In the
small but thriving English county of Downshire people go about the tasks of
their everyday existence in ways that range from the mundane to the
extraordinary as their forebears had done for centuries before, in the varied
and diverse landscape, from the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock,
the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the
rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, to the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and the
short but beautiful coastline to the east.
But it’s in
the old market town of Abbeyvale where the participants of this particular tale
live their lives, and the tale began as Christmas fast approached.
Junior
Nurse Sammi Green lived in Purplemere where she shared a flat with her older
sister Lizzie
She was 25
years old, four years younger than her sister, with short mousy hair, which was
appropriate as she was a bit of a timid mouse, unlike Lizzie who was a real
“burning the candle at both ends” toxing her socks off kind of party girl, she
was also taller and slimmer than her sister as Sammi was five foot two in her
stocking feet, and a fuller figure than she would have liked.
She and her
sister worked at the Royal Downshire Hospital in Purplemere, Lizzie in oncology
and Sammi, because she was a junior was being rotated through different
department to gain as much practical experience as possible, and at the
beginning of December she started a short stint as a district nurse and as such
she was to shadow one of the experienced Nurses who, like the rest of the team,
had a number of regular home visits, terminally ill or housebound patients
which kept them very busy.
The Nurse
she was shadowing was Rebecca Clarke and the first patient they were going to
see was Mark Fiest, a PC in the Downshire Constabulary who was almost killed in
a hit and run incident which left him with multiple injuries, most of which had
healed, it was just his left leg which had required numerous operations, the
latest, and final of which was only a few weeks earlier.
The
function of the District Nurse was to manage his medication, change his
dressings and try to keep his spirits raised.
During his
convalescence he was staying at his parents’ house in the medieval Village of
Withery, which was located between Purplemere and Finchbottom.
It was
where the Monks of St Vitus Abbey grew the first grapes in the county.
The Abbey
was long ago reduced to rubble and provided much of the fabric of the Village
cottages surviving from 15th and 16th centuries, and Withery Grange Nursing
Home was the 21st century incarnation of the Manor House, and it was in Grange
Lane, in a row of Victorian cottage, where the Fiest home was located.
They parked
outside the house and Sammi asked nervously
“What do
you want me do when we go in Rebecca?”
“Well first
of all you can call me Becky, only my mum calls me Rebecca, and only when I’m
naughty”
“Sorry”
“That’s ok,
now until we get in there, we won’t know which patient we’re going to find” she
explained “he’s had a lot of surgeries and his mood swings from stoicism to
despondency”
“Oh” she
exclaimed “So what should I do?”
“Well, be
bright, be cheerful and be confident” Becky said and opened the car door and
walked up the path, then Becky knocked on the door and a moment or so later
Mrs. Fiest, the patient’s mother, opened it.
“Good
morning” she said to Mrs. Fiest
“Hello
dear” she said “my word its busy this morning”
“Yes?”
Becky said
“Oh yes
dear” she confirmed “We have a real house full”
“Well, I’m
afraid I’m adding another one to the throng, this is Nurse Green” she said
“Oh, hello
dear” Mrs. Fiest said “Welcome to the mad house”
“How is he
today?” Sammi asked
“He’s
having a good day today” she replied
When they
went inside, they found the lounge was full of Police Officers and they got a
very rousing welcome, and it was obviously having his friends visit that had
perked him up.
“Morning
Mark” Becky said brightly and then realized he was not alone, there was someone
else in the room who had also caught Sammi’s attention.
“This is….”
Mark Began
“Steve
Briggs” Sammi exclaimed
She hadn’t
seen Steve for five years which was when her sister Lizzie dumped him.
Sammi was
heartbroken because she had it bad for him, but she was too timid to let him know.
“Sammi!”
Steve said “Wow it’s great to see you again”
“For the
benefit of those who haven’t met before”
Mark said
“PC Steve Briggs, Nurse Becky Clarke”
“Pleased to
meet you” Steve said
“Likewise,”
she responded and shook his hand “But now Nurse Green and I need to attend to
our patient”
When they
had finished, they made their way down the stairs where the crowd of Police
Officers had largely dispersed, those remaining Becky assumed were the ones who
hadn’t yet seen Mark.
After
saying goodbye to Mrs. Fiest, they left the house and walked down the path
towards the car, but then they heard the door open behind them.
“Sammi!” a
voice called, and she recognized it immediately as it was like honey on her
ears, so she stopped and turned to face Steve Briggs.
“Yes” she
squeaked
“I was
wondering if you might like to go to the Purplemere Christmas Ball”
“Me?” she
asked in surprise
“Yes, if
you’re free” he said
The
conversation wasn’t really progressing as fast as Becky would have liked as
they still had a number of calls to get through, so she interceded.
“Unlock
your phone and give it to me” she instructed Steve
“Um ok” he
responded hesitantly but handed it over anyway because he thought she had the
look of someone you didn’t say no to.
Becky took
the phone and handed it to Sammi
“Put your
number in there”
Sammi said
nothing but did as she was asked and handed it back, Becky then gave the phone
to Steve and said
“Right now,
you have her number, call her tonight, after 7”
They got
back in the car and Sammi gave Steve a wave as they drove off.
“So, tell
me all about Steve” Becky demanded “Particularly why he makes your voice go
squeaky”
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