Tears of the Moon - Di Morrissey [182]
Olivia dropped her bag in the hall. ‘Mollie, what is it? What’s happened?’
‘Mem, oh mem, we try get you. Doc Shaw at hospital. Something terrible happen. No good, no good … ’
‘What has happened, Mollie, please? Speak slowly and tell me … what has happened?’
The young woman swayed from side to side as she continued, her hands wringing. ‘Mem, it Doc Shaw no good. Him sick. In hospital.’
Olivia felt faint for a moment, then drawing breath she grasped Mollie by the shoulders. ‘Tell me what is wrong with him. Was there an accident?’
‘I dunno, mem. He fall down and no can move. He in hospital.’ Olivia turned and headed out the door feeling like she had been winded by a blow from a fist.
She rushed to Fremantle Hospital and a sympathetic matron took her to Gilbert’s bedside, explaining that he had suffered a serious stroke. ‘It happened two days ago and he is still unconscious. At the moment we have no idea how serious the effects will be. He may recover quite adequately … or … ’
‘Or he may never come out of his coma,’ finished Olivia.
It was a shock to her to see Gilbert lying in the hospital bed, his skin greyish white. Suddenly he looked so frail and thin and very old. As she sat by him, taking his hand, the medical superintendent whom they knew well, came into the room. ‘My dear Mrs Shaw … this is a dreadful state of affairs. Not good at all. So glad you’re here, it will surely help.’
‘Doctor Harrington, please tell me what happened and what’s the outlook.’
‘It’s looking a bit grim at the moment. But you never know with these cases. Seen fellows just open their eyes and they’re perfectly all right. It seems he got out of bed during the night and was struck down. Your girl found him in the morning in the middle of the floor. Seems he regained consciousness for a moment after they got him here, just briefly. He called for you and lapsed back again.’
Olivia tightened her grip on Gilbert’s hand and stared at the apparently sleeping man. Although, studying his face, it appeared more that he was floating in some dreamless state. She leaned close to him. ‘Gilbert, can you hear me? It’s me, Olivia. I’m here, dearest.’
‘I would suggest you stay with him, talk to him, touch him, as much as you can. Just in case he can hear you or sense you’re here. It’ll help. One of my cases, when he came to, said all the time he seemed to be out of it, he was totally aware of what was going on around him. But he couldn’t see, move or speak. Very frustrating.’
Olivia looked from the doctor to Gilbert, a feeling of despair, pain and pity enveloping her. ‘Of course I’ll spend as much time as possible with him.’
The doctor patted her shoulder. ‘Don’t neglect your other duties, or yourself, my dear. We are doing all we can … but, I’m afraid, in these situations we have to let nature take its course.’
The hours passed slowly and Olivia began to feel she was caught in a time warp. Her emotions were in turmoil and she tried not to think of Tyndall, but when she did the sight of Gilbert wrenched her heart and caused pangs of guilt.
She read to him, talked to him and gently rubbed his arms, legs and feet. Two days after her return from Broome—which now seemed another world—when she feared Gilbert was going to waste away, she looked up from the book she was reading aloud to find his eyes open and staring intently at her.
Olivia started and gasped, ‘Gilbert! Can you speak, can you hear me? How do you feel?’
He didn’t move. She took his hand and leaned close but the limpness in his grip, the rigid set of his face and unblinking gaze caused her initial joy to quaver. She rushed for a nurse.
They fed him and bathed him and carried out tests but none elicited any physical or emotional response. Olivia let his fingers he in the palm of her hand hoping for some flicker in answer to her questions. And while he couldn’t make any movement, not even to blink, Olivia knew to the depths of her being that behind the intense staring grey eyes, that Gilbert was fully aware of everything about him.
They worked on his shrunken muscles