A Mother for His Twins

‘You do that because there are some fantastic bands in that line-up.’

Jasper shook his head. ‘You really are quite a surprising woman, Dr Thorngate.’

‘Thanks. I think.’ She looked up at him, the distance between them still the same as before but she knew in accepting this invitation from him she’d just raised the bar on their friendship…and she was actually quite happy about it. ‘Do you want to meet for dinner before the show?’

‘I was just about to ask that. Sure. That would be great.’

‘OK. First, though, I’d suggest we get through the rest of this day, and the first step will be getting your patient X-rayed again.’ She turned and walked back to her desk, needing to put some distance between them because whenever she found herself close to Jasper like that it was becoming far more difficult not to reach out and slip her arms about his waist. She had a date with him tonight. A real live date and she couldn’t wait.

‘That was my thought but, again, as head of unit I didn’t know whether that would be considered as not adhering to cost-effective means.’

His words helped bring her mind back onto the right track. ‘If the patient requires further X-ray then they should be entitled to it. Better to spend the money doing that rather than risk a lawsuit for ineffective treatment—or, worse, the wrong treatment.’

He looked at her for a moment, pleased with what he was hearing. ‘Agreed.’

‘Then why do you seem so surprised at my recommendation? Was my predecessor a penny-pincher?’

‘You could say that.’

‘Ah, well, no wonder I have a fan club.’ And he was president. She tried not to smile at the thought. ‘Wait a minute. Why is someone presenting to clinic with a dislocated shoulder?’

‘They didn’t. It was an A and E call requiring an orthopaedic consult.’

‘But you’re not on call. Louise is.’

‘Louise isn’t feeling too well and was only just managing to cope with clinic. When the call came in, I took it.’

‘No wonder you needed coffee. Keep me informed on Louise’s health, if you wouldn’t mind.’

Jasper shook his head and tut-tutted. ‘You’re never going to keep up your ice-queen persona if you keep caring about your staff in this way.’

‘I’m a doctor. It’s my job to care.’

‘Yes, but you’re also the department administrator. It’s your job to squeeze the most out of your staff and protect all unnecessary expenditure.’

‘And after one whole month of being here, I’m well under budget—but don’t let that get around.’

Jasper pretended to zip his lips. ‘My lips are sealed,’ he mumbled, making her laugh. He was delighted at the sound.

‘Besides, if you act as my go-between guy, then I can keep my ice-queen image as well as surreptitiously caring for my staff.’

‘You want me to spy for you?’

‘Only on the important things.’

‘Such as…’

‘The need for a coffee-machine in the clinic, but more prominent would be the health of our colleagues.’ When he raised an eyebrow, she pressed on. ‘They hardly know me, Jasper and I’m just not good with the nitty-gritty personal stuff. Yes, I care if people are sick and suggest they actually take the sick leave they’ve no doubt accrued to get better. The department will manage as best as it can. No one is indispensable and I truly believe that’s the biggest flaw most of us doctors have. We always think we’re totally irreplaceable and therefore refuse to take a day off to actually get better. Instead, we come to work, spread our germs around to all and sundry and then wonder why we’re not getting any better. Yet if we simply followed the advice we give to our patients—i.e. go home, rest and drink plenty of fluids—we’d be back at work in no time.’

‘Whew! Don’t hold back, Jen. Tell me what you really think.’

Jennifer smiled at his words. ‘Sorry. The head of unit I worked under in Melbourne was a bully, in my opinion, for not allowing his staff days off despite the fact they were ready to drop from total exhaustion. That is not effective management, neither is it effective medicine, and it’s that type of defective management that leads to lawsuits.’

‘You have a real thing about avoiding lawsuits.’

‘I do and personally I think it’s a good trait for an administrator to have. If staff are healthy and alert—’

‘Translate—take days off and drink coffee when working…Continue.’

‘Then the department will run more smoothly. Patients will receive the care they need and everyone’s happy.’