Good Morning from Paradise (9 page)

Monday 24
^th
June

Back to work today, really looking forward to
it. I need to occupy my mind and get my routine back again. My mum always said
I was a creature of habit. Which reminds me, I should probably call her.
Another day maybe. My alarm went off as it should but I didn’t need it. I
couldn’t sleep for thinking about what Wil had said so I was up, showered and
dressed before it chimed. One of those rare mornings where I actually have time
for coffee before work. I hope that’s a good indicator of how the rest of my
day is going to go. Wish me luck.

Ella xx

I
made it to work early and it turns out that was a good thing. The Senior Nurse
had called in sick, the computers had crashed and Maggie, the receptionist was
close to a nervous breakdown. We worked frantically before opening to set up a
temporary paper system, the IT guy said he can fix the problem but it would
take a few hours. Poor Maggie was going to have a hard day. Dr Mike had asked
me to cover until a replacement nurse arrived so I was front of house today,
well this morning at least which meant I could offer Maggie some moral support.
Monday mornings were always busy, this one was no different and by the time the
bank nurse arrived I was glad to get back to my usual room and take the
overflow patients and routine checks. It was hard to believe it was still
morning when the next couple came in, the day felt like it had been a week long
already. The girl needed bloods taken before she went into Dr Mike for her
first baby check- up. Yep, stood in my room were Rachael and Dan. Just great.

“Hello,
I’m nurse Stephenson.” I offered as a greeting.

“Rachael,
nice to meet you.” She said as she took a seat. Thank god she didn’t remember
me but then she only met me he once and we were never actually introduced. I
looked up at Dan.

“Oh,
sorry.” Rachael turned to look at him too. “This is my boyfriend Dan, the
father of my baby. We’re here for our first check -up.” she said nervously.

“Ok
Rachael, all I need to do is take some bloods and then you can go back to the
waiting room until the doctor is ready to see you.” I smiled at her. I let the
nurse in me take over and was thankful that there was a professional side of me
to hide behind. I got together the equipment I needed, wrote out some paperwork
and labels and turned back to her. The colour had completely drained from her
face.

“Rachael,
are you ok? You look a little pale.” I asked.

“I’m
not a big fan of needles, I’ll be ok, Dan will you hold my hand?” she turned to
him again. He said nothing, he just stepped forward and held her hand.

“It
won’t take long, promise.” I reassured her and quickly went about my job. Once
the bloods were taken I offered her a piece of cotton wool to stem any bleeding
and opened my door to show them back into the waiting room. Rachael thanked me
and left first. Dan stopped in the doorway. His hand gently brushed my cheek in
way of an apology. He didn’t speak, he didn’t need to, his face said it all. I
took a break after they left my room. I needed to regroup before I saw the next
patient. Dr Mike could deal with them now.  By lunch time I was frazzled,
only four and a half days to go before the weekend. I chuckled to myself.
Coffee helped and food. I actually ate a whole sandwich and fruit, maybe work
will help me get my love for cake back. I can’t believe she was one of my
patients today, I’m proud of how I handled it though. I think it’s against
company policy to jump up and wrap your legs around the patients partner no
matter how hot he is! Ha-ha. He looked good though, it was actually nice to see
him and his heavenly smell lingered in my room for a while after it, I was
almost passing out from taking too many deep breaths so I could breathe it all
in. I put my stuff back in my locker and checked my phone before I went back to
work for the afternoon shift. I had three messages, the first one was from
Brit, it said:

Hey, where’s my coffee? I want a divorce
ha-ha. Hope work is ok. xxx

I
replied quickly telling her the morning had been too hectic for breaks but I’ll
make it up to her tomorrow with an extra cookie. The next message was from
Kyle. It said.

Hi Ella, how are you? I need a favour if you
could call me when you get time. Thanks

Kyle x

I
let him know I would call after work. The last one was from Dan. It said:

I didn’t think it was possible to want you
more than I do until I saw you in that uniform gorgeous girl. You were great
today, thanks.

D xx

It
made me smile. I sent a reply before going back to work.

Just doing my job.

