Back To The Grindstone
UPLIFTING SHORT STORY BY BETH MCKAY
The first day after the holidays is always the hardest…
Jemima groaned as she groped for the alarm clock in the pitch black.
Surely it could not be time to get up already. It seemed to be only minutes since her head had touched the pillow – and it was so dark.
Shrugging off the duvet, she swung her legs round and wriggled her feet into her Christmas slippers. At least they were cosy, she consoled herself, as she trudged into the chilly bathroom.
The water was lukewarm, and Jemima cursed aloud. She had forgotten to change the thermostat from its holiday setting. She was going to miss those lazy mornings. Lying in bed with a cup of tea and the radio had been bliss.
A glance out of the window over a hasty bowl of cereal revealed that the car was frozen up. No time to make a packed lunch if she had to scrape ice off the windscreen.
Nutmeg, her tabby, wound in and out of Jemima’s legs and pawed disconsolately at the front door when she locked it. Even the cat seemed to know that the day ahead was going to be a long one.
“Morning, Jemima. Glad you’re in!” Chloe, the receptionist, called.
The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. I expect we’ll be rushed off our feet after the bank holidays!
“Happy New Year to you, too!” Jemima teased as she slipped off her coat and donned her scrubs.
Jemima loved her work at the bustling GP practice, but even she was daunted by the hundreds of emails in her inbox. It was a good job she’d come in early to deal with them, before morning surgery.
She was on duty that day and would be picking up all the extra patients as well as catching up with those on her own list.
“Don’t worry! I’ve brought flapjacks to see us through,” Martin the paramedic announced as Jemima joined the team in the duty room an hour later. Sophie and Kate, their most experienced nurses, were already tucking in.
“Thanks, but it’s still a bit close to breakfast for me.” Jemima scanned the list of calls she needed to make. “I’ll enjoy one with a coffee later, if that’s OK?”
The team was frantic all morning. So many people had endeavoured to hold on over the holidays that the demand for everything, from referrals to test results and prescription changes, was quite overwhelming.
Jemima often found it was patients who made the least fuss on the phone who were most in need of urgent treatment. It was why she called Mrs McCaully straight away when she saw the receptionist’s note.
Her husband’s “funny turn” proved to be serious, requiring an ambulance and immediate hospital admission. Jemima was relieved when it was all arranged.
By the end of the day, she was shattered. It was only when she put on her coat that she realised she’d forgotten lunch. A rummage in her drawer produced a squidgy banana and a half-eaten biscuit.
Her stomach was rumbling. They would have to do. In any case, she needed to pop to the supermarket on the way home to replenish her sandwich supplies. There were festive leftovers in her fridge, but no bread. Maybe she could pick up an easy dinner, too.
A pile of cards on the windowsill caught Jemima’s eye as she turned to leave. She’d been too busy to open them all in the run-up to Christmas.
She began to riffle through them. They lifted her spirits instantly. She was touched to read so many lovely comments from patients, some of whom she’d known for decades. Those little messages of appreciation made the job worthwhile on a tough day like today.
Jemima felt the tension in her shoulders ease as she headed out to her car, the last one in the car park.
Nutmeg had been waiting at the window. Jemima always enjoyed the warmth of her reception, even if it was just cupboard love. The purrs certainly intensified when she reached for her bowl.
She slipped her own easy meal in the oven with some roasted vegetables while she changed.
The best thing about these dark nights was the excuse to slip straight from her work clothes into a fluffy dressing gown, Jemima decided. She sank down on the sofa with her meal on a tray.
The cat curled up beside her and together they worked their way through two more episodes of her favourite boxset.
The first day back was over. Getting up tomorrow might be easier.
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