‘Not at all,’ said Turner. ‘I only hope it works out well for you. You deserve a bit of luck.’
‘Thanks,’ said Sandy, shaking Turner’s hand. They went through to the ward and found Amanda being dressed by one of the nurses.
‘I’ll do that,’ said Kate, taking over with a smile. ‘It’s not often I get the chance these days.’
Sandy went off to get the car while Kate finished dressing Amanda. He was parked in one of the ambulance bays when Kate emerged, holding the door open for Clive Turner, who was carrying Amanda. Kate and Amanda got into the back of Esmeralda and they left the hospital with much hand-waving from the back window.
‘Dr Turner says you can have an ice cream this afternoon,’ said Kate to Amanda as she cuddled her. ‘Will that be nice?’
Sandy positioned the rear-view mirror so he could watch Amanda’s response. She gave a slight nod and managed a frail smile. Sandy swallowed. She was very weak. ‘I know where we can get the best ice cream in the city,’ he said.
‘Let me guess,’ said Kate. ‘Danielli’s?’
‘Give that woman a coconut,’ said Sandy. ‘We’re going to get the biggest cones Mr Danielli can manage.’
Amanda made a brave attempt at eating hers but quickly lost interest, preferring instead to cuddle against her mother on the back seat. Sandy’s eyes asked the question, what next? Kate shrugged and stroked Amanda’s hair. ‘We could go and see the ducks in the park?’
This idea appealed to Amanda, who nodded with something approaching enthusiasm.
‘Right,’ said Sandy. ‘First we’ll buy some bread.’
They stopped at a bakery on the way to the park and Sandy bought half a dozen bread rolls. Amanda and Kate were given the task of tearing them up into beak-sized pieces while Sandy drove them round to the park and parked Esmeralda by the edge of the pond.
Kate and Amanda stayed in the car — they didn’t want Amanda to catch a chill — while Sandy got out and drew an audience of ducks with the bread. He started edging backwards, laying a trail that brought the ducks towards the car, Pied Piper-fashion. When they were close enough, Kate opened the window and she and Amanda fed them from the window. Sandy watched from the side. More than anything he wanted to hear Amanda laugh; it had been so long since he’d heard the sound. But it wasn’t to be. Amanda dropped breadcrumbs slowly and deliberately and watched the ducks squabble briefly over each offering, but the look in her eyes suggested she was far away.
By four o’clock Amanda was showing signs of sleepiness and Kate said quietly, ‘Maybe we should think about taking her over?’
Sandy nodded and started the car. They were at Medic Ecosse within fifteen minutes.
‘Did Clive Turner give us any paperwork?’ asked Sandy as he parked in the visitors’ bay at the hospital.
‘I don’t think so,’ replied Kate. ‘I thought all that had been dealt with.’
‘Hope you’re right,’ said Sandy. He was anticipating having to explain to a succession of staff members just who they were and why they were there. He was proved wrong almost as soon as they’d entered.
‘Mr and Mrs Chapman?’ said the receptionist with a smile. ‘And Amanda. We’ve been expecting you. I’ll just call Dr Ross. He’ll be down directly. Why don’t you make yourselves comfortable over there.’
She indicated a comfortably furnished waiting area.
Kate sat down with Amanda on her knee; Sandy sat opposite. Amanda was sucking her thumb as she always did when she was tired. She looked at the box of toys put there to keep waiting children amused, but displayed no real interest. Her eyes still had the distant look that brought a lump to his throat. Amanda turned to look at her father and he smiled quickly to hide his sadness. ‘Dr Ross will be here soon, Princess,’ he said. ‘He’s going to make you all better. I promise.’
Amanda continued sucking her thumb.
James Ross appeared, accompanied by Thomas Kinscherf and two nurses. He came over to the Chapmans and introduced himself. His outgoing friendliness immediately put Sandy and Kate at their ease.
‘And this is the little lady who’s not been well,’ said Ross, going down on one knee to take Amanda’s hand and give it a little squeeze. ‘Well, we’ll see about that, won’t we? We’ve got a surprise for you. Do you like surprises?’
Amanda, thumb still in mouth, nodded.
‘Good,’ said Ross. He turned to one of the nurses, who handed him a gift-wrapped parcel which he in turn handed to Amanda. ‘This is for you. Shall I help you open it?’
Amanda nodded again and Ross tore away the paper to reveal a fluffy toy rabbit. ‘This is Albert. What d’you think?’ he asked.
Amanda took her thumb from her mouth and smiled broadly as she took the toy. It was infectious. They all smiled.
‘That was very kind,’ said Kate. Sandy nodded his agreement.
‘Not at all,’ said Ross. ‘We do this for all our young patients.’
Sandy started to remind him that they were not paying customers but Kinscherf stopped him almost immediately. He held up his hand and said, ‘As far as we are concerned, Amanda is our patient and will be treated exactly as any other of our patients. All our people deserve and get the best.’
‘Thank you,’ said Sandy.
‘I think we should see about getting this young lady admitted, don’t you, Nurse?’ said Ross.
One of the nurses stepped forward and took Amanda gently from her mother. There was a moment when it looked as if Amanda was going to protest loudly but Ross said quickly, ‘Don’t worry. Mummy is coming along too. Shall we move?’
Everyone walked over to the lift, which took them up to the transplant unit. There, Kate and Sandy were ushered out last by the nurse who had been detailed to look after them while her colleague took care of Amanda. She made small-talk about the weather as they followed Ross and Kinscherf along the corridor.
‘Here we are,’ said Ross. ‘This is Amanda’s room.’
Kate and Sandy broke into smiles as they entered. The room looked as if it had been specially designed for a little girl of Amanda’s age. Characters from Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh lined the walls in friendly profusion. A number of dolls and cuddly toys were arranged around the room, making a link between reality and the characters on the walls. A giant doll’s house stood in the corner beside the bed.
Ross turned to Amanda and said, ‘Mummy and Daddy and I are going to have a little chat next door while Nurse gets you ready for bed. We’ll come back in a few minutes, I promise. Will that be all right?’
Amanda nodded and Kate and Sandy smiled at how quickly she had succumbed to Ross’s obvious way with children. They followed Ross along to his office and sat on two leather chairs in front of his desk while he opened Amanda’s case notes.
‘We’ll get her on to dialysis this evening and then see how she does before we go any further,’ said Ross. ‘The important thing will be to try to get her into a stable condition so we can establish a routine for her instead of constantly altering dialysis times and schedules. If we can do that, she’ll settle down and her general level of fitness will improve. There’s also the problem of tissue degradation to deal with, but first things first, eh?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Kate.
‘But a word of caution. Our colleagues at the Children’s Hospital didn’t manage to succeed and I can’t promise anything either,’ said Ross. ‘We’ll do our best, but a transplant is still Amanda’s best option. It may be her only one but that, as you know, is outside our control.’
‘We understand,’ said Sandy.
‘Good.’
‘About visiting, Doctor,’ began Kate.
‘Any time you like,’ said Ross. ‘And any time you feel like staying over, that’s quite all right too. You may stay as our guests.’
‘That’s good to know,’ said Kate.
‘I suggest that you don’t stay tonight, however. We’d like Amanda to get used to us. It’s important that we gain her trust. Don’t worry, we’ll look after her.’
‘I’m sure you will,’ said Kate. ‘Thank you, Doctor. We’re most grateful.’
Kate and Sandy returned to Amanda’s room to find her in her pyjamas, listening to the nurse, who was
