The Secret Ingredient (41 page)

In fact Andie slept like the proverbial log until the phone rang at seven, waking her. Who rings at seven o'clock in the morning? Her eyes were too bleary to focus on the screen of the phone, but if it was anyone she knew their name would have come up in letters big enough for her to read. Then she had a sick feeling. She quickly cleared her throat and answered the phone.

‘Hello?'

‘Mrs Corcoran?'

‘Um . . . yes?'

‘It's Dr Jorgenson, we met briefly the other day.'

‘Yes, of course. Is Ross okay, did something happen?'

‘No, he's doing really well, actually. We're waiting on a couple more test results but we're not expecting any surprises. I'm booking him in for surgery tomorrow.'

‘Oh. So soon?'

‘The sooner the better,' he said. ‘Someone will call you today to confirm the time.'

Why, Andie wanted to say. Why was he even calling her in the first place?

‘I want to assure you that your husband will be fine, Mrs Corcoran.'

Oh, that was why. Andie pictured her name printed in clear, block letters under ‘next of kin'.

‘It is heart surgery, as I explained, but it's routine, and his indicators are all very good at present,' he said. ‘All going well, he should be home after a couple of days.'

‘Really, that quickly?'

‘Patients do much better out of the hospital and in their own homes. It can place more of a burden on the family looking after them, perhaps, but usually they're happy to have them home as well. There will be some things you will have to be aware of regarding his post-operative care. But I'll explain more about that after his surgery tomorrow.'

So that meant he expected to see her there. ‘Okay. Thanks for the call, Doctor,' she said, hanging up the phone. She supposed she didn't mind being there, she'd certainly want to know that Ross was all right. So she just had to hope the surgery would be scheduled for early in the morning. She was going to have to coordinate with the kids, so that someone was there at least, if she couldn't hang around. And of course, there was always Tasha. For now, Andie had to get to work and focus; tomorrow, she might have to ask for some leeway.

It was another nonstop day at the restaurant and Andie was unable to check her phone again until the late afternoon. There were a couple of missed calls; one from hospital administration, with details of Ross's surgery. It was scheduled for seven in the morning, she was glad to hear. The other call was from Brooke, with a rather plaintive request to call her back.

‘Hi, Brooke, what's up?' Andie asked when she picked up.

‘I was just wondering if you're going to visit Dad today?'

‘I can't, honey, I'm at work.'

‘Oh . . .'

‘Is there something wrong?'

‘He's just a little down. He was upset that he didn't see you at all yesterday.'

Andie sighed. ‘But he knows I had to go to work, I told him.'

‘He thought you might come after work.'

Ross never did get restaurant hours. ‘Brooke, I don't finish until ten, or later. But look, I was going to call you anyway. I don't know if you heard, but his surgery's been scheduled for seven in the morning.'

‘Yeah, they came and told Dad.'

‘Well, you can tell him I'm coming in first thing to see him before he goes into theatre.'

‘He'll be so happy,' said Brooke, relieved.

‘But I don't know if I'll be able to stay afterwards,' said Andie. ‘It depends how long the surgery takes. So at least one of you should plan to be there.'

‘I think that'll be too early for Lauren with the baby. But I don't start work until after lunch tomorrow, and I'll see what Matty's up to. He's got a job for the holidays too, but it's only casual.'

‘Okay,' said Andie. ‘And look, unless you particularly want to see your father before he goes into theatre, you won't have to get to the hospital till about nine. I doubt you'll be able to see him before that, at least.'

She heard a tap on the door and turned around. Dominic was standing in the doorway.

‘Listen, Brooke, I have to go, okay?'

‘No worries, I'll see you tomorrow.'

Andie hung up the phone.

‘Is everything all right?' he asked.

She swallowed. ‘I'm on a break, Cosmo said it was okay —'

‘Andie, I'm not checking up on you,' he said. ‘You can make personal calls on your own phone during your break without answering to me.'

She smiled faintly. He was leaning against the doorjamb, and he kept glancing down the corridor.

‘Are you on lookout or something?' she asked him.

‘Yes, actually, I am,' he said seriously.

‘Oh, right.' Andie put her phone back in her locker and walked across the room towards him.

‘I'm only trying to keep you happy,' he explained. ‘Be discreet.'

