‘I thought the place was on bypass,’ he said to her as she pulled off her stethoscope.
‘Mr Elber arrived just before we closed.’
‘Can I have a brief word?’ he said, and he watched her eyes screw up at the sides a fraction but she nodded and followed him outside.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Steele said, but Candy shook her head.
‘Please, don’t.’
‘Candy—’
‘Please, don’t. I can’t talk about it. I think I’m going to go home,’ she said. ‘Lydia offered.’ She thought about it for a moment. ‘I think I just want to go home.’
‘Come round tonight,’ Steele said, ‘or I’ll come over to you.’
‘I don’t want you to,’ Candy said. ‘I don’t want to sit and cry over my ex with you. It’s too weird.’
‘It’s not,’ he said, but he didn’t push it. ‘Call me if you change your mind.’
‘Thanks.’
Candy headed off and spoke with Lydia and said that, yes, on second thoughts, she was going to go home.
The news had come completely out of the blue. All the staff were stunned. Candy had headed straight back out to the department, not really knowing what to do, when she’d seen that Mr Elber was sitting on a trolley and had been pretty much left to himself.
Now the complete numb shock that had hit her after finding out that Gerry was dead was wearing off and she was very close to tears.
And very scared too.
She changed and as she headed out of the department she saw Louise walking in on her way to work.
‘Candy.’ Louise came straight over. ‘I just heard about Gerry. It’s such terrible news...’
Candy started to cry but as Louise wrapped her in a hug, feeling Louise’s pregnant stomach nudging into her was just about the last straw.
‘I know you had a bit of a thing going on last year,’ Louise said. ‘It must be so—’
‘Louise,’ Candy begged, ‘it’s not that that I’m crying about.’ Well, it was, but she certainly wasn’t about to tell Louise the entire truth either. ‘I think that I might be pregnant and I don’t know what to do...’
‘Come on,’ Louise said, and led her to the canteen. There were groups sitting and talking, some from Emergency and in tears, so it didn’t look out of place that Candy was crying.
Louise went and got them both drinks and then came over.
‘How late are you?’ Louise asked, knowing full well that Candy was seeing Steele—she’d seen them in the car after all.
‘I’m not late,’ Candy said. ‘But I’ve been feeling sick and I’m so tired...’ She knew it didn’t sound much to go on. The awful thing was that she knew that she was. ‘I simply can’t be pregnant,’
‘It will be okay,’ Louise said. As a midwife she was extremely used to a woman’s shocked tears when they first came to the realisation that they were pregnant.
‘I don’t think it can be,’ Candy sobbed, ‘and I can’t tell you why.’
Louise sat and thought for a moment. If Steele was only here for a few more weeks, which was what she’d heard, then it wasn’t any wonder that Candy was upset.
‘I don’t know who to talk to,’ Candy said, and then blew her nose and told herself to get it together.
‘Can you talk to me?’ Louise offered. ‘Do you want to do a pregnancy test? I’ll come with you.’ When Candy said nothing Louise pushed on. ‘Could you talk about it with Anton?’ Louise asked. Anton was Louise’s husband and one of the most sought-after obstetricians in London. ‘I was just on my way to have lunch with him so I know that he’s got time to see you.’
Candy nodded.
It was time to find out for sure.
Louise took out her phone and sent a text and a few moments later she got a response. ‘He says to come to the antenatal clinic and he’ll see you. I’ll take you over there now.’
‘People will wonder what I’m doing in the antenatal clinic.’
‘People will think we’re just two friends catching up for lunch,’ Louise said. ‘Don’t be so paranoid.’