“
Can we?
”
Jessa had a charming vision of little pink Perfesser splashing in the bath, and she smiled with pleasure and anticipation.
But the Professor watched her
—
All at once he must have remembered that she had asked him a question, for he said brusquely,
“
Yes, and sun kicks, and outings in the pram.
”
He added,
“
Good evening, Nurse Gwen,
”
and left.
“
He
’
s
very
nice,
”
said Nurse Gwen well-satisfied,
“
and he remembered my name.
”
She glanced at Jessa and looked a little superior again. She had trained in a rather social hospital, not one situated in the industrial centre of Sydney like G.S.
“
He didn
’
t seem to remember
your
name, Nurse Jess.
”
Jessa said,
“
No,
”
but somehow she didn
’
t feel at all unremembered, in spite of the omission that Nurse Gwen had pointed out.
But before Jessamine had the pleasure of washing the Perfesser, sun-kicking him, putting him in the pram and taking him for a walk, there was something else to happen.
An everyday ordinary street accident right at their door.
It was to a motor-bike driver and his pillion rider. They skidded off the street and landed high on the Belinda hedge.
Well-meaning bystanders wasted no time carrying them into the clinic, Sister Valerie protesting forcibly meanwhile that the pair should have been conveyed to a General, not a Hospital for Premature Babes.
“
It
’
s
still an
‘
orspital, ain
’
t it?
”
said the chief very
de
termined good Samaritan angrily,
“
and these two
people
are still in
need of
care?
”
Matron Martha, who had appeared on the scene and looked firstly at the scratches on the patients, secondly on the different sexes of the
patients, thirdly on the condition of her hedge, and fourthly—and darkly—on the up-ended motor-bike, which form of transport she abhorred, said,
“
Yes, sir, it is, though not the type of hospital that admits casualties. However, as you have already handled them more than you should, I won
’
t have them handled again. Hasn
’
t anyone ever told you to leave an accident just where it lands?
”
“
Blimey,
”
said the good Samaritan,
“
on
the top
of
the blooming hedge?
”
He was a little frightened of Matron, however, and did not stop to argue. Matron Martha had to call on the rest of the men to carry the paid to some quickly-improvised cribs.
“
Usually,
”
she said icily,
“
we can carry our patients ourselves.
”
The girl was put at the end of the nursery reserved for the outgoing normal-weight babies, the boy was put on the closed-in verandah beside Master X.
Doctor Elizabeth came in and diagnosed only bruises and scratches, but prescribed several days in bed.
The shock had left the young couple. They were able to absorb where they were. The girl giggled when she was told.
The boy—so Sister Helen reported to Jessamine—swore.
“
He would have got up, too, only he couldn
’
t. Matron
Martha had seen to it that he wasn
’
t left any clothes.
“
‘
What
’
ll I do?
’
he said,
‘
what
’
ll the fellas say? A hot
-
rodder in a hospital for undersized kids. I
’
ll never lift me head.
’
“
He hasn
’
t, either,
”
went on Sister Helen,
“
you
’
d think he was disgraced for life. These boys, don
’
t they think they were ever born?
”
She paused, then asked,
“
How
’
s the girl?
”
“
After the first embarrassment, after the worry as to how her Jimmy was taking it, the old maternal instinct took over. Now she
’
s all eyes and sighs. I believe she
’
s only waiting her chance to help with the babies. Incidentally, she
’
s rather a nice kid herself.
”
“
He
might emerge the same when he emerges from under those blankets, who knows! I do know he looked quite different parted from that atrocious black wind-cheater with the skull and crossbones on the back. Hot-rodder!
”
Sister Helen sniffed.
One thing that had puzzled Jessa had been Matron Martha
’
s insistence that the pair were not to be shifted from Belinda. Ostensibly she had made the danger of removal her excuse, pointing out again and again that accidents were like prems, they should suffer a minimum of handling. This would have made sense if the girl and boy were not so unmistakably sound and in one unbroken if scratched and braised piece, and if all Matron
’
s nurses, including Jessa, had not been well aware of the fact.
Marvelling at her own daring but unable to subdue her curiosity, Jessa dared question Matron Martha when that lady visited the girl that afternoon.
Following her from the normal ward into the corridor, she said,
“
She seems all right, doesn
’
t she, Matron Martha?
