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‘What was I supposed to do? Wait for him?’
‘He is the visiting orthopaedic surgeon,’ Carmel pointed out.
‘Who just happened to be stuck in a traffic jam. It wasn’t my fault, Carmel. Besides, if it means that much to him, he can just come tomorrow.’
‘But he was scheduled to come this morning.’
‘And he did.’
‘You still could have waited.’
‘No, Carmel, I couldn’t. Firstly, I have patients who are in hospital for treatment. That means physio and OT appointments. It means social workers calling on them. Time for their family and friends to visit. Meals need to be served. Blood tests and X-ray appointments need to be organised. If ward round is late then everything else is thrown off for the rest of the day. Secondly, I was also trying to keep to George’s own schedule, which you’re so rigid about adhering to.’
Carmel opened her mouth but Melody was all fired up. After all, she was a redhead and once she got going it was hard to stop her. ‘Don’t you even think of blaming me for this morning. I had no control over George being late, and just because you’re angry and frustrated it doesn’t mean you can look to me as your scapegoat. Accept the situation, Carmel. Accept that the ward round started without George.’
‘But it was down on his schedule that he was to take the ward round.’
‘Take the ward round? No. Your schedule was wrong. As far as I was concerned, George was merely joining my ward round. I’m in charge of that ward, Carmel. Not you, not George. If I’m away, the job falls to my senior registrar, Andy Thompson. As a visiting dignitary, surely George would realise that he has no real say in the treatment of my patients?’
‘I do realise that,’ George said from the doorway, and both Melody and Carmel turned to look at him. Neither of them had heard him enter and she wondered how long he’d been standing there. His words made her feel a little better but she was still angry with the way this entire morning had been handled.
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ she snapped.
‘Why are you angry with me?’ He spread his arms wide.
‘Because you’re the VOS. You know how ward rounds and hospitals work and, therefore, you should instruct your team accordingly.’
‘You’re right.’ George crossed the room to stand next to them. ‘Carmel, you promised me you’d be calm. Delays happen.’
‘I am calm.’ The words were said between clenched teeth and George couldn’t help but smile. He placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. ‘Diana was asking for your help in the lecture theatre. The Bluetooth isn’t connecting properly today and one of the cables is missing.’
‘Ugh!’ Carmel growled. ‘I knew today was going to be one of the bad days.’ With that, George’s PA stormed from the room.
‘You’ll have to excuse her. She’s really a lovely person deep down inside but she’s overly efficient, overly organised and overly obsessive-compulsive when it comes to schedules. A typical type A personality who doesn’t know how to relax.’
Melody sighed, her earlier annoyance with Carmel dissipating. ‘My brother used to be a type A personality. Then he survived a heart attack and changed his ways, thank goodness.’
He smiled. ‘Thank you for understanding. It’s been a very strange morning. Carmel had one of her hissy fits when I got out of the car to see if I could help. Thankfully, no one was badly injured so I returned to the car.’ He tugged at the knot of his tie. ‘Sometimes I wonder why I’m putting myself through this.’
‘What? Wearing a tie?’ she joked, hoping to lift the serious frown that now creased his brow. He stopped pacing and looked at her, the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly.
‘You know what I mean. Just between you, me and the gatepost, I’m sick and tired of being handled all the time. It took a while to get used to and most of the time I can accept it, but on mornings such as these, when things are out of our control, Carmel goes off on one of her tangents.’ George raked his hand through his hair and then shook his head. ‘I probably shouldn’t be talking to you about it. Sorry. I didn’t mean to burden you with my problems.’
She didn’t comment. She didn’t want his confidences—they were too personal, and that was the last thing she needed, but who else did he have to talk to? ‘Surely the professionalism between us can also extended to me offering my services as a sounding board?’
‘Thank you.’ He stared into her green eyes and she was glad she was still seated behind her desk as butterflies seemed to take flight in her stomach, twisting her emotions into nervous knots. How did he evoke such a reaction within her when she hardly knew him?
