‘Please,’ she pleaded, ‘please, I need to see a doctor. Kate’s hurt her arm. I think it’s broken.’
Once again the woman took the details, ignoring the crying, and indicated for the two to sit in the waiting area.
‘Someone will be with you shortly,’ Melinda heard her say through the glass.
Shortly might not be soon enough, she thought as Kate continued to bellow. Poor love. Melinda tried to assess her arm, without looking as if she were staring at the crying girl. Her face was red with exertion and eyes puffy from crying. Her arm didn’t look as if it was sticking out at a funny angle or swollen in any areas. If it was broken, Melinda thought, it would be a hairline fracture.
Glancing at her watch, she approached the window. ‘Hello,’ she said, smiling at the stern-looking lady. ‘I have an appointment to see the director of nursing.’
‘Take a seat,’ she answered in a monotone before picking up the phone. ‘Your ten o’clock is here.’ Without waiting for an answer, she replaced the receiver and indicated for Melinda to sit. ‘You’ll be called shortly.’
Shortly? Was that the only word she knew for ‘not long’ or ‘a minute’? Melinda nodded and went to the plastic seats which lined the wall.
Kate was still bawling and her mother was having a hard time soothing her.
‘It’s all right, love. It’ll be okay,’ Kate’s mother said above the crying. ‘The doctor will give you something to make your arm stop hurting.’
Melinda moved closer to them. ‘Hi,’ she said, trying to catch Kate’s eye. ‘I’m Melinda. Is your name Kate?’ She noticed the mother frowned and tried to angle her body in between her daughter and hers in protection. She flashed a quick smile. ‘I’m Melinda,’ she said, this time to the mother. ‘A paediatric nurse.’
The change in the mother was instant. She relaxed and gave her a wan smile. ‘Can you get us in to see a doctor quickly?’ she asked, rubbing her daughter’s leg to try to calm her.
Melinda shook her head. ‘I don’t work here, but I thought I might be able to help with Kate. Is your arm sore, sweetie?’ She directed the question at Kate, who didn’t hear it through her tears.
‘Kate,’ Melinda tried to get eye contact with her and put her hand on her bare knee. ‘Kate, I’m a nurse. Does your arm hurt?’
It was like turning off a tap. The crying stopped and Melinda’s ears rang with silence. A couple of jagged breaths later, Kate nodded and pointed at her forearm, in between the wrist and elbow.
‘Deary me. How did you do it?’ Melinda gently traced the girl’s arm to see if she could feel anything. She could see the beginning of swelling and bruising creeping up her arm.
‘I felled off my cubby.’ The admission brought a fresh round of tears.
‘Oh no! That must have hurt. Is it very high, your cubby?’
Kate’s mum nodded. ‘About this high.’ She held her hand up to shoulder height.
The door into emergency swung open and the nurse called out Kate’s name. Quickly her mother stood up and gathered Kate into her arms. Without thanking Melinda, she almost ran towards the doors and the wailing started afresh.
‘Good luck,’ Melinda called, leaning back in her chair and letting out a deep breath.Poor little mite, she thought. Well, nothing an X-ray and a few painkillers won’t fix.
‘Melinda?’
She jumped up and saw a man standing in a doorway—she hadn’t heard it open. ‘Yes.’
‘I’m Wes Corris. Please, come through.’ He indicated down a brightly lit passage. ‘Third on the left.’
Melinda gathered her folder and handbag and followed his instructions. As she started towards him, she heard the doors slide open and glanced over her shoulder to see her neighbour.
‘G’day there, missus,’ Ernie nodded to her.
Melinda realised he was holding a young child’s hand. She nodded to him and matched Wes’s steps towards his office.
‘I understand you’re new to Barrabine,’ Wes said as he settled behind his desk.
With a quick glance, Melinda saw the back wall of the office was lined with medical books, while the right wall had whiteboards covered with staff leave and jobs to be done. His desk was ordered and the entire office held only one personal item: a photo of what she assumed was his family—a woman and two small children.
‘Yes,’ she answered, placing her handbag on the floor and sitting down. ‘My husband,’ it still felt odd saying the word, ‘is a detective within the gold squad and we moved here a few weeks ago.’ Melinda tapped one finger nervously on her knee.
‘A big job,’ Wes said. ‘Bit of a wild west town this one.’
‘So I keep hearing.’ She didn’t mention this was the whole reason she didn’t like to go out or want to make friends. That and the fact she had come to realise if she made friends, once again she’d have to leave them. Melinda had come to the conclusion it was easier to keep her distance and not get too close to anyone.
There was a pause and Wes realigned his writing pad and pen into straight lines.
‘How can I help you, Melinda? I understand you’re looking for a job.’
She nodded. ‘I’m a paediatric nurse.’ Opening the folder, she brought out her résumé and laid it on the desk in front of him. ‘I’ve also got my certificates here.’
Wes picked up her resume and started to read. ‘Ah, you’ve worked under Tania Supple. I know Tania quite well,’ he commented, his eyes still on the paper.
Melinda took the time to study the office a little more closely. The medical books were on obstetrics and palliative care. She wondered how Wes had ended up behind a desk, managing people and budgets. Most nurses didn’t like the management side of the job.
Finally Wes put down the résumé and rubbed his eyes tiredly, even though it was only ten in the
