‘Come in.’
As Fred looked at her trustingly,Lisa attempted a reassuring smile and opened the door, but as she locked eyes with the paramedic, who was sitting behind the desk in full green-shirt-matching-trousers-and-steel-toe-capped-boots uniform, she did a double take.
He glanced up from his computer. ‘Hello, I’m—’
‘Dom!’ Lisa finished, not quite believing her eyes. There was no trace of leather and the surroundings weremuch improved from their last meeting, but there was no doubting it; it was definitely him.
‘Rose!’ The surprise in his dark brown eyes was clear.
Lisa felt heat rise to her cheeks and hoped Dom didn’t notice. She didn’t know why, but she felt like she had blushed more lately than she ever did as a teenager. Back then she had been cool and collected, her emotions in check; a personwho rarely gave thought to others’ opinions of her.
‘Lisa.’ Fred laughed, jerking them both back into the moment.
‘Lisa, yes,’ Dom echoed, switching to a professional, formal mode, and directing both Lisa and Fred to take a seat. ‘As you know, I’m Dom. I’m an advanced paramedic practitioner and I’m taking this clinic this afternoon.’
Lisa sat down as her mind continuedto attempt to assimilate the information that Dom was sitting there before her, completely out of the context in which she expected to see him and that he was a paramedic. Suddenly the words ‘called away on an emergency’ carried more weight.
‘And you must be…’ Dom glanced back at the computer he had been studying as Lisa opened the door, ‘Fred,’ he finished, with a smile.
Realisingthat Dom was now speaking directly to him, Fred hid his face in Lisa’s arm.
Dom smiled. ‘OK, Fred, I’ll ask… Mummy.’
‘Oh, I’m not his mummy.’
‘I’m sorry. I assumed. Sorry. So you’re Fred’s?’
Oh Lord!It was like Jack all over again. ‘Friend.’
‘You’re this little boy’s friend?’
Realising how ridiculous that sounded Lisa grimaced. ‘No, well, yes,but that’s not what I meant. He’s my friend’s son.’ Lisa inwardly cursed the fact she hadn’t just said that in the first place.
‘Ah, from pet sitter to baby sitter.’ Dom laughed.
Lisa realised that explaining that Fred had fallen off the slide on her watch to the man who knew that Jack had run away also on her watch made her look like a terrible guardian of dogs and children alike.
Aware that Lisa was not laughing with him, Dom stopped smiling and returned to the matter in hand. ‘So why don’t you tell me what has happened to young Fred here?’
Lisa related the events of the park, minus the mini-superheroes and the fact that she was left holding Fred’s Gruffalo wellies, ensuring she mentioned the lump on his back and the fact it had got no bigger while she hadbeen monitoring it – saying that at least made her feel that she had demonstrated responsibility after the fact.
‘OK, and did Fred bump his head at all on landing?’
‘No, I’m pretty sure his back took the impact.’
‘And has Fred been drowsy at all since, or felt sick?’
‘No, he’s been wide awake, he cried a lot in the car—’
‘Cried in pain?’
‘I don’tknow; it was loud.’ Were there different types of crying? Lisa didn’t know. ‘He stopped when we got here and he’s eaten some chocolate animal biscuits.’ Lisa realised as she said it that she probably shouldn’t have let him eat in case he had to have treatment.
‘OK and I can see from his notes he has no allergies and isn’t on any prescribed medication at the moment.’
Lisa simplynodded and smiled, grateful that Fred’s notes were able to answer questions she couldn’t.
Dom asked for permission to examine Fred and pushed his chair back decisively. Lisa wished again that Flick was there, but knew she had to see the appointment through now. Leaving midway through an examination on a child probably looked worse than presenting with one who didn’t actually belong toyou. She nodded her head.
