Libby smiled encouragingly at the mother sitting adjacent to her with her baby boy on her knee. Over the years, Libby had delivered and treated a lot of FLKs—funny-looking kids—but this baby was plump on the goodness of breast milk and utterly adorable. She had a crazy urge to grab him and kiss his rolls of baby fat. Was that a sign she was pregnant or was it just wishful thinking? Her period was due any day and she could easily find out now, but she was resisting the urge to ask Penny, her practice nurse, to draw blood. Libby didn’t want to have to deal with the sympathy if the test came back negative.
Putting her own dreams aside, she switched her full attention to the mother and child. “Let’s give this little dude his checkup.”
The morning rolled along, dealing with everything from hypertension and associated erectile dysfunction to skin infections and referrals to specialists in Bairnsdale. Some days were more mundane than others, but since she had to drive to the Bairnsdale hospital for an afternoon seminar, she wasn’t complaining if dull meant she could get away on time.
Her office phone rang just as she was checking some test results before meeting her next patient. “It’s Lucy’s school,” her receptionist said.
The school had never phoned Libby before. Her gut tensed as she instantly ran through ten different scenarios, all of them featuring Lucy injured in some way. “Libby Hunter speaking.”
“It’s Cheryl from the school office. Lucy doesn’t have her swimming gear and they’re leaving for their lesson in half an hour.”
Libby groaned. The last thing she’d said to Nick as she raced out the door this morning was, “Lucy’s got swimming today.” Normally when she micromanaged, he rolled his eyes, kissed her and said, “I’ve got this. Go save lives.” But today he’d snapped at her, “Tell me something I don’t know.”
For some reason, he’d been irritable all week with her and the kids, and she was losing patience. If she hadn’t been running late, she’d have called him on it.
“I’ve got back-to-back patients, Cheryl. Have you called Nick? His number’s actually listed as first contact.”
“Oh, sorry! I was on automatic pilot, phoning the mom first. I’ll call him now.”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll do it.” Libby rang off and immediately pressed Nick’s cell number. It rang and rang and she was about to hang up and try the office landline when he finally picked up.
“Yes. What?”
She flinched at his brusqueness, especially as the only reason she was interrupting him was because he’d stuffed up. “Hello to you too, darling.”
“I don’t have time for sarcasm.”
“Fine.” She heard the doctor in her voice—the tone that said, “Don’t mess with me”—and she took a breath to banish it. She hated when they argued. “The school just called. Lucy doesn’t have her togs and she needs them asap or she won’t be allowed to go to swimming.”
Nick swore. “I can’t get down to the school.”
There weren’t many situations that kept Nick tied to the office. In fact, it was his work flexibility that made the juggle of their lives so much easier. He certainly hadn’t mentioned anything important happening today. “How come?”
“Jeez, Libs. I just can’t, okay. I’ll call Mom.”
“Your parents have gone to Paynesville to visit Leonora, remember?”
He swore again. “What about Alice or your mom?”
“It’s Alice’s morning at Summerhouse and Mom’s teaching at U3A till noon.” Magpies chortled loudly in the background. “Where are you?”
“I’ll ask Jannick.”
The idea of a backpacker wandering around their house looking for Lucy’s swimming bag didn’t thrill her. “I’ll phone Jess. She said she was having a quiet morning at home and she’s got a key. Hang on, I’ll put you on hold while I call her.”
“No!”
“No? To going on hold?”
“I mean, no, I’ll call her.” It sounded like he was sucking his breath in through his teeth. “I stuffed up so I’ll fix it.”
She should have been relieved he was being his usual obliging self, but the tension in his voice belied the sentiment. “Nick, what’s going on with you today?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure? It’s just you’ve been—” moody, snappy, grumpy, unreasonable, “—a bit out of sorts this week. Are you thinking about Dom? Do you need to talk to someone?”
“Jesus, Libby! There’s nothing wrong, okay? Look, I’ve got to go or Lucy will miss swimming.”
He hung up before she could say goodbye. Was this delayed exhaustion after the frantic summer season? At this time of year, he was usually relaxed and happy, enjoying the slower pace but pleased there were still enough tourists around to keep things ticking over nicely so he didn’t have to lay off any staff. Nick hated letting good staff go each winter and that was when he was likely to go quiet for a few days.
Libby was clueless as to what was bothering him, but something was and she made a mental note to get a babysitter for Friday. Nick needed a night off from work and daddy duties. He needed date night.
The intercom buzzed. “Need you in the treatment room,” Penny said. “Sam Lukis is back. Asthma attack.”
Libby handed Sam’s care over to, Ramesh, her trainee, when he arrived at one o’clock and then she stepped out into the sunshine. Alice and Karen called her name from across the road and she looked around to see them waving white bakery bags and travel coffee cups.
“We’ve brought you lunch,” Karen said. “And before you say you’re too busy, you know you have to eat.”
Libby laughed. “I’m starving, so I have no intention of saying no to a food ambush.”
“It’s Alice’s idea. She ambushed me after my current affairs class finished.”
“I bought our favorite.” Alice sat at the picnic table and ripped open one of the bags to expose three rustic baguettes groaning with chicken and avocado.
“Oh, yum.” Libby enthusiastically bit into one.
Her twin grinned at her. “You’re welcome. There’s also lemon tart and a chocolate one. And because I’m high on craft glue fumes, I’ll even let you have
