Sunrise for Two Read Free Page B

reasons I like my
job so much is that it lets me forget.” She paused as a piece of
chilli tingled in her throat, and drained a glass of water. “Not
about my legs, but about people's reactions to them.” she added
softly.
    “ People just
don't think Harry, and this guy, he sounds like an
idiot.”
    “ That's just
the problem,” Harry said ruefully, “he wasn’t.” She filled up her
glass and took another mouthful of water and her dark eyes held
Julia’s for a moment. “I know it sounds silly,” she added finally,
“but he’s the sort of guy I hoped to meet when I took this
ridiculous job.” She closed her eyes for a moment and then smiled
at her friend. “I know it is preposterous isn’t it? He’s not going
to be interested in me. He’s bound to be this athletic superstar
who likes lean long legged blondes. I can imagine them spending
their weekends watching one another in sporting exploits then
playing volleyball together at barbecues full of tall beautiful
people.”
    “ Harry he’s a
surgeon living in Manchester not a lifeguard in
Cornwall.”
    “ You’re
right, of course you are, although it would be fun to meet a
lifeguard from Cornwall.” She smiled her thanks when the waiter who
knew her well brought her a cup of coffee, then looked the woman
she confided in. “We look after each other you and I, and I love
that, but sometimes I just really ache for someone to hold my
hand.”
    “ I know what
you mean about those aches and cravings,” Julia said with a grin,
“sometimes that itch is quite hard to bear.”
    Harry smiled at her,
feeling the familiar twist of discomfort in her stomach, she had
locked her sexuality away, frightened about exposing her
vulnerabilities, particularly to a man that she might find
attractive.
    “ Sorry honey,
I didn’t mean to touch that sore spot.”
    “ It’s okay
Jules, you’re a normal girl, and any man would be lucky to have
you.”
    “ They’re not
queuing up.” Julia said ruefully, and helped herself to another
poppadum.
    The glorious colours of
the evening spring sky lit up the restaurant window, and back at
the hospital Chris was shaken outside of his usual preoccupation
with his patients by the clean colours and the hint that stars
might exist beyond the Manchester cloud cover. He stopped for a
moment in the car park and watched the lovely hues above the
incinerator. He'd spent the afternoon wondering whether to return
to the IT cabin and invite Harry for wine and then dinner. It was a
strategy that had worked well with nurses when he was a junior
doctor, but he remembered the way she had looked at him when he
interrupted the meeting and he had decided reluctantly that he
needed to be rather more subtle, a thought that alarmed
him.
    He met Mr Patel in the
canteen the following Monday. They ate overcooked food in a
comfortable silence until Chris asked casually when the next
training meeting was. Chris had worked for the older man for a long
time before he became a consultant in his own right. They had spent
long nights in the silence of the operating theatre and days in the
packed outpatient clinics. “I've never known you to ask when a
meeting is,” his mentor said with a smile.
    “ It's a very
worthy cause.” Chris said awkwardly, remembering the way her eyes
slanted when she smiled.
    “ I'm glad you
think so,” Mr Patel told him, gracefully cutting a rather
unpleasant lump out of his scrambled eggs, “although if you don't
mind me saying you looked a bit distracted.”
    “ She's rather
hard to miss," Chris said softly, "I've been thinking about
her."
    “ Well I'm
glad. You've been far too preoccupied with your job.”
    “ The trouble
is that I've got no idea how to go about things, I don’t even know
where to start.” he said, his blue eyes suddenly
intense.
    “ All the
usual girl stuff tends to be very effective.” Mr Patel told him
with practiced ease, “Find out what she likes, learn what she’s
interested in and let her know