She
rolled over and picked up the phone from the bedside cabinet, and
dialled the number for the doctors. She made an appointment for 10.45
and then rang work.
"Gina? It's Sheelagh" She
said
"Hello, is everything alright?" Gina asked
"Well no
not really, I've had a bit of a rough night, so I'm going to the
doctors at 10.45, I was wondering if I could have the day off
please?" Sheelagh asked nervously, she didn't think Gina would be
very sympathetic about the previous days events
"Yes, that's
fine. I hope you feel better soon, take care" Gina replied, in a
very matter of fact manner.
"Thanks Gina, bye" Sheelagh
managed to say before the phone cut off
Sheelagh got out of
bed and put her bathrobe and slippers on, opened the curtains and
went downstairs to make some breakfast. Declan sat at the kitchen
table drinking a cup of tea.
"There's plenty in the pot,
just grab a cup" He smiled
"Thanks darling, I thought you were
going to bed?" She asked
"I was, but my mouth felt revolting,
so I came down for a drink" He answered
Sheelagh laughed "I
see"
After that, they sat in silence, Declan finished his
drink, looked at his Mum and smiled, "Night....Again"
"Night"
He
leant over and kissed her on the cheek and wandered back to
bed.
When Sheelagh was finished, she walked back upstairs, got
washed and dressed and went back to the kitchen to make some toast.
She switched on the TV and watched a chat show. After a while she
looked at the clock and decided it was time to go, so she got in the
car and headed to the doctors.
There was the usual ridiculous
wait, she didn't understand how, with 4 doctors working there, and
they opened at 8 o'clock, they could be so far behind already. She
picked up a magazine, only to discover it was 3 months old. She
sighed. Then the receptionist called her name.
She walked down
the passageway to the doctors office and knocked, before walking in
and taking a seat.
"Good morning Mrs.." The doctor glanced
at his computer screen "Murphy"
"Morning doctor"
"So,
what can I do for you?" He asked
"I've been having some
trouble sleeping, my dreams are a bit, well, scary" She said,
realising she sounded quite paranoid
"How long have you been
having this?" The doctor enquired, eyeing her up and down
"Well
it started last night" She responded
"Hmmm...And what are you
dreaming about?"
"A colleague, well, my ex lover, died
yesterday in custody. Every time I close my eyes he starts talking to
me, and he seems to know what's going on when I'm awake too"
She said, wondering when he'd call security and prescribe a
straight jacket
"Well, Mrs Murphy, you may be pleased to know
that it's quite normal to feel like the dead are still with us when
you've just lost someone you cared about" He said, trying not to
sound patronising, but failing miserably. "If you're still having
problems in a week, come back and we'll talk about antidepressants
and sleeping tablets, or I can refer you to a community psychiatric
nurse if you'd prefer"
"NO! No, it's OK thank you. I'm a
police officer, it would only do my reputation more harm" She said
worriedly
"Well, alright. But still come back in a week if it
persists" He said, raising an eyebrow at her rapid response
"Thank
you doctor" She sighed but couldn't help thinking 'Thanks for
nothing'
"Goodbye Mrs Murphy" The doctor called as she
walked to the door
