Amelie didn’t so much as flicker her eyes.
‘She is stable,’ said Torsten, as per his name badge.
‘Is she going to be OK?’
‘The hospital will look after her. Her heartbeat is good.’ He nodded as his fingers sought out Amelie’s pulse, and again there was that sense of satisfaction of a job well done – but he hadn’t answered her question.
Mina hated feeling so bloody helpless and useless. Being a paramedic was a proper job. This man seemed so calm and utterly competent. He knew exactly what he was doing and it made Mina’s panic start to recede. All she was able to do was hold Amelie’s free hand and stroke the pale skin, saying the same prayer over and over in her head.Please let her be alright. Please let her be alright.
Now she had time to think, she realised that she’d completely abandoned the hotel to poor Dave, who had stood in the doorway watching the proceedings with quiet, stolid patience. Just as she was about to follow the stretcher out, she’d stopped in sudden alarm, realising that there was still a hotel to be run, and he’d stepped up to her, patted her arm and said, ‘Don’t worry, Mina. I’ll sort dinner out.’
All she’d been able to say was, ‘Thank you,’ because there was no other option.
Johannes had had a little more presence of mind. ‘I’ll phone Franzi and Giselle, see if they can come and help. They know what they’re doing.’
Grateful for that, Mina had scooped up her bag and grabbed her coat, and scrambled into the ambulance.
Once they reached the hospital things started to blur as Amelie was whisked away, surrounded by doctors and nurses, leaving Mina alone in a corridor. For a little while she paced, trying to get rid of that edgy, itchy feeling of being surplus to requirements, until Torsten came back down the corridor about fifteen minutes later.
She looked hopefully at him. ‘Any news?’
‘She is with the doctor. They will come to you.’ He smiled at her, kind and reassuring. ‘When they have news.’
‘Thank you,’ said Mina, realising that he probably didn’t know any more at that moment.
Feeling lost and in limbo, she slumped into her seat, for once her natural positivity subdued by the enormity of things. What if Amelie died? There were so many things she’d never asked her. If she was honest with herself, she’d shied away from asking questions about her mother. There was that deep-buried nugget of resentment that her parents had been unable to give up their reckless lifestyle for the sake of their small daughters. And she hadn’t spent enough time with Amelie. Not nearly enough. She’d been a constant in the background of Mina’s life, but always there like some exotic fairy godmother who was on her side no matter what, and Mina had taken that for granted.
She dropped her head into her hands and focused on her breathing. Amelie was young. She was fit. They’d walked a couple of kilometres the other day and she’d been fine. She looked healthy, if a little tired, and she wasn’t overweight. Too much rushing about in the chalet for that. What caused heart attacks? Furred arteries. Mina’s mind raced down different corridors, coming to dead ends constantly, wishing she was more knowledgeable about such things.
She spotted the heavy boots first, and looked up. Torsten stood in front of her with a take-out cup of coffee.
‘For you.’
For a stupid second, tears swam into her eyes at his kindness. ‘That’s… very kind.Danke schön.’
His quick smile – with a touch of male appreciation – and her first tentative sip of coffee made her feel a lot better and she smiled back at him.
‘I hope she will be OK.’ With a quick, shy goodbye gesture he turned and walked away down the corridor, leaving Mina feeling heartened by his kind sympathy. There were always good people in the world to brighten things, no matter how bleak the situation appeared. The quick episode restored Mina’s natural faith in the world and that things would turn out well.
As she drained her coffee cup, Johannes and Luke appeared. The older man looked grey and drawn, and Luke anxious like a nervous rabbit, constantly checking for danger.
‘Any news?’ asked Luke.
She shook her head. ‘I haven’t seen anyone. She’s through there.’ She pointed to the double doors with their big red circle with a line through it, which clearly read ‘no admittance’ in any language.
Luke and Johannes both sat down on either side of her.
‘Do you want a coffee?’ she asked, suddenly needing to do something.
Luke shook his head. ‘I’m OK.’
Johannes did the same.
The three of them sat in silence, although Mina noticed that Luke fidgeted constantly. His foot tapped, his kneed jigged, and he seemed to have shrunk into his chair, as if he didn’t want to be there or to touch anything.
At last, over an hour later, a doctor came out of the double doors, a mask across his face, which he pulled down.
All three of them jumped to their feet in perfect unison and the doctor’s mouth twitched.
