A Baby for the Flying Doctor (2 page)

‘I’d love to sit and chat with you.’

He looked over his shoulder, pleased with her answer. ‘Great.’

‘Especially about your latest journal article or your research developments. However…’ she shrugged apologetically ‘…it’s just that…um…I need to get my head around my conference presentation.’

‘You’re going to the conference?’ Gil’s eyebrows hit his
hairline. Not an intern, then. Fully qualified specialist? Dr Grainger’s age kept increasing in his mind. His lips twitched at the thought. Poor woman. She was becoming older and older the more he discovered about her.

‘It’s my first time presenting,’ she confided with a laugh that ended in a sigh. ‘I’m rather nervous, though.’ She spread her hands wide. ‘I guess that must sound silly to someone like you who can get up and give brilliant keynote speeches with ease and clarity. Still, I’m looking forward to it.’ She didn’t want the man to think she was incompetent.

‘Don’t let the fact that I’ve done many speeches fool you. I still get a little nervous.’

‘You do?’

‘Of course.’ He didn’t want to talk about himself, he wanted to learn more about her. ‘I must say, Euphemia, it’s very impressive you’ve had a paper accepted.’ He knew the quality of the presenters at the conference and realised Dr Grainger must indeed be an exceptional doctor if her paper had been chosen. ‘And you’re going all the way to Sydney by train?’

‘Yes. More time to finalise things, at least that’s what I keep telling myself. I just want everything to be perfect.’

‘And that’s your cabin?’ He pointed to the one she’d indicated previously.

‘Yes. Well…until we get to Adelaide. Then I’ll be sitting up in the day-night seaters.’

‘What? Why? You can’t sleep in those things and then present at the conference on Monday.’ He had a rather large cabin which had two beds. Perhaps Dr Grainger might like to—He stopped his thoughts before they continued. It wasn’t his place to solve the problems of the world, let alone the problems of petite and pretty Dr Grainger. He’d tried several times to take the world on his shoulders and had only ended up suffering from bouts of depression. No. It wasn’t up to him to solve Euphemia’s problems. Problems of a medical nature, problems where he could figure
out a solution—that was completely different. It was one of the reasons he’d accepted the travelling fellowship because he’d needed to continue moving, doing something,
anything
so he didn’t have to face his past.

‘The seats aren’t so bad,’ Euphemia was saying, and Gil realised he’d zoned out for a moment. ‘No worse than economy class in an aeroplane besides, I have friends joining me when the train stops in Adelaide so that way we can all be together.’

It wasn’t his problem where she sat or why, he told himself again. ‘Fair enough.’ He nodded politely, deciding now was a good time to escape her unnerving presence. ‘Well, I hope you’ll be able to join me for a cup of tea at some point over the next few days. It’s a long train journey and I’d relish the opportunity to sit and chat with you.’

‘I’d like that. Uh…from a medical point of view, I mean,’ she added quickly, just in case he thought she might want to chat about other things. ‘Uh…not that talking to you about more general topics wouldn’t be appreciated but—’ She cut herself off and closed her eyes for a split second, wondering if she could make this moment any more difficult. She doubted it.

‘I understand.’ Gil held out his hand, being the ever-polite professor, and then wished he hadn’t. He was still simmering deep down inside from the last time they’d touched. Why had he instigated another? He cleared his throat and called on all the professionalism he could muster. ‘It was nice to meet you, Dr Grainger.’

‘You too, Professor Fitzwilliam.’

‘Gil.’

A shy smile touched her lips. ‘Gil.’ Once again they seemed caught up in time, their hands clasped, their gazes locked. She breathed in his name and tried not to sigh. ‘Uh…er…’ She shrugged, feeling a little self-conscious. ‘My friends call me Phemie.’

‘Phemie.’ Gil nodded, still enchanted to find such an unusual
name for such an unusual woman. He gave her hand an extra little squeeze before releasing it. ‘I sincerely hope to see you around, Phemie Grainger.’

‘Likewise, Gil Fitzwilliam.’ With one more smile, he turned and walked away. She stood there like a gormless twit and watched him open the carriage door, heading through that one and then through to the previous carriage. There was no way she could help the deep, satisfied sigh that escaped her.

She’d just met Professor Fitzwilliam.
The
Professor Fitzwilliam. A man she’d admired for…well, since she’d been a medical student. He’d been writing medical articles for the
Journal of Emergency Medicine
for years and whenever her copy had arrived, his were the first articles she’d read.

