Chapter Fifty Six
“Oops, sorry,” Senga said tae the wincing patient, as she gently pressed the sticking plaster tae make sure the dressing wis held in place.
She quickly topped up the dressing station, making sure aw the bandages, sealed swabs and the sterilised equipment wis stocked up fur the night shift. She stood wae her hauns oan her hips and looked aboot the room. The place wis spotless and tidy. She glanced across at the patient who held up her pad.
‘What time do you finish?’ it read.
“Twenty minutes,” she replied, glancing at her wee watch, pinned tae her blue uniform, which said twenty tae ten.
‘Have a seat,’ the pad said tae her.
Senga hesitated...no because she didnae want tae sit and hiv a wan-way chat wae a writing pad, bit because she didnae want tae get drawn in and end up asking Mrs Crawford...Alison...if she wanted tae gie her side ae the story tae a newspaper that hid no only gleefully crucified her, bit hid clearly made things up as they went alang tae keep the feeding frenzy topped up. She looked aboot the room. Sister hid awready been in and inspected it tae make sure it wis picture perfect, efter instructing Senga in the art ae changing a dressing. The patient’s wound seemed tae look worse...mair angry than it hid been earlier.
“All part of the healing process, Senga,” Sister hid said...whitever that meant.
“Okay, bit Ah’ll need tae watch ma time. It’s Sunday and the last thirty seven, tae take me up the road tae Springburn, arrives at the bus stoap doon oan Castle Street at aboot twenty past.”
‘I’ve been thinking what you said earlier about this boy that you and your friend fancy,’ the pad said.
“Oh, aye?”
‘The way you’re handling it is excellent.’
“Oh, Ah’m no sure aboot that. Sometimes Ah jist want tae blurt oot tae Pearl whit the score is and tae hiv a good laugh aboot how stupid the pair ae us ur, bit somehow, Ah don’t think that wid be the likely ootcome. And anyway, Ah widnae want tae risk it. Her friendship means mair tae me than me leaving her feeling that she his competition fae her best pal. Even if we did laugh aboot it, it wid end up destroying oor friendship in the long run. She widnae want tae confide in me whit her wee strategy oan how tae hook lover boy wis, if she knew Ah wis hinging aboot, waiting tae shoot in there if it aw fell apart. She’d end up thinking ma advice tae her wis twisted if she wisnae successful. Christ, listen tae me speaking like Florence Nightingale here...where’s ma lamp?”
‘You would make a brilliant social worker.’
“Aye, well, Ah think Ah’d make a better nurse, even if Ah turned oot tae be a crappy wan, so Ah wid.”
‘Why do you say that?’
“Oor conversation earlier?”
Silence.
‘It’s not like you think,’ the pad said.
“It wid feel like Ah wis being a traitor tae aw the wummin who brought me up...no jist tae that wee maw ae mine, and no matter how hard Ah tried, Ah’d never be able tae convince them otherwise. There’s been too much dirty water under the bridge fur that tae ever happen.”
Silence.
‘Is that how people will view me?’
“How dae ye mean?”
‘Like dirty water under the bridge, contaminated, never having the chance to redeem myself?’
“Whit Ah’ve jist said applies tae ma situation. Ah kin state whit Ah jist said oan good authority. Ah know ma people and Ah know fine well the hurt and humiliation they’ve been through wae social workers...professionally well intentioned or no. Your situation is totally different...Ah think.”
‘Why?’
“Because ye still hiv tae test the water...even if it is jist a wee toe tae start wae, tae see whit the reaction is...and if it’s no as bad as ye think, ye then dip two toes in and so forth. It’ll probably take time, bit if ye’re hauf the conniving sneaky ghoul that the papers make ye oot tae be, well, it wid be a doddle, so it wid,” Senga said, smiling, looking at the patient whose shoulders wur shaking wae laughter.
‘I wish I could laugh through these welded jaws,’ the pad declared.
“Ach, Ah don’t know aboot that. There’s bound tae be some benefits ae hivving a permanent grimace. It means people won’t know whether ye’re scowling at them or no. Imagine whit ye could get away wae?” Senga said, laughing.
‘So, what would you do if you were me?’ the pad asked.
