No Bra Required! (3 page)

The following Tuesday Lucy pulled onto the gravelled drive
of her father and Richard’s home, and she smiled for the first time in
days.  She loved this house, and the fact that her dad was there to give
her a big cuddle made her just a little happy; if she could actually be truly
happy ever again.  As she got out of the car the large black front door
burst open, and Richard came bounding out to greet her.

“Lucy sweetheart,” he called, his arms open wide. 
“God, we’re so glad you decided to come.  Your dad has been like an
excited puppy all day waiting for you.  How was your journey?” he asked,
pulling her into a tight embrace.

“Fine thanks Richard. I stopped for about half an hour at
Lancaster, so it wasn’t too bad.  How are you anyway?  Excited about
your trip I’ll bet?”  She hugged her ‘step-father’ back and kissed him on
his rosy cheek.  Like her father, Richard was tall with steel grey hair,
but he had a goatee beard and, like Gerald, he insisted on wearing a shirt and
tie daily; neither of them did casual.

“I am, and I’m not,” he sighed.  “I don’t want to leave
your dad but can’t wait to see Wendy, my sister.  Anyway come on, come
inside and let’s get you settled.” 

As she walked through the door, Lucy suddenly felt a sense
of calm and security.  The smell of cinnamon mixed with fresh flowers
floated through the air, and the cloud that had hung over her for the last two
weeks or so lifted slightly.  As she stood in the hallway Lucy could see
into the kitchen, she smiled as there, bubbling away on the hob, was a pan of
Gerald’s famous mulled wine, his favourite tipple that was never limited to
just Christmastime.  As she recalled many drunken sessions courtesy of the
aforementioned wine, she heard Gerald’s voice calling.

“Lucy I’m in here, come on hurry up.”

Lucy turned and ran into the lounge and threw herself at
Gerald, who was sitting on the overstuffed floral sofa with his leg resting on
a foot stool.  “Oh Dad,” she cried burying her face into Gerald’s tank
top.  “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Oh sweetheart, I’m so glad you’re here at last.  Come
on sit down next to me and tell me all about it while Richard gets you a lovely
glass of mulled wine.”

Three hours later, after a meal of homemade bread, ham and
olives and more mulled wine, Lucy felt decidedly more relaxed.  She was
curled up on the huge love seat next to the unlit fire while Richard and Gerald
lolled tipsily on the sofa.  Both were listening intently to her tales of
woe.

“So, what does this Jennifer ‘bloody cow face’ Grayson look
like?”  Richard asked Lucy, before popping another olive into his mouth.

“Bitch face Richard, get it right,” Gerald corrected.

“Sorry, what does Jennifer ‘bloody bitch face’ Grayson look
like?” Richard repeated the question.

“That’s the trouble,” sighed Lucy. “She’s beautiful.” 
She took another sip of mulled wine.  “She has this bloody hair thing
going on, you know it hangs in luxurious dark waves down her back. 
Admittedly, it’s all sewn to her sodding scalp, but it’s beautiful.  In
fact, I don’t think there is much about her that is real.  I’ve only met
her once, at a Christmas party, and she was wearing an amazing electric blue dress
that was practically cut to the navel at the front, and then down to the top of
her bottom at the back.  You could virtually see her bum crack.” 
Lucy shook her head, trying to eliminate pictures of Jennifer from her
mind.  “She has acrylic nails,
and
her tits have been done, they’re
definitely blow ups.”

“How do you know that?”  Gerald smiled at his daughter,
who was finally starting to lose her frown.

“Because, when she was dancing they didn’t move Dad.  They
were totally still, actually nothing from her tits up moved she’s had so much
work done.”

“Really, or are you just feeling a tad bitchy?” Gerald
asked.

“Of course I feel bitchy, but it’s still the truth. 
She’s nothing like me at all.  I mean I like to look after myself, but she
is primped to perfection.  I bet she never has bed hair or morning
breath.”

“Lucy you are naturally beautiful. You don’t need to primp
yourself as you call it.” Gerald smiled, looking lovingly at his daughter's
very long, russet coloured hair, deep green eyes, and the tiny smattering of
freckles over her nose.

“Huh, you have to say that you’re my dad.  I’m a ginge
that goes very frizzy in the rain and extremely freckly in the sun. She's just
perfect Dad.”

“If she’s so image conscious it begs the question why she
allowed herself to get pregnant, surely it’s going to ruin her figure.” 
Richard commented as he plumped the cushion under Gerald’s leg.

