5 #3
Alex was scheduled to spend the entire afternoon in delivery suite along with Dan, who had been there since early morning.
This would be an interesting part of the job, for it was entirely unpredictable.
The midwives tended to take the lead with the women in labour, while the doctors were expected to hang around in the staffroom waiting to be called.
Nice work! There was always paperwork to be done as well, and Russell had left a folder of forms to be processed by the junior doctors that afternoon.
On night duty there was often the chance of a nap in one of the armchairs – or even a couple of hours rest up in the doctors’ mess.
The whole thing, according to Dr Marron who had qualified a year ago, was one of the best parts of the role.
‘Plus you get to know all of the different forms really well. That might not sound important, but it’s so handy after you’ve dealt with a complex case and there’s a load of paperwork.
It can be really confusing to start with, so don’t be afraid to ask me anything you’re not sure about.
’ He grinned. ‘I’m only a year qualified, so I know exactly what it’s like to be in your shoes! ’
He left soon afterwards to check on a couple of patients in the wards, and Alex and Dan chatted amiably as they worked their way through the forms. Some of their conversation focused on the usual stuff – where they’d gone to school (Dan had attended St Malachy’s – the Catholic boarding school on the northern outskirts of Belfast), which parts of their medical training they’d loved or hated, and why they had chosen medicine.
‘Because my da is a GP I was already familiar with the life of a doctor,’ Dan said, his expression thoughtful. ‘I think he’d have supported me if I’d gone for the law or accountancy or any of the other professions my school friends went for though. How about you?’
Alex grimaced. ‘Like I was telling you, my father always assumed I’d work alongside him and take over his manufacturing plant.’
Dan whistled through his teeth. ‘Aye. Tricky.’
‘It was.’ He was ready to share a bit more with his new friend. ‘He went mad when I started talking about doing medicine. Said it was a waste of time, that I was ungrateful . . . all that sort of stuff, you know?’
‘Jaysus, I can only imagine!’
Alex grinned. He liked the way Catholics said things like ‘Jaysus’, which would be absolute sacrilege in his house.
‘Aye,’ he continued. ‘He came round in the end, though, and funded my medical training.’
‘Fair play to him.’
‘You’re right there.’ Dan was right. Father had funded him, despite not approving of his choice. There was something in that.
‘Helloooo? Anybody there?’ The door opened, and Priscilla – Midwife Gildea – stuck her head round the door.
Something about her voice, and the pert cheeriness, and the angle of her disembodied head struck Alex as humorous, and he couldn’t prevent a guffaw from emerging.
Turning it into an unconvincing cough, and ignoring Dan’s amused glance, he replied, ‘Yes? Hello, Midwife Gildea.’
‘Dr Lowe!’ She was all smiles. ‘And Dr Sheridan! My two favourites! Sister Campbell suggested I pop round to tell yous we have a free bed now – in case you have anybody for the ward.’
‘Good to know, thanks,’ Dan replied. ‘Nobody at the minute, but we’ve two women in labour, so we might need you later.’
‘Fair enough.’ There was a pause. Midwife Gildea was clearly trying to think of a reason to linger.
Alex dropped his gaze, adding a note to the form in front of him.
‘Right, I’ll be off then!’
‘Cheerio!’ said Dan, in unison with Alex’s ‘Goodbye!’
They waited until the sound of her footsteps had receded down the corridor, then exchanged a wry look. ‘That’s the fourth time today she’s “popped round” to tell me something,’ Dan confessed.
‘Really?’ Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘Four times!’
‘She’s new of course, like us,’ Dan commented neutrally. ‘Maybe that’s it.’
Alex knew his sceptical expression was showing. Dan was being extremely charitable about Midwife Gildea’s likely motivations. The truth was that she had been eyeing them both like they were options on a lunch menu.
‘She is new, that’s true.’ Here was an opportunity to widen out the topic. ‘There’s three new ones, right?’
‘Actually, six. There’s another group of three newly qualified midwives that started a few weeks ago.’
‘Oh! I thought it was only the newest three. Priscilla Gildea, Maisie Canavan, and Peggy Cassidy.’ Deliberately, he hid Maisie in the middle, being reluctant at this point to reveal his interest in her.
‘Peggy,’ Dan echoed, a peculiar tone in his voice. ‘She er – she trained in Dublin too.’
‘Oh! Did you know her?’
‘I did.’ He took a breath. ‘In fact she—’
‘Doctor!’ One of the delivery suite midwives came into the room, her face flushed. ‘I need one of yous in room 2, please.’
Dan was already up and heading for the door. ‘I’ll come. What’s happening?’
Then they were gone, Alex sensing that whatever it was Dan had been about to tell him was significant. Something about the other man’s manner . . .
Unfortunately, Alex had no sense of what it was.
It could have been anything from ‘She was great’ to ‘She was terrible’ or ‘difficult’ or ‘useless’.
Unlikely to be something negative, from his assessment of Peggy so far.
She seemed competent, and calm, and sensible.
He shrugged. Whatever it was, no doubt Dan would tell him eventually.