Commitment

Part 73

He came back a few minutes later with two slices of toast on a plate. She was sound asleep. He frowned. Ok, so now he didn't need to ask her any questions to clarify what the sisters had told him. He'd seen the state of her fridge and pantry. He sat down on her bed, put the plate on the bedside cabinet alongside the glass and jug, and then turned back to look at her.

She had dark circles under her eyes. Her skin looked pasty. Her cheekbones were prominent. He gently eased up the duvet. He understood where her stomach ache was coming from. If she was working the farm and holding down her job while living on practically next to nothing, it was not surprising her body was starting to protest.

He sat watching her for the next half hour before he once again got to his feet and made a few phone calls. He asked Loretta to pick up some cans of soup and bring them round.

He went out again, with her asleep, he thought he could use his time here, fixing things that he noted. The gate to the paddock was off its hinges, amazing that the herd had not left the paddock. He should check the fences. He knew, from cleaning the stalls that the exit for the cattle had various knocks and one in particular meant that you could not close the exit. The path from the house to the shed was full of weeds and there were several places on the path where the edges were askew which would need to be replaced, but he thought that might take more than a day to fix.

He was by the gate, using a screwdriver to fix the hinge, when he noticed the car on the driveway. He hoped this was the doctor. So he put the screwdriver down and walked towards the front of the house.

He reached the front of the farm at the same time as the doctor. Gray guessed at the doctor's age, must be over seventy, he thought as he noted the grey hair and the slight stoop.

Gray was his first statement. "I'm Gray." He smiled, "I assume you are the doctor doing the home visits today." Held out his hand and shook the doctor's hand.

"Yes. Hello. I spoke to you on the phone earlier. I'm Tony. Dr Mcmahon."

He nodded in acceptance. "Thanks for coming out."

"No problem. I know Regan, from the time she came here as a child. And I am on the rota for home visits today!"

Gray couldn't stop the question, "You knew Regan as a child?"

"Yes, I started my career here, in this town, and her grandparents were my patients." His forehead furrowed as he tried to remember when exactly he knew Regan, " I think I saw Regan when she was five, I think. She was staying with her grandparents for a weekend and I came here to drop off some medication for her granddad. She seemed timid! A touch reticent" Tony' smile widened, "But I know that is a façade! She can be very bold and plucky!" The doctor looked sideways as he watched Gray, "And she has talked about you. So I know a bit about you!"

"Me?" Gray gestured, using his arm he invited the doctor to walk towards the door.

They walked together, while Tony said, "Yes, well, actually, you, your grandfather, Sam, and your sister, I think, but I have forgotten her name." The doctor narrowed his eyes, then frowned, "I thought you had left the farm. Well, you and your family left months ago. I was sure that Regan said you had a new job and a house at the new place." He frowned when they reached the front door. "So what are you doing here?"

"I wanted a word with her." Gray said quietly.

"And?"

"So I came here early in the morning, around milking time, as I thought she would be here." Gray explained, "I was pretty sure she would be on duty in the morning, but would be here. She has a dairy herd, so she would have to milk them in the morning."