‘I see, this is just to keep me happy?'

‘Well, it certainly isn't for me,' he said, his eyes trained down the corridor. ‘What would make me happy right now would be to lock this door and have my way with you.'

She grinned. ‘Just exactly what is involved in “having your way with me”?'

He glanced at her then, and Andie could see the glint in his eyes. ‘It's hard to explain, I really have to show you.'

She had a sudden mental flash of Dominic having his way with her up against the lockers . . . She felt a little light-headed.

‘So I was thinking,' he went on, ‘it's a normal service tonight, no private parties, so I should be able to get away on time.' He looked down the corridor again. ‘Perhaps you'd like to come back to my place . . . I could make pancakes again . . . I think you said they were orgasmic the other night.'

‘I don't think I was talking about the pancakes.'

He gave her a look that could best be described as smouldering. It was those dark eyes. She was picturing them in his kitchen, feeding each other pancakes and stumbling their way back up the stairs to bed to make love again . . . and waking up with him in the morning . . .

‘Oh bugger.'

‘What's wrong?' Dominic turned to look at her.

Andie sighed. ‘Ross's operation is scheduled for seven tomorrow morning, I said I'd be there before he went into theatre.'

He nodded. ‘Of course, no problem.'

‘We could still have pancakes tonight?'

He was staring down at the floor. ‘It might be safer for you to go straight home, you know, with such an early start.'

Andie pressed her lips together to stop them from trembling. She felt bitterly disappointed . . . or bitter with disappointment, more likely.

‘Can I have a raincheck?' she asked.

‘Absolutely. So I take it you'll be late to work tomorrow?'

‘No, I don't plan to be, I was going to come straight from the hospital.'

‘Still you should probably mention it to Cosmo in case.'

‘Sure.'

He glanced down the corridor again. ‘I better get back.'

And then he was gone. Andie's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. One more day, and this would all be over.

Ross had been moved to a private room on the same floor as the high-dependency unit, not far from the nurses' station. Tasha was waiting outside and she actually rolled her eyes and sighed as Andie approached. She felt like she was in one of those teen movies about mean girls at high school. This was going to be excruciating.

‘Hello, Tasha.'

She just nodded in response.

‘What's going on?'

‘They asked me to step out for a minute while they get Ross ready for surgery.'

Andie settled herself against the wall on the other side of the door to Tasha. That way there was distance between them, but they weren't facing each other. Presently a nurse appeared, holding the door open while an orderly wheeled Ross out on a gurney, and another nurse followed behind.

‘Andie?' Ross lifted one hand as he passed her, but Tasha swooped in and fell in beside him, taking hold of his hand.

‘I'm coming, Ross,' said Andie, walking a few paces behind. She watched, faintly amused, as Tasha tottered along on her towering heels. They all packed into the elevator, Tasha still clutching onto his hand, while Andie tucked herself into a corner.

Ross raised his head. ‘Hi, Andie, I'm so glad you came.'

‘Of course, not a problem,' she said briskly.

Andie noticed the two nurses exchange a bemused look. The atmosphere in the elevator was so thick it was a wonder anyone could breathe. When the doors opened again, the orderly pushed the gurney through, and Tasha had to release Ross's hand momentarily, dashing forward again to plant a possessive hand on his arm. Andie dropped back behind the two nurses, happy to keep her distance. When they arrived outside the theatres, the orderly parked the gurney by the wall, and one of the nurses took his chart over to the desk. Ross lifted his head again, beckoning to Andie. She came closer.

‘Give us a sec, will you, Tash?' he said, patting the hand that was still clamped firmly on his arm.

Andie didn't look at her as she stepped back from the bed, she didn't dare.

Ross reached for her hand. He was looking a good deal better, there was colour in his face again, and his eyes were not so washed out.

‘Thanks for being here, Andie,' he said. ‘Will I see you after?'

‘Depends how long it takes, Ross, I have to go to work.'

‘When will I see you then?'

‘I'm not sure, it's the weekend, it's very busy at the restaurant.'

He started to tear up. Oh God. ‘I don't think I can get through this without you, Andie.'

‘Ross,' she chided. She hoped Tasha couldn't hear any of this. ‘You're going to be fine, better than fine, in fact, slightly bionic after this. You might end up with superpowers.'

