Those Memories Made on Teardrop Lake – (14) The Teardrop Triangle

Kate Marston was 29 years old and had been working in Nettlefield at the St Augusta’s Hospital, and while she was there she had been seeing a doctor, Andy Jordan.

But not for the first time in her life she realized it wasn’t working for her so after a couple of months, she ended it.

However when it ended Andy wouldn’t accept it and he wouldn’t stop pestering her.

So before it got to out of hand she left, she also moved out of her flat, with some help from her friends.

Two of the male nurses emptied her flat and put all her furniture into storage.

Kate took a couple of suitcases and temporarily moved in with another nurse, Molly Curtis, who lived in Kiddingstone, until she found something else.

Molly would have been perfectly happy to have Kate living with her full time but that was because she was that way inclined.

Molly could easily have got her a job at the General but Kate thought she would be easier to track down at a big hospital, so she applied for something that Molly’s girlfriend Samantha had told her about, it was for a practice nurse position in Shallowfield.

 

At the end of March her friends from St Augusta’s, Duane and Caz collected her stuff from storage and drove it to her new flat on Teardrop Lake, Flat B Dancingdean House.

After they had unloaded the van and moved her in they had a couple of bottles of wine to celebrate and then Duane and Caz stayed the night.

 

“Thank you guys” she said as she hugged and kissed both of them the next day.

“Our pleasure honey” Caz said

“And trust me, he is all about the pleasure” Duane added

“You guys are the best” she said

“Just steer clear of the Doctors doll” he said and got in the van

“Don’t worry I will” she called as they drove off

“I love you guys”

 

Kate meant it when she said she would stay away from Doctors, her last three relationships had been with doctors and they had all ended in a disaster of some description.

What she didn’t know was that she was now living next door to not just one but two doctors.

 

At the beginning of April Kate started at the Shallowfield practice, she was welcomed with open arms by the other nurse, Evangeline because it would lighten her work load.

Eva also thought she was a pretty nurse too, tall and slim with lovely dark brown hair and a Mediterranean complexion and a wide bright toothy smile.

Kate soon had the young Doctors dancing attendance on her, which lightened Eva’s load greatly in that direction as well.

Although the doctors didn’t know they were flogging a dead horse with both the nurses albeit for different reasons.

Kate having sworn off of Doctors and Eva having very definite leanings towards the female of the species.

 

The two young practice Doctors were Alastair Phillips and Paul Blair who were not only her new colleagues but also Kate’s new neighbours.

They were both personable enough and who were as different from each other as chalk and cheese.

Alastair was the younger man by a year, tall and dark with classic good looks.

Paul was a short, stocky 32 year old with close cropped orange hair and Kate really liked them.  

But despite the fact that she liked them, Ali and Paul were doctors and she had played that game before and lost so she was in no mood to repeat past mistakes.

 

On the May bank holiday the senior receptionist Lynn Cooper had invited everyone from the Surgery to a BBQ at Coopers Villa at the east end of Teardrop Lake.

As all the staff at the surgery were local everyone accepted the invite.  

It was a glorious day, not a cloud in the sky, and a gentle breeze blowing off the lake.

Paul, Alastair and Kate all arrived together as they all had flats in Dancingdean House

They were all of a similar age and to the casual observer there appeared to be a bit of a love triangle forming with the three of them but for Kate nothing could be farther from the truth.

 

It seemed like they were to be an eternal triangle for the whole summer which was why it was a relief to do something without them.

So when one Friday night in May, Kate’s boss, Claire threw a dinner party at her cottage in honour of practice manager Olivia Adamson’s 30 something birthday.

Now the fact that Claire couldn’t cook to save her life didn’t deter Olivia or the other guests in the slightest though Kate herself was unaware of Claire’s culinary deficiencies.

Apart from the Hostess and the guest of honour the guests were Evangeline, Siti Shahara, Lynn Cooper, Chantelle Dooney and Kate.

Evangeline and Siti sat next to each other and held hands under the table.

Kate smiled to herself as she watched them, thinking that nobody had noticed and were blissfully unaware that everyone at the table knew they were a couple.