E xx

The
afternoon was a breeze compared to this morning and I got finished on time. I
decided to walk home, clear my head and get some fresh air after a day indoors.
I needed to call Kyle, I got my phone out and called him there and then, might
as well get it over with on the walk home then I can devote my time to Brit, I
want to know all about her date with Justin. It only rang once and Kyle
answered, he must have been able to tell I was outdoors because he asked where
I was. Turns out their workshop/office is nearby so he gave me directions and I
went over to meet with him. The workshop was a huge, open fronted barn tucked
behind the shops and offices, it reminded me of the garage I used to take my
car to back in England only it was piled high with wood and other materials. It
was noisy, there were a couple of guys cutting wood with ear protectors and
goggles on I couldn’t make out if I knew them or not, I’m going for not since I
only know a handful of people in town unless I’ve seen them at the clinic. The
office was a little cabin stuck on the side of the workshop. I knocked and went
in. Kyle was working on some papers, he stood up to give me a hug.

“Ella,
thanks for coming. I need a second opinion on the gift I’ve bought Amber for
her birthday. I’m so desperate to get it right but I don’t know if she’ll like
it. Will you tell me what you think, honestly, even if you hate it?” he looked
nervous and I could tell it meant a lot to him. He showed me around to his side
of the desk and pulled his chair out for me. I sat at his computer and he
leaned over my shoulder to type. I felt comfortable with Kyle so his closeness
didn’t bother me. He brought his gift up on to the screen and I was amazed by
his choice. He had remembered that Amber liked stars and he had named one after
her. He showed me where on the map her star would appear and when she would be
able to see it. It was the perfect gift and I knew instantly she would love it.
Kyle seemed to relax once I told him how great it was. That wasn’t all he had
done though, he had ordered her a telescope to stand at her loft window so that
she could look for her star.

“Aw
Kyle, she is going to absolutely love this, it’s perfect.” I said as I stood to
get out of his seat. Just then the door opened and Dan came into the office
followed by Billy. He froze when he saw me. Billy spoke first.

“Kyle.
A nurse and a vet, you are a lucky man.” He chuckled. I knew he was joking but
Dan turned red with anger. I had to step in.

“Hi
I’m Ella. Kyle and Ambers friend.” I walked round to the front of the desk and
held my hand out as I introduced myself. He took my hand and shook it but then
he didn’t let it go

“You’re
Ella! Amber has told me about you, she didn’t tell me how beautiful you are
though. I’m Billy.” Yack, the girls were right, Billy obviously thinks women
were made for his pleasure. I pulled my hand from his and moved closer to Dan
which seemed to calm him a bit.

“So,
you’re friends with Dan too?” he asked. I looked into Dan’s eyes and saw
sadness, I knew mine reflected his.

“Yes
I am, good friends.” I never looked away from Dan but Billy failed to see the
connection that was blatantly there.

“Single
then? How has that happened to such a beautiful girl?” He handed me his card
“If you ever want a bit of fun, call me.” He said. I wanted to puke at the
thought.

“Thanks
for the offer.” I said taking his card and dropping it on Kyles desk. “But I’m
not looking for anything right now.” Kyle stepped in.

“Ella
was just giving me the second opinion on Ambers birthday gift.” He seemed to be
reassuring Dan. She walked here from work, maybe you could take her home Dan
while I go through the paperwork with Billy.” He ushered Billy away from me and
into a seat at the desk opposite his.

“Oh
it’s ok, I can walk.” I said but Dan had already grabbed my hand and was
leading me out of the office. I called out my goodbyes to Kyle and Billy as he
practically dragged me out of the office and over to his truck.

“Please
say you’ll come with me Ella.” He said as he opened the truck door.

“‘Do
I have a choice?” I asked pulling my hand back. He just looked at me, I took
that as a no and climbed into his truck. We drove for a while and he turned off
near some woodland. He eventually came to a stop, turned off the engine and
looked at me.

“Sorry
for dragging you away, I had to get you away from that slime ball without
causing a scene and losing the contract.” He ran his hands through his
hair. 

“He’s
something else isn’t he? Yack, he actually makes my skin crawl. I don’t know
how Amber can stand to work with him.” I shuddered.

