Free Paradise Lost: Tales of the Dead Tropics by Sue Edge Page B

struggling for breath. My foot hovered indecisively over the brake but before I could make a decision, she had opened the gate and was gone.
    'I guess she'll go see a doctor if she is sick." I muttered under my breath, trying to talk myself out of the instinct to find the woman.
    My sister was sitting on her verandah drinking a cup of coffee as I parked at the bottom of her steep driveway. Nestled in the midst of a rainforest, Kaye and Andy had built a beautiful pole home, or as my children called it, the tree house. As always, I complained about the hike as I walked up the driveway, lugging the twins behind me. " Ever thought about installing an escalator?"
    Kaye's dark hair fell around her laughing face as she leant over her balcony. "And deny you the only exercise you get? I think not."
    "Hey, these kids keep me plenty fit, thank you very much!" I retorted as I ushered the twins up the spiral wooden staircase. As always, the view from the house was breathtaking. There was lush rainforest on three sides and a river running through a deep valley on the remaining side. On rainy days, a low mist hung over the tops of the mountains making you feel part of a world untouched by man.
    I greeted my sister with a kiss and gratefully took the hot cup of coffee she held out for me. I plonked myself down on a chair and took a sip of freshly brewed black coffee. "You do know the way to a woman's heart."
    "Of course - coffee, chocolate, massages and time alone to read a good book." She sat down gracefully in the cane chair opposite me and picked up her china cup. Next to Kaye, I often felt as graceful as Fergie must have felt next to Princess Di. Kaye was all finished elegance and gentle manners while I was a t-shirt and jeans gal with foot in mouth disease. She took after mum with her dark coloring whereas I had inherited my Dad's honey -colored hair and fair skin, not to mention shortness.
    "Ooh, you really do know me!" I said admiringly. From within the house came the sound of four toddlers creating havoc, but we ignored it with an ease that only mothers can. "Uh, I suspect I am going to need a caffeine drip for the day ahead."
    "Yes, I heard about the encephalitis outbreak on the news. Do you think you will be looking after them?"
    I raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm an ER nurse. There's a good chance of it." I sighed. "I'm supposed to finish at 7pm but if I'm not here by 7.30..."
    Kaye grinned. "Feed 'em and bed 'em. Yeah, I know."
    With a glance at my watch, I finished off my coffee and went inside to bid farewell to my kids. Needless to say, they brushed me off with a hasty goodbye and returned to their game with their cousins, Beth and Allie. I grinned to myself as I returned to my car. At least I didn't have to go to work worrying about separation anxiety.
    3
    By the time I clocked in, there were four patients being examined in the cubicles and three more waiting in the triage room. The first lot of encephalitis patients had already passed through and been moved to an isolation ward. However, I had been informed that several more Mossman miners were now showing symptoms and were currently being transported to the hospital.
    As I checked the status of available beds on the computer, Emma dumped records on the counter beside me with a heavy sigh. "How much longer have we got on this shift?"
    "Let's see." I glanced deliberately at my watch. "Our shift started half an hour ago so...only eleven and a half hours to go!"
    She heaved another dramatic sigh as she reknotted her auburn hair.
    "Why? Got somewhere else to be?" I asked, amused. Emma's chaotic love life had been the source of much vicarious entertainment for me over the years. Blue eyes widening innocently, Emma leant forward with a cheeky grin. I could feel another ear-burning anecdote approaching.
    Dr Wilson hurried by and beckoned to us for assistance. The ER doors opened and Dave and Bob, the paramedics, hurried in with one of the encephalitis patients. Big Dave had a rough