Along with everyone else Kate enjoyed three courses of gourmet food and copious quantities of wine.

The hostess with the mostest Claire never lifted a finger all night.

All the food was prepared, cooked and served by Lynn’s daughter Jane who was the Sous chef at the Brown Windsor restaurant.

It seemed that Jane moonlighted on her nights off doing home dining experiences.

Claire announced that she thought it was worth every penny and judging by the way the birthday girl weaved her way to her front door so did she.

After the party Eva and Siti went through an elaborate charade of Eva offering to let Siti sleep on the sofa at her cottage.

Of course everyone knew that was not what was going to happen.

 

The rest of the summer she and her two medical admirers passed some of their spare time together, but when she could she would get out on her own.

Fortunately Ali and Paul were late risers and as Kate was always up with the lark she managed to get out the door well before they surfaced.

Sometimes she would just set off through the wood or borrow the Cooper Family dinghy and sail up and down on the lake on other days she would get in the car and explore the countryside.

 

At the beginning of September, along with all the residents on the Lake, Kate’s triangle were invited to the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel, where the proprietor’s Rob and Sheryl Brown were holding their wedding anniversary party as with every social gathering she was on the lookout for a suitable suitor.

But not for the first time she was disappointed.

 

The following week there was the obligatory hen night for Olivia Adamson which consisted of all the girls from the practice plus famous local actress Amanda Flanders, which was held at the Brown Windsor Restaurant.

It was another occasion that she enjoyed very much but again came up short on the prospective partner’s front.

 

The wedding, the following Saturday was a fairy tale affair at Olwen’s Chapel.

And every woman present was jealous to the core.

The Olwen in question was an Anglo Saxon Lady who was one of the early converts to Christianity but her pagan husband’s tribe would not accept the new faith and she was forced to worship secretly in the forest.

Her chapel actually appeared to be just an assortment of stones on the forest floor arranged around a granite altar stone in a woodland clearing.

It had been rediscovered early in Queen Victoria reign and had been lovingly restored and had been maintained ever since by a local society, who had prepared the Chapel with flowers and chairs borrowed from the church hall and the altar stone was dressed with the appropriate finery.

 

The wedding party were conveyed to and from the Chapel on a Governess Cart, a small two-wheeled horse-drawn cart with a small tub body decorated with flowers, pulled by a heavy set white horse and led by Amanda Flanders.

When Olivia appeared on the arm of Major General Cooper there was an audible gasp.

After a very moving ceremony through which Kate cried most of the way, the Reception was held at the Shallowfield Lodge Hotel

 

After the wedding summer quickly turned to autumn and on the first of October all the girls from the Surgery were going out for a meal in Childean to celebrate Siti Shahara’s birthday, at the Mallard.

It was kind of a surprise, Siti knew they were going for a meal but not where and she wasn’t aware everyone was going.

Evangeline was driving so she picked Kate up on her way and then went to get the birthday girl from her flat.

They pulled up outside the Bengal curry house and both expected to see Siti outside waiting, Eva got out of the car and looked up at the window at the unnatural movement of the light.

“Something’s wrong” she said and ran headlong up the stairs.

Kate got out of the car and also looked up at the window and concurred something wasn’t quite right and she followed Eva up the stairs.

Kate looked at the stairs and could see Evangeline at the top, fists clenched and shaking.

The she seemed to take a deep breath and entered the flat.

 

She reached the landing and looked inside just in time to see Eva stood behind a small stocky Asian man and with all her strength hit him hard on the back of the head, with what appeared to be a Hairy Bikers Cookbook, sufficiently hard to draw blood.

It knocked him off balance and he fell to his knees, then he turned to look at his assailant Eva swung the book again hitting him square in the face and breaking his nose.

Eva was still shaking and almost as a second thought she gave him another whack on the head for good measure.

From the doorway Kate got her first look at a beaten and bloodied Siti.

“Oh my God” Kate said “is she ok?”