He managed a smile then. ‘Do I get a kiss for luck?'

‘You don't need luck.' And he wasn't going to be left out here to face Tasha. So Andie popped a quick kiss on his forehead, before backing away from the bed. Tasha swooped on him again, leaning right over him. Andie turned away.

A theatre nurse came through the plastic swing doors. ‘It's time,' she said, touching Tasha on the arm. Tasha stepped back and they wheeled the gurney through the swing doors and out of sight.

Andie looked over at Tasha. This was so awkward. She'd given up pancakes and sex for this.

‘I'm going to get coffee, Tasha,' she announced. She didn't want to actually invite her to join her, but she wanted to be civil at least. ‘Can I get you something?'

‘No, I'm right.' And she flounced off without so much as a glance in Andie's direction, or a ‘thanks anyway'.

Andie decided she could risk staying in the café for at least an hour, she remembered Dr Jorgenson had said the operation was likely to take around two hours. She finally bought a newspaper and wandered back down to the waiting room. She spotted Tasha over the far side, fiddling with her phone. She didn't look up, but Andie thought it would be rude not to acknowledge her. She walked over and sat down in the adjacent row of seats. ‘Hi.'

Tasha's head bobbed up. ‘Oh, hi,' she murmured, returning her attention to her phone.

‘Haven't heard anything yet, I take it?' Andie persisted.

‘Nuh,' Tasha said without looking up, her thumbs flying across the buttons.

She shouldn't really have her phone on in here, but Andie was not going to be the one to tell her. She sat back and opened up the paper. She heard a snort and looked across at Tasha.

‘You still read the newspaper?' she muttered, not making eye contact. ‘Like, hard copy? That's so old-school. Ross loves his newspapers . . . so lame,' she sighed.

God, Andie hoped Brooke and Matty weren't far away.

As it turned out they weren't, they arrived about twenty minutes later. They came straight over to Andie and both gave her a hug, all but ignoring Tasha.

‘Have you heard anything?' Brooke asked.

‘Not yet, but I don't think it'll be much longer.'

It was barely nine o'clock when Dr Jorgenson came out to inform them that the operation had been a success.

‘It was all very routine,' he said. ‘He's in recovery now, you should be able to see him in about half an hour. So I want to just talk to you about what to expect from here on in.'

He pulled a chair over, and they formed a loose circle around him. ‘As I explained the other day, the ICD will send a shock to Ross's heart if he goes into arrhythmia again.'

‘Is it painful?' Andie asked.

‘According to people who have an ICD fitted, it feels like a sudden thump in the chest area. So he shouldn't drive for a couple of weeks at least, and he really has to take it easy for a while.'

‘Can you see it in his chest?' Matty asked, wide-eyed.

‘Yes, you can,' said Dr Jorgenson. ‘There's a lump about the size of the lid of a bottle of tablets protruding from this area here,' he said, touching Matty's chest, ‘just below the collarbone.'

‘Cool,' said Matty. ‘Will it go off when he goes through a security scanner at the airport?'

The things boys thought to ask.

‘It can, so he'll always have to let them know he has an ICD,' said Dr Jorgenson. ‘There's also some concern about mobile phones, so he should always take a call on the opposite side, and obviously he shouldn't keep his phone in his breast pocket.'

‘And he'll have this . . . device, inside him forever?' asked Tasha, barely containing a grimace.

‘Yes, though it will have to be replaced eventually,' he said. ‘But for now, there are a few basic guidelines to follow. He must not raise his right arm up over his shoulder or lift anything heavy for six weeks. And obviously he should avoid stress. A physio will see him tomorrow, she'll be able to explain more, and she'll give you lots of literature that you can refer to once you take him home,' he added, looking at Andie.

Don't look at me, she felt like saying.

‘You all need to be aware that during this adjustment period there is increased incidence of anxiety in the patient, and depression rates are higher as well. He needs plenty of reassurance that his future is bright, that things will be back to normal in time.'

‘How much longer will he stay in hospital?' Tasha asked.

‘He should be able to go home in a couple of days, all going well,' said Dr Jorgenson. ‘We just have to run some checks on the device before we let him leave.'

