The Rebel And Miss Jones. Annie Claydon

We’re pretty busy at the moment. And I’m a doctor in a semi-rural practice. When you’re part of a community like this, the lines between off duty and on call tend to get a little blurred.’

      ‘I imagine it has its compensations.’

      It did. Knowing all his patients by their first names. Not being the ‘new guy’ who was just about to leave anyway. But it made him feel uncomfortable as well. He functioned better when he wasn’t tied to one place.

      ‘I said that I imagine it has its compensations.’ Her voice cut through his reverie.

      ‘Yeah, I suppose …’ The possibility of staying put for long enough to find out was the one thing that Reece never talked about. The one part of his life that wasn’t up for grabs. ‘Yes, it does.’

      The atmosphere in the car had turned from awkward to impossible, and Sara was glad when Reece turned into a driveway and drew up outside a large, sprawling house. As soon as he had grabbed his bag and got out of the car Reece was looking forward, though, on to the next thing. He was about as capable of hanging onto the past, even the very recent, mind-blowing past, as she was of growing wings and flying.

      The front door opened before they got to it, and a young woman about Sara’s age was standing at the threshold. Reece motioned Sara inside, introducing her briefly, and she followed him through to a child’s bedroom.

      ‘What’s the matter, Ava?’ He knelt down next to the child, who was whimpering fretfully.

      ‘He’s been sick. And he’s feverish.’

      ‘Any bites?’

      ‘I don’t think so.’

      ‘Okay, let’s take a look at him.’ Reece turned to open his bag, drawing out a pair of surgical gloves, and Sara kept her eyes on the child. She’d heard those high, keening cries before, but it could well be nothing. Leaning forward, she brushed one finger against his hand. Cold, even though the boy’s flushed cheeks attested to him having a high temperature. Then she saw it.

      ‘Reece. He has neck retractions.’ She’d seen that rictus arching before too. She just hoped that Reece would react a little better to the suggestion than the doctor back in London had a few months ago. That time, a child had almost died before the doctors had accepted that Sara was right.

      His gaze met hers and he nodded slightly. He’d got the message. ‘Has he been arching his back, Ava? Throwing his head backwards?’

      ‘Yes, a little. He’s been wriggling around, he’s not very comfortable at all.’ Ava was looking back and forth between Sara and Reece, questions in her eyes.

      ‘Okay, Ava. Come over here and let Reece take a look at him.’ He had heard what she had to say and there was no more that she could do. A paramedic deferred to a doctor, that was the way things worked. Sara guided Ava over to a chair in the corner of the room and knelt down on the floor next to her.

      The boy whimpered as Reece examined him. ‘He’s been like this all evening,’ Ava confided to Sara. ‘What’s the matter with him?’ Ava’s instinct was telling her that something was badly wrong with her son, and that was just as telling as the indications that Sara had seen for herself.

      ‘We don’t know yet. But Reece will find out.’ She wanted to tell Ava that her son was okay, but she knew better than to lie in this situation. She also knew better than to say the word ‘meningitis’ until there was a fuller diagnosis. Instead, she took Ava’s hand, waiting while Reece worked.

      ‘I think you’re right, Sara. Call an ambulance—the phone’s in the hall.’ He had made a careful examination of the boy and now he threw the instruction at her over one shoulder.

      ‘What’s the number?’

      ‘Three zeros. We’re at 211 Flowers Road.’ Reece turned to Ava, who was now shaking visibly. ‘You were right to call me, Ava. Now I’m going to tell you exactly what’s happening and I want you to listen to me carefully.’

      Sara hurried into the hallway and stabbed at the numbers. Quickly she reeled off the information that was asked of her, giving Reece’s name as the doctor in attendance.

      ‘They said twenty minutes.’ Sara had no idea about whether that was a good response time or not. Out here the distances were so much greater and while there was not so much traffic for an ambulance to negotiate, everything was so much further apart.

      ‘Good.’ Reece looked at his watch. ‘They’ll be making good time if they get over here so soon. I’ll write a letter for you to take with you, Ava. Where’s Dan?’