“Oh she’ll just have bloody surgery to have the fat
removed.” Lucy waved a hand at Richard dismissively.  “The rumour at the
Christmas party was she’d had some of her back teeth removed, to make it look
like she had high cheekbones, but I don’t know how true that was.”

“Well she sounds positively horrible,” said Gerald, smiling
at Lucy warmly.  “If Simon can’t see how plastic she is then it’s his hard
luck and dare I say it, you may find that you’re better off without him.” 
He quickly continued, anxious not to create a pause for Lucy to fill with
crying.  “What do you plan to do for the next six weeks?”

“Well, I planned to look after you of course! That’s why I
came, that’s why you wanted me here, isn’t it?”   Lucy frowned at
Gerald.  Over the last few hours, she’d noticed that he’d been perfectly
capable of getting himself around the house with his crutches.  He even
helped Richard put the supper together; obviously not so disabled by his broken
leg.

Gerald grimaced as he looked at Lucy. “I may have got you
here under some slight pretence.  Please don’t be cross,” he exclaimed,
noticing the frown on his daughter’s face. “I wanted to see you so much, and I
knew that Annabelle would be worse than useless probably.  With Sophie in
South Africa, I didn’t want to put the entire burden on Sarah!”

“Oh I’m a burden am I?” Lucy tried to sound annoyed but was
smiling.  “Dad, of course I’m not cross.  I had an inkling when you
first asked me to come.  I understand why you did it, and I’m glad you did
because I do feel much calmer in the few hours that I’ve been here.”

“Well thank God for that,” Richard announced.  “I for
one thought that’d you’d hit the roof, but your dad was adamant that you should
come and stay, however, I’m glad you have my darling girl.”

“Thanks Richard, but as for what I’m going to do while I’m
here, well I have no idea.  I’m obviously not needed to baby sit Dad all
day, so I’ll need something to fill my time.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Gerald said, his eyes
bright with anticipation.  “You know that Richard works part time at the
Doctors surgery, well Gladys was going to fill in for him, but her sister Enid
has got shingles, which means that Gladys needs to look after her resulting in
there being no one to cover for Richard, so how about you do it?”

“Me? Dad what do I know about working in a doctor's
surgery?  I’m an ex-primary school teacher, who volunteers in a charity
shop, for goodness sake.”

“Believe me Lucy, the differences between children and
patients are probably minimal.” Richard laughed.

“What if I cock it up? It won’t look good on you
Richard.”  Lucy wasn’t entirely certain she wanted to spend her time here
working.  Plus she wasn’t quite sure that she felt like talking to
strangers just yet.

“Well we’ve spoken to the practice manager, Elspeth, and she
suggested that if you go in with
me
for a couple of hours, Callie, the full time
receptionist, will show you the ropes.” Richard enthused.  “You would only
be working three mornings, Monday to Wednesday from eight until midday. Margery
the other part time receptionist works the other days, and the doctors and staff
are lovely.  You'll fit right in, darling.”  Richard held his breath,
hopeful that Lucy would agree as she needed to be distracted for a while.

“Well you’ve got this all worked out haven’t you?” 
Lucy smiled as Gerald and Richard both nodded enthusiastically.  “Okay, on
one condition, if it all turns out horribly wrong you owe me a pair of diamond
earrings.”  Lucy wanted a pair since she’d been a child, and it was a long
term joke between them that she’d never been a good enough daughter for Gerald
to buy her any.

Gerald reached across and held out his hand.  “Okay,
let’s shake on it.  If your time here and working at the surgery turns out
to be a disaster, one pair of diamond earrings is yours.  Deal?”

“Deal.” Lucy agreed and shook his hand.  “Okay, well
I’m off to bed that mulled wine has made me extremely sleepy.”  Lucy stood
up and kissed her father and Richard tenderly on their cheeks.

“Night, sweetheart and hopefully sleep well,” called Gerald
as Lucy disappeared from the room.

“Well, you pulled that one off.” Richard leaned across and
took Gerald’s hand.  “I didn’t think that she’d go for it.”

“I know, but if it keeps her occupied and stops her thinking
of Simon and Jennifer ‘bloody bitch face’ Grayson, then it will be worth
it.  I can’t stand the thought of her being so sad.  I just had to
get her away from there.”

“I know Gerald. The main thing is she’s here now, so let’s
hope it helps.”

