Uncanny Love Tales – (07) In Love with a Palfrey

 

I would like to say before I begin this narrative, that this is not intended to be a boastful tale of sexual conquest and I am not writing this because I’m proud to have done what I did.

The eventual outcome was not even the intended one, in fact in that four year period of my life that the story covers, the thought never once crossed my mind that it might happen and nor was it even desired, but it happened regardless and this is a faithful account of how it came about.

 

It was 1974 when it all began, and I was just 18 years old when I met Andrea Palfrey for the first time, on a cold grey Monday morning, so grey and dismal it was clear rain wasn’t far away.

I was starting a new job that morning and I had just stepped off the bus when the girl in front of me dropped her umbrella, I bent down and picked it up and when I stood up again she had turned around and I was staring into the eyes of an angel whose brunette hair framed the classical beauty of her face.

“Thank you” She said and smiled and I was instantly smitten.

But as taken with her as I was, I was completely struck dumb and all I could do was return her smile and hand her the umbrella, and that would probably have been that, had it not been for the fact that she already worked for Barrett Brothers which was the company where I was due to start my new job.

 

Andrea hadn’t worked there long herself, in fact she was only planning on working there for a year after she left college, to earn some money, before she started University.

Over the next few months we became very close friends but sadly no more than that, it turned out that we had several mutual friends and we kind of fell into a sociable group of a dozen or more friends who would go out either in one big group, smaller ones and sometimes even pairs.

We would go bowling, to the pictures, barn dancing, camping, restaurants, to the seaside at Great Yarmouth or any number of things, but more often than not we just went to the pub, and all of these many and varied social activities we participated in, but try as I may I never made any inroads into her heart or indeed anything else.

 

Another bi-product of our general socialising was my introduction to the Palfrey family.

Andrea’s father, Ronald had a dry wit and if you were in the right frame of mind he could be hysterically funny, if on the other hand you were not in the mood for it then he was just bloody annoying.

He was an accountant by profession which is a humourless occupation at the best of times which is why I think he over compensated.

Marjorie, her mother was a real battle-axe who had a face that could warp wood or stop traffic, she was a Sister at the local hospital, I don’t recall what she did there but it was probably something unpleasant.  

Her eldest sibling was Ken, a twenty one year old cook, also at the local hospital, he inherited his father’s liking for being a wit but sadly he didn’t possess any.

 

After Ken, came the three sisters and considering the fact they were sisters they couldn’t have been more different from each other, they all had something around the eyes that bound them as kin, provided they were all together in a small room and you could compare them.

However in a crowd you would never have picked them out as siblings, and they had absolutely nothing in common other than the same parentage and their shared beauty and of course an unbreakable love for each other.

 

Andrea was the oldest of the Palfrey girls at 18, the same age as me, and the tallest by several inches and she was blessed with stunning legs, in fact legs so stunning that they have never been surpassed in my eyes, but then I am biased, and she had long brunette hair that fell over her slender shoulders. 

Andie was very slim, a size 12 in old money, I’m not sure what the modern equivalent is, but in the 1970’s she was a size 12, though not overly endowed in the bust department she was perfectly proportioned, keenly intelligent and delightfully funny.

But despite all of that she didn’t have a clue how gorgeous she was, which made her even more attractive to me, but as a result of her innocence she had a succession of failed relationships with unsuitable men who used her, abused her and then dumped her, and managed to leave her thinking she deserved it.

I would never have treated her that way because I loved her and I would have cherished her, if I’d had the opportunity.

 

One of our wider social group, was Andrea’s sister Megan, she was the middle one of the three siblings and was a few months short of 17.

She was a brunette as well, curvier and bustier, but she didn’t suffer from Andrea’s lack of self-confidence in fact her problem was that she thought she was very attractive, in effect Megan actually thought she was more attractive than she really was.

Megan used to borrow Andrea’s clothes even though they didn’t fit her, she thought that if she squeezed her size 14 arse into her sister’s size 12 knickers that she actually had a size 12 arse.

I don’t know why she did it, because as I said she was very attractive in her own right, I think perhaps she envied Andrea’s slim figure and so tried to be her, but she was very definitely not her.

 

The youngest of the Palfrey girls was 15 year old Kelly and she was Blonde and full of self-confidence but she could afford to as she had everything, a delicious figure, a bubbly personality and an infectious sense of fun.

Oh yes Kelly was funny and sexy and furthermore she had a crush on me, I was as flattered as hell and had I been 3 years younger and not in love with Andrea I would have nailed her in a heartbeat and she’d have let me.

 

As the months went by and Andrea went from one disastrous, ill-considered boyfriend to the next, I sat on the side-lines watching and wishing until one day when she had just picked herself up from yet another car crash of a relationship I decided I should just ask her out and be done with it, what a mistake that was, I wasn’t her type apparently.

“No I guess I’m not” I said bitterly “that’s because I’m not an asshole that treats you like shit”

After that we didn’t talk for three months.

 

When Andrea and I began talking again I found that nothing had changed

I was still in love with her but she still just wanted us to be friends and that was the moment I realised that it was never going to happen for us, and I should have just walked away there and then, but I didn’t.

Instead I asked out her sister Megan, who was then almost 18, I suppose initially I went out with Megan because it was a way for me to be close to Andrea but still have a life.

It was perhaps a dishonest beginning, and was a dangerous enterprise to undertake on several levels but perhaps the most hazardous was the fact that with Megan’s facial features she had the most chance of ending up looking like her hatchet faced mother, which was a scary thought.

However whether dishonest or dangerous, that summer Megan gave me her virginity in a tent in Perthshire, not perhaps the most romantic of ways but it seemed as good a place as any at the time, two months later we were engaged and Andrea left for University.

After that everything seemed to be working out for the best, I had grown to love Meg, even if that love was a pale shadow of what I felt for Andrea, but we were planning our future together while Andrea was getting on with her life and working hard towards her degree while still dating the wrong men.

But every time Andie came home from University the wound would open up again and she filled my every waking thought.

One Christmas when she was home I was making love to Meg in her room I actually imagined it was Andrea, so I broke up with her on New Year’s Eve.

 

The New Year began with Megan in tears in one room and Andrea demanding to know from me what the hell was going on in another.

“Why are you breaking up with her?” she demanded for the third time.

“Because I’m in love with someone else” I finally replied

“Who?” she asked

“You really have to ask?” I retorted

She looked blankly for a moment and then it dawned on her

“You can’t still be in love with me”

“Well I am” I corrected her and she sat down and lit a cigarette

“I thought you’d gotten over me” she said

“Oh yes you would think so wouldn’t you” I snapped

“Well you should have” she barked “I’ve given you no encouragement”

“Yes I should have” I said “then I wouldn’t see your face when I’m making love to Megan”

I got up and went home before she could respond.