Phemie returned to her cabin and sank into the chair. She looked at the notes for her presentation but found she simply couldn’t concentrate. She was restless now and there was nowhere to prowl in the small cabin.

She’d met Professor Fitzwilliam…
and
he’d invited her to call him Gil. Honestly, she was behaving like a schoolgirl meeting a film star for the first time. Awe-struck and completely irrational. She needed help. Back-up. She reached for her mobile phone and was pleased to discover there was coverage. She pressed the buttons for the pre-set number.

‘Dr Clarkson.’

‘Melissa? It’s Phemie.’

‘Bored already? Didn’t we just put you on the train about an hour ago?’ her good friend Melissa Clarkson asked. Melissa was an OB/GYN working at the clinic and hospital in the small outback town of Didjabrindagrogalon which covered the district and community Phemie and her colleagues serviced through the Royal Flying Doctor Service. The two women had been friends since Melissa had come to search for her brother, Dex, but had instead fallen in love with her brother’s best friend, Joss. Now happily married, Melissa was well and truly settled in the outback
and this only served to strengthen the friendship they shared.

‘He’s here.’

‘Who’s where?’

‘Gil…uh, I mean Professor Fitzwilliam.’

‘He’s on the train?’

‘Yes.’

‘Going to the conference in Sydney?’

‘Yes. I guess so.’

‘Why is he on the train? I know he had a two-day stopover in Perth because Dex went and caught up with him there. I wonder why he didn’t fly to Sydney?’

‘Dex knows him? Like as a friend?’ Phemie asked with mounting incredulity.

Melissa chuckled. ‘Yes. The two of them worked together years ago on the Pacific island of Tarparnii. From what Dex said, Gil was quite involved with Pacific Medical Aid for a while.’

‘Why didn’t Dex tell me he knew Gil…uh, I mean Professor Fitzwilliam?’ Phemie closed her eyes, unable to believe she was already starting to
think
of him in a more personal way. That wouldn’t do. It wouldn’t do at all. She had no room in her life for any new…people. She was full to bursting and Gil, uh, Professor Fitzwilliam would just have to remain on the outer rim.

‘You know Dex. He’s hardly the name-dropping type. Besides, he’s been too busy falling in love with Iris. You should see the two of them. Ugh. I hope Joss and I didn’t look that gushy when we first got together.’

Iris was the new paediatrician who had come to Didja for only six months but now that she and Dex had sorted out their differences and also because Iris had recently become guardian to the most gorgeous baby girl, the Didja clinic had scored itself a permanent paediatrician. Phemie sighed, thinking how nice it was that her friends were all finding their perfect mates, and that deep
gnawing sensation of loneliness she worked hard to ignore started to raise its ugly head again.

‘You did. Trust me. It was nauseating,’ Phemie teased, needing to get her thoughts back on track.

‘Oh. Well. Can’t be helped,’ Melissa brushed Phemie’s teasing aside. ‘So, tell me, why is it a big deal that Gil’s on the train?’

‘He asked me if I wanted to join him for a cup of tea,’ she murmured.

‘What? The fiend. How dare he? Oh, the impertinence of the English,’ Melissa joked. ‘Tea! Who would have thought?’

Phemie chuckled, already starting to feel less rattled. ‘Stop.’

‘So when are you joining him for this tea-drinking ritual? In the dead of night? Early morning? Oh, I know—at afternoon teatime? Seems perfect for the tea-drinking to be performed.’

‘I don’t know.’ Phemie shook her head. ‘It was just sort of an open-ended invitation. I don’t know what to do. Do I accept? Do I ignore it?’

‘He’s rattled you,’ Melissa stated. ‘The unrattleable Phemie has been rattled.’

‘Well…I…I…er…’

‘You’re stammering. You never stammer. Not unless you’re well and truly rattled. Good grief, Pheme. What happened when you two met?’

‘We sort of…bumped into each other. Literally.’

‘Ooh.’ Delight dripped from Melissa’s tone. ‘Do tell, girlfriend.’

Phemie gave Melissa a quick recount of the past fifteen minutes. ‘I’m supposed to be concentrating on my paper, on getting everything sorted out in my head so I don’t make a fool of myself when I get up in front of thousands of people on Monday to do my presentation.’

‘And now you can’t concentrate because of
him
?’

‘Of course I can concentrate. That’s why I called you. If I talk it all out, then I can put it aside and focus.’