On the night that she arrived at her father’s house, Lucy
slept more soundly than she had in weeks.  There were no terrible dreams
about Simon, or tossing and turning endlessly trying to get to sleep.  She
got into the huge, comfy, king-sized bed and was fast asleep within ten
minutes.  The following morning she didn’t wake until gone nine, and when she
did she felt calm and rested.  As she lay staring at the ceiling for a few
minutes, Lucy heard her father and Richard pottering around downstairs. 
The smell of cooking bacon and rich coffee wafted under the bedroom door.
 Lucy lowered her feet onto the deep pile carpet, stretched, stood up and
took her dressing gown from the hook on the back of the door. 

She padded down the oak staircase listening to Gerald and
Richard talking and laughing as they prepared breakfast in the kitchen. 
She walked in and smiled.  Lucy loved the large kitchen with its stone
floor and whitewashed walls.  A farmhouse table stood at one end, with
seats for eight people, and on top of it, a china jug full of wild
flowers.  Shaker style cupboards were painted a beautiful dove grey, and
at the vast patio doors - now opened on to the large, flower filled garden -
hung a thick, rich grey fabric, smattered with sprigs of lilac wisteria.

“Good morning sleepy head.”  Richard turned around from
the large range cooker, a modern replacement for the old Aga that he and Gerald
could never master.  “How did you sleep? I'm guessing fairly well.”

“Really well thanks,” said Lucy.  She kissed her dad
and Richard on the cheek.  “Hmm something smells good.”  She leaned over
Gerald’s shoulder, looking to see what he was turning over on the grill.

“I thought that you were looking a little skinny and needed
a good old Gerald Falmer breakfast.”  He beamed at his daughter and kissed
the tip of her nose.  “Now go and sit down, and I’ll bring it over when
it’s ready, well, Richard will,” he laughed, nodding at the crutch in his left
hand.

“Not too much Dad, I know what your portions are like. I’ll
be the size of a house, by the time I go back home.”  Lucy sat down at the
table and played with a flower in the vase.  “What time did you two get
up?” she asked.

“Ooh I’ve been up since seven.  I like to go for a run
early morning, but your dad got up about eight. He likes his bed more than I
do."  Richard came across and placed the condiments on the table.
"Would you like coffee or tea, sweetheart?” he asked as he ruffled Lucy’s,
already messy, hair.

“Erm tea please, unless you’ve already made coffee then
that’s fine.”

“No, if it’s tea you want, then its tea you shall
have.  Listen Lucy, I’m working the afternoon shift just for today, with
you being here, so we thought that maybe you’d like to come into work with
me.  I could introduce you to Callie, in readiness for your first day on
Monday. We could spend an hour meeting everyone, and then…well this magnificent
town of ours is your oyster, how does that sound?”  Richard put a couple
of tea bags into a small teapot for one.

“Yes that’s fine Richard.  So, what is Callie like, is
she a typical doctor’s receptionist then?”

Gerald laughed over at the cooker.  “What, an old
dragon that thinks she’s a doctor, without the training?”

“Oi cheeky,” Richard scolded.  “I’m a doctor’s
receptionist don’t forget.  No, she’s not what you’d call “run of the
mill”, is she Gerald?”

“No, let’s just say Callie is slightly different. 
Right it’s all ready to eat, so if you could take the plates over Richard that
would be great.”

As they walked into the surgery later that day, Lucy was
amazed at how modern it looked.  An LED screen scrolled above the reception
desk announcing the wait time for each doctor, intermittently beeping and
displaying the name of the next patient.  The waiting area in front of the
reception was a series of chairs around low, round tables loaded with
magazines.  In a corner was a play area for children with a toy kitchen
and collection of toys and books. The floor was a gleaming hard wood, covered
with a large, multi-coloured, striped woollen rug.  A percolator bubbled
away in the corner, making strong, fresh coffee.  Behind the reception
desk, Lucy could see what looked like a state-of-the-art computer system. There
was a lack of filing cabinets, and cardboard wallets of patient’s notes that
she would have expected in a small town’s GP surgery.

“Callie,” Richard called, moving behind the reception
desk.  “Where are you?”

“Here I am Rich pet, here I am.”

Suddenly, from a door at the back a vision of
unconventionality appeared, gleaming broadly and holding her arms out to
Richard.

