‘I’m sure you understand, Melinda, that there has to be a vacancy for you to be able to apply for a job in the public sector.’
Melinda felt her heart sliding down into her feet, and the hope she’d held on to for so long disappeared with that one sentence.
‘At this point I don’t have a vacancy, as much as I need another three nurses and probably two emergency doctors. Budgets, God, don’t even talk to me about the lack of money in health.’ He let out another long sigh. ‘I can’t offer you a job, Melinda, as much as I need you and would like to. The hospital just doesn’t have the money.’
Glancing down, she picked at the hem of her shirt, swallowing hard, while thinking of something to say.
‘As soon as something becomes available, I’ll let you know. You’d be a great asset for us.’
She nodded and looked up. ‘Thanks for your time.’
‘I watched you out there, with the little girl. I can see you’re an excellent nurse. You’ve got an affinity with kids.’
‘I love what I do,’ she said simply. ‘I loved my work in Perth and leaving my job at Princess Margaret Hospital was one of the hardest things I’ve done. I spent a lot of time studying to be able to get there.’
‘Why did you leave?’
‘My husband got the job here.’
‘You gave up your career for him?’
Melinda paused. ‘Not giving it up,’ she answered. ‘More like putting it on hold.’
‘I hope he appreciates the sacrifice you’ve made,’ said Wes. ‘It’s not always easy to get back into those good jobs like you had at PMH once you’ve been gone for a while.’
Panic flared in Melinda. She hadn’t known that. What if…Anger burned at her throat.
‘And you worked in the burns unit mainly?’
She refocused on him. ‘Yes, but I started in Emergency. It’s all in there.’ She indicated to the résumé.
‘Which did you prefer?’
Melinda gave a slight shrug. ‘It’s hard to choose. The adrenalin and rush of Emergency can be addictive, as I’m sure you’re aware. Burns had its own type of urgency. The kids in burns, I’d get to talk to them a lot more, you know? Once they’d had their surgery or treatment, they were in the hospital for a while, often reliant on the nurses. They’d have long baths to wash away the dead skin, so we could assess the severity of the burn. Kids often got frightened, so I’d spend time sitting with them, talking to them.’ She paused. ‘Seeing them come back for more treatment was always great too. I guess we had a longer relationship with our patients than the ones who came into Emergency. Sometimes we’d see the same kids six or seven times a year.’
‘Yeah, I understand what you’re saying.’ Wes stood up and Melinda followed his lead.
‘I know this isn’t what you’re looking for, Melinda, but there is a position as a community health nurse going over at the community health campus. The job has a focus on babies and toddlers.’ He leaned down and scribbled a phone number and some directions on a notepad then handed it over. ‘At least it would keep your hand in. Keep you busy and working with kids.’
Melinda took the piece of paper and thanked him.
‘Good luck,’ he told her. ‘I’m sure you’ll find something which suits you.’
Out on the hot street Melinda walked quickly to her car, desperate to be inside where the air-conditioner would dry the sweat on her forehead and the tears that were threatening to spill over. She’d put so much hope into getting a job at the hospital and, although she understood everything Wes had said, still for some stupid reason she’d thought she’d be able to buck the system and walk right in.
Maybe not thought. Hoped.
In the safety of the car, Melinda let the tears fall. During the past month she’d been so lonely and bored. She was homesick and beginning to feel she’d given up her life to come to a place she hated. She’d only moved here for Dave. To help further his career, and now, according to Wes, she might lose everything as a result. Where was the fairness in that? Maybe if I never fit in, she thought, I’ll be able to go back home and Dave’ll understand. Maybe if I’m quick enough they won’t have replaced me at PMH and Dave and I could commute to see each other.
Only three months ago she’d been racing in and out of wards, treating wounds, bandaging and offering pain relief. Soothing frightened children and explaining procedures to parents. She’d been involved in handover meetings and coordinating operations. And now here she was, sitting in her car on the wide street of Barrabine, the sun beating in through the windscreen, and nothing for her to do except go home and look at four walls. She knew very few people and none of them really interested her anyway. From what she’d seen, everyone was keen for a drink and that was about all. Around town she’d seen women pushing kids in strollers or stuck behind the counters of shops. And Kathy? Well, Kathy seemed to stay at home all day, doing wifely things. What could they possibly have in common? What could they talk about?
A little voice reminded her she really hadn’t looked very far—the local supermarket, the pub and the parks. The mine museum, where she’d sat for hours in the Chinese garden, in front of the waterfall. The only water feature there was—again something she missed from Perth, which was on the sea. That was all. There was sure to be career women around here somewhere. There surely had to be someone she could have an intellectual conversation with.
There was a tap on the roof of the car and she jumped. Looking up, she saw Kathy smiling at her through the bug-splattered window. Melinda plastered a smile on her face, pretended to cough and quickly wiped her eyes, before winding down the window.
‘Hello there,