‘Oh, piffle. You have hours and hours of doing nothing on that train.’

‘Anthony’s getting on—’

‘On Friday morning. It’s Wednesday, Phemie,’ Melissa pointed out. ‘Look, there’s more than enough time for you to go over the presentation, spend time with Anthony
and
have the occasional cup of tea with a medical genius. It’s a three-day journey from Perth and perhaps Professor Fitz-yummy is looking for a bit of company. Professional and platonic, of course. He is a gentleman after all.’

‘Yes.’

‘A gentleman who has already held you in his arms—twice!’

Even though Melissa couldn’t see her, Phemie coloured a little at her friend’s words. ‘It was the train. It was lurching,’ she said defensively.

‘You believe that if you need to. Phemie?’

‘Yes?’

‘Go and have a cup of tea with him. Talk about the latest medical breakthroughs or whatever it is that you find interesting but for goodness’ sake, relax a little. Let yourself go. Step outside that very comfortable comfort zone you’ve locked yourself inside. It’s all too easy to stay put.’ Melissa’s tone said she knew what she was talking about.

‘I’ve taken steps outside my zone,’ Phemie felt compelled to say, even though she knew her friend was right. ‘I’m working in the middle of nowhere, for goodness’ sake. I left Perth. I’m out in the wide brown land…well, ochre land at any rate, and I’m meeting new people. I think that qualifies as stepping outside my comfort zone.’

‘Or perhaps it’s simply doing the same moves inside a different shape. You’re the nurturing type as well as a workaholic. Going to Sydney on the train should force you to do one thing—slow down. You’re still taking care of everyone else’s needs except your own.’

‘And you think having a cup of tea with Professor Fitzwilliam will take care of my needs?’

‘It might.’

‘Must be pretty powerful tea, then.’

Melissa laughed. ‘Just promise me you’ll try and be open to new experiences.’

‘Such as joining an esteemed English professor for tea?’

‘Exactly.’

An hour later, Melissa’s words still ringing in her ears, Phemie gave up on the pretence of reading and searched for her shoes. All passengers had been warned by the train stewards to always wear closed shoes when walking about the train—especially between carriages.

As she left her cabin, she realised the train was really rocking now and she wondered whether the drivers were trying to make up time. She made it to the next carriage, trying to ignore the blast of cool air as she’d stood on the gangplank that connected the two cars together. In just under a month, winter would be here. Not that that mattered much where she lived, about fifty kilometres outside Didja’s town centre at the RFDS base. Even in winter, the weather was still rather warm.

She walked through the next carriage, then heaved open the heavy door at the end, crossing into another carriage which she realised was the lounge car. Several people were seated here and there, some talking quietly, some reading or doing work on their computers. She headed through, wanting to get to the dining carriage to at least get a warm drink, hoping that might help her to relax.

‘It’s full.’ A deep English accent washed over her and she turned to find Professor Gilbert Fitzwilliam sitting at one of the corner lounges, a Thermos on the table in front of him.

‘Oh, hi.’ Why had her heart-rate picked up the instant she’d seen him? ‘Pardon?’

‘The dining carriage. It’s completely filled with people.’

‘Oh.’ Euphemia frowned, then shrugged. ‘Oh, well. I guess I’ll have to wait until the rush is over for a warm drink.’

‘Not necessarily.’ Gil indicated his Thermos. ‘Would you care to join me?’ When she hesitated for a moment, he continued, ‘After all, I
do
remember inviting you to join me at some point. That point could be now.’

Phemie smiled. ‘Yes. Yes it could.’ She remembered Melissa’s encouraging words about taking a step outside her comfort zone. Besides, it wasn’t as though Gil was a complete stranger. She already felt as though she knew him, thanks to his brilliant articles and textbooks, and Dex knew him so that gave her a personal connection of sorts and a reason to trust him a little sooner than she would have trusted the average stranger. Not that she was implying that he was average because, just by looking at him, she could tell he was more than above avera—She stopped her thoughts when she realised he was still waiting for an answer. ‘Uh…well…all right, then, Professor. Let’s do this now.’ Phemie flicked the end of her blonde ponytail down her back and sat down opposite him.

‘Excellent.’ Gil opened the lid of his Thermos and poured out a cup. ‘I’m sorry if you take tea with milk or sugar. We could probably rustle some up from somewhere but I’m afraid I drink it black.’