 

Two days later I received a letter, hand written envelope, in a familiar hand smelling of her perfume, Andrea had written me a letter, my heart soared, and it took me half an hour to work up the courage to open it and another thirty seconds to throw it in the bin.

Three hand written pages in her elegant hand, extolling the virtues of her younger sister and begging me to change my mind, three full pages and not one word of love for me.

I resolved then and there to break the chain that bound me to her and run for the hills.

After a week I had almost gone a whole day without having a drink but my determination was strong.

Until one cold wet night when there was a knock on the door and Megan stood there soaked to the skin and crying and I was trapped again.

 

For the next year or so everything seemed to have settled down, mainly because Andrea and I largely avoided each other.

I was working a lot of extra hours trying to stash some money in the savings for our impending nuptials and Andrea was busy working on her dissertation, and I thought perhaps I had finally turned a corner.

Which is why I lowered my guard, and from Easter of that year onwards Andrea and I were back on speaking terms again and as there had been no repeat of picturing of her face while making love to Megan so I was in a positive frame of mind.

 

Megan had been working for a big Armaments Company for over a year, they probably employed a third of the town’s available workforce and she earned good money, but better than that they had a huge sports and social club, and better still it was heavily subsidised.

That summer there was a big fancy dress party, a kind of Summer Ball affair, and Megan got us tickets and she had a spare one which without asking me first, she gave to Andie who was back from University, having graduated with a first.

I was cross at first when I found out, but Meg was so proud of her sister for graduating also Meg said she needed cheering up because she had just broken up with her boyfriend, the latest pig, in a long line of pigs, so no surprise there.

 

On the night of the party it was a warm dry night and as it was only about a mile from where the girls lived we decided to walk, in costume.

I walked to the Palfrey’s in my street clothes and changed in Megan’s room.

Megan was dressed as a flapper in a dress she’d made herself and she looked really hot, I went as a Roman, wearing sandals and a toga.

Andrea though was dressed as a toddler, in a smock top and a nappie, which showed off her gorgeous long legs to great effect, and her brunette hair was tied up in little bunches and she had a dummy on a ribbon around her neck, for the walk to the club she wore a long wrap around skirt to protect her modesty.

 

When we got there we found the fancy dress party was already in full swing and was very well attended and the hall was packed.

I noted I was not the only Roman at the forum by long way and Megan was not the only Flapper, Andrea however was as unique as always, and with the heavily subsidised bar the drink was flowing freely and the crowd were exuberant in the extreme.

 

As the evening wore on much alcohol was consumed and it was a very enjoyable night out indeed and I felt at last I was able to enjoy being in Andrea’s company without the old feelings coming to the fore.

Megan was close to having had one Bacardi and coke too many but insisted she was fine

“Have a dance with Andie” she said and tottered off to the ladies.

“Great idea” Andrea said and grabbed my hand and dragged me off to the middle of the dance floor just as Fleetwood Mac’s, Albatross began.

She stopped and turned around to face me and wrapped her skinny arms around my neck and then inexplicably she kissed me.

 

When Andrea kissed me out of the blue it was not a sisterly smack on the lips or a friendly peck on the cheek, this was an open mouthed penetrating tongue kind of kiss which took me by surprise and took my breath away.

It took me a moment to realise what exactly was happening and that I needed to be joining in, but once I had cottoned on I went about it with relish and my hands, which had been resting in the small of her back quickly encroached inside her smock top and were caressing the naked skin of her back.

As the music went from Fleetwood Mac to 10cc to Harry Nilsson, still we kissed, it was only when the dulcet tones of Jeff Beck’s Hi Ho Silver Lining broke the spell that we suddenly realised we were not alone and Andrea giggled, and as she giggled I realised I was fully aroused beneath my toga which made it difficult to walk in any way other than gingerly.

Andrea looked at me curiously before looking down at the protrusion in my Toga and giggling again.

We walked back sheepishly to our table just a Megan came stumbling back towards us and she was laughing like a drain as she tottered along and when she reached us she slurred

“I fell over” and roared with laughter again   

“I think we’d better get you home” Andie said

 

Megan was still laughing as we gathered our stuff together and steered her drunk and giggling towards the door.

Once outside Andrea said

“Hold on”

And began rummaging inside her bag and eventually fished out her skirt.

I watched her intently as she wrapped the skirt around her slender pins and when she caught me watching her she blushed and then gave me the loveliest smile.

We set off down the road with Megan, sandwiched between the two of us, and I fully expected us to continue the whole way home like that but after about half a mile Meg seemed to suddenly sober up and got it into her head that we weren’t walking fast enough and yomped off ahead of us at an athletic pace.

We set off hot on her heels after her but she built up a good head of steam, then Andrea took hold of my hand

“Let her go” she said “she’ll be alright” and pulled me towards a convenient bus shelter and dragged me inside.

“She’s almost home anyway” she said and kissed me, her hot darting tongue exploring my mouth while her hands tried to get inside my toga and my arousal tried to get out.

When it suddenly occurred to me that my drunken fiancé was somewhere ahead of us in the dark and I was in a bus shelter snogging her sister so I stopped things before we went too far and said

“We need to find Megan, come on let’s get you home”

She was reluctant to leave but she nodded her ascent and followed me and we walked the rest of the way holding hands.

 

We got to the house and she unlocked the door and said

“Come in for coffee” my head was swimming with the evenings events and I needed to think so I shook my head.

“Please” she begged “just coffee”

Finally I agreed and Andrea took my hand and took me inside.

Thinking about it now I had no choice but to go in as my clothes were in a bag in Meg’s room.

At the bottom of the stairs she whispered

“Put the kettle on and I’ll go and check on Meg”

I nodded and went through to the kitchen, filled the kettle and flicked the switch, before walking back to the lounge just as Andrea walked lightly down the stairs, she was barefoot and wearing a full length white cotton Kaftan.

“Meg is spark out” she said as she closed the distance between us and I got a sudden whiff of freshly applied perfume and I was intoxicated by it.

I was also aroused as I believed that was the only other thing she was wearing apart from the kaftan.

She smiled and in an instant her mouth was over mine

They were hot and urgent kisses, more eager than on the dance floor, and more intense than in the bus shelter.

I broke away and asked

“What about your parents”

“Dads in Southampton, Mum and Ken are both on nights and Kelly sleeps like the dead” she replied

“What about Meg”

She responded to my question by pressing her mouth against mine again and tried to get inside my toga and unlike in the bus shelter this time she succeeded and we made love on the sofa as my fiancé slept above us and it was the perfect culmination of my years of longing.

Afterwards we lay panting on the sofa loosely covered by her Kaftan before she took me to her room and we made love again.

 

It was almost dawn when Andrea woke me with a kiss.

