‘If I see someone, I’ll send them down. Good luck, Mr Hobbs.’
He nodded to me and with the book under my arm, I hurried off again, totally forgetting to look for a porter in my eagerness to get to Nelly.
*
She was awake when I got to her room. Another nurse was there, adjusting her sheets, and I greeted her.
‘Nelly’s awake, aren’t you, love?’ she said. I didn’t recognise her and I didn’t like how she raised her voice a bit and spoke as though Nelly was simple.
She turned to me. ‘She can’t talk but she’s responsive.’
‘It wasn’t her brain that was burned,’ I said sharply and the nurse narrowed her eyes at me like an irritated cat. ‘Sorry. It’s been a long day.’
The nurse nodded in understanding though she still looked a bit annoyed.
‘Brought the book, Nell,’ I said. ‘Thought we could look at it together.’
‘Don’t tire her out,’ the nurse warned.
‘I won’t.’
I waited until she was outside the room and then I sat down next to Nelly’s less injured side, smoothing the book’s cover with my fingertips. I opened it on a random page. ‘Let’s have a look, shall we? It’s been all over the hospital.’
Next to me, Nelly’s eye widened slightly. ‘Want me to read some of the notes?’ I asked. Her fingers twitched.
‘Your wish is my command.’
I read a few of the cheerier messages. The ones that were memories or funny anecdotes. I didn’t want any of the gloomy last words for loved ones. Not today. When I came across the note Mr Hobbs had left, I scanned it, wondering what had been so important but feeling a bit like I was invading his privacy as I did. The note made me chuckle.
‘Listen to this, Nell,’ I said. ‘This chap was writing before he had his appendix out earlier on. I thought it was a loving message to his wife, but it’s instructions about how to feed his chickens.’
I laughed but Nelly looked as though she was drifting off to sleep, so I thought I should leave her be.
‘I’ll get off,’ I whispered. ‘I’ll come back tomorrow.’
She opened her eye fully and tapped her fingers on the bedclothes to show she was pleased.
‘We need to work out a code, like two taps for no and one for yes,’ I said. ‘Just until you can talk again.’
Nelly tapped once and I grinned. ‘You’ve got it already.’
I went to shut the book but as I did, I noticed some of the pages were stuck together. Poking out of the top of the pages was a scrap of paper, like a bookmark. ‘Oh, look at that,’ I grumbled. ‘Not everyone is as careful as I am.’
Using my hand like a letter opener I ran it between the pages and peeled them apart. They separated easily. I rubbed my finger and thumb together. It felt slightly gritty, like … I sniffed myfinger … and it smelled like tea. Was it a drink that had sealed the pages together? Perhaps one of the patients had spilled something. But it was only on the edges of the paper and it felt more deliberate than accidental.
‘This is odd,’ I said aloud to Nelly, whose eye was still open. ‘Look, someone’s stuck the pages together. Do you think they wanted their message to be private?’
She tapped her finger lightly on her sheet and I nodded. ‘I think you’re right. I feel a bit bad now, that I’ve found it. But … oh. Oh goodness.’
I felt my cheeks burn as I looked at the scrap of paper that had been marking the page. It said “To my favourite nurse” in tiny writing. ‘I think this might be a message to me, Nelly.’ Was it? Or was I being presumptuous? And who had written it?
Nell tapped her hand on to the bed impatiently, but I ignored her, lost in my own thoughts. With a lurch of discomfort I wondered if somehow Jackson had found the book and written me a note. But I scanned it, and realised with a great deal of relief, that wasn’t the case.
‘It’s not from Jackson, I’m sure. But it isn’t signed,’ I said to Nelly. She drummed her fingers again. I shook my head.
‘I’m not even convinced it’s for me.’
Nelly thumped her hand on the bedclothes and I grinned. ‘Shall I read it aloud?’
