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She wiggled her fingers and whoo-whooed at him, in a laughing impression of a ghost. ‘Maybe. Maybe not...’
‘So how are you getting home?’ Now that Jamie had betrayed the protective streak he felt for Anna, he may as well go the whole hog and not just fret about whether she got home safely.
‘I’ll call a cab. Would you like a lift?’
‘I’m only twenty minutes’ walk. I could do with the fresh air.’
She made the call, and when the cab arrived, he walked her down to the main reception area and out into the street. Opening the back door of the car for her, he suppressed the impulse to warn the driver that he was carrying precious cargo and stepped back onto the pavement, watching as the cab drew away.
A walk would do him good. The last few days had been all about trying to find something to say to Jon that would encourage him and make him feel better, and ignoring the elephant in the room. But Anna had turned everything that he’d thought he knew on its head, and made anything seem possible.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE SOUND OF raised voices came from Jon’s room. Anna supposed it was inevitable as Jamie and Jon couldn’t keep ignoring whatever it was that they’d argued about. But when she approached the door, she found that she’d been wrong. They seemed to be managing to ignore it and argue at the same time.
‘Hello...’ Anna pushed the door open a little further. ‘Am I interrupting anything?’
They both looked up from the crossword they’d been discussing, and she thought she saw a flash of relief in Jamie’s eyes. ‘Hi. What are you doing here on a Saturday morning?’
‘I was going to help you show Darren his ghost, remember?’
Jamie nodded. ‘The ward sister says that I can pull down the shades and try it out after lunch. She’s interested as well.’
‘So am I,’ Jon chimed in. ‘Poor little chap, he must have been frightened. Waking up like that and seeing things. I’m glad you managed to explain it for him.’
There was a note of sadness in Jon’s voice. Anna wondered what the silent hours of the night had held for him. Demons, maybe, fuelled by exhaustion and depression. She smiled, sitting down opposite Jon.
‘How are you today?’
Jon shook off his reverie. ‘Okay. Thirteen down’s giving us a bit of a problem.’
Anna picked up the paper, examining the crossword. ‘Humerus.’
‘Of course!’ Jon took
the paper, filling in the word. ‘You should have got that one, Jamie. What’s the point of medical school if you don’t know the name for a clown’s arm?’
‘Upper arm, technically.’ Jamie frowned. His mood seemed to have darkened suddenly. Anna put the folder containing her notes down on the table, and decided she should get down to business.
‘I wanted to talk to you about your arm, Jon.’ She glanced at Jamie and he gave her a questioning look, then got the message.
‘Okay, I’ll leave you both to it, then.’ He got to his feet.
‘Stay.’ For a moment there was an imploring look in Jon’s eyes, but it was quickly masked. ‘You never know, you might learn something.’
Jamie ignored the jibe, and sat down again. ‘If that’s okay.’
‘Yes, of course.’ Anna settled the matter as firmly as she could. ‘So how is the burn feeling now, Jon?’
‘Okay. It doesn’t itch so much.’
‘Yes, I’m happy with the way that the cream has helped moisturise the skin and take down some of the inflammation.’
‘You’ll be doing the procedure soon?’ Jon’s restless anxiety was never far from the surface and he shifted in his seat.
‘That’s what I’d like to talk to you about. You’ve already had a couple of sessions with our counsellor, and Dr Lewis has prescribed medication for depression. In view of that, and the fact that you’re also very run down, we both think it would be best to postpone any surgery on your arm until we’ve tackled those important issues.’
Jon frowned. ‘My arm’s a mess. Anyone would be depressed.’