“It’s time to go sweetheart”

And I returned her kiss with interest.

Andrea was already out of bed and had slipped her Kaftan back on and retrieved my bag from Megan’s room and I quietly got dressed as she watched.

 

We tiptoed down the stairs and stood on the doorstep and kissed then she said

“I love you” and my heart soared and we kissed again, I quite reasonably believed it was a new beginning, what I was not thinking was that it was the end.

“I never did get a coffee” I said and she giggled, I gave her one final kiss and left.

I turned around and waved to her from across the road and she blew me a kiss.

The dawn had fully broken as I turned and waved again and the birds sung their morning song that echoed my joy.

 

As I left Andrea on that glorious morning I thought that the bright dawn heralded a bright new beginning, a new dawn for a new start.

How wrong I was.

When I went to the house the next day Andrea was conspicuous by her absence and my new beginning turned out to be the same old same old.

She had suddenly decided to go to Manchester to stay with friends and I was left in limbo.

I didn’t know how to behave around Meg, I didn’t know if it over between us or not, were Andrea and I now a couple or not?

All I did know was that if Megan ever knew about what happened between Andrea and me that night she never mentioned it and her behaviour towards me was unaltered.

It was a full month after the fancy dress party when Andrea reappeared, but it was another week after that before I got her on her own, because she was avoiding me.

I took a day off work and phoned in sick, and waited in the ally across from the house until everyone had left for the day.

The weather had been very hot the past few weeks and that day was no different even that early in the day the heat was building.

I gave it another half an hour just to make sure no one returned and then I crossed the road and let myself in the side gate and crossed the patio to the open French windows and I looked in could see her at the kitchen sink.

As she stopped what she was doing she dried her hands and turned around just as I reached the kitchen door.

Andrea gasped when she saw me then she dissolved into tears and ran in to my arms.

After some considerable consoling I asked her

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

“Because I love you” she replied and sobbed again

“But I also love Megan”

“Didn’t that night mean anything to you?” I asked coldly and pushed her away

“It meant everything to me” she screamed “that’s why I feel so guilty, so wretched”

She turned away from me but I took hold of her arm and pulled her back into my arms. 

After I calmed her down and dried her tears we talked calmly and then she took me to her parent’s bed and we stayed there all day.

When I kissed her goodbye that day, it was the last time and furthermore it was the last time I ever saw her.

Andrea couldn’t live with the guilt of what she had done and even though she loved me desperately we could never be together.

So after our brief affair Andrea went back to Manchester to do her masters.

Megan and I split up soon afterwards, I told everyone it was because I wanted a family and she didn’t, but the truth was my heart wasn’t in it anymore, if indeed it ever had been.

In truth after sleeping with Andrea making love to Megan felt like second best, I knew it would break her heart her when I broke off the engagement but Megan was a lovely girl and she deserved better than me.

 

After parting with Andrea and breaking up with Megan I quit my job and moved to another town about 15 miles away and started a new life with a new job and I washed my hands of the Palfrey’s once and for all, or so I thought.

A new friend of mine had a mobile disco, he had transport, he had all the gear, all the gigs and all the gab but he didn’t have a driving licence.

So Dave persuaded me to be his roadie, I would drive him to the gigs and help him set up, then at the end of the night, pack away and drive him home, simple.

One night, a little under a year after I broke Megan’s heart, we were doing a gig at the local college.

In between set up and break down my time was my own, sometimes I would stay in the venue for the evening, other times I might have a kip in the van or as I did on this occasion I went down the road for a pint.

When I returned I discarded my cigarette end as I walked up the steps to the front door and I noticed a blonde girl to one side of the door obviously crying.

“Are you alright?” I asked

As she turned around she was wiping her eyes

“Yes thank you” she replied and then she smiled at me in recognition.   

It was Kelly Palfrey and when she saw it was me she burst into tears again, and ran towards me.

“Here we go again” I thought another crying Palfrey girl

But I was not the same sympathetic man I was when I held a sobbing Andrea in my arms in the Palfrey’s kitchen.

Nor was I the same person Kelly had a crush on when she was 15, that man was gone forever, my heart had hardened since then and I am ashamed to say I took full advantage of her vulnerability and made love to her in the back of the van.

Well more precisely we had sex, there was no love involved at least not on my side, we met up a few more times after that, purely for the sex, then I dumped her and there were more tears.

 

The significance of that meeting with a crying Kelly didn’t strike me at the time, but it facilitated my having slept with all three of Ronald Palfrey’s daughters, but I felt no pride in that dubious accomplishment.

It however amused me to wonder if Ronald would have seen any wit in the fact that I had bedded all three of his daughters.

 

The last I heard of the Palfrey’s was that Andrea had a Professorship in Manchester she had never married and consoled herself in the halls of academe.

The year after we split up Megan gained four stones and married a ginger haired accountant, she never had any children.

Kelly on the other hand married three times and had a child from each, all of them girls.

As for me I have a wife and four children and I even found love of a sort I suppose though even now after all these years only Andrea truly occupies my heart.

Uncanny Love Tales – (006) Hidden in Tweed

Peter Nesbitt was staying in Braithwaite at the Coledale Inn for a few days, it was his brother Johnnies idea, a short break in the Lake District, a change of pace and some R&R, unfortunately Johnnie’s idea of rest and relaxation was the consumption of copious quantities of Jennings Ale.

But Peter, now in his early thirties, was looking for something more than drinking games and hangovers so on Monday morning, bright and early he grabbed his backpack and set off for a walk on the hill in the early sunshine.

He left the pub and set off down the lane towards the stile which would set him on the path to the hill and as he got halfway along it he happened to notice another walker heading for the same stile from the opposite direction.

She wore stout walking shoes, old fashioned brogues, with long argyle socks, a grey tweed skirt and a drab shapeless sweater and her hair was tied in a bun beneath a tweed cap that matched the skirt and she looked about forty.

If it hadn’t been for the coloured backpack, he would have thought he’d stumbled through a portal into the 1930s.

“After you” he gestured

“Thank you” she said accompanied by a nervous smile in a voice much younger that her appearance.

Once she was over the stile she set off at an impressive pace and was very sure footed as she strode off ahead of him, he had to admit that although her footwear was old fashioned it was considerably more appropriate for the conditions than what Peter was wearing.

It wasn’t the warmest of days, and he’d elected for shorts and a T-shirt and in his little backpack he only had a waterproof jacket a drink and a sandwich.

 

The weather in the Lake District was notoriously unpredictable, despite the bright start to the day, so it wasn’t really a surprise that by mid-morning the blue sky had been consumed by grey.

Peter was on top of the hill looking out across the valley and the lake, he had no idea if it was Bassenthwaite Water or Derwent as he’d lost his bearings a bit, after all he wasn’t really familiar enough with Cumbria to find his way around without a map which of course he didn’t have in his pack either.

