From my left, I heard, “Finally, an excuse to rope Dave into it.”
Alistair said nothing.
I stared straight ahead, pretending I was still listening, still in it, still whole.
The money had never been mine. But then why did I feel like I’d just been robbed?
“Due to these changes, applications will now be online to give you time to form your teams, but I ask you get these in promptly.” Annabelle made a final tick against her clipboard. “I think that wraps up proceedings. If anyone has any last-minute concerns feel free to email me or come by the—” Alistair’s arm brushed mine, more forcefully than before. Annabelle’s words trailed off. “Yes, Alistair. Did you have a question?”
He’d raised his hand.
I could tell by the pinched, but somehow still pleasant, set of Annabelle’s mouth that she resented the interruption.
Alistair cleared his throat, entirely unfazed. “Anannouncement actually.” He climbed on a nearby chair and turned to face the room. Everyone fell utterly silent as the wood creaked dangerously beneath his weight.
Behind the bar, I saw Mal slap a hand over his eyes.
I don’t know why my own heart started to race, like I was personally invested in whatever was about to transpire. “Good evening, everyone.” He pushed a level of cheer into his voice that I hadn’t imagined possible from him. “I’m excited to announce, from next week Kinleith Surgery will be opening for late-night health and wellness appointments.” Every pair of eyes stared at him, expressions unreadable. He cleared his throat again. “These sessions will include blood pressure, BMI and glucose checks with discussions on nutrition, exercise and stress management—”
“I have a cracked molar, will ye check that?” Gordon Murray, an elderly plumber, fish-hooked his own cheek, flashing pale-pink gums, as though Alistair might be able to diagnose him from across the room.
“Ah, no. For that you’ll need to visit a dentist.”
“If I come along, will you fill my prescription out?” someone else shouted.
“Great question, but sadly no, all prescriptions will be fulfilled using our new online prescription form.”
“Bah, I’ve lived here all my life. Seventy-two years and I’ve never needed a computer to order my medication for me.”
For some reason my eyes sought out Juniper and Callum; they wore matchingwitnesses to a car crashwinces.
“I assure you: the online system is far more efficient and ensures accuracy—”
“Sounds like he doesn’t trust himself to fill out a simple prescription,” someone hollered from the back of the room. A few people snickered.
“I think that concludes this part of the meeting,” Annabelle cut in with a clap of her hands. “Thank you, Dr Macabe, that discussion was most illuminating.”
“There’s a sign-up sheet at the back of the room, or you can request an appointment on the surgery website,” Alistair added.
Absolute crickets.
Ouch.
Someone chortled. “I’m surprised he would even lower himself to mingle with us country bumpkins at all.”
My own cheeks burned as I watched Alistair stiffen, then climb down from the chair with a wobble.
Annabelle waited a cursory beat. “In the future, I would appreciate any last-minute talking points to be okayed ahead of time.”
Another round of quiet snickers.
Out the corner of my eye, I watched him keep his head up, even as his jaw ticked. Either he’d forgotten I was next to him or he refused to look at me.
The meeting wrapped up a few minutes later. I cut straight toward the door without saying goodbye to anyone. Itching to get home to Teddy.
Tomorrow I’d come up with a new plan, a new way to get the money – even if I had to sell the clothes off my back. But for now, I needed fresh air. A void to scream into.
“Isla, could we talk for a moment?”
