Chapter Thirty

Emily and Dolly arrive at the hospital to see Daniel, but are turned away.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Jennifer Beauchamp's Corsa, a lovely cornflower blue, was only a few years old and had never travelled very far afield. Indeed, the mileage was well under the average 12,000 miles per year. It had also been serviced regularly, and occassionaly , valeted.

The Corsa was bequeathed to 'My good friend, Mr Damien Kevin Dolland' in Jen's last will and testament. Dolly knew he could never bear to part with 'The Mouse', his beloved old mini, but 'Mrs B', as he affectionately called her, didn't trust his car as far as she could spit; not that a lady such as herself ever would.

Dolly was a competent driver, careful, but speedy, and he enjoyed driving. Emily was forever urging him to slow down. though to date, he had never received a speeding ticket. Dolly's driving licence was clean, even though he had once been involved in a crash, several years earlier, just after he had passed his driving test. While out in an old, and rather battered Fiat, Dolly's first car, Uncle Dickie at his side, someone had ploughed into them, the result of a blown tyre. The fiat was a right-off, but luckily Dolly, his uncle, and the driver of the other vehicle were all unharmed.

The Corsa was a much smoother ride than Dolly's aged mini, no squeaks, rattles or grating of gears, so the journey to Ravenswood University Hospital went swiftly and without incident.

Ravenswood Hospital was older than Yewell Memorial. The main building was Victorian and had once been a private residence with its own grounds. It had become a convalescent hospital after World War One, for all those poor men who had been paralysed, or had lost a limb, pioneering some of the orthopaedic techniques still in use today. Now it was a general hospital, with a special unit for spinal and brain injuries.

The entrance hall had been modernized to provide a reception desk and a lounge-cafe area, but the original oak staircase had been left in situ.

Dolly and Emily approached the desk where they were greeted by an efficient looking receptionist. She was forty-ish with a lot of curly black hair, fake tan and fake nails, and way too much make-up. Mutton dressed as lamb, Lewis Beauchamp would have said. A name badge identified her as Violet.

“May I help you?” she enquired, reaching for a pencil but not making any eye-contact.

Dolly suspected that she was bored with her job, or else it had been a very long day.

“We're here to see Daniel Cooper” he informed her.

Violet tapped urgently at her keyboard using the pencil; heaven forbid anything should happen to her perfect nails.

“Daniel Benedict Cooper? ICU, that's the Intensive Care Unit.” She looked at them and enquired “are you relatives?”

“This is his girlfriend” Dolly explained.

“His fiancée” Emily corrected, much to Dolly's surprise. He thought Emily had turned the proposal down. She had certainly been very cut up about it; she and Daniel hadn't spoken for ages, until he had turned up at the library a couple of days ago.

“I'm afraid only immediate family members are allowed on the ward. Some of the patients are in a critical condition, others are being nursed in isolation. We cannot run the risk of cross contamination on the ward.”

Dolly was acutely aware of Emily standing tensely at his side. Her emotions were running on a knife edge; he was afraid for her, afraid that she was on the verge of a breakdown.

“But he's my fiancée! My future husband! I need to be with him!” She slammed both hands down flat on the reception desk, sending some papers over the edge. A passing doctor retrieved them.

“What seems to be the problem?”

Violet filled her in.

“I'm so sorry” the doctor told them firmly. “Only immediate family are allowed to visit ICU patients.”

“I have already informed them of that”, said Violet

Emily opened her mouth to protest again. Dolly thought he'd better calm things down before Emily caused any more trouble. A queue was forming behind them and people at the cafe counter had turned to stare.

“Could you phone ICU and ask Mr Cooper's family if we can speak to them?” he suggested. “They are expecting us.” That last bit was stretching the truth a little, but Emily had said Philip Cooper had suggested she come.

Violet reluctantly picked up her phone and used the pencil to dial the number. She spoke quietly for a few moments, waited for an answer to be sought, then hung up.

“Mr Cooper's father will come down to speak with you himself. If you could wait over there, please.” Violet answered them both with a flick of a taloned hand towards the waiting area, before turning her attention to the growing line of people waiting impatiently at her desk.