He sat down and opened his pack, ate his sandwich and drank his drink but when he looked at the distant sky he didn’t need a map or anything else to tell him it was coming his way so he decided to make his way off the hill ahead of it as quickly as possible.

He hadn’t even reached halfway before the low cloud settled a thick mist all around him.

Peter had on his light jacket, which was getting wet in the mist, he also had good trainers on, but on the damp stone they were not really fit for purpose and he was slipping with every other step.

The fog had come down very quickly and was extremely thick in places.

“You should just sit it out” a soft voice said

“I’m sorry?” He said turning around and seeing the frumpy woman sitting on a large flat rock.

“You should just sit it out” she said again

“Is that wise?” Peter asked

“Yes, this band of cloud is due to blow through in a couple of hours” she said confidently

“Is it? He asked

“Didn’t you check the weather forecast before you set off this morning?” she asked

“No” he admitted and sat down next to her “I’m Peter by the way, Peter Nesbitt” and offered his hand

“Sarah Hallam” she responded

 

Sarah Hallam was 28 years old, single and happy to be so, all things considered, she had studied law at university but after three years she decided it wasn’t the career for her, so she followed a different path and had been a proof reader for a legal publisher for the last six years, it suited her well as she could work from home and so didn’t have to interact with people.

It meant that she spent a lot of time on her own, which she didn’t mind as she was happy in her own company, however although she lived in seclusion in the country she still liked to get away to  somewhere different whenever she could, normally to some place beautiful and the Lake District was certainly that.

 

When they met at the stile, Peter had ridiculed Sarah’s mode of dress, but as they sat on a large flat rock in the fog, he had to admit that she was more appropriately dressed than he was, at which point he shivered.

“Do you have anything useful in your pack?” Sarah asked

“It’s empty now I’m afraid” Peter replied

“You did come well prepared” She said sarcastically

Luckily for Peter, Sarah’s backpack was filled with a wealth of useful stuff, a thermos full of coffee, Sandwiches, Kendal mint cake and a blanket all of which she generously shared with him while they spoke candidly about their past.

Peter was interested to hear about Sarah’s profession as he and his brother Johnnie were also in publishing as they jointly ran a printing company, specializing in high end books.

 “I don’t mean to pry Sarah” he began “I understand that under our present condition they are indeed practical, but why are you dressed like a….”

“Frump” she suggested

“Well I wouldn’t have used that word exactly, but Yes” he agreed “I’m sorry”

“Its fine” Sarah said “it’s quite simple really”

Peter listened intently

“When I was at University, in my first year, I had my heart broken, badly” She confessed

“And again, in the third year, much worse and nearly cost me my degree”

“I’m so sorry” Peter said sympathetically “But why the tweeds?”

“Well after the second time I resolved to have no more truck with love” She said without emotion “or relationships”

“I am single and glad to be so” she added and paused for a moment and Peter spoke

“So that’s why you dress to make yourself look fifteen years older than you are?” Sarah nodded   

“I have found that if you are a shapeless old frump, men tend to leave well alone”

“What a waste” he thought to himself

“And what about you?” She asked

“Well I’ve also had my heart broken” he confessed “just the once for me though”

“Once would’ve been enough for me” Sarah mumbled

“I’ve not given up hope completely” Peter continued “But I’ve not met the “one” yet”

She nodded her understanding

“I’ve not found my soul mate yet” was what he meant

“In truth I use work much the same way as you use Tweed” He said

“My brother Johnnie says I work too hard and should get out and have some fun”

“It’s nice that he cares about you” Sarah said

“His idea of fun differs greatly from mine” he said and they both laughed

 

By about three in the afternoon a light breeze got up and started stirring the mist.

“Right on time” Sarah said though she was a little disappointed, as she was rather enjoying herself, and that took her by surprise

“Perhaps we should wait for another half an hour or so” Peter suggested also in no hurry to leave.

“Good idea” Sarah said

 

By 4.15 they couldn’t really delay it any longer as watery sunshine was beginning to penetrate the mist, so Peter began handing the remnants of their impromptu picnic to Sarah which she packed neatly away.

“Thank you” Peter said

“For what?” Sarah asked

“Sharing your lunch and your blanket” he said “and for your company”

“Oh, there’s no need to thank me” she responded and gave him a smile

“It would have been a very dull afternoon had you not happened along”

Peter thought he detected a slight blush on her cheek.

“She’s a very attractive and confident girl beneath the frumpy exterior” he thought

 

It was as they walked down the hill in the weak sunshine that he decided that he would endeavour to get her to re-join the world and if not embrace the waves then at least dip her toe in the water.

They were just approaching the stile they had crossed earlier in the day when he said

“I was wondering, as you were so generous to me today you might allow me to repay the favour”

“There’s no need” Sarah relied cursing herself for her cowardice

“It’s the least I can do”

“There really is no need”

“Just dinner at the Pheasant in Keswick” Peter persisted

“Ok” she relented and to herself added “Good decision”

“But tomorrow would be better for me” she said as Peter helped her over the stile

“Great tomorrow it is” he said smiling “I will look forward to it”

 

Sarah had taken a bold step by agreeing to the dinner, it took her by surprise how much she wanted to, and she had opened herself up to disappointment again, but having said yes, she didn’t want to hold back now.

If she was going to make the most of it, she had to make the most of herself and as she hadn’t packed anything remotely suitable for dinner she had been in Kendall all day shopping for girl clothes, that was why she said she couldn’t make dinner the evening before.

 

Peter spent his day fending off questions from his brother Johnnie, about where he was going and who he was meeting, he loved his brother but his biggest fear was that Johnnie would pitch up at the pub and unintentionally spoil things before they got started.

So, he told him he was taking her to a restaurant in Ambleside an hour later than he was actually meeting Sarah in Keswick.

 

Sarah was second guessing herself and as she stood in front of the mirror wearing a little black dress, her long brunette hair was down, and her face was subtly made up.

It had been a while since she had given herself the treatment and the face, she was wearing was her third attempt.

The first one left her looking like a mortician’s subject and the second resembled a clown, but she was running out of time so the third one would have to do.

Why on earth did she agree to do this, what was she thinking?

“Because you wanted to” she said out loud to the mirror “now suck it up and go and knock him dead”

 

Peter was sat in the bar a full half an hour before he was supposed to meet Sarah and he was insanely nervous; he hadn’t felt like that since he was 15 when he was waiting outside the multiplex for Cindy Brownlow.

However, as he sat there, he was thinking it was a mistake to arrive so early as his stomach was doing somersaults.

When Peter turned around and saw this brunette in the little black dress coming towards him, he couldn’t stop himself from saying   

“Wow”

Sarah smiled

“Will I Do?”

