Out of Practice Read Free Page B

as Elsie began to justify why she’d been found at midnight in the Market Place. Dressed for the Oscars and gaily planting daffodil bulbs in erratic clumps
amongst the grass verges, she’d clearly been having a wonderful time. Although, if her celebrity status was to be believed, it was probably a small mercy that none of the nosey neighbours had
thought to alert the press.
    Sensing in Holly a kindred spirit and not missing a trick, Elsie clasped Holly’s hand emphatically. ‘My darling girl, you’ve no idea how stultifying tedious it
is
being old. There really is only so much
Antiques Roadshow
I can sit through without being bored senseless and needing a little pick me up.’
    Elsie was on a roll now, playing to her audience of two and clearly loving the attention. Her husky voice made the simplest of statements sound like an invitation and her accent was crisp and
redolent of a bygone era. The light danced for a second in her deep grey eyes, every inch the star of stage and screen. ‘Every time I have a bit of fun, everyone says I’m going dotty.
By my reckoning, I’ve been going dotty for the last six decades then . . .’ She laid a weightless hand on Holly’s arm, paper-thin skin and fragile fingers still somehow supporting
the enormous sapphire Holly had noticed earlier, not to mention several eternity rings, each no doubt presented with love by a succession of eligible husbands. ‘We girls are allowed to let
our hair down occasionally, aren’t we?’
    Holly tried to remember Dan’s cautionary words, but felt unable to resist the captivating pull of Elsie’s fabulous personality, wavering further as Elsie fixed her with a determined
and persuasive smile.
    ‘Back me up here, Dr Graham. I really don’t want to take any more of those pills that Dr Bruce gave me. They make me feel so muzzy-headed and slow. And I can feel old and stupid and
clumsy without the help of pharmaceuticals, thank you
very
much.’
    Holly breathed in and caught a stern hold of her medical objectivity. Every personal instinct was suggesting that she and Elsie nip to the pub later, for lunch and a couple of G&Ts, but her
professional voice was nudging insistently at her conscience. Even putting aside the question of medication, Holly could see that, beneath the veneer of glamour and sophistication, all was not
running smoothly for Elsie. Holly’s gaze took in the mis-buttoned silk blouse, the tell-tale food stain on the sleeve of her cashmere cardigan and the eyeliner that had been carefully and
immaculately applied to only one eyelid.
    If Elsie was in fact starting to deteriorate, then they were hardly going to get to the bottom of things in a ten-minute appointment. In fact, at that moment, the light on the desk phone flashed
repeatedly to remind them that there was indeed a waiting room full of patients demanding attention.
    Holly was about to speak up when Dan leaned forward in his chair. ‘Elsie, no one is begrudging you your right to have a bit of fun, but there are a lot of people in this town who care
about you and are worried about how you’re doing. So, I’m going to get Lucy on reception to book you in for a triple appointment with me and we can review all your medication and
if,’ he held up a hand to stop her interrupting, ‘if you still feel that we need to tweak things a little bit, we can take our time. In the meantime,’ he continued in an
affectionately commanding voice, ‘I am going to send one of the team over every day to check in with you. It’s all very well you putting on a bravura performance every time you come in,
but I want you to accept that we’re all here to help. You might even have to come clean and tell us if there are things that you’re struggling with. Now how does that sound?’
    Holly nodded along as he spoke, delighted to find that this was a practice where it clearly wasn’t frowned upon to get involved in their patients’ lives, rather than simply reaching
for the