Melody followed the clinical nurse consultant back to her desk and reached for the phone. ‘Rick?’ she said a moment later. ‘More information, please.’
‘There’s a car crash on Frost Road that’s blocking traffic. Are you going to wait for them?’
‘I’m not sure. Did Carmel give any more details?’
‘She said they could be five minutes or five hours. She was sounding pretty stressed.’
‘OK. We can’t keep everyone waiting, and if George misses the entire ward round, he can just join tomorrow’s, can’t he?’
‘Who are you trying to convince?’ Rick laughed.
‘Keep me informed of the situation.’
‘Will do.’
Melody replaced the receiver. ‘Thank you,’ she said to the CNC. ‘I’ll be starting the ward round on time, Sister.’
‘Of course, Doctor,’ the CNC replied with a nod. Melody returned to the discussion room, where people were talking quite animatedly about the turn of events. She was swamped with questions as soon as she walked through the door.
‘Is Professor Wilmont coming today or not?’ one nurse asked.
‘I have no idea. He’s stuck in traffic. We’ll be starting the round on time, though.’
‘But you can’t,’ another complained.
‘Yeah. This is my day off and I’ve specifically come in to watch him.’
‘So have I.’
‘I’ve cancelled a meeting,’ someone else said.
‘Well, I can’t control peak-hour traffic any more than Professor Wilmont can,’ Melody stated. This was not a good beginning to the day. ‘We’ll be starting the ward round in…’ she glanced at her watch ‘…three minutes. Thank you.’
She walked out and headed to the ward kitchen. She needed coffee—and fast. She made herself half a cup and drank it down before returning to the discussion room to start the round. As they went from patient to patient, Melody kept checking the doorway, hoping George and his team would arrive.
They were halfway through the round when she looked up, straight into a pair of brown eyes that instantly melted her insides. George! His silent arrival threw her off guard and she faltered for a second but quickly managed to recover.
As they moved on to the next patient, Melody took the opportunity of announcing his presence. ‘Glad you could finally make it, Professor Wilmont.’ Several people turned to look at him. He merely nodded, not a smile in sight. ‘I take it this morning’s traffic jam will ensure you don’t forget Sydney in a hurry,’ she said lightly, and a few people chuckled. ‘And now we come to Mrs Hammond. How are you this morning?’ she asked her patient.
‘Not bad, not bad, dearie. Got a bigger crowd than usual, I see.’
‘Yes.’ Melody smiled back and started her spiel on Mrs Hammond’s injuries. Melody’s stomach was knotted up again and she worked hard to control her involuntary emotional response to seeing George again. Yesterday hadn’t been imagined. Her attraction to him was real. Very real.
After they’d finished the round, they returned to the discussion room, where Melody usually answered questions, as well as asking a few herself. She wasn’t at all surprised when many people asked their questions of George and she was pleased when he checked with her before answering them.
Mindful of George’s tight schedule, Melody checked her watch and called for a final three questions. He shot her a grateful look. Almost a minute later Carmel appeared in the doorway, ready to wrap things up.
As people starting filing out of the room, Carmel came up to her. ‘I need to speak to you,’ she said, her tone carrying a hint of annoyance, before she headed over to George. Melody wondered what on earth she’d done to annoy Carmel.
George was still talking to a few people and Melody needed to check on Mr Potter, who was still in the critical care unit under close supervision. ‘I need to check on a patient and then I’ll be in my office,’ she told Carmel.
She nodded then politely interrupted George’s conversation. Melody left, trying to figure out what was going on as she headed to CCU. Mr Potter’s compartment syndrome was showing no signs of returning and Melody was pleased with his progress. He would need to have his drains taken out in a few days’ time. She wrote up her notes, releasing Mr Potter back to the orthopaedic ward before heading to her office. No sooner had she sat in her chair than her door opened and an angry-looking Carmel stormed in.
‘I wasn’t at all impressed, Melody.’
‘With what?’ she asked, feeling her hackles begin to rise.
‘You started the ward round without George!’