Melodies of a stranger

Chapter 1

It was a dark, rainy Thursday afternoon in Covent Garden, London. Maxi sat alone in a coffee shop, with a latte in her hand, eyes closed, completely absorbed listening to Keane's 'somewhere only we know.'

This had been her regular schedule for the past five months, whenever work had allowed it. No matter what the weather was like, every Thursday at 10am she would come to the same coffee shop, buy herself the same drink, and close her eyes and lose herself in the music. She could forget about her life for an hour and be taken out of her thoughts. She was transported to faraway lands on these songs. Thursday was fast becoming her favourite day of the week.

As the song finished, she slowly opened her eyes and looked towards the source of the soulful music. A strong handsome man with copper coloured skin was lifting an acoustic guitar over his head. Maxi was disappointed when she realised that his hour was up. Time always flew by when she listened to him sing, today was no different.

Maxi took in his black messy hair and sharp jaw. While she mainly came here for the escapism, she could not deny the fact that she found this man incredibly attractive. He had made an appearance in more than one of her night-time fantasies.

Maxi sighed and slouched in her chair, she had told herself that she would talk to him today. At the very least to find out his name... But her courage left her, as it had done the last 19 weeks. Self-doubt quickly filled her mind as she watched his broad back, which was bent over his guitar case, ensuring his instrument was safely stowed inside.

'He wouldn't be interested in me anyway, so there's not any point.'

Maxi's thoughts took a dark turn. She was nothing if not predictable. Maxi found comfort in routines and the expected. Any deviation outside this caused her anxiety. Her ex had told her many times that she was boring and that she had sucked the life out of them...

Maxi took a large sip of her latte to distract herself from her thoughts. No, she may not lead the most exciting life in the world, but she still had tonnes to offer. Checking her watch, Maxi leapt up, quickly leaving a tip on the table and headed for the tube station.

Arriving on the ward, Maxi was met by the usual chaos. Several IV pumps were alarming, bed 2 was calling out for a nurse and the nurses station looked like a whirlwind had torn through. She sighed as the hour of bliss from that morning was soon forgotten.

Maxi received handover from another nurse and began to work her way through her list of jobs. There were blood pressures to record, dressings to be done and medicines to give out. When she finally had two minutes to sit down she found herself up to her neck in paperwork.

When she had applied to Nursing school, she had visions of saving lives and having a huge impact on people on a daily basis. The reality was rather more mundane. Every shift she had to write a long paragraph for each patient under her care saying everything that had been done for that person during her shift. She could hear her Matron Rudis in her head. "If it's not written down, it hasn't been done!"

Today was going to be another late finish. Maxi ran her hand through her hair in frustration. This was the third time this week. She wished she could go back to the coffee shop and listen to the handsome busker for hours. She could almost hear him.

'Hold on...'

Maxi stuck her head out from the nurse's station. She could hear music. And she would know that voice anywhere...

Her eyes widened as she realised that the tall dark and handsome stranger was indeed singing.

On her ward.

'What the heck is going on?'

Seeing her confused face, a passing staff member laughed. "It's the musical festival this week remember? For the next few days, volunteers are going around each ward and playing to help raise everyone's spirits."