(Part 01)
It was dark and very cold as Dave McAteer sat on a bench in the garden of St Bernadette’s Covent Hospital in Abbeyvale, although in truth and furthermore it was snowing again.
He was sitting there alone as he had just heard the news that his mother was dying and he was still somewhat in shock.
It shouldn’t have been such a shock he had always known St B’s was more of a hospice, there were a number of wards for convalescents but mainly it was palliative care.
He was on his way home, his Mum had been sedated so there was no point in his staying and the end was a little while off yet.
He should have gone straight home but he had no one to go home to and he needed time to think.
Dave had been sitting there for maybe half an hour and was used to the silence and was totally lost in his own thoughts so much so that that he had failed to hear the crunch of approaching footsteps in the snow.
Due to the darkness he was all but invisible and he suddenly saw something moving in his peripheral vision which made him jump and to his perpetual shame caused him to let out an involuntary yelp, this in turn made the figure in the dark scream.
The source of the scream was a nurse at the convent hospital and she worked on the wing his mother was in, although he couldn’t bring her name to mind at the time.
“Oh Shit” she said in very un-convent like language.
“What the fuck are you doing hiding out here in the dark?”
“I’m sorry” he said “I didn’t mean to scare you”
“Oh its Mr. McAteer isn’t it?” she asked “So what brings you out here? Are you ok?”
“Yes” he replied “I just needed some quiet time”
“I heard about your mother, I’m sorry it wasn’t better news” she said
She sat down on the bench beside him and took out a pack of cigarettes from her coat pocket, she took one out and put it to her lips and then offered the pack to him.
He had given up smoking two years earlier but he didn’t hesitate in accepting one.
“Thanks Nurse…” he began
“Fedeli” she replied as she gave him a light “But call me Elena”
“Thanks Elena” Dave said and inhaled deeply and closed his eyes as he exhaled the smoke and felt the welcoming light headedness as his body greeted the nicotine with open arms.
“It looks like you’re enjoying that Mr. McAteer” she said
“Call me Dave” he said and took another drag “this is the first fag I’ve had for two years”
“I’m sorry I didn’t know” Elena said
“Don’t be sorry, I really missed it” he said honestly
She dragged on her cigarette and the tip glowed brightly and briefly illuminated her face and then faded to a glow.
“I'm sorry I scared you,” he said taking a final drag on his cigarette before dropping it on the ground and grinding it under the heel of his shoe.
“That’s ok” she replied and paused briefly before adding
“By the sound of that yelp you made, perhaps I should be apologizing to you”
“Quite” he said sheepishly “I’m a bit embarrassed about that”
“You look like you could use a drink” she said and she reached into her pocket again and this time pulled out a silver hip flask.
She unscrewed the cap and took a slug and then handed it to Dave.
“Thanks” he said taking it from her and putting it to his lips.
The whisky tasted so good and he felt it warming him to the very core.
He handed her back the flask and watched her take a good slug before putting the cap back on.
“What kind of a nun are you?” he asked with a laugh “Swearing, smoking and drinking”
And all the time he was actually thinking what a really naughty girl she was.
“I’m not a nun!” She shouted,
(Part 02)
“I’m not a nun!” Elena shouted, “Why does everyone think I’m a nun?”
“Sorry but you work in a convent hospital and you dress like a nun” he said in his defense.
“I’m a nurse in a hospital, and this is my uniform” she said “No wonder, nobody ever asks me out, I can assure you that I’m not a nun!”
“I’m sorry Elena, if it helps I thought you were a very attractive nun” he said and she looked at him and laughed.
The snow continued to fall and was settling on her headgear.
As he looked at her he couldn’t understand why she would ever have been short of a date.
She had a beautiful face and her eyes were dazzling, it was also a kind face with a delicate smile and her coloring clearly betrayed her Mediterranean ancestry.
Being a good catholic boy and having thought until a few minutes earlier that she was a nun, he wasn’t sure if thinking she was sexy was a sin or not, but he thought she was, even if it was sinful.
He was also grateful for the distraction from thinking about his terminally ill mum.
“How are you feeling now?” she asked him out of the blue.
“Much better,” he replied
“Was it a shock?” she asked,
“Yes” he replied and then corrected himself “No, not really”
She didn’t speak but looked at him and silently invited him to continue
“I was expecting it, but I didn’t want to believe it” he said “I lied to myself”
“That’s quite natural” she said sympathetically “Loved ones have often confided that to me”
“That’s because they think you’re a nun” he said and they both laughed.
At that point the snow began to fall harder and faster and it was getting colder.
“Are you off duty?” he asked although he’d already made the assumption that she was.
“Yes” she replied “I’m done for the day”
“Well I’m chilled to the bone” he said “do you fancy getting something to eat?”
“Yes, that would be nice” she replied and a broad smile crossed her face “As long as you don’t mind being seen out with a nun”
When Dave offered and she accepted neither of them expected it to be anything other than a chance to get out of the snow and a mutually companionable meal, they certainly weren’t looking for anything else.
Elena Fedeli had been disappointed by love too many times in her 32 years to walk into another potential disaster with a man who had a very difficult and fraught time ahead of him.
Dave had also been through the mill relationship wise and wanted no more than to be there for his mother every step of the way until she passed.
Dave was a lapsed Catholic and indeed he was also a lapsed Christian while she was a practicing Anglican with a very deep faith.
He worked 9 to 5 for an insurance company while she was a nurse who worked shifts and then there was the age difference he was three years her junior.
But when all was said done and despite all their differences they promptly went and fell in love.
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