‘She’s such a great doctor. A really sweet young woman,’ Gail chatted. ‘So polite.’
Marcus blinked this time, thinking about how far from sweet and polite she’d been in his office four hours ago. ‘Yes,’ he said non-comittally, ‘very...sweet.’ Sweet as. ‘So, you have gallstones?’
Gail took the bait and Marcus was relieved to get off the topic of Maddy. It was bad enough that he could still smell her perfume in the air and her scent on his clothes and had been in a state of semi-arousal all afternoon.
He made an effort to concentrate on his patient as she talked about her symptoms of indigestion and then an episode of acute abdominal pain. He looked at the ultrasound images online, examining them closely, and then read the report.
‘I’ve heard there is a natural way to dissolve gallstones. Do you know anything about that?’
He smiled at her reassuringly. ‘Yes, I’ve had a lot of success with it in my practice. But I warn you, it’s not easy or very palatable and it’ll be a good couple of weeks before you can try it. You may be better off having a quick laparoscopic day procedure if you’re experiencing frequent attacks of cholecystitis.’
‘As long as I don’t eat anything too fatty, it’s usually OK. Why will I have to wait that long?’ she asked.
‘We need to make some dietary adjustments first to detoxify your system and prepare the gall bladder properly to pass the stones.’
‘Like what?’
Marcus took a detailed history of Gail’s dietary habits, formulating her detox plan.
‘Well, you’ve eliminated most fatty foods so that’s good, but you’ll need to also eliminate the hidden fats like those naturally occurring in dairy foods. You need to halve your protein intake and substantially increase your fruit and veg consumption. And it’s very important to increase your water intake to between two to three litres a day so you can flush out the toxins.’
They talked extensively about meal planning and strategies to cope with the detox phase.
‘So I’m going to have to do this for ever?’ she asked gloomily.
He chuckled. ‘No, this is just for the two weeks prior to the elimination procedure. But it is probably a good idea to look at what dietary habits you can modify so the stones don’t re-form. It’s not about denying yourself, Gail. Just about moderation.’
He wrote on a piece of paper and tore it off and gave it to her.
‘Go to the health-food shop and get yourself some lecithin granules. Add them to your meals — it helps to emulsify the cholesterol and reduce the size of the stones. This is really important as bigger stones can damage the neck of the gall bladder.’
‘OK.’ She nodded. ‘So, after the two weeks, what happens then?’
‘You can start the procedure. I usually recommend that you do it before going to bed and hopefully you’ll sleep through the worst of it. Take a dose of Epsom salts a few hours before that to ensure that once the contents of the gall bladder are emptied into the intestine, they are eliminated quickly. Mix three-quarters of a cup of safflower oil with half a cup of fresh lemon juice —’
‘Hmm, yummy,’ she said, wrinkling her nose.
‘Yes, it’s not very palatable but it is effective. As soon as you’ve taken it, lie on your right side with your knees bent. This is the most anatomically correct position to ensure the oil and lemon juice penetrate the gall bladder. And then, fingers crossed, the bile duct will dilate to expel the oil and the stones will go with it. You should pass the stones in your next bowel motion. Sometimes a repeat procedure is needed if all the stones don’t clear first time.’
‘Will it hurt?’
‘There may be abdominal discomfort and nausea. It shouldn’t be unbearably painful. If it is, ring me. But I’ll get you to come back in a week and we can talk about how you’re going. What do you think?’
‘Sounds better than an operation.’ She smiled. ‘I’m willing to give it a try.’
He smiled and stood. ‘Good, we’ll make an appointment for next week. Any troubles in the meantime, don’t hesitate to ring.’
Marcus whistled a happy tune as he waltzed back into his office. Another satisfied customer. He was confident that Gail would be able to pass her gallstones naturally and pleased that he could make a real difference in people’s lives.
And then he walked into his office and Maddy’s perfume hit him again and Gail became completely insignificant. He hardened again, thinking about what Maddy had done to him in this very room and, better still, what would happen that night.
The old sensible Marcus warned him against getting too into her and their incredible chemistry. But the new Marcus, the one who had looked down at his chest that morning and seen it covered in her red curls, wanted to throw caution to the wind and follow wherever this thing led.
Maddy Harrington was making him lose perspective. When he was around her it was easy to forget about the commitment-phobe Hunt genes — his divorce-prone parents, his three sisters who had made complete screw-ups of their partnerships and his own failed attempt.
Madeline Harrington blinded him to it all. And that made her dangerous but he didn’t care.
He just didn’t care.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE next six weeks flew by and they were the most incredible of Madeline’s life. She and Marcus were pretty much inseparable. He would call in and pick her up from work each evening and they would rush to her place, the closest, falling on each other the second they were alone, like lovers who hadn’t seen each other for a century instead of only eight hours.
He was perfect. Life was perfect. It had gone from being in the doldrums and her vigilantly guarding herself from life and love and hurt to being spectacularly wonderful. He didn’t put a foot wrong. He was funny and sexy and kind and patient. He was a good cook, a great masseur and a