Callie’s bleached blond hair was tied up on the top of her head
with a massive pink bow, tendrils of hair escaping down the sides and at the
back.  She wore enormous, round, pink, spectacles, bright pink lipstick
and a white, cotton, gypsy dress with a huge pink bow at its waist, the
elasticated shoulders of which were pulled down to reveal pink bra
straps.  Lucy surveyed her carefully taking in every inch of Callie’s
eccentricity, right down to the pink clogs on her feet.

“Why Rich pet, is this the lovely Lucy I’ve heard so much
about?” she asked in a broad, Geordie accent.  She hugged Richard to her
large bosom.

“Yes,” Richard mumbled, trying to extract himself from
Callie’s cleavage.  “Lucy meet Callie Robertson.”

“Hi Callie,” Lucy uttered, holding out her hand to Callie.

“Hey pet there’s no standing on ceremony here.  We
don’t do that shaking hands
clart
.  Come
on, give us a hug.”

Then it was Lucy’s turn to be engulfed into Callie’s
chest.  She looked over Callie’s shoulder to Richard and mouthed the word
“clart” quizzically.

“It basically means shit around here,” he answered.

“Why pet you need some fattening up, I reckon, don’t you
Rich?” asked Callie holding Lucy out in front of her.  “I know you’re
broken-hearted love but don’t let the bastard turn you into a skinny
minnie.  You need to show him what he’s missing.  My cue to put the
kettle on and cut some cake, I’ll be back in a tick pet.”  With that, she
disappeared through the door that she’d first appeared at.

“And that my dear is Callie.”  Richard smiled at Lucy
and rubbed her arm gently.  “She’s an absolute darling, and you will get
used to her.”

“So, she knows why I’m here?”  Lucy frowned at
Richard.  "Does the whole town know?”

“I can’t lie to you Luce if Callie knows, then possibly most
of the patients do.  However, I didn’t tell her on purpose. She heard me
talking to your dad, when he came in for his check-up with Dr Bryce. 
Sorry sweetheart, but it was an accident.”

“It’s okay Richard. It's not that I’m ashamed of it. Well I
suppose I am a little, but I just don’t want to have to keep reliving it all the
time.  God I hate Simon, and sodding Jennifer ‘bloody bitch face’
Grayson!” 

“I know, but just try to forget about them for a while, and
maybe life won’t be so bad here.”

Lucy smiled tenderly at Richard, glad that her dad has found
someone so kind and compassionate.  “I’ll try Richard, I really will.”

“Well while Callie is making some tea, I’ll introduce you to
the rest of the staff. Dorothy the cleaner should be in and so should Dr Bryce,
Dr Kindler and Nurse Gaffney.  Elspeth, the Practice Manager, is off this
week, and Margery you will probably meet next week. How does that sound?”

“Erm.... Okay... Yes... Fine.” Lucy muttered
hesitantly.  She suddenly felt quite shy about meeting a lot of new
people, but it had to be done, and she was sure that they’d all be very kind
and pleasant.

“Callie,” Richard called through the door at the back of the
reception.  “I’m just going to give Lucy a guided tour, give me a shout if
it gets busy.”

Lucy looked around the waiting area where one man sat
reading a woman’s magazine - this must be the healthiest town in the country
she thought.

“Right Luce, Dr Kindler first, he’s an absolute sweetie, a
little archaic in his ways but the old patients love him.”  Off Richard
trotted with Lucy following closely behind.

After meeting the staff, except for Dr Bryce, who was with a
patient, Lucy felt a lot more at ease.  Everyone seemed lovely and, as she
had hoped, very kind.  Lucy had watched in awe as Ellen Gaffney, the
practice nurse, had cajoled a young child who was adamant that they weren’t
having an injection.  Ellen distracted the small boy with a “knock, knock”
joke while she jabbed him with the needle, all finished before she’d even
reached the punch line.  Lucy realised that despite being a little gruff
around the edges, she was, in fact, a very kind and experienced nurse whom she
knew she was going to like.  Dorothy, the cleaner was just as pleasant,
although a bit scatty.  She had cleaned the same window three times while
chatting to Richard and Lucy, mainly about her varicose veins.

 “Callie, is Dr Bryce free yet?”  Richard asked,
manoeuvring his way back around the reception desk.

“Anytime now. Mrs Bright has been in for twenty minutes
already.”  Callie grinned widely at Richard, who in turn grinned back.

“Blimey she’s obviously come up with something special today
if she's managed twenty minutes in there.  Mrs Bright has a thing for Dr
Bryce,” Richard explained to Lucy.  “She comes in at least twice a week
with some ailment or other, insisting on only seeing him.”

“He’s pretty tasty you see pet.”  Callie’s eyes
narrowed, and her lips pursed as she thought of Dr Bryce.

“Oh right,” said Lucy, not really sure how to respond. 
She couldn’t care less whether he did his surgery in the buff every day.
 Simon was all she wanted, and she knew she was never going to get him
back, so men were off the agenda for the foreseeable future.

“Oh here she is now.  Okay Mrs Bright all sorted are
you?”  Callie smiled warmly at the rather busty blonde woman who had just
appeared from the corridor leading to the consulting rooms.  “Another
appointment pet, or has Dr Bryce sorted you out, and seen to you good and
proper this time?”

Richard almost spat his tea across the reception desk, as
Callie poked his shin with her foot.

“No, I don’t need another appointment thank you. Dr Bryce
feels that I need to give it a week or two, and see how I feel.”  Mrs
Bright shook her head despondently.  “I’ll ring if I feel any worse,” she
said, turning to leave.

“Right pet no problem.  You take care then.” 

Callie and Richard burst out laughing as soon as the large
glass door swung shut behind Mrs Bright.

“Christ when is the poor woman going to realise he’s not
bloody interested in her?  She’s got to be about sixty, yet thinks a lovely
young man like Dr Bryce would fancy her.  Eeeh I don’t know!  Some
women just never know when to give up, do they?”  Callie shook her head as
she punched something into the computer.

“And who would that be you’re talking about then Callie?” a
voice asked.

Lucy, who was leaning against the reception desk, turned to
see who was speaking.  If she hadn’t been using it for support, she may
well have fallen over.  Standing in front of Lucy was the most beautiful
man she had ever seen.  Dr Bryce smiled enigmatically at them, long
lashed, dark-brown eyes shining brightly beneath a dark fringe. Lucy felt a
thunderbolt in the pit of her stomach.  Her heart began to beat a thudding
rhumba in her chest, and embarrassingly she felt an excited twitch in her groin. 
It was ridiculous, only moments ago she’d been grieving for the loss of her
philandering husband, whom she loved more than life itself, then this
ludicrously handsome, sexy man appears, and she feels every nerve ending in her
body reacting to him.

“You must be Lucy?” he asked, holding out his tanned hand.

Lucy just stopped herself from licking her lips as she took
it and shook it gently.  Even his hands were sexy, and thoughts of them
all over her body made her skin tingle as a heat swept over her.

“Hello,” she mumbled, acutely aware that her breast was
heaving rapidly if a size 34B breast could heave.  It was mostly the
padding of her bra that was heaving if she were honest.

“So you’re going to help us out while Richard is off on his
holiday, is that right?” Dr Bryce asked as he nodded towards Richard. 
“Well, it will be nice to have a new face around, not that we won’t miss
Richard because we will, won’t we, Callie?”

“Yes pet we will,” Callie replied, who despite her earlier
description of Dr Bryce, now seemed unaware of his magnetism.  She simply
carried on typing at the computer.

Richard, who had noticed Lucy’s reaction to the doctor,
smiled behind his mug of tea.  He watched Lucy, who watched Dr Bryce as he
joined them behind the desk.

Lucy tried not to stare as the doctor went to a spare
computer and stooped over it, one hand resting on the desk as the other typed
away on the keyboard.  His dark charcoal trousers, which rested on narrow
hips, strained slightly against an obviously tight bottom as he leaned
over.  His pure white shirt pulled across his back as he stretched to
retrieve a file close to the computer.  Lucy could clearly make out the
two lines of muscles, either side of his spine.  His shirt sleeves rolled
up to the elbows, revealed tanned forearms, a thin leather band on one wrist
and a heavy silver watch on the other.   Lucy shuddered involuntarily
as he ran a hand across his dark hair, cut short on the sides and slightly
longer on top.

He suddenly turned to face her and placed his hands on his
hips, his shirt pulling across his wide, taught chest.  “Right, I’m off
out now. I've got a few house calls to make.  It’s been nice to meet you
Lucy, and I look forward to working with you over the next few weeks.”  He
now turned to Richard.  “Have a great time Richard, and don’t forget to
use plenty of sunscreen, that Australian sun is more powerful than you think.”