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‘OK. So…I just make another appointment at the desk?’
‘Yes. Get them to mark down that you’re to see me, specifically, for follow-up.’
‘’K.’ Christopher returned to his chair and Jennifer went around the desk to write up the notes.
‘Any other pain?’
‘Nope.’
‘Good.’ She smiled at the young man she’d seen on her first day there. She stopped writing and fiddled with her pen. ‘Can I just ask you, what were you doing skateboarding at three o’clock in the morning?’
‘The question is, Doc, why weren’t you skateboarding at three o’clock in the morning?’
Jennifer laughed and when the knock on her door came she immediately called for whoever it was to come in. A second later Jasper’s broad shoulders filled the doorway. He looked from her, to her patient and then back again.
‘Am I interrupting?’
‘No. It’s fine. Christopher was just about to tell me the real reason he was skateboarding at three o’clock in the morning.’
Jasper raised his eyes at that and looked with interest at the young man—the young man who’d made Jennifer laugh.
‘It’s the safest time,’ Christopher said with a nonchalant shrug. ‘You can see any cars that are coming sooner because you can see the headlights. The only reason I came off was I was going faster than I thought so when I jumped off the board my feet couldn’t keep up.’ He shrugged again and grinned from ear to ear, a love of life gleaming brightly in his eyes.
‘Perhaps you shouldn’t go so fast next time,’ Jasper offered.
‘It was the cape.’
‘Cape?’ both doctors asked in unison.
‘Yeah. If you skateboard with a cape on, you go faster. You know, increase the wind velocity and all that. Superheroes rely on their capes to help them fly, to speed themselves up or slow themselves down. A cape is a must-have when skateboarding in the early morning hours.’ His words were spoken with confidence and Jennifer admired him.
She glanced up at Jasper. ‘It’s a different world out there to when I was a teenager.’ She shook her head, then looked again at Christopher, a smile on her face. ‘Well…thank you for telling us.’ She handed him a form. ‘See you in two weeks and good luck with your uni exam next week. Thank goodness you didn’t hurt the hand you write with.’
‘Yeah. Then Mum would have been really mad.’ Christopher headed out, leaving Jasper standing there watching Jennifer.
‘Cute kid,’ she said as she signed her name to his notes and closed the file. ‘Now, Jasper, what can I do for you?’
He held out an X-ray packet. ‘Just wanted a second opinion on these.’
Jennifer stood and took the packet from him, pulling down Christopher’s X-rays and putting them away before hooking up the ones Jasper had brought in. ‘Lovely dislocation of the shoulder.’
‘Does that look like a hairline fracture?’ He pointed to the neck of humerus and Jennifer peered closer, squinting a little.
‘Do you have another view?’
‘Yes but it doesn’t show up as clearly as this. I don’t want to relocate the shoulder if it requires further stabilisation.’ He paused, then said, ‘You know that young boy probably has a crush on you.’
‘Hmm? Oh, Christopher?’ She looked up at Jasper and laughed. ‘I doubt it. I’m far too old for him.’
‘Nevertheless, he was looking at you as though he wanted to be your own personal superhero.’
Jennifer’s face lit up with humour and the effect of her eyes and her hundred-watt smile were enough to make Jasper feel as though he’d been hit in the solar plexus.
‘He reminded me of Arturo.’
‘He looked like Arturo?’
‘No.’ She shook her head quickly. ‘His love of life. Skateboarding at three o’clock in the morning is something Art would definitely have done—cape and all.’
‘Crazy.’
‘Oh, undoubtedly, and totally stupid as well but, still, that boy has a love of life, and when you think about it, it’s not something we get to see all that often.’
‘No. We get to see the after-effects.’
‘Ooh. Grumpy Eddie, today, eh? Perhaps you need another coffee?’
‘I am not grumpy,’ he protested. He was secretly pleased Jennifer was teasing him in such a manner and also that she was opening up about Arturo. After their deep and meaningful discussion he’d wondered if she’d treat him any differently at work. At first it had appeared the ice-queen was in residence as they’d done ward round together but later on when they’d been in clinic she’d smiled at him. Why he’d felt as though the sun had come out from behind a cloud he wasn’t sure, but that was the way he’d felt for the past two weeks. When she smiled at him, as she was doing now, he couldn’t help but enjoy it. Unfortunately, they’d been too busy to spend any quality time together, something he’d planned on doing. After all, he’d told himself several times, friends were allowed to spend time together. Weren’t they? Still, he had two tickets to a concert that evening, burning a hole in his pocket. He hadn’t said anything to her about it, unsure of emergencies, but if it turned out they were both free tonight, he was definitely going to try and persuade her to accompany him. He’d already primed the girls and his mother not to expect him back for dinner. He glanced at her…hoping things turned out his way.
