This egg, cheese, vegetable thing is quite wonderful,' he went on before Yona could ask why it had been sensible. 'If you get struck off for violence towards a superior, you can open a restaurant and make a fortune.'
'Thank you,' said Yona, 'but I'd rather stick to medicine.'
'I'd almost forgotten what a dedicated career-girl you are,' said Mike, sounding disapproving now.
'If that means loving my job and trying my best to be really good at it, then, yes, I suppose I am.'
'Did you know that Meg Burnley was the gold medallist of their year?' he asked with apparent irrelevance.
'No, I didn't,' said Yona, much surprised. 'I knew they'd been students together and I just assumed that Meg wasn't all that bothered about a career—especially as they married so young and started their family almost straight away.'
'Oh, Meg was keen enough on medicine—just a lot keener on Ted,' Mike said firmly. 'Anyway, she's been doing a few sessions per week in a community health centre for some years now.'
As if that was any substitute for a serious career, thought Yona, but she just said neutrally, 'That all sounds very convenient.'
'It's certainly made for harmony in their marriage,' Mike said roundly.
'When the woman makes all the sacrifices, it usually does,' murmured Yona in reply.
He fixed her with a level stare across the remains of their meal. 'That remark was very revealing,' he said slowly. 'I can think of several ways of answering—none of which you would like. So I suggest we have coffee instead.' He got up from the table and began stacking plates on the trolley.
'Here, I'll do that,' she said, getting up and rushing round the table.
'Are you still feeling guilty?' asked Mike.
Yona eyed him sideways under heir lashes. 'Why do I have this feeling that you're making fun of me?' she wondered aloud.
'I wouldn't dare,' he claimed. 'Dedicated career-women like you frighten the life out of me.'
'That's not fair!' she protested, hurt beyond reason.
'The response of the playground,' he returned, unruffled.
'Perhaps there's hope for you after all.' He steered the trolley across the room and lumbered out.
Yona followed him, frowning. She'd give a lot to know what he'd meant by that last remark. What he meant by this whole incredible evening, come to that...
In the kitchen, Mike was filling the kettle. When he opened the dishwasher Yona said, 'Here, I'll do that.'
He stood aside and watched her rinsing plates and cutlery under the cold tap. 'Surely, if they're going in the dishwasher...'
'This only takes a minute or two and it saves having to wash the filter so often,' she explained.
'You're very efficient,' he told her, making it sound more like a criticism than a compliment.
'I'd have thought that was a very good thing in a doctor,' she retorted, stung.
'You're also rather sensitive,' he said.
'For heaven's sake, stop analysing me and tell me where you keep the coffee,' she said irritably as the kettle came to the boil.
'One thing at a time,' he said in a soothing tone calculated to do the opposite. 'You've not finished loading the dishwasher yet. The pans can go in, too,' he said, taking coffee beans from a jar and putting them in a hand grinder fixed to the worktop.
'I thought your foot throbbed when you were standing up,' she reminded him.
'It also throbs when I'm sitting down, so—'
'Back to the living room,' ordered Yona, shooing him out of his own kitchen. In the living room she told him to sit on the couch, where she piled up cushions beside him. 'Now, put your leg up there,' she ordered.
'I can't imagine why I didn't think of this for myself,' he said so meekly that she suspected him of laughing at her again.
'Because, like all doctors, you haven't a clue how to look after yourself,' she suggested.
'You'd make a marvellous nurse, Doctor,' he said, folding his arms behind his head and settling down comfortably.
'That's what you told me on my first day at the Royal.'
'Nursing is a very feminine thing,'
'Thank you,' said Yona, 'but I'd rather stick to medicine.'
'I'd almost forgotten what a dedicated career-girl you are,' said Mike, sounding disapproving now.
'If that means loving my job and trying my best to be really good at it, then, yes, I suppose I am.'
'Did you know that Meg Burnley was the gold medallist of their year?' he asked with apparent irrelevance.
'No, I didn't,' said Yona, much surprised. 'I knew they'd been students together and I just assumed that Meg wasn't all that bothered about a career—especially as they married so young and started their family almost straight away.'
'Oh, Meg was keen enough on medicine—just a lot keener on Ted,' Mike said firmly. 'Anyway, she's been doing a few sessions per week in a community health centre for some years now.'
As if that was any substitute for a serious career, thought Yona, but she just said neutrally, 'That all sounds very convenient.'
'It's certainly made for harmony in their marriage,' Mike said roundly.
'When the woman makes all the sacrifices, it usually does,' murmured Yona in reply.
He fixed her with a level stare across the remains of their meal. 'That remark was very revealing,' he said slowly. 'I can think of several ways of answering—none of which you would like. So I suggest we have coffee instead.' He got up from the table and began stacking plates on the trolley.
'Here, I'll do that,' she said, getting up and rushing round the table.
'Are you still feeling guilty?' asked Mike.
Yona eyed him sideways under heir lashes. 'Why do I have this feeling that you're making fun of me?' she wondered aloud.
'I wouldn't dare,' he claimed. 'Dedicated career-women like you frighten the life out of me.'
'That's not fair!' she protested, hurt beyond reason.
'The response of the playground,' he returned, unruffled.
'Perhaps there's hope for you after all.' He steered the trolley across the room and lumbered out.
Yona followed him, frowning. She'd give a lot to know what he'd meant by that last remark. What he meant by this whole incredible evening, come to that...
In the kitchen, Mike was filling the kettle. When he opened the dishwasher Yona said, 'Here, I'll do that.'
He stood aside and watched her rinsing plates and cutlery under the cold tap. 'Surely, if they're going in the dishwasher...'
'This only takes a minute or two and it saves having to wash the filter so often,' she explained.
'You're very efficient,' he told her, making it sound more like a criticism than a compliment.
'I'd have thought that was a very good thing in a doctor,' she retorted, stung.
'You're also rather sensitive,' he said.
'For heaven's sake, stop analysing me and tell me where you keep the coffee,' she said irritably as the kettle came to the boil.
'One thing at a time,' he said in a soothing tone calculated to do the opposite. 'You've not finished loading the dishwasher yet. The pans can go in, too,' he said, taking coffee beans from a jar and putting them in a hand grinder fixed to the worktop.
'I thought your foot throbbed when you were standing up,' she reminded him.
'It also throbs when I'm sitting down, so—'
'Back to the living room,' ordered Yona, shooing him out of his own kitchen. In the living room she told him to sit on the couch, where she piled up cushions beside him. 'Now, put your leg up there,' she ordered.
'I can't imagine why I didn't think of this for myself,' he said so meekly that she suspected him of laughing at her again.
'Because, like all doctors, you haven't a clue how to look after yourself,' she suggested.
'You'd make a marvellous nurse, Doctor,' he said, folding his arms behind his head and settling down comfortably.
'That's what you told me on my first day at the Royal.'
'Nursing is a very feminine thing,'
Similar Books
The Matriarch
Sharon; Hawes
Lies I Told
Michelle Zink
Ashes to Ashes
Jenny Han
Meadowview Acres
Donna Cain
My Dearest Cal
Sherryl Woods
Wounded Beast (Gypsy Heroes Book 2)
Georgia le Carre
Blaze's Second Chance (The Sinclair Men)
Sam Crescent
Unhinged
Timberlyn Scott
Barely Alive
Bonnie R. Paulson