“Comme ci Comme ça” He said making a gesture with his hand 

“Charming” she said

“I was expecting someone in tweeds” Peter pointed out and she laughed

“I decided to make an effort” Sarah said as she sat down

“I thought this might be more appropriate”

The evening passed by so quickly, it was like an information exchange, and they were so absorbed in each company that they completely lost track of time, to such an extent that they had to be asked to leave.

“Oh, dear we seem to have overstayed our welcome and there is so much more to say” Sarah said

“Then we should perhaps consider this an adjournment and pick this up again tomorrow”

She nodded her ascent with a broad smile on her face and he was rather pleased with himself for his legal reference almost as much as the securing of another date.

They agreed to meet again the next morning by the stile where they had first met and she was transformed, the frump he’d met on the hill the day before was gone forever.

No wonder Peter hadn’t been able to find his soul mate for all those years of searching, she was hiding in plain sight.

Sarah Hallam, the woman who was a stranger only two days before, would be at his side every day thereafter.

Uncanny Tales – (008) Carers

 

The Jansen family have lived in the relatively small English county of Downshire for countless generations but only thirty years in the southern town of Abbottsford, which was the biggest in Downshire. Which is the administrative capital, the seat of the Downshire government, and now has City status

It was also a place of learning thanks to the Downshire University, a Cathedral City and was home to Downshire’s Premier football club, Abbottsford Town.

But on a cold April morning it was the site of another of Abbottsford’s landmarks that the Jansen’s were concerned with and it was early when they arrived at the Churchill Hospital and Paul Jansen and his mum, Wendy, drove slowly into the hospital car park.

As it was 7.15am, there were plenty of spaces to choose from, but because the Day Surgery Unit was set apart from the main hospital building, he chose a space nearest to the unit. 

The clear blue skies of the previous day had been replaced by clouds the colour of slate and the bright warm spring sunshine they had so enjoyed the day before had given way to a sharp northerly wind carrying on it the last remnants of winter with showers of sleet, hail and snow expected.

The hospital was named after Winston Spencer Churchill, still regarded by many as a true British hero, who had led the British people through their darkest hour, and it was named at a time when his achievements were still fresh in the minds of a grateful nation.

Paul liked it and no matter what the Liberal Left Political Correctness brigade chose to call it in the future it would always be the Churchill to him, because to Paul and his family, Winnie would always be a hero.

Paul got out of the car and walked briskly to the nearest ticket machine where he keyed in the car registration before fumbling in his jacket pocket and fishing out his wallet, he put the card in the machine, pressed the green button, then removed his card and waited for his ticket.

He then put his card and ticket back in his wallet and put his wallet away as he returned to the car at the same brisk pace.

Opening the passenger door, he stood holding the door against the wind and waited while his mum gathered together her assortment of bags and reached out a hand to helped her out of the car.

“Come on dear” Paul said smiling, she hated being called dear.

“I’ll give you a slap” she responded

 

He locked the car, and his mum took his arm as they walked towards the path the led down to the Day Surgery Unit.

They made slow progress as Wendy was in too much discomfort for walking in her normal brisk manner.

They went down the short path, crossed the road and walked up another short path towards the entrance and its relative warmth.

Once inside they went straight to reception, where cheerful “Good Mornings” were exchanged and Wendy presented her paperwork to a pleasant smiling nurse by the name of Madalina, who led them the short distance from reception to ward “B”.

Ward B had five beds and a patient’s toilet, the latter was on the left as they entered the ward, then bay one and two, then at the end was a window covering the full width, and beds 3,4 and 5 ran between the window and the entrance.     

Paul wasn’t sure how many day wards there were, he knew that ward A and B were for women as they passed ward A on the way and as he saw a male patient walking around in a dressing gown he assumed there would be a similar number of male wards, but he didn’t know, and he further assumed that each ward would be carbon copies of each other, with each of the 5 bay’s containing a bed and tray table, with a bedside cabinet to left, as he looked at it, and a large wing backed chair to the right and each cubicle surrounded by a blue pleated curtain decorated with a forbidding red hand on every fifth panel, interspersed with the words “Please do not enter” to ensure privacy.

 

Madelina led them to bay one and said,

“Make yourself comfortable and I’ll be back in a few minutes and complete the admission”

“Thank you dear” his Mum responded with a smile and Paul smiled to himself at his mum calling someone else dear when the word drove her mad if said to her.

 

It was actually 20 mins before she returned so while his mum got settled, Paul took in their surroundings, which had already changed even in the few minutes that had elapsed since their arrival, he studied the ward in detail and listened to all the conversations going on, and the thing that instantly struck him was the assortment of ailments.

His mum was in bed 1, she was a urology patient as she had a kidney stone, in Bed 2 was an Elderly woman called Edith, who was already in her gown when they arrived and she was in for ENT surgery, although Paul hadn’t gleaned anything further information on that.

The was a young blond Irish woman in Bed 3 and her partner who had also arrived before them, but he wasn’t sure what she was in for, but he had overheard that the operation wasn’t scheduled until the afternoon as the morning would be taken up with ultrasound and radiology.

Across the way from them, Bed 4 was occupied by a very loud Middle age woman in for an Orthopedics op to remove some pins from her foot, following an earlier operation, in addition to being loud she also spoke a lot, and Paul found himself uncharitably wishing it had been her jaw they were operating on.

The last to arrive, in Bed 5, was an attractive young woman with long brown hair, around his own age he guessed, accompanied by another equally attractive young woman with bobbed red hair, a year or two younger, who was very attentive, to the brunette

“girlfriend probably” he thought “mores the pity”

He was rather partial to red hair and she was very pretty, there was a moment of eye contact between them and she gave him the briefest of smiles, and then a figure clad in scrubs appeared and pulled the curtain.

But he could still hear what was going on and it seemed that the pretty brunette patient was in for Breast surgery and she was clearly worried about it, hence the attentiveness of the red head.

 

Madelina appeared again, if a little later than promised, pushing a little trolley before her, then she pulled the curtain around the bed and introduced herself again before perching on the bed with the admission’s documents on her lap.

After confirming name, date of birth and contact details of Paul and answering a long list of questions,

When did you last eat and drink?

Do you have any allergies?

Have you had surgery before?

What medications do you take? and

Do you have any metalwork in your body?

After which, with all the questions asked and acceptable answers given, Madelina measured Wendy for her surgical stockings, took a pair off the trolley and left with a cheery smile.

 

Wendy got into her unflattering gown and mandatory stockings while Paul slipped out to reception where the visitors’ toilets were, he took his time to make sure his mum had time to get changed in peace and he timed it to perfection, as when he returned, she was just pulling the curtain back.

