Emergency at Bayside Read Online Free Page A

home now, to her husband, but she said that you were to rest as much as possible. Now that you’ve come to, I might get your father home for his dinner. His insulin was due half an hour ago. I’ll be back in first thing tomorrow and we’ll ring the ward tonight.’
    Again Meg sensed the sting of disapproval.
    ‘Are you coming, Kathy?’
    ‘No.’ Meg felt the bed move as Kathy perched herself on it. ‘I’ll stay with her. Jake can always give me a lift later.’
    ‘She was only joking about the police,’ Kathy said when their parents had finally gone.
    ‘Since when did Mum joke?’
    ‘There’s always a first time. I was in the hydro pool and Jess let Jake know. It was Jake that went and told her.’
    Meg looked at her sister. Her uncombed, spiky blonde hair and the faint scent of chlorine certainly held up her story. ‘So the police didn’t come?’
    ‘No.’ Kathy laughed, but her brimming eyes belied her casual chatter. ‘Actually, you did me a favour. They’ve got a new chief of physio and the workout they were putting me through felt like an army training camp—and, despite what she says, Mum’s had a grand afternoon gossiping to Jess about the fair Emerald Isle.’
    Meg attempted to smile, but it died on her lips.
    ‘She was upset, you know.’ Kathy squeezed Meg’s hand. ‘Really upset.’
    ‘And now she’s angry.’
    ‘You know what Mum can be like.’
    Meg did know—only too well. The last few months had been a nightmare. It was bad enough finding out that your boyfriend of eighteen months, the man you’d adored, actually thought you had a future with, was in fact married. And not just married. Married to your colleague’s sister, who just happened to go to the same church as your mum. So not only had Megfelt the wrath of disapproval from her colleagues at Melbourne City Hospital, there had been the wrath of her mother to deal with.
    Mary O’Sullivan wasn’t sure which was the greater of the two evils. The fact her eldest daughter had been branded a home-wrecker, or the undeniable fact that Meg wasn’t a virgin.
    And now she had trashed her car.
    ‘I hate this year.’
    ‘I know, but there’s always next year.’
    ‘Next year will probably be just the same.’
    ‘It won’t.’ Kathy insisted. ‘You’ve got a new job, new friends, a whole new start. All you have to do is loosen up a bit.’
    ‘Loosen up?’
    ‘Try letting people in. It’s a nice world out there. I know Vince hurt you, but not all men are the same.’
    Just the mention of his name bought forth a whole fresh batch of tears. Meg hadn’t cried since the day they broke up, and certainly not in front of anyone, but the egg on her head combined with the pain in her chest was such a horrible combination that for once crying came naturally.
    ‘I’ve got some news that might cheer you up,’ Kathy said desperately. Seeing her sister, who never cried, sobbing in the bed was torture. ‘How do you fancy being a bridesmaid?’
    Like a tap being turned off, Meg instantly stopped crying, her eyes swinging round to her sister.
    ‘You’re engaged?’
    ‘I have been for…’ Kathy glanced at her watch. ‘Twenty hours now. He asked me last night.’
    ‘Who, Jake?’
    Kathy gave a gurgle of laughter. ‘No, the tram conductor. Of course it’s Jake. Who else?’
    ‘What does Mum have to say about it?’ Meg asked slowly.
    ‘Well, the fact we want to get married so quickly— on Valentine’s Day, actually—led to a few sticky questions, but we’ve finally managed to convince her that it’s not a shotgun wedding. We’re just head over heels and want to do it as soon as possible. She’s tickled pink, actually, and insisting that we have an engagement party. But I’ve told her that the most we want is a casual dinner.’
    Meg gave a wry laugh. ‘So no doubt she’ll spend tomorrow on the telephone, ringing up hundreds of relatives.’
    ‘Probably,’ Kathy conceded. ‘But after she’s been in to see you, of