The woman took the voucher, stowing it away in her purse. ‘Okay, thanks. What do you think, Nisha?’
Marie offered a second voucher and Nisha took it. Now that she had a conversation going, Marie decided that she should capitalise on it.
‘I don’t suppose you’d like a few extra leaflets, would you? To give to your friends? We have a range of services.’ Marie pointed to the list on the leaflet. ‘There’s going to be a gym and a swimming pool, and they’ll be open seven days a week. There’s a nominal charge for those, but we’ve tried to keep it affordable.’
‘I used to like swimming. The pool over on Stratton Road closed down, you know.’
Two pairs of eyes suddenly focussed away from her and over her left shoulder. Marie turned and saw Alex, wheeling a barrow full of bricks around the side of the building.
‘That’s the director of the clinic.’
Nisha’s eyebrows shot up and the other woman choked with laughter. ‘Really? Doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty, then?’
‘When he’s not laying bricks he’s a doctor. But we don’t just tackle specific medical problems—it’s all about living well.’
‘And what do you do here?’
‘I’m a doctor too.’
‘Neesh…?’
The other woman nudged her companion, but Nisha shook her head. A sixth sense pricked at the back of Marie’s neck. This was just the kind of thing the clinic was here for—the problems that people didn’t want to talk about.
‘Take my card.’ Marie offered one of the cards that had been printed with her name. ‘If there’s ever anything I can help with, just ask for me.’
Nisha nodded, taking the card. She looked at it, glanced at Marie, and then unzipped her handbag, putting the card inside. Maybe she’d take the offer up, but Marie knew from experience that she needed to let her think about it. Pushing now would only elicit a no.
‘My name’s Marie.’ She turned to the other woman.
‘Carol. Do you do mother-and-toddler swimming classes?’
‘Yes—you can sign up for them next week, when the clinic opens.’
‘I’ll definitely do that. We come past here every day. We might get another eyeful of that director of yours…’ Carol laughed as Nisha raised her eyebrows. ‘Only joking, Neesh.’
The toddler in Carol’s pushchair started to fret. ‘Yeah, all right, Georgie. We’ll be home soon, and then we’re going to the park. It was nice to meet you, Marie.’
‘You too. Hope I’ll see you again soon.’
The two women started to walk again, chatting companionably. Marie heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Alex, holding two glasses of lemonade. He handed her one.
‘Thanks, I could do with that. I’ve talked my head off, given out a whole handful of leaflets and also some free coffee vouchers. How are you doing?’
Alex grinned, leaning towards her as if he was about to impart something highly confidential. ‘Rather well, I think.’
‘Can I see it?’
‘No. The courtyards are my territory for the next couple of days. You can have the offices and the front gates. I’ll water the seeds for you.’
‘You won’t forget? You know how bad you are at watering plants.’ Marie shot him an imploring look.
‘That’s reassuring. I’m expecting people to put their lives in my hands, and you can’t trust me with a few seed trays.’
It was nice to see Alex teasing again. Marie had missed that, and it seemed that a little practical work had lifted some of the weight from his shoulders. He was looking a lot more like the relaxed and cheerful Alex that she’d known before all this had happened.
Alex nodded at the pavement behind her and Marie saw Carol hurrying towards them. It looked as if she had something on her mind.
‘Hey, Carol. This is Alex, our director.’
‘Pleased to meet you.’
Alex wiped his hand on his jeans and held it out. Carol shook it, nodding at him quickly, and then turned to Marie.
‘Did you mean what you said? To Nisha?’
‘About coming to see me? Of course. Is there something wrong?’
Carol nodded, tight-lipped.
‘Do you want to come inside and talk?’
Perhaps it was something Carol didn’t want to say in front of Alex.
‘No. No, that’s all right. I’ve got to get home—this one’s going to start playing up in a minute.’ She gestured down at Georgie, who was wriggling in the pushchair, clearly cross that the park was on hold for the moment.
Alex squatted down on his heels and poked his tongue out at the toddler. Their game of pulling faces seemed to be keeping them both occupied for a moment, which left Carol free to talk with Marie.
‘Is there something Nisha needs? Something we can help with?’
‘Yeah. Look, I can’t really talk about it…’
Carol was almost whispering now, and Marie lowered her voice too.
‘That’s okay. Has she been to see her GP?’
‘No, she won’t. This place looks…’ Carol shrugged. ‘She might come here. I could get her to come. But you will see her, won’t you? I don’t know that it’s a strictly medical thing.’
‘If it’s not a medical problem I’ll refer her to someone who can help her. The whole point of this place is to find whatever answer is appropriate.’
‘Right. Thanks. When are you opening? For…um…whatever… Appointments?’
‘Next week. But Nisha doesn’t need an appointment—she can come at any time. All you need to do is get her here and I’ll make time to see her.’
‘Great. Thanks.’ Carol looked down at Georgie, who was laughing and trying to reproduce the faces Alex was making. ‘I’d better get back. I told Nisha I was just popping back for something at the shops and I’d meet her in the park.’
‘All right. But, Carol…’ Marie caught Carol’s arm before she could leave. ‘This is important. If you think Nisha’s in danger in any way you must get her to call someone. Or bring her here.’
‘No, it’s nothing like that. Her husband’s a good man. It’s just…embarrassing. You know?’
‘Okay. I can do embarrassing. Get her to come and see me—you can come with her if that helps.’ She glanced down at Alex, raising her voice to catch his attention. ‘I don’t think Alex’s quite used up his stock of funny faces.’
Alex grinned up at Carol, getting to his feet. ‘He’s a great little chap.’
‘Thanks. He can be a bit of a handful.’ Carol was smiling now. ‘I’ll see you, then…?’
‘I hope so.’ Alex gave her a smile and Carol turned and hurried away.
‘What was all that about?’
Marie shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Something about the friend she was with a moment ago. She wouldn’t say.’
‘You think she’s in any danger?’ Alex’s first question was the same as Marie’s had been. It was always their first question.
‘No,