“Yeah
well, now we know him I’m sure Kyle is keeping a close eye on her.” I felt
comforted by that thought, I knew Kyle would never let anything happen to
Amber. Dan unfastened his seatbelt and slid over the seat to me. He held me close
to him and it felt so good. I looked up at him and he kissed my forehead. That
simple act made me love him more. We sat like that for a while, we talked about
the situation we were faced with. He reassured me that he was doing it for the
baby but deep down I knew there would be something there between them someday.
He couldn’t stand by and watch a woman grow his child, look after her through
the pregnancy, hold her hand as she brought their baby into the world and not
feel something for her. They were going to share something beautiful, that bond
would always be there. He had loved her before even if that feeling had worn
off there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t grow again especially when they
have a child together. I could only hope that the others were right and she was
a big fat liar. I snuggled into him realising it was probably going to be the
last time. We sat a while longer in silence and then we let go.

“‘I
should be getting back.” He said. I nodded and he took me home. As I watched
him drive off I felt completely lost without him. Empty. Cold. Maybe I would
always feel like this. Who knows what the future holds.

I
went inside and showered my tears away. Brit was just coming in as I started on
dinner. She told me about her date last night and I could tell she was holding
back on her excitement in case she hurt my feelings. I was happy that she and
Justin were getting on so well, it was great to see her like this. I couldn’t
wait to see them together to see what kind of couple they were and how he
treated her. I’m sure Justin will make a fantastic boyfriend.

We
ate and watched TV. I never told Brit about my truck ride with Dan, I didn’t
want to share it. I went to bed that night not knowing what to feel, now the
crying had stopped, well for the best part of the day anyhow, I just felt numb.
I wonder how long this will last.

Saturday
29th June

Hi Di,

Sorry it’s been a few days but I didn’t have
much to write. It’s been a normal week, nothing really exciting. Today had
promise though. Today we were going shopping for clothes and to help Amber
choose her birthday cake. Her party has turned into a monster event. Not quite
as huge as Brit’s though. It would be fun for them I’m sure. For me it would
mean seeing Dan and Rachael as a couple and that was going to hurt like hell.
Then there was this grand idea that the moment Rachael met Billy she would fall
for his charms, and cash, and leave Dan alone. I knew that wasn’t going to
happen, especially since meeting Billy. I knew they were trying to give me hope
but secretly I had given up. To be honest, I’ll be glad when the whole thing is
over and hey can accept that he chose her and I can work on accepting it too.
One more week, that’s all.

Ella xx

It
was a lovely day, I put my favourite summer dress on, it was fitted to the
waist with a flared skirt, it was white with a pink floral pattern. I paired it
with my pink ballerina pumps, I wanted to be comfortable, I knew how much these
girls could shop. We met up at 10.30am. I played along with the excitement for
Ambers sake but my heart wasn’t in it. By lunch they had a dress each and just
needed shoes. I hadn’t seen anything that I liked but I reassured them I had
plenty of time. We had lunch at a burger bar and made our way to the appointment
at the cake shop. The lady making the cake gave us samples of the different
flavours she made, it was like choosing a wedding cake. We all liked the
chocolate orange cake so Amber chose the larger bottom layer in that flavour
and a vanilla sponge as the top layer so that anyone who didn’t like chocolate
orange would still be able to have cake. Amber picked a pale pink icing with a
sugar orchard on the top. It was going to be beautiful. For the rest of the
afternoon we shopped for shoes, a dress for me and pretty much anything else we
could carry. It was a pleasant day all in all. When we got home I checked my
phone. Kyle had sent me a message to let me know that the scan date for the
baby is next Friday, the day before the party. Dan was going with her, of
course. He also said Rachael had come into the office while Dan was taking me
home the other night and she met Billy, he seemed quite taken by her, but then
she is female. Kyle took the opportunity to drop a few hints about how rich
Billy was. It made me chuckle to think they all thought this plan, that wasn’t
really much of a plan, was going to work. I sent him a message back to thank
him for the information. Once he sees that baby on that screen he’s going to
fall in love with them both, I just know it.

My
mum had called and left a message. New phone number of course, she doesn’t call
me for any other reason but then Lee always was her favourite and she thinks I
was a dick for running away. Her message ended with

“Oh,
Ella, when are you going to get over yourself and come home?” and then she hung
up.

“I
love you too” I muttered as I threw my phone onto the bed. Wow, just when life
was shit enough my mother tops it off with kick in the teeth. So glad I had
bought a bottle of wine for my night in alone. At least it would help me sleep.