“Ah don’t know.”
‘Student Nurse Jackson, are you tying to tell me you haven’t thought out what you would do in my situation? I’m surprised.’
“Ah know whit Ah’d dae if it wis me, bit then again, ma way ae dealing wae situations is usually a bit extreme and kin get people roond aboot me intae hot water, so it kin. Ye’d need tae look at yer ain situation and dae whit ye feel is best fur you...whit wid be acceptable...how ye’d cope if things didnae work oot the way ye intended...whit yer fall-back position wid be...no furgetting yer get-oot clause,” Senga rattled aff, seeing the eyes above the bandage widen.
‘Where did you learn to speak like that? Surely, not nursing school?’
“Naw, naw, Ah wis brought up wae some ae the cheekiest, bad, mad-arsed wummin ye could ever meet in yer life, whose sexual turn-on is getting wan o’er oan the men fae The Corporation, so it is. Aw they seemed tae dae morning, noon and night, when Ah wis growing up, wis work oot their tactics. Sometimes me and ma pals wonder how we ever came tae be conceived, so we dae. It’s a bloody miracle if ye ask me, so it is,” Senga said drily, tae mair laughter fae the shaking bed.
‘You’re killing me,’ the pad said.
“Maist ae the men at hame think the wummin put their dugs before their men-folk, although it’s a well-known fact amongst the wummin that they’ve goat the order wrang, so they hiv. It’s the weans, the dugs, the cat, no furgetting the budgie and the goldfish, if they hiv wan, and then the men hiv their shout. Ye’re laughing, bit Ah’m no jesting. Ma granny always fed her mangy auld dug before slapping the plate doon oan the table in front ae ma poor auld granda, so she did. If he ever complained higher than a decibel, the dug, who’d be sitting there oan her lap, getting it’s ear scratched, wid gie him the glad-eye as if tae say, ‘Up yours, Bob,’ before letting oot a wee growl,” Senga said wae a deidpan expression, as the patient doubled up, waving at her tae stoap it.
‘So, where do I find my first pond then?’ the pad eventually asked.
“Fur whit?”
‘To dip my big toe in the water?’
“Ah don’t think ye’d like tae hear whit ma thinking is.”
‘Try me, but I think my family is out. As far as they’re concerned, I’m a non-person.’
“Aye, well, ye see, Ah’m no that convinced aboot that. As Ah’ve jist said, that might take a bit ae time, and Ah’m no so sure that they wid be ma first port ae call, so they widnae. They’d be who Ah wis aiming fur...tae try and get them tae understaun...or at least, tae try and understaun where ye’ve been at fur the last month...six months...a year...whitever.”
‘Explain, please,’ the pad asked.
“Well, don’t get upset or start shouting at me...oh, er, sorry...anyway, ye know whit Ah mean. If Ah wis you, which Ah’m no, Ah’d get ma story oot there, oan ma terms...use the buggers that’ve been destroying ye fur yer ain ends. Ye need tae think alang the lines ae aw the wummin Ah’ve telt ye aboot, including that maw ae mine, oan how they’d approach something like this.”
‘But, how?’
“Well, ye’ve said mair than a few times tae me that ye’d love tae put yer side ae the story across, oan yer ain terms. Why don’t ye dae that?”
‘I hate the press. It would be like a circus. I couldn’t cope being interrogated, getting my picture taken, swathed in all these bandages like a mummy, splashed across the papers.’
“Ye mean like jist noo?”
‘You know what I mean. I just couldn’t cope.’
“That pal ae mine, Pearl? She could help. In fact, we’ve spoken aboot it and kind ae, er, worked oot a wee plan, so we hiv,” Senga said, gulping.
Silence.
‘And when were you going to inform me of this plan?’ the pad asked, bit the eyes ae the patient looked cross.
“This morning.”
‘So, why have you left it until now?’
“Because Ah decided no tae mention it tae ye because Ah wis scared that ye’d feel that Ah’d betrayed yer trust in me as a student nurse who wis supposed tae be here tae learn how tae help ye recover and no tae upset ye even mair than whit ye awready ur.”
Silence.
‘Tell me about your plan.’