“Oh, very fetching” he said when he got his first sight of her in gown and stockings

“I don’t want any lip out of you” she retorted and punched his arm before getting on the bed and making herself comfy, after which it was the turn of the Junior doctor, Cee Hazell, to ask more questions, most of which had been asked before, then some arrows were drawn on Wendy’s abdomen and then she was gone.

After the Doctor departed there was a brief respite, so Paul sat down and his eyes went directly across to bed 5 where the pretty red head was sitting holding the brunettes hand, and softly speaking words of comfort to her, he thought she looked tiny sat in the large wing backed chair that stood beside the bed, and he found himself hoping she wasn’t the patients significant other, a friend would be good, or family, and the reason he hoped that was because he was really attracted to her, not that it really mattered if she was young free and single, he would never do anything about it, even if the timing and circumstances were more ideal, which was probably why he was still a bachelor at 32.

Suddenly his view of her was obscured by a figure in scrubs and the then the curtain was pulled across and the figure in scrubs introduced herself as Freya Krabbenborg, the anesthetist, who asked more questions, some of the same and some new, and then talked about how she would put Wendy under, her last question before she left was “Do you vomit after anesthesia?” which Wendy answered in the affirmative.

A few minutes after she left with all the consent forms completed Madelina returned with a small cup of water and the anti-sickness medication recommended by the anesthetist.

Finally, the surgeon Mr. Karakoc put his head around the curtain, a pleasant round-faced man who sat on the bed and gently talked Wendy through the procedure, with an easy reassuring manner.

 

When all the comings and goings were over and the curtain had been pulled back again Paul was able to take stock of what was happening on the rest of the ward, he had heard the departure of Edith, the Elderly woman in Bed 2, in between Doctor Hazell’s departure and Freya Krabbenborg’s arrival, and the very loud middle-aged woman from bed 4 made her characteristically loud departure, while the gentle surgeon, Mr. Karakoc, was uttering his soothing words.

So that left the blonde in Bed 3, who was actually sat in a wheel chair and was about to be propelled off the ward by a porter, to radiology he presumed, and when he turned his attention to the cubicle where the pretty diminutive red head had been attending to the young brunette in bed 5, he saw her bend over the bed and kiss the patient on the forehead moments before the bed was maneuvered out of the cubicle and out of sight and the flame haired young woman was left alone and was clearly about to cry, and Paul felt the urge to rush over to her and wrap his comforting arms around her diminutive form, but she composed herself, took a deep breath lifted her chin resolutely and left the ward, and she took his admiration with her, a few minutes later he watched a huge 6’ 4” charge nurse called Owen, wheel his mother’s bed out of the ward, and he found himself left alone in the silence.

He took a few minutes in the peace and quiet to text family and friends with an update and then after tidying his mother’s clothes and personal bits and pieces into the bedside cabinet, Paul slipped her phone and purse into his coat pockets and left the ward in search of coffee and cake.

Paul Larsen went to the main entrance of the hospital proper because he knew there was a large cafeteria where he thought he could easily satisfy his need for caffeine and sugar but once he got there and saw that it was occupied largely by hospital staff in a myriad array of clinical wear he decided instead to go elsewhere and avoid all the medics, so after paying a quick visit to the loo he gathered his thoughts and buttoned his coat and stepped back out into the cold.

He knew there was a Stephenson’s Supermarket only a short walk away and that there was a Labuschagne’s Coffee House on the same site, and he thought that it might be less likely to be full off clinicians, and he was proven right, and he also found that he was not the only person trying to escape the hospital vibe, as sat in one corner was the pretty redhead from cubicle 5.

There were empty tables in close proximity to where she was sitting, and it would have been a good opportunity to engage her in conversation if he sat near her, given that they both had loved ones undergoing surgery, but he wasn’t confident enough, so he ordered a large Cappuccino and picked a table nearer the counter.

The cute redhead had obviously been in the coffee shop long enough to have finished her coffee so not long after Paul had sat down, she got up and made her way towards the counter and she seemingly took the longer route which took her passed where Paul was sitting, and she gave a smile and a nod of recognition when she passed him on route to the counter.

 

He continued to watch her as she stood at the counter and after ordering a large Macchiato, she began her return trip and Paul hoped he might get another smile, but as she passed an adjacent table a rather large, Beryl Cook-esque lady, in an effort to extricate herself from a chair several sizes smaller than her formidable derriere, jettisoned said chair directly into the girl’s path, causing her to stumble violently into his table.

The force of the impact knocked his coffee all over the table and launched the contents of her mug all over the next table, which was mercifully empty.

“Oh God I’m so sorry” she blurted; red faced with embarrassment “I’m so clumsy”

“Don’t worry” he responded trying to mop up the worst of the spillage with napkins “it was an accident”

Meanwhile Beryl Cooks model had left the scene of the crime totally oblivious to the carnage left in her wake.

“Let me get you another” she implored

“That’s fine really” he protested “There’s no need”

She was about to speak again when they were interrupted by the manager and a waitress

“I’m so sorry for causing all this mess” the girl said

“Nonsense, I saw what happened, it wasn’t your fault” said the manager, Kelly, according to her name badge

“Go and find a clean table and Linda will bring you fresh drinks, on the house”

“A Macchiato and a Cappuccino wasn’t it?” Linda asked perkily, already knowing the answer

“Yes, thank you” Paul and the girl chorused, “that’s very kind” she added

 

They walked over to the corner table where she had been sitting, and as the ice had been broken, he made the uncharacteristically bold move of pulling out the chair opposite her and sitting down and hoped she wouldn’t mind.

“I’m Jodie by the way” she said with a smile that said she didn’t mind at all “Jodie Hilton”

“Paul Larsen” he responded “Pleased to meet you”

Just then Linda arrived with the replacement coffees

“Enjoy” she said and then went to join Kelly with the clean up

“That wasn’t the kind of impression I was trying to make” Jodie said wistfully

“You were trying to make a good impression?” Paul asked and she blushed as crimson as her hair, so to spare her further embarrassment he thought he would change the subject

“So, who were you with on the ward?”

“My sister Jacqui” she replied, “And you?”

“My mum” he replied “Kidney stones”

“Jacqui has a breast tumor” Jodie said in a faltering voice and Paul thought she was on the verge of tears, so he reached across the table and put his hand on hers and a smile appeared. 

     

They spent more than an hour sat at the corner table in the coffee shop talking and laughing together, but the time came for them to leave, and neither could quite believe where the time had gone, and when they stepped outside the shop it was snowing.

“Oh wow” she exclaimed excitedly “I love snow”

“Me too” he said but as he took a step his foot promptly slid on the wet snow.

“Careful” she shouted with alarm and grabbed his arm.

