
32
Alfie
As soon as she’d said the words, his mind went into overdrive.
‘Well-fed, entertained and adored.’
Maybe it was the teacher in him, maybe he was grateful for a task other than learning to walk again, orjust maybehe was excited at the possibility of creating something especially for Alice. Either way, there were fireworks going off in his head and ideas sparking everywhere.
Before he got too carried away, he remembered there were some clear boundaries he had to work within. Things had to be small-scale and possible to execute without her having to get out of bed: rule number one.
Rule number two was obvious. Whatever he planned had to be fun. Alfie knew, from his mother’s extensive research, that happiness and laughter could improve a patient’s recovery significantly. He was confident he could nail this one.
Think like Alice: rule number three.
Despite all his creative excitement, the conversation happening next door hadn’t escaped him.
Another operation?
The thought filled him with a sense of unease. Surely that was a big step to take? He knew from his own injuries that there were creams which could help reduce scarring. But then again, the sight of her hand alone had told him that these weren’t your run-of-the-mill surgical scars. Her injuries were in a different league, but still … to resort to another surgery?
Then he stopped.
He barely knew this woman. From the outside it was an absurd situation. Two strangers talking all day every day but never actually meeting face-to-face? Could you even call that a friendship?
His head started to pound from all the thinking, his feelings blurring into one another until his insides felt like one giant melting pot.
‘Alfie, you’ve gone awfully quiet.’ Sarah’s voice sounded concerned; not so much about his welfare but more, he supposed, about what he was planning.
‘Geniuses need time to think. I’m taking my new role very seriously.’
‘New role?’
‘Yes, Chief Entertainment and Recovery Officer.’
‘Let me guess … you’re an only child, right?’
‘Wrong! But I’m the youngest of three boys. To avoid being beaten up and teased every day, I had to find ways to entertain myself. My imagination was a godsend.’
A short sharp longing clawed at his heart. The three Mack brothers, so alike in looks but so different in nature. He loved them all the more for it, but neither of Alfie’s brothers had been able to visit him since the accident. The corporate sell-outs had both relocated abroad, making it even moredifficult for them to escape their already demanding offices and drop by.
‘Well, now it’s our godsend.’ Sarah suddenly appeared in front of his bed. She silently mouthed the words ‘thank you’ and blew him a kiss. It was nice to be relied on again. He’d forgotten how great a responsibility it was to take care of another person’s loved one. That was one of the parts of his teaching job he loved the most. You were in possession of someone’s greatest gift and it was your duty to look after them.
‘I’m glad to see my talents are appreciated by someone on this ward. Are you sure you can’t stay here for ever? Do you have to leave us for the golden sands and sunny climate of Australia?’
‘Unless I want a divorce and/or unemployment for an early Christmas gift, then yes.’
‘Can’t argue with that one.’