“Ah think ye should furget it. Ah’ve done enough damage, so Ah hiv,” Senga mumbled, looking at her hauns, cursing hersel fur letting her guard doon.
The lassies wur right. She wis gonnae end up getting her jotters efter this...and her jist in the door…shit! She felt a tug oan the side ae her uniform.
‘Tell me about your plan,’ the pad asked again.
“Right, Ah’m gonnae explain the thinking, bit Ah’m no expecting ye fur wan minute tae even think aboot considering it. So, remember, Ah’m no trying tae convince ye ae anything. Ah’m gaun oan the basis that Ah owe ye an explanation and tae confess oor...me and Pearl’s...thoughts oan whit might’ve been a possibility...if ye wur game enough tae go through wae it…if ye know whit Ah mean?”
‘Senga, get on with it,’ the pad declared, the patient clearly irritated by Senga's bumbling aboot and no getting tae the point.
“Oh, right, er, sorry. Right, Ah’ve telt ye aboot ma pal, Pearl. She’s jist started a job recently wae The Glesga Echo as a typist-cum-dogsbody fur some famous journalist, so she his. The journalist his jist been promoted efter being demoted...if ye get ma drift...bit anyway, she’s been gied her ain page in the paper tae write up anything that takes her fancy...so long as it’s aboot wummin. Oor thoughts wur that ye could get this journalist tae dae a feature...that’s whit her new title is, by the way...a features something or other, oan yer side ae the story. Whit dae ye think?”
Silence.
‘A feature on my side of the story?’
“Aye. Ye’re a wummin, so ye ur, so yer story wid qualify.”
‘What’s the journalist’s name?’
“Her name? Er, Ah don’t know...Ah furget. Something like Jenny Dandelion or something.”
‘And you think this Jenny Dandelion wouldn’t sensationalise it?’
“Of course she wid. Seemingly, her first story page, her feature, which came oot last week, wis pure crap, so it wis. Ah never read it masel, bit some ae the lassies said it wis red rotten.”
‘The police have advised against letting journalists near me.’
“Aye, well, Ah don’t know aboot that, bit there might jist be an opportunity here...oan yer ain terms, that is.”
‘If she was a journalist, the policeman on the door would probably know her and stop her from visiting me.’
“It’s funny ye should mention that, bit Pearl said that her boss suggested that Ah could skip her in here dressed as a nurse, so she did.”
‘So, you and your friend, Pearl, have already spoken with her?’
“It wis mentioned and she jist aboot peed her pants in ecstasy. Pearl said that if Mrs Dandelion disnae come up wae something different and good fur next week’s page, then the baith ae them ur oot ae the door. Pearl wae the sack, and the journalist, who’s married tae the paper’s motoring journalist, who’s rich, is gonnae resign.”
‘So, you thought that you could sell my story to save your friend from getting sacked?’ the pad wae the slits fur eyes asked.
“Whit? Naw, naw, that’s no how it wis. We wur trying tae figure oot a way tae help ye, so we wur. Ah telt ye it wis a mad plan. We wur fantasizing aboot how brilliant it wid be fur ye, based oan whit ye hid awready telt me aboot getting yer side ae the story oot there.”
‘And your friend trusts this journalist she has just started working for?’
“Ur ye kidding? Pearl said she’d sell her granny fur cost-price, so she wid. Widnae trust her as far as she could fling her, wis her exact words.”
‘I don’t get it.’
“Ye cannae talk, so ye cannae, so why no get this journalist wan tae put some questions forward and ye answer them...in writing. If ye don’t like whit’s been asked, don’t answer it. Alternatively, ye could put doon yer ain questions wae the answers underneath them. Whit hiv ye tae lose? Her sensationalising it? They’re daeing that as it is. It wid also allow ye tae get yer story printed and...hopefully, yer man, alang wae yer boy and lassie, wid get tae read it withoot hivving tae be staunin in here in front ae ye. In fact, ye could always write it as if it wis aimed at answering any questions ye think they’d want answered.”
Silence.
‘Senga, how could you? You of all people?’ the pad asked accusingly, tears welling up in the patient’s eyes.
“Aye, Ah know...Ah’m sorry…Ah truly am,” Senga mumbled miserably.