“I think it might be best if we stick together”

The snow had fallen surprisingly quickly, and where it contacted the wet pavement in made a slushy slippery mess but as they got further away from the building the snow underfoot became increasingly more stable and the risk of falling was negligible, but once Jodie had taken hold of his arm Paul was disinclined to give her a reason to let go, not that she showed any sign that she wanted to for a minute, so they took a slow walk back up to the Day Surgery Unit, picking up the conversation from where they left off in Labuschagne’s.

 

It had stopped snowing by the time they reached the entrance, though the snow had settled well so they stamped their feet on the door mat exaggeratedly to their mutual amusement, they were still laughing as the approached ward, but her mood changed in an instant when she saw two nurses maneuvering her sister’s bed back towards the ward.

“I have to go” she said and was gone before he had chance to respond, but he understood.  

He watched as the bed was wheeled into the cubicle with Jodie holding her sisters’ hand until the curtain was drawn round, when he went and sat in the big armchair in cubicle 1 which was still empty and read his book.

 

He would normally be totally engrossed in a book, but he found his mind kept wandering to the lovely redhead and the time they had spent together.

After about 15 minutes of rereading the same page of his book, he was brought back to the moment by the sound of his mother’s voice, who was putting in her order for a cup of tea and a ham sandwich.

“Damn” he said under his breath, though not in response to his mother’s return, it had just occurred to him that when he left the ward several house earlier, he had gone in search of coffee and cake, but he had been so engrossed by the girl in his company that he forgot to eat.

He didn’t have long to rue his error though as in the next moment Owen, the huge 6’ 4” charge nurse effortlessly maneuvered the bed into the cubicle as if it were as small as a child’s toy.       

“Hi mum” he said as he stood up and after kissing her forehead added

“How are you doing?”

“I’m fine dear” she replied brightly “It’s the first time I’ve been pain free for months”

“That’s great news” he exclaimed but knew that she would be in greater discomfort later when the anesthesia and major pain relief wore off, but he would be with her to look after her when that happened.

 

When Wendy’s cup of Tea and Ham sandwich arrived Paul’s, mind wandered again to Jodie who was still concealed behind the blue curtain.

The time dragged painfully slowly for the next hour two hours despite the comings and goings of doctors and nurses between the cubicles but eventually the urology surgeon, Mr. Karakoc, and Madalina the nurse, arrived and that was a sign that departure was imminent.

Paul stepped out of the cubicle to give his mum some privacy and found that cubicle 5 was still curtained off, so he walked to reception to the visitor’s toilets to kill some time.

The first thing he saw when he returned to the ward was the smiling face of Jodie Hilton who was standing at the foot of her sisters’ bed. 

Her sister Jacqui was fully dressed and sitting on the bed and it was clear that their departure was imminent also.

He had hoped to get a chance to speak to her again before they left but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen.

But just then the very loud Middle age woman in bed 4, who he now knew to be called Greta, emerged clumsily from behind her curtain.

She had undergone an Orthopedics operation to remove some pins from her foot, following an earlier operation, and with a crutch in one hand and an IV stand in the other she hobbled ungracefully, as she set off on mercifully short distance between bed 4 and the toilet, nonetheless Paul and Jodie both felt the need to render some assistance.

“Do you need any help?” Jodie asked

“I think I’m ok” Greta replied uncertainly

“But you could catch me if I fall” she said to Paul

She made it safely to the toilet and Paul and Jodie were alone, and just as he was about to speak.

“We’re ready to go” Jacqui called

“Oh ok, just coming” Jodie responded and to Paul she said

“I’ll see you on Saturday then”

“You will” he replied “I’m looking forward to it”

“Me too” she replied “Bye”

Just as they left the ward Jodie turned and gave him one last smile and the toilet door opened and Greta stepped out.

“Ok Greta lets get you back to bed”

“Cheeky boy” she said and chuckled

 

Paul and Jodie were both there that day because the cared very much about their loved ones, but they ended the day caring for each other and would end up each other’s loved one.

 

Uncanny Love Tales – (005) Nurse Jenny and the Fates

 

Staff Nurse Jenny Humphreys was in the lady’s locker room making the final adjustments to her uniform in fact she was at the mirror pinning her hat in place.

She had already tied her straight honey blonde hair in a bun at the back, but as was her presence she wore a fringe.

On the ward she often wore gold rimmed half-moon spectacles, but they were only for reading and most of the time she just peered over the top of them rather than keep taking them off.

But as she stood before the mirror there was nothing obscuring her pretty pleasant unblemished face, a face that turned to beautiful when she smiled.

Jenny stepped backwards so she could get a better look at the rest of her.

The Blue pinstriped uniform with white relief was tailored to fit and defined her figure exquisitely even without the belt.

She turned sideways to get another view and scanned herself from top to bottom and she was not unhappy with the overall appearance, she was a little broader in the beam than she would have liked, her legs were good, she liked her legs even in regulation black tights and sensible shoes they were nice.

“Not a bad looking bird for 36” Jenny said and nodded at her reflection to acknowledge she had passed muster.

  

“No, not a bad looking woman for 36 indeed” Jenny was thinking as she walked to the ward, with a half-smile playing about her lips, which was soon replaced by a frown as she asked herself

“So why do you still live alone?”

She often wondered that, the problem was when you worked shifts it was difficult to have a social life and meet new people.

But though she wondered why she was alone she wasn’t unhappy and didn’t feel diminished by her circumstances.

Jenny had two sisters, who she adored, and a lot of friends and all of them took turns at throwing single men in her direction, but she managed to evade most of them and of the ones she didn’t sidestep, she found the none of them were “keepers”.

Doctors always tried their luck of course, but news and reviews of Doctors travelled fast along the nurse’s grapevine, so they generally knew who to avoid and for Jenny, who worked on a children’s ward, it meant that patients weren’t an option.

Jenny though was a great believer in fate and thought if it was meant to be it was meant to be.

But she didn’t stop living a good and happy life just because she was single.

Jenny did think at one point that she had found her life mate and she and John were together for 8 years, and she did think they would marry one day, but he turned out to have feet of clay and that had been more than five years ago.

But working on the children’s ward and witnessing the wonder of familial love on a daily basis, which she thought was a beautiful thing to witness, but it was also a constant reminder that her biological clock was ticking.

She had woken that morning in a particularly broody frame of mind, so she said to herself

“Well fate if you’re going to do something, can you do it soon?”

 

As she entered the ward Sister Ganly called her into her office with a gesture, she liked Rose Ganly.

“Morning Sister” she said

“Hi Jenny” she said and handed her a folder

“You have a new surgical admission today,

George Micklethwaite, 4 years old necrotic kidney removal”

“One of Mr Khans?” Jenny asked

“Yes, booking in at four and he’s first on the list tomorrow morning” the sister said

“Ok I’ll get a room prepared” said Jenny

“Oh Jenny, tread carefully around them, Georges mother died in a car accident” Sister informed her

“Recently?” Jenny asked

“In the last year” Sister Ganly replied

“Ok” Jenny said and thought that forewarned was forearmed. 

