A carpet of golden leaves crunched underfoot as Mary glanced at her medication chart. She peeled blister packs and dropped pills into plastic cups, the same routine day after day. If life carried on like this, shed blink and find herself old and alone, lost in the monotony. Her heart ached as if someone had ripped open a fresh wound. Every cruel word her husband had spat the day before echoed in her mind, each one sharper than the last.
She tossed the empty blister into the bin beside the desk, grabbed a bottle, and poured a handful of pills onto her palm, speeding up as her thoughts wandered further away
“Mary, what on earth are you doing?” The head nurses voice snapped her back to reality. Startled, Mary jerked, sending the bottle flying, pills scattering everywhere.
“Whats wrong with you?” the head nurse barked. “You couldve killed someone with a double dose! Step away from the table!” She shouldered Mary aside. “Good grief, what a mess!”
“Sorry, Mrs. HigginsIll fix it,” Mary stammered, scooping pills into a cup, unsure what to do next.
“Hand them over! As if we can tell which is which now!” Mrs. Higgins snatched the pills from Marys palm and dumped them in the bin.
“I just… spaced out for a second.” Marys hands trembled as she stared at the cups.
“If I hadnt walked in, who knows what wouldve happened? Fancy prison, do you?” Mrs. Higgins huffed.
“I dont know how it happened,” Mary whispered, collapsing onto a chair, pressing her hands to her face. Silent sobs shook her shoulders.
“Please tell me you didnt prep the injections too?”
Mary shook her head, still crying.
“Youve never been this careless before. Youre not some rookie.”
“My husband he left me yesterday,” she choked out, voice muffled by her palms.
“Ah. Right.” Mrs. Higgins sighed and started emptying the cups into the bin. “Ill sort this. YouI cant let you work like this. One mistake, and well both be in court.”
Mary finally lowered her hands and stood. “Mrs. Higgins, I”
“Sit. Better yet, go home. Write up a leave request starting tomorrow. Ill explain to Matron.”
“I was saving my leave for when my daughter has the babyIll be more careful,” Mary promised, smudging her mascara.
“A weeks enough to pull yourself together. Take the rest later. And go home before I lose my temper. Ill cover your shift. Keep quiet, or theyll sack you.”
Mary blinked, stunned.
“Honestly, the thought of what couldve happened” Mrs. Higgins groaned. “Though, our patients are sharptheyd have kicked up a fuss if youd handed them a mountain of pills,” she added, slightly calmer. Plump and bustling, her buttons strained against her ample chest, making Mary seem even more fragile beside her.
“Wash your face. All husbands stray eventually, even the decent ones.” Mrs. Higgins sighed, sorting pills. “WaitIll call you a cab. In this state, youll probably walk into traffic.”
Mary didnt argue. She wrote her leave request, changed, grabbed her handbag, and left. A yellow cab waited outside the hospital. She slid into the back seat and gave her address.
Home was the last place she wanted to be. *Husbands off with some young thing, and I nearly sent patients to their graves. Pull yourself together.* Her phone buzzedher daughter, Emily.
“Mum, hi!” Emilys cheerful voice was a lifeline. The horror faded. Nothing terrible had happened. She hadnt given out the pills.
“Love, how are you? Whats up?”
“All good! You at work?”
“In a cab home. Em, theyve put me on leave for a week.”
“Why? Are you ill?” Emily sounded worried.
“No, just things happened. Can I come stay with you?”
“Of course! When?”
“Tomorrow. If I can get a train ticket”
She chatted, barely noticing the cab pulling up outside her flat.
“Sorry, were here. Got another fare,” the driver said.
“Ohright. How much do I owe?” Mary fumbled with her phone.
The driver gave her a patient look.
“Paid. Card charge when it was booked.”
“Oh? I didnt” *Mrs. Higgins mustve paid.* She stepped out.
“Mum, who were you talking to?” Emily asked.
“The driver. Ill call back once Ive got my ticket,” Mary said, reaching for her handbagbut it wasnt there.
Her stomach dropped. The cab was gone, her bag with it. Weak-legged, she stumbled to a bench by the entrance, brushed off a few golden leaves, and sat. *Mrs. Higgins was right. I need rest. At this rate, Ill lose my head entirely.*
She mentally inventoried her bag. Keys from her coat pocketcheck. Phone in handcheck. But her purse! All her cards, her money *Why am I sitting here? Need to cancel them NOW!*
She stared hopelessly at the road. *Maybe the driver will return? Notice the bag?* She scoffed at herself. *Dream on.*
She blocked the card via phone and sighed in relief. Now to calm down. Inside, the empty flat amplified her loneliness. She sank onto the ottoman, fury at her husband flaring. *Because of him, Im a wreck. And he doesnt care.*
Maybe she shouldnt go. More trouble might find her. But Emily was expecting her, and the flat was unbearable. Sighing, she fetched her secret stashher personal one, not their shared emergency fund. Enough for the trip.
At the station, she bought a ticket, packed light, and warned her neighbour, Mrs. Thompson, shed be away. On the train, she relaxed. The card was blocked, shed buy a new bag, and her husbands betrayal felt smaller. No one had died. Life went on. A grandchild was coming. She drifted off, thinking of Emily.
London greeted her with dreary drizzle. Eventually, she told Emily about her father.
“Mum, if he crawls back, dont you dare forgive him,” Emily said.
Mary pictured him returning to an empty flat. *Let him sweat.*
But when she got home, it was clear he hadnt been back.
Mrs. Thompson invited her for tea, boasting about her three marriages and her undimmed optimism at seventy.
“Oh! I nearly forgot. A gentleman came looking for you. Distinguished, polite. Wanted something Sorry, I cant recall what.”
“No matter. Hell return,” Mary said.
“Odd, thoughhe didnt know your name. What if hes a conman?” Mrs. Thompson fretted. “I mightve said too much. But he seemed so kind!”
“If he were a thief, hed have robbed the flat while I was gone. Theres nothing worth stealing anyway.”
“True. Still, be careful.”
Back at work, Mrs. Higgins eyed her warily but soon relaxed. That evening, the doorbell rang. A handsome man stood there, holding her handbag.
“Mind if I come in? Awkward chatting on the doorstep.”
She stepped aside.
“Found this in a cab. You were the last fare from the hospital?”
“Yes,” Mary said.
“I got in after you. Spotted it straight away. The driver remembered yousaid you seemed upset, chatting on the phone.”
“How did you find me?”
“He gave me the address. Your neighbour said youd gone away. Everythings insidecheck for yourself.”
Mary opened her purse. Money, cardsall there.
“I cancelled the card,” she blurted.
“Smart. You never know.”
She fished out a twenty.
“Will this cover it?”
“Dont be daft. I didnt come for money.” He turned to leave.
“Thank you!” she called.
“Any time.”
The following weekend, he returnedwith flowers.
“I didnt leave these in the cab,” Mary said, baffled.
“Your neighbour filled me in. These are for you.” He offered the bouquet. “We never introduced ourselves. Im James.”
“Mary.”
“Id like to take you dancing. Ever been?”
“No. Ive two left feet.”
“I love dancingjust need a partner. Fancy it?”
“Oh, no, I couldnt”
“Ill teach you. Wear something comfy, bring shoes.”
The idea intrigued her. *Imagine if my ex knew I wasnt weeping into a pillow but dancing.* Unlikely hed ever find out, but the thought amused her.
She agreed. James was a natural; Mary stepped on his toes repeatedly. Over tea afterwards, she admitted shed enjoyed itthe way he led, how she trusted his guidance.
They went regularly. One evening, she returned exhilar
