It was already too late . . . I was in this way too deep.
27
Alistair
Callum: You and Isla took off quickly the other night.
Alistair: Yep.
Callum: Trouble in paradise already?
Alistair: Nope.
Callum: Good. Don’t fuck this up, we all like her.
Heather: And she’s one of the only mums at school who has interests outside of playdates and the winter musical.
Alistair: That’s a pity, I was only dating her for her winter musical knowledge.
Callum: I’m screenshotting this for my best man speech.
Alistair: Fuck off.
“Streamlining is really important to me.” Dr Radcliff’s nasal voice filtered through the laptop speakers late on Wednesday afternoon, the only time, he, Amy and I were all available that week.
The sound was like nails on a chalkboard to my overtired brain. “Rural care comes with unique challenges – limited resources and workforce shortages. My goal in the first yearis to streamline without compromising the personal care that makes rural practices so valuable.”
I stared at him as he spoke, unable to put my finger on what it was about the guy that pissed me off so much.
He seemed . . . nice. Qualified, if a little bland.
The third time he uttered the word “streamline”, I couldn’t hold myself back. “With ten-minute consultations, and endless documentation – realistically, how do youactuallysee yourself streamlining without cutting corners?”
He blinked, shuffling his notes. “I prepare ahead where possible and prioritise the most urgent issues per visit. I won’t say it’s easy, but rushing doesn’t serve anyone if we want to avoid patients cycling through the surgery a week later with the same unresolved issues. For this, I use follow-ups strategically.”
“Sounds like textbook talk,” Itsked sadly, relaxing back in my chair. “What do you do when you’re forty-five minutes behind, your next three patients are getting agitated, and you’ve been called out to an emergency on the other side of the island?”
Amy shot me a glare, eyes screaming,What the fuck are you doing?
Maybe I was being alittleunprofessional. But if he couldn’t handle it, then this surgery wasn’t the right fit for him.
Of course, Dr Radcliff didn’t miss a beat. “In thathypotheticalsituation, I’d acknowledge delays to patients and quickly reassess priorities. Sometimes that means redirecting less urgent cases or enlisting help from the duty doctor. The key is staying calm and transparent—”
I tuned out the rest, my mind easily conjuring my new favourite memory. My childhood bedroom. Isla panting, back against the wall.
Teenage Alistair would have had a heart attack.
The car ride home from my mum’s had been . . . not quite awkward, but . . . tense. Teddy singingThe Little Mermaidsoundtrack on repeat for the whole journey was honestly a relief.
Having Isla in my space, touching her, had made my head a little dizzy. Despite my promises, if Heather hadn’t knocked on the door, I would have kissed her if given the green light. I mean . . . she was giving me the green light,I think.
Days later, my stomach still felt knotted every time I thought of it.
So I’d formulated a plan. It was how my brain functioned best. Visualising the end goal. Assessing the obstacles. Listing every method I would employ to overcome those obstacles until it was mine.
I didn’t see why sex should be any different.
My plan was simple: tell Isla exactly what I wanted. That I wanted her –neededher – so badly I could barely fucking breathe.
