Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Steve chewed for a moment, swallowed, and then continued. “It’s possible to make a huge difference to a patient’s life, give them back their mobility, and relieve some or all of their pain. And the results are usually fairly quickly achieved.”
“A kid down our street broke his arm last year,” Billy put in. “He had to wear a plaster cast for about six weeks. Apart from his arm looking a bit thin for a while after the plaster came off, his arm seemed to be as good as new.”
Steve nodded. “Bones heal quicker when you’re younger.”
He then told us he was looking around for another job. “I’m about the right age to think about becoming a consultant.”
“That would be nice,” Helen said, handing her brother the plate of bread and butter he’d requested. “Then maybe you could find yourself a nice man to settle down with.”
Steve rolled his eyes. I sensed his job was more important to him than a partner. Each to their own.
“I’ve applied for a post in a hospital near York.”
Helen and Sam were all smiles, but Steve brought them back down to earth by telling them that it was rare for someone to get such a position on their first attempt.
“But it’d be great if you did get it,” Sam said, laying down his knife to shake more ketchup on his chips. “We’d see a lot more of you. Scotland’s too far away.”
Helen nodded her agreement before taking the bottle from her son. “That’s enough.”
“Well, we’ll see,” Steve said, giving his nephew a sympathetic smile.
It turned out the hospital Steve had applied to was the same one our friend Tom had been admitted to when he’d been stabbed. Tom was a postman and had been attacked for the unemployment cheques in his bag.
“I haven’t seen the hospital yet, but it has a good reputation,” Steve said.
We told him about the peeling paint on the walls, the dreadful hospital food, and the battle-axe of a ward sister we’d had the misfortune to encounter.
“Sounds like your typical NHS hospital,” he said, making a chip sandwich.
“Philistine,” Helen said when she saw what her brother was doing.
Sam grinned and started to make one for himself, earning a glare from his mother and a snort of laughter from his dad.
“What made you go for a job up in Scotland in the first place?” I asked Steve, feeling it was wise to move the topic away from unusual eating practices.
“Wanted to get as far away from Mum and Dad as I could.” He put a pickled onion in his mouth, chewed for a moment, swallowed, then added, “But that was a mistake.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve missed out on seeing the other members of my family.” Smiling at his nephew, he added, “And of course I’ve missed out on seeing Sam grow up.”
“I’ve missed seeing you, too, Unc.”
“Another reason for wanting to move is my current boss, Mr MacDonald. He’s a complete bast…” Steve shot a quick look at his sister before saying, “He isn’t very supportive of the gay lifestyle.”
“I’d have thought medicine would be fairly accepting,” I said. “It being a caring profession and everything.” Then I remembered the battle-axe in Tom’s ward.
“Some branches are, but surgery, or at least certain surgeons, definitely aren’t.”
Steve told us about a patient of his who was brought in with several broken bones as a result of a gay bashing. “My boss, when he reviewed the case, came out with a load of homophobic vitriol. Basically he said the patient got what he’d deserved.”
“I take it you’re not out at work then?” Mark asked.
“Only to a few colleagues.”
“What are your chances of getting the job in York?” Helen asked.
Steve shook his head. “Don’t know. As with many other things in the good old NHS, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
“We’ll keep our fingers crossed for you,” Paul said, laying down his knife and fork. “Great meal, love,” He leaned over and kissed Helen’s cheek.
As everyone else had finished and no one wanted dessert, save Sam and Billy, the adults retired to the front room.
“We can’t stop long,” Mark said, declining a glass of brandy.
“Oh?” Paul asked, offering the brandy to me.
I shook my head.
“We’ve got a kitten,” Mark said.
I filled Paul and Helen in on Noel. “He seems to be settling in pretty well.”
“Hope nobody comes round to claim him,” Paul said.
Mark nodded. I’d cautioned him that that might happen.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone