Page 43 of Where the Wattles Bloom

Still, that didn’t stop a smile curving Rowena’s lips at the memory of this morning’s Scottish wake-up call. She was clearly never going to need to set an alarm ever again.

*

Rowena and Brooke were in the break room at ten-thirty when Ragav Kohli made the fatal error of uttering the word that should never be uttered in an emergency department.

‘God, it’s quiet.’

‘Ragav!’ Brooke chided, sending him a death glare.

It was true, they’d had an exceptionally slow morning but, thanks to Ragav, they were probably about to be run off their feet. Realising his error, the junior doctor winced.

Brooke shook her head. ‘Surely you know by now to never mention the q word around here.’

‘Yeah, sorry. Brain fart.’

‘You want busy?’ Brooke said, clearly still annoyed. ‘Just wait for the show this weekend. We’ll be inundated with stupid injuries from a bunch of yahoos who only ever come to town once a year and get full of piss and think they’re bulletproof. And the week after that? We’ll be chockers with respiratory bugs and sick kids. And if I have to admit anyone from renal this afternoon, I’ll be blaming you.’

Three times a week Brooke ran an outpatient’s dialysis clinic. A hospital minibus provided a pick-up and drop-off service for anyone who required transport, travelling all the way out to the most remote Indigenous communities to ensure all those who required it received their regular tri-weekly treatments.

‘Hey, Ro.’ Shari appeared in the doorway, a huge grin on her face. ‘Someone to see you.’ Then she stepped aside to reveal Silvano Morelli.

Rowena blinked. He didn’t seem as big as he had that day on the highway. He was paler, which only made the dark smudges under his eyes more pronounced, and he’d clearly lost weight, his face comparatively gaunt to the jowls he’d been sporting that day. He looked like a puff of wind could blow him over.

Which was exactly what a near-death experience, a quadruple bypass and several weeks in hospital could do to a person. But it was definitely Silvano, his big smile—the only strong thing about him—filling the room.

Suddenly shy, Rowena stood. What did she say to a person whose life she’d held in her hands? Brooke, on the other hand, had no problems with her greeting, almost tripping over her feet to reach the older man, giving him an enthusiastic hug.

‘Silvano!’ He winced but returned the hug. ‘Don’t you ever do something like that again, you hear?’ Brooke scolded.

He chuckled as she pulled out of the embrace. ‘I don’t plan to.’

‘How are you feeling, Mr Morelli?’ Rowena enquired as Silvano walked slowly in her direction. A woman, who Rowena assumed was his wife, walked in lock step with him, a supportive hand under his elbow.

‘Please.’ He dismissed her formality with a wave. ‘Call me Silvano, everyone does. Except for my wife.’ He leaned in conspiratorially as he halted in front of Rowena. ‘She calls me her little cabanossi.’ He laughed. ‘Allow me to present my wife, Gina Morelli.’

Like Concetta, Gina was amply proportioned. There were some grey streaks in her dark hair and her round, pretty face had a youthful kind of glow despite what must have been some very stressful weeks.

‘Rowena,’ Gina murmured, her voice husky, her eyes two big brown puddles of unshed tears.

Then, before she knew it, Rowena was being clutched against an enormous soft bosom. The outback was clearly the place for huggers. ‘Thank you,’ Gina whispered. ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’

A hot wave of moisture pricked the backs of Rowena’s eyes at the raw emotion in the older woman’s voice. It was a hug of deep and abiding gratitude. A hug that expressed what words could not.

‘Gina, Gina.’ Silvano chuckled as he pulled gently on his wife’s arm. ‘Don’t smother the poor girl.’

Rowena smiled as she was freed from the embrace. It had been a long time since she’d been called a girl. ‘You look a lot better than the last time I saw you,’ she told him.

‘And you look exactly like the angel I envisioned.’

It was Silvano’s turn to go misty-eyed before he also pulled her in for a big bear hug. It wasn’t as hard as Gina’s because it was obvious he was still sore, but it was just as heartfelt and Rowena sank into it.

She and Silvano were bound in a way only two people who’d shared a life-altering incident could be. Something like that forged an enduring connection that could never be broken.

‘Anything you need,’ he muttered as the hug continued. ‘Anything at all, you come see me.’

Rowena’s instinct was to brush the offer aside. She hadn’t resuscitated Silvano for any kind of quid pro quo. That wasn’t the way it worked. But she understood how indebted the Morellis felt, so she just whispered, ‘Thank you.’

It obviously satisfied Silvano and he loosened his hold, allowing Rowena to ease gently out of his arms. ‘You still have some pain?’