Any break away from male surgical was a blessing in Delia's eyes. The absence of sexual innuendos and wandering hands, made her day quite pleasant. Sure, being in Accident and Emergency was no easy shift, but it provided a welcome change. Being on the front line was exhausting but opened her eyes to a whole other side of nursing that she had not experienced since her student days.
The day had passed rather uneventfully with the usual steady stream of factory workers and the elders of Poplar being brought in in their droves. Fevers, dehydration, collapses and leg ulcers were the bread and butter of the East End of London.
Just a few hours before the end of her shift, she opened a curtain in her section of the department to be confronted with a young teenage girl. Her eyes wide and frightened, with the tell tale bruises that accompanied an assault beginning to form on her face. A stern faced female sat at her side, avoiding eye contact with the frightened youngster.
"Afternoon, ladies. My name is Nurse Busby; how can I help you today?" Delia forced a smile onto her face, despite being taken aback by the injuries in front of her.
"This one," the stern faced female twitched her head in the direction of the girl on the bed, "has gone and fallen on the way home from work. Says she has a terrible headache and she's fainted twice already. I thought it'd be best if she was checked out."
"Right, ok, what is your name Miss?" Delia enquired.
"Sarah." The girl answered meekly.
"Hello Sarah, can you please describe what happened for me? Just so I can get an idea of what you might have done to yourself."
Delia did not miss the quick, fleeting glance that Sarah gave the woman with her. "It's as my Mam said Nurse, I fell on the way home from work. I always have been such a klutz." She made an attempt at a small smile, but winced at the pain from her swollen eye almost immediately.
"Well that does sound a bit clumsy," Delia said, "do you mind if I examine you Sarah? I want to make sure I get the full extent of your injuries for the doctor."
Sarah nodded, and with the consent to treatment, Delia turned to face Sarah's mother, who still had not been able to bring herself to look her daughter in the eye throughout the conversation.
"If you would please take a seat out in the waiting area for me please, ma'am. I will be sure to come and fetch you when I am finished."
"Why can I not stay here?" The mother asked, rather perturbed by Delia's matter of fact manner.
"I feel that it is not appropriate for you stay, your daughter is more than capable to go through this examination without your help." Delia held open the curtain and stared at the mother, watching as the emotions of anger and annoyance flickered across her features. Unable to think of a suitable retort, the mother gathered her bag and coat and pushed past Delia forcefully on her way to the waiting area.
Once the curtain had been pulled closed against any prying eyes, Delia moved the recently vacated chair over to the bed and sat down, her facial expression soft.
"Are you going to tell me what really happened Sarah?" Delia pried, "I have a very strong feeling that you did not fall on the way home from work. The bruising to your face looks as though you have been on the receiving end of a punch, and the bruising on your forearms looks awfully like you have been gripped by somebody. I can see the finger marks from here."
Sarah looked at Delia, down at her knees and looked back up with tears in her eyes. "It's my fault," she cried, "I was not careful enough. I brought this on myself." As tears streamed from the young girl's eyes, Delia brought her hand up to stroked the hair back from her face. Patiently waiting, not interrupting, for Sarah to finish her explanation.
"We thought that we had been careful, but someone…someone must have seen us. Father was not happy. Not happy at all. Oh god, oh god, what if he has got to her too…she did not ask for any of this. I did not choose this." Sarah's thoughts ran together in a jumbled mash of words. Delia listened, stroking her hair, her own mind racing. This girl was like her. She had been caught and had paid the price for her love.
"Sarah, who is 'she'?"
"A-A-Abigail. Abigail. Oh no, I need to find her," the sobs racked her body, causing the pain to fleet through her with every movement.
"Is Abigail someone close to you?" Delia asked softly, receiving a nod in agreement, "Is-is she your girlfriend?" Delia pushed, the wide eyes and disbelieving nod that Sarah returned broke Delia's heart.
"My father must have found out. My brothers and cousins were waiting for me when I finished work. They said they had been told to 'teach me a lesson'. They said I had brought shame on the family." Sarah was no longer crying, instead a dead look had resided in her eyes. "I woke up and there was nobody around. I collapsed twice on the way home. I fell in through the door. It was only after I vomited for the third time that Mam brought me here."
Delia's eyes brimmed with tears as she listened to the hell that Sarah had been through. Before she knew what she was doing, she has wrapped her arms around Sarah's trembling figure and rocked her to try and calm her down.
After a few minutes, the silence was broken by Sarah, "you called Abigail my girlfriend…nobody has ever done that before." She looked at Delia with confused eyes, searching for the answer to the unspoken question between them.
Delia took a deep breath and nodded; slowly, as though it took all of her effort to do so. Sarah gasped, sitting up straight, ignoring the pain in her body. Her mouth opened and closed several times as though she could not quite find the correct words for the thoughts and questions in her head.
Delia decided to explain first, in hushed tones, to stop any probing questions tumbling from the girl's mouth. "Yes. I am. I have known for a long time now. You and Abigail are not the only ones. You are not a failure, you are not abnormal, you are not a freak. You are you, and that is beautiful." Delia drew in a deep breath, thinking the words through before speaking. "I have someone, as you have Abigail. It is no different to those who have each other as man and woman. What is different however, is the attitude towards us as a community. That is why it is imperative that you be careful."
"I tell you this, Sarah, because you have entrusted me with your secret. I am legally not allowed to tell anyone anything that is said in this cubicle. You, however, are not bound by the same rules. I hope I have not misplaced my trust in my attempt to help you." Delia sighed and look Sarah in the eye, feeling sure that her secret was safe.
Sarah nodded, "I will not tell anyone, all I want to do is find Abigail. I need to find her and make sure she is ok."
"I cannot let you leave yet Sarah, I need you to be checked over first. You may have some internal damage, then you can go home and sort everything out."
Delia stepped out from behind the curtain and searched for a doctor that she trusted. The examination was quick, and Sarah was allowed to leave a few short hours later. Before leaving the department and going to find her mother, she found Delia and gave her a loving hug.
"Find Gateways, Sarah, you will then see that we are not alone. There are people there that can help you and Abigail if you wish to get away from here." Delia whispered, feeling the girl nod against her shoulder in recognition of the information.
Watching Sarah leave, Delia felt a large weight pushing down on her. The fear of the unknown, the fear of never being able to know what would come of the girl she had helped. Delia only hoped that she would find happiness.
That evening, as Delia lay in bed, her body encased in Patsy's arms, her thoughts wandered back to Sarah. She had told Patsy everything when she had got home from her shift, and the two of them had whispered out a soft prayer of hope and love for Sarah and Abigail. As she snuggled down into the comfort of the embrace she found herself in, Delia could not help thanking her lucky stars that it was not her and Patsy that had been found out.