“Go and call Lynn she'll know what to do” Eva said

Lynn was receptionist at the surgery and her husband was a police Chief inspector

Eva turned her attention to Siti who was bloody and barely conscious.

As Kate ran down the stairs she heard Eva say

“I’ve got you now babe”

 

When she reached the pavement Harjeet from the Bengal appeared from the Restaurant and asked

“Is everything ok?”

“No, it’s not” Kate said with the phone to her ear but before she could elaborate Lynn answered

Harjeet went up the stairs and asked

“What has happened?”

“She’s been beaten up” Eva said and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Give her to me” he said, he was a great bear of a man and he scooped her up as if she were a child.

He carried her down and Eva followed when she got to the street.

Katy was just finishing on the phone.

“The police will be here in five minutes, but the ambulance could be half an hour”

She said

“Ok let’s get her into the car” she said to Harjeet who still held her effortlessly in his arms

They got her into the car and she thanked him

“There’s a man upstairs in the flat Harjeet, don’t let him leave before the police get here”

“No problem” he said “you look after your friend”

“I’ll drive” Kate said “you get in the back with her”

Eva nodded in response and got in

As they drove out of town they saw a police car going the other way and a few moments later Eva said

“She isn’t just my friend”

“I know” Kate replied

“You do?” she asked

“Everybody knows” Kate told her

 

When the PC’s, Jennings and Lowis, arrived at the Bengal they found the owner Harjeet and three of his waiters preventing the assailant from leaving.

“Thank goodness officers” he shouted

“These men are holding me prisoner”

Ian Jennings addressed the melee directly while Catherine Lowis took Harjeet to one side and got the full story she knew that he was a straight up and down character and she knew his account of events could be relied upon.

 

“Thank you” she said and signalled her colleague who then read the assailant his rights and put handcuffs on him.

“But I have been assaulted I tell you” he insisted

“No sir you have been arrested” PC Lowis said

Between them Kate and Eva got Siti into the emergency department and as soon as they saw her they took her straight through, that was nothing to do with the fact that the Sister knew them both professionally it was because it was serious.

They sat down in reception and Eva broke down so Kate put her arm around her to comfort her.

“I really love her” she sobbed

“She knows” Kate responded

“But I’ve never told her” she admitted

“But she still knows”

After about half an hour later Eva suddenly sat bolt upright and said

“The restaurant, everyone will be waiting”

“Don’t panic, Lynn has phoned everyone” she said.

Kate had never seen Eva like this before, vulnerable, she was a tour de force, nothing phased her, nothing derailed her, she was the all singing all dancing practice nurse.

Just then the police arrived to take their statements, it was the same two PC’s who had arrested Izhar Azrul for the attack.

 

PC Jennings took Kate to one side and Catherine Lowis sat down next to Eva.

She was a skinny freckly girl of about nine stone who looked about three stone heavier in her stab vest and utility belt, and her straw coloured hair was tied in a bun.

“Did you know the man who attacked your friend?” Catherine asked

“My girlfriend” Eva corrected her

“Excuse me?” she asked

“She’s my girlfriend” Eva said

“Have you got him?”

“Yes he’s in a cell” Catherine replied

“Did you know him?”

“No I’ve never seen him before tonight”

“What about the name, Izhar Azrul?”

“No” she said shaking her head

“Ok” she said and then took down her statement of the evenings events.

“Will I be charged?” Eva asked

“What for?” PC Lowis asked

“I hit him” she stated “hard”

Catherine leant in close and whispered

“Good! He deserved it”

And she squeezed Evangeline’s hand.

 

PC Ian Jennings was a tall man in his late twenties and also suffered with the unflattering uniform.

And as if being six foot four inches tall didn’t make him stand out enough, nature had also endowed him with flame red hair.

Kate was tall herself so it made a nice change to talk to a man who was taller than her and she had always had a weakness for red hair.

She felt a bit guilty under the circumstances because she was flirting with him shamelessly and she couldn’t help herself.

She inclined her head to one side and played with her hair and behaved like she did when she was still at school.

 

It didn’t take long to take her statement as she was very together and very precise.