Andie glanced across at Tasha. She looked pale, was she going to be up for this? But it was none of Andie's business. And yet it was. In sickness and in health, the phrase kept playing on a loop, like a line from a song you can't get out of your head.

‘As I said, you should be able to see him in about half an hour,' he said finally, getting to his feet.

They all stood up except for Tasha. She just sat there, still pale, staring ahead of her.

‘Thanks so much for everything, Dr Jorgenson,' said Andie, and Brooke and Matty murmured in agreement. ‘I'll have to go now too,' Andie added, after the doctor took his leave. ‘You guys will be right?'

‘I start work in about an hour,' said Matty. ‘Should be just enough time to put shit on Dad for his robot heart.'

Brooke elbowed him. ‘I'll be here till one. And Lauren's going to come in tonight.'

‘Okay, well, we'll keep in touch,' said Andie. She glanced over at Tasha, still sitting in the same spot. She hadn't moved or said anything. ‘Bye, Tasha.' But she didn't get a response.

Andie hurried out of the building to the parking station. She turned on her phone to discover there was a run of missed calls from Meredith, of all people. She sighed. She hadn't spoken to her sister since she'd moved out of the house, and this really wasn't a good time. But she had developed a pathological fear of ignoring Meredith's calls, given past experience, so she pressed
Call
and set a brisk pace back to her car. She was not going to be late for work for anything.

‘Andrea, finally,' Meredith said when she answered. ‘I really don't understand why someone has a mobile phone that they constantly leave turned off!'

Andie went to reply but Meredith was not finished.

‘I mean, you're as bad as the children. Their mobile phones are supposed to be for emergencies and yet any time I really have to contact one of them, I can never get through! They always have an excuse – they're out of credit, or out of charge, or in class . . . it drives me mad. So when you didn't answer, I looked you up on the White Pages online, but you're not listed, at least there's no A. Corcoran in Bondi, that's all I had to go on because I don't have your address, which is the whole reason I was calling in the first place. I'm sending out invitations for my fortieth birthday, and I didn't know where to send yours. Honestly, all the means of communication we have at our disposal and all I have for my own sister is a mobile phone number that you rarely seem to answer.'

That was a breath, she had finally taken a breath.

‘I had to turn it off in the hospital,' Andie said quickly, grabbing the opportunity.

‘Why are you at the hospital? What's going on? Are you all right?'

‘Yes, I'm fine. It's Ross.'

‘Is it something serious?' She actually sounded concerned.

‘Yes, he had a heart attack.'

‘Oh my goodness,' said Meredith. ‘Isn't he a bit young?'

‘It wasn't a coronary, he has arrhythmia, he just came out of surgery —'

‘They implanted an ICD, I gather?'

‘That's right.'

‘They are very effective, they've been shown to decrease mortality rates significantly. You don't have to worry, Andrea, he'll still have a long life ahead of him.'

Andie knew Meredith had a degree in some field of medical research, but did she have to know everything about everything?

‘So I gather you two have reconciled then?' Meredith asked.

‘No, at least not in the way you think,' said Andie. ‘I have been here for him, obviously, it was the right thing to do.'

‘Of course it's the right thing to do, Andrea,' Meredith declared. ‘For heaven's sake, he's your husband. How would you feel if this was reversed, and you were completely on your own, needing medical care, and he didn't give a damn? This is when duty overrides personal feelings, Andrea. This is why we have the institution of marriage, it protects us. What do you think Mum would have to say about this?'

Plenty, no doubt.

‘Ross is not on his own, Meredith.' Andie had had to wait until she'd drawn breath again to get a word in. ‘While he was in theatre, I sat in the waiting room with his new, very young girlfriend, so please don't lecture me about duty, because I think I've gone beyond the call.'

Meredith had nothing to say to that.

‘Now I have to go, I'm on my way to work,' said Andie, as she got to her car. ‘I'll text you my address.'

Andie made it to the restaurant comfortably on time, and was determined to put everything behind her and focus on her work. She didn't even mind that she had been assigned a list of jobs that included some of her least favourite tasks, including clarifying a sizeable quantity of butter this afternoon. It was so tedious and painstaking, but that was okay. Tedious was good – anything apart from being in that hospital, and talking about Ross, and dealing with Tasha, was, in fact, excellent.