 

It had been a very good day on the ward, there were no significant dramas, everyone was making good progress and it was a good day to be a nurse.  

The side ward had been prepared for the new patient and right on time admissions nurse Samantha Elliott brought the Micklethwaite’s onto the ward.

Sam caught Jenny’s eye and she said

“Room 6 Sam”

“Ok” she said and led them into a side ward.

Mr Micklethwaite was a tall upright man with slightly greying hair and the beginnings of a paunch, and he walked with a stick.

Jenny assessed he was around 40 and, in his arms, he carried his little son, George.

 

Jenny had already been headed in their direction and picked up the pace to join them.

Sam was just putting little George’s overnight bag on the bed as she entered

“Hello” Jenny said brightly

“I’m Nurse Humphreys”

“Hi” Mr Micklethwaite said

“But you” she said tickling the back of George’s knee

“Can call me Nurse Jenny”

George buried his face in his father’s neck, but he was giggling.

 

Sam Elliott handed Jenny the admission notes and said goodbye.

Once the Micklethwaite’s were settled Jenny sat down with Dad and went through the forms.

“Ok Mr Micklethwaite” she began

“Just call me Mick” he interrupted, and Jenny looked a little confused and checked her forms.

“It says here your initial is P”

“That’s right” he said “my name is Paul, but everyone calls me Mick”

“Oh, I see” Jenny said and then they spent the best part of an hour talking about everything apart from George’s op, while George played with Thomas the Tank engine on the floor.

When Jenny looked down at the watch hanging on her uniform, she said

“Cripes! I need to go and check on my other patients. I’ll come back shortly, and we can complete the forms”

As Jenny was leaving Dr Poppy Jones, the paediatric registrar was on the way in and within half an hour she was back and they duly completed the paper work and finally got “Mick” to sign the consent forms and as he did so she noticed the scarring on his hand and forearm.

Obviously as a result of the accident, but she didn’t feel she should broach the subject just yet.

“Ok” she said “So George is first on the list in the morning which means he can eat his tea at 6 o’clock but then he can only have fluids until afterwards”

 

Jenny went off duty at 10 o’clock but she always looked in on all her patients before she left which could sometimes take an hour.

When she got to the Micklethwaite’s George was asleep and Mick was in the corner reading

“I’m going off duty now and I won’t be back on duty until after it’s all-over” she said quietly, and Mick smiled and gave her a wave.

 

The next day she was starting work 2 hours early because sister Ganly had to attend a meeting and she needed her most experience staff nurse to take the reins in her absence.

As it was such a nice day Jenny decided to walk through the hospital grounds and enjoy the sunshine.

When she was about halfway to the hospital, she saw Paul Micklethwaite pacing up and down the same bit of path.

She glanced at her watch and was instantly worried, the operation should have finished, and George should have been back on the ward and so should his Dad.

“Something must have happened”, she thought to herself and diverted her course and increased the pace.

“Is everything Ok Mick?” she asked when she was in earshot.

He was startled and turned around sharply and almost fell when he put all his wait on his bad leg.

“Come and sit” Jenny said “Take the weight off your leg”

Jenny guided him to a bench and sat him down.

“What’s happened?” she asked

“They were late taking him in to theatre” he replied

“Good” she said with a sigh “I thought it was something serious”

“I just couldn’t stand it in there another minute” Mick said

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jenny asked

He was silent for a moment and then he said

“Apart from Georgie’s birth I hadn’t been in a hospital for 10 years and for the last year I seem to have done little else” he said bitterly and then unburdened himself with the tale about the accident.

They had been for a pleasant family day out by the sea in Sharpington and were on the way home.

The accident happened just as the sun was setting behind them and a car came around the bend on the wrong side of the road and hit them head on.

The car rolled several times and ended up on its side in a ditch.

“That’s awful” she said

“I don't remember it” he said “the crash at any rate, all I know of it is was what the witnesses told the police”

He paused before adding
“The other driver died instantly”

“And your wife?” Jenny asked

“I watched her die” he said “mercifully Emma never regained consciousness and all I could do was hold her hand”

“And George?” Jenny asked
“Miraculously he didn’t have a scratch, and he’d been asleep when it happened” he said “But what was terrible was that he was crying for his mum, and I couldn’t get to him”

He paused briefly as he fought back the tears.

“I tried to comfort him, but I couldn’t”

There was a longer pause before he continued

“I blame myself of course”

“That’s silly” Jenny said

“Is it?” Contradicted Mick

“You feel guilty because you lived, but that isn’t the same thing as being responsible” Jenny insisted

“Is it just guilt about surviving?” Mick asked
“Yes” Jenny said “and that’s in the past, you have your son and he is the present and the future”

“What kind of future with this leg and this stick?” he said bitterly

“The future has infinite possibilities, but the past is only ever the past” Jenny said

“That’s very profound” he said

“What for a nurse you mean?” she retorted

“No, I mean it, it was very profound” he said and gave the weakest of smiles

“Well I’m very deep” she said

“Does he remember anything?”

“Not the accident, thank God” he replied

“But he remembers his mum?” Jenny asked and Mick nodded

“That’s precious”

“Yes, it is” he responded positively

“Now come with me and we’ll see how the little man is doing”

“You’re a very positive person Jenny, is it aright if I call you Jenny?” he asked

“Of course, you can” she replied “And I do always look for a positive in any situation”

Mick thought for a moment and said

“Well if it hadn’t been for the accident and all the resulting scans, his malformed kidney wouldn’t have come to light so that’s something of a positive”

“There you are then” Jenny said

When they got to the ward, George’s bed was being wheeled into room 6, he looked so small in that big hospital bed.

“Go and sit with him” Jenny said “I have to change but I’ll be in as soon as I can”

 

The operation all went according to plan, but George picked up a post-operative infection and had to stay in the hospital for a few days.

When the day came for him to be discharged Jenny pushed George in the wheelchair while Mick carried the bag in one hand and his stick in the other and a newspaper tucked under his arm.

When they reached the reception, she left father and son together and went to the desk to ask them to call a cab before re-joining them.

They waited together and chatted idly and entertained George until the cab arrived.

She wheeled the chair out to the waiting taxi and was poised to say goodbye.

“I’m sure you get asked this a lot” he said and paused briefly “but could I call you some time?”

“Yes, I would like that” she replied and wrote her number on the margin of his newspaper

 “Great” he said as he got into the cab “I will call you then”

She stood and waved them off

On her was back to the ward she said out loud

“Thank you fate, better late than never”