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The place was heaving, and her colleagues were triaging new admissions as fast as they came in. The beds were filling up fast. The sooner they could clear the non-urgent patients out, the better.
‘Hi, I’m Saskia.’ She smiled as she stepped around the curtain. ‘I’ll be the doctor looking after you. You must be Molly.’
‘I am,’ the little girl said proudly, returning her smile with a happy, confident one of her own. ‘And this is my mummy.’
‘Hello, Mummy,’ Saskia said dutifully.
‘Hi.’ The young woman shot her a relieved smile, the hint of tension around her eyes belying her calm exterior.
‘Right, I know you’ve been through this with the other doctor—’
‘Dr Emily,’ the girl interjected.
‘Right...’
‘She’s nice.’
‘Yes, she is,’ Saskia agreed.
Clearly there was no impairment in Molly’s speech or understanding, which was a good sign. But although the little girl had already been checked over, another set of eyes never hurt.
‘I think you seem nice, too.’
‘Thank you.’ Saskia laughed. ‘I’m glad you think so. Anyway, I know you’ve told the other doctor what happened, but can you tell me, too?’
‘Of course I can!’ the little girl exclaimed with an expansive gesture. ‘Mummy and I were out shopping for some new shoes.’
‘Oh, lovely,’ Saskia offered, when it appeared the five-year-old was waiting for a reply.
Clearly, it wasn’t the response Molly was hoping for.
‘Red patent leather shoes,’ she emphasised after a moment.
‘Wow,’ Saskia managed, relieved when the little girl nodded with satisfaction.
‘And when we got them we called in to see Nana, and she thought they were bee-yoo-tiful.’
‘Well, of course,’ agreed Saskia solemnly. ‘But I’d really love it if you could tell me some more about how you hit your head.’
‘Oh...’ The girl’s face fell. Clearly to her the red patent leather shoes were the most important detail of her experience.
Saskia stifled a chuckle.
‘I don’t really remember. We were walking back, and suddenly there was a really, really loud bang, and then I was on the other side of the pavement and my head was bleeding.’
‘Did it hurt?’
‘Yes. A lot.’
‘Can I see?’ Saskia stood up and Molly obligingly turned around.
‘Of course.’
Tentatively she parted the matted hair and checked the wound. It had evidently been cleaned once, so it was easy to see what was going on.
‘Great. And can you remember how you got here, Molly?’
‘Mummy brought me in.’