Which was a blessing and a curse because he rather liked her and although the way she gave her statement made it easier for him to transcribe it meant the interview was over too quickly.

He thought it was a shame he was on duty as he would have asked her out under any other circumstances.

“Can I call you?” she blurted out “in case I think of anything else”

“Yes” he said “and perhaps I should have your number in case I have any more questions”

 

Kate sat down heavily next to Evangeline

“I’m sorry” she said

“What for?”

“For flirting with the PC I don’t know what came over me” she said

“Did you get his number?” Eva asked

“Yes”

“Well then no harm, no foul”

“What does that mean?” Kate asked

“I have no idea” Eva replied “but my brother uses it a lot”

 

It was midnight and they still hadn’t seen Siti, she was getting scans and x-rays and sutures, so she persuaded Kate to take her car and go home.

“Are you sure?” Kate said as they stood by the entrance

“Yes” she insisted “one of us has to be at work tomorrow”

“Everything is going to be fine” Kate said as they had one final hug.

 

Siti made good progress over the following weeks with Eva’s help, it was a very busy time for Kate as she took on the bulk of the workload so Evangeline could spent as much time with Siti as possible.

In fact she had been so busy she hadn’t had time to wonder why she hadn’t had a call from the big redheaded policeman.

 

As for PC Jennings he had been struggling with the moral dilemma on whether it was appropriate for him to “hit on” a girl who was a witness to a serious assault.

“It’s no wonder you’re still single” his partner Catherine Lowis said

“Just call her, before someone else does”

 

It was the middle of October when Kate had been visiting Siti at the Churchill Hospital.

She was in the lift ready to go down and was just waiting for the doors to close when Ian Jennings stepped into the lift.

He wasn’t wearing his uniform but it was definitely him.

She wasn’t going to say anything after all he didn’t bite two weeks earlier when she was wearing her best frock and looking gorgeous so why would he approach him now she was wearing her dreary utilitarian uniform.

“Hello Miss Marston” he said “I didn’t know you worked here”

“Oh hi” she said feigning surprise “I don’t, I’ve been visiting my friend, you know the one that was attacked”

“Yes Miss Shahara” he confirmed “I called in to see her yesterday”

“Oh, is there a problem?” Kate asked

“No not at all” he said “I always look in on vic… people I’ve dealt with”

“Is that normal?” she asked knowing full well that it was not

“It’s just something I like to do” he replied

“That’s a good thing that you do” Kate said genuinely impressed

“Not really” he said modestly

“Is that why you’re here today?” Kate asked

“No I’ve been visiting my sister, she’s just had a baby” he replied proudly as the lift came to a halt and the doors opened.

“Well it was nice to see you again Miss Marston”

“Please call me Kate” she insisted

“It was nice seeing you again, Kate” he said

“Do you have time for a coffee Ian?” she asked hopefully

“Absolutely” he replied and led the way to the Hospital Café

It was one of those awful cold and sterile, impersonal self-service places, selling everything pre-packed, that have sprung up all over the Health Service which squeezed out the old WVS Cafes that offered homemade cakes and a friendly smile along with your cup of tea.

Ian suggested Kate find them a table while he got the drinks and a brief discussion about who should pay followed before Ian gave in.

They were sitting at a table and chatting when they were interrupted.

“Well hello stranger” said Dr Jordan

“Oh” she said and went pale

“So this is where you ran off to” he continued

“Not really” she said uncomfortably which Ian was sensitive too

“Perhaps introductions would be in order” the doctor said

“This is Andy Jordan, my Ex-boyfriend” she said “and this is Ian...”

“Her current boyfriend” Ian said and stood up to shake his hand.

Ian was a tall man in his late twenties and stood six foot four inches tall so he towered above the diminutive Dr Jordan who quickly took his leave of them.

“That was kind of you” she said relieved to see him go.

“Not at all” he said “I had an ulterior motive”

“Which was?” she asked suspiciously

“To have you in my debt so that you can’t say no when I ask you out to dinner” he said

“Well you had better ask me then” Kate said grinning from ear to ear.