”
“
She
’
s all right.
”
Matron gave a shrug.
“
Then
—”
Jessa hesitated, putting the question unmistakably into her hesitation.
“
Then why am I keeping her here?
”
Matron seemed rather to relish not resent the query.
“
I
’
ll tell you why, it
’
s because I have a disciplinary nature, Nurse Jess, and quite often I feel like inflicting a sharp lesson. This is one of those occasions.
“
I
abhor those noisy machines. Screaming here, screaming there... even screaming past a hospital, the very idea!
“
And those drivers—black windcheaters with dreadful barbarian drawings on them. Then the girls. Not enough on them to keep out a summer breeze, let alone a wind in August. Little shorts and
a.
shirt! The next thing that child would have been down with pneumonia and dead.
“
And if she
’
s not
”
—Matron was warmed up now—
”
let me tell you it
’
s not doing her inside any good, Nurse, being jogged up and down like that Girls were made to be women and mothers, not condiments to be shaken out like pepper from a pot.
”
“
Well, if you don
’
t approve of them, wouldn
’
t it have
been better if
“
Matron held up her hand.
“
I
’
m teaching them a lesson, a lesson they
’
ll never forget. How do you think they
’
ll feel recovering from a hot-rod accident
”
—she mouthed it expertly—
“
W
ith
the Lady Belinda Hospital for Premature Babies
?
”
Jessa answered what she judged must be the understatement of the year,
“
I don
’
t think they will.
”
She eyed Matron admiringly. It took some thinking to inflict a punishment like this. Matron must have seen the applause.
“
Oh, yes, I
’
ve thought out some reproofs in my time, Nurse Jess. I was at a normal obstetric home before Belinda. I remember one case being brought in by her husband and he was absolutely
—
Well!
”
Matron spread her
hands.
“
It seemed he had stopped at every tavern for a brandy to keep up his courage. Anyone would have thought
he
was the case.
”
She gave a laugh.
“
He thought it himself when he woke up, like our hot-rodder here, in a ward.
”
“
Matron—I mean Matron Martha, you didn
’
t—?
”
“
I did, I put him to bed to sleep it off in a midwifery home. When he came to, all he wanted to do was slink out of the door. Men!
”
Matron shrugged again.
“
There was another, I recall—I soon fixed him. The wife arrived about nine p.m. I admitted her, and enquired about her husband. Seems they had gone to the pictures and that soon after she had started a few pains. She came out and along to the hospital by herself, but he decided to stop on because he hadn
’
t seen the second half of the film.
“
I second-halfed him. I phoned a notice to be screened at the theatre—
‘
Bill Bloggs come to Women
’
s Infirmary at once.
’
Second half, indeed!
”
“
But, Matron Martha, wasn
’
t that rather cruel? He might have thought that something had gone wrong.
”
“
It had, Nurse Jess, it had gone very wrong indeed. A man watching a second half at a theatre while his wife is in another theatre of a different sort.
“
I can tell you I kept that man waiting... and waiting. By the time I let him go his pass-out ticket was not current any longer. Also the picture theatre was closed for the night and all he was ready for was bed.
“
Oh, yes, I
’
ve thought out my reproofs,
”
and proud of her ability at
“
chid
”
delivery, Matron Martha swept along to the next ward.
When Jessa went back to the normal section the girl was hopping around quietly and peeping ecstatically at the babes.
“
They
’
re sweet, they
’
re only as big as dolls. I never thought a baby could be so little.
”
“
They
’
re big compared to our tinies next door. These are almost full-time, ready to go out.
”
“
Smaller still—oh, I
’
d love to see them!
”
“
Why not?
”
The girl
’
s face lit up.
“
Could I?
”
“
Hold on to me, you
’
re not the steadiest yet, and we try to make as little noise as we can.
”
The two of them went silently through to the heated interior. Jessa conducted the patient around the isolets and humidicribs, she showed how they kept the babies warm.
The waiting bottles all with their owners
’
names on them were demonstrated, the tiny chests of drawers, the closet for the babies
’
going-home clothes.
And then the babies themselves with only their faces showing
...
little wan white ones
...
crumpled pink
...
another Tar Baby, but only milk chocolate this time, not black.
“
You
’
ll have to come and watch their oil baths,
”
whispered Jessa.