Chapter 15

By mid morning on Saturday, I'd done my basic chores and having heard nothing from Lyn, I was feeling a little down. As usual my cure would be to go for a ride out and fortunately the weather was unusually fine, so it was on with my kit and fire the Triumph up.

I'd gone no more than a hundred yards when a car came out of a side street and crashed into me. My left leg took most of the impact but my right hand and wrist, as well as my head hit the road hard. My Arai lid took the brunt of my head's impact leaving me with no more damage than a headache. My gloves along with my low speed prevented any road rash but I was certain that my wrist was broken as it had tried to limit the fall. I was pretty certain that my leg was broken to, it certainly hurt.

I lived in a middle-class area and good weather on a Saturday morning meant car cleaning for a couple of people including my next door neighbour, Jim.

A guy was suddenly standing above me screaming at me for damaging his car. Before I could respond he kicked me in the stomach saying that dirt like me should be put down. The next thing I know is that he's lying down next to me with his arm up his back and another man telling him he was under arrest. Jim and a teenage lad arrived and lifted the bike off my right leg before trying to lift me up but soon stopped when I screamed and pointed at my legs. They, as well as me, could tell by its shape that the left was badly broke. The right looked iffy too.

I was vaguely aware of a struggle at the side but the pain was making my dizzy. I found out later that the man driving the BMW, what else would an arsehole drive?, had pulled out without noticing me. There were enough witnesses around to belie his claim that I'd sped past him at a stupid speed. The layout of the vehicles and my injuries also proved he was lying. One of the witnesses also saw the kick and sadly for my assailant, this witness happened to be an off duty policeman. It was this officer that actually subdued the BMW driver.

A huge advantage in living in Hartshill was that the hospital and ambulance station were right on my doorstep, in fact the accident department was almost directly opposite Lyn's house.

Almost all of the next twenty four hours were a blur, either through pain, pain relieving drugs or a mixture of both. At least a couple of hours were spent in the operating room whilst surgeons put my legs back together, using steel pins for the left one.

For such a low speed accident my injuries were heavy, though not life threatening. As I'd expected my left leg had numerous fractures and it was these that most required the surgeon's work. My right leg also had a broken tibia and fibula where my bike had landed on it. My right hand and wrist were also broken.

My only non-medical visitor was a police constable asking me for a statement about the accident. He told me that the driver was being charged with dangerous driving and if I wanted to add the charge of assault then I could, as a number of witnesses had seen him kick me. I said definitely. He told me it would be some months before the case came to court. He also provided me with the BMW driver's insurance details and told me my bike had been taken, with the help from neighbours, back to my yard...

The ward staff seemed a little surprised that someone my age had nobody to visit them and appeared sorry, read pity, for me when I explained that there was no one I knew that could.

It was Wednesday before I got around to ringing work and explaining why I hadn't been in. Richard was very sympathetic, or at least until he found out just how long I was going to be off work. His tone changed perceptibly as he then informed me that under the terms of my employment, the first three months were considered probationary and I could be terminated without notice or reason. He apologised but said that he had no choice but to do just that.

Having seen how he treated his staff, I wasn't too surprised.

So I was out of work again. Lyn hadn't rang before my accident so I had to assume that she no longer wanted to see me again. Tamsin had ruled herself out of my life too. I felt almost as low as when I'd lost my family. The nurses were great, but they were doing their job, or maybe just that bit more. I did notice that during visiting times there was always at least one nurse who came to talk to me.

Unsurprisingly, having two broken legs, to say nothing about my right hand also being in a cast, severely limited my abilities to do just about anything. It quickly became obvious that I wouldn't be going home any time soon. I tried to work out the logistics of having an empty house and being unable to react to any mail. Fortunately, all my bills were paid by Direct Debit and thanks to Mr. Kopolova's generosity I had enough funds to last. I still needed someone to keep an eye on the house. I spent a long time thinking before deciding to call Petra.

'Hi David, this is a surprise. You ready to change your mind?' Petra said laughing.

'I wish, but somehow I don't think I'm quite up to that task just yet. In fact that is the reason for the call. You remember when you admitted that I was as good a friend as you have?'

'Sadly, although I've come to the conclusion that I could do a lot worse.'

'Well I think I can make the same admission.'

'What about that woman, Lyn was it?'

I explained how I'd told her about the kiss and her reaction. I then told her about the accident. Other than which ward I was in, I couldn't add that much more as I soon ran out of change for the ward's payphone.

Less than an hour later, whilst it was still mid afternoon, I was shocked when Petra and Natasha walked into the ward and did a quick scan around until they spotted me. Every single male pair of eyes followed them to my bed. Petra had promised to come and visit me but I'd expected her in the evening, after work. The one thing I'd never even contemplated was that Natasha would be with her.

There was no disguising that shock and Petra said smiling, 'Surprise, surprise!'

Both women then looked at my legs. I was lying on top of the covers with each leg in a cast as well as my wrist and hand.

'I bet going to the loo is fun!' Natasha said, deadpan, causing me to laugh out loud. Seeing that I found it amusing, my guests immediately joined in.

'So what exactly happened?' Petra asked.

I explained about the accident and I think both of them were amazed at my injuries after what sounded like just a small coming together. I agreed but explained that it was the fact that the car had hit my leg rather than the bike which caused most of the problems.

'So, what about work?' Natasha asked, 'can you work from home?'

'No work! Apparently I was still in a trial period and as I cannot fulfil my obligations they decided to terminate me.' I responded without rancour.

'You don't sound too bothered.' Petra said.

'Nope, I hadn't really been there long enough and I only really knew Maureen. You remember Maureen Linnighan from school?'

'Little redhead?' Natasha asked after a moments thought.

I nodded. 'Yes that's her. She's the one that got me the job in the first place.'

'Was she at that school get-together you mentioned?' Petra asked.

Again I nodded, then my curiosity kicked in. 'So, what do I owe this honour?' I asked looking directly at Natasha.

'I'm happy to see that you acknowledge that it's an honour, ' my former boss said haughtily.

I was just about to say something when she continued. 'Sorry, I just couldn't help that. I don't really know, if I'm being truthful. When Petra here told me that she was coming... ' She looked at me oddly. 'Told me mind, not asked. Well I thought I needed to come too. I'm here now and I still don't know what made me come. Don't get me wrong, I still think that I should have come, it's just that... '

'Whatever the reason, I thank you for coming. I've been bored out of my mind for the last few days. There is very little around here to do at the best of times, never mind with these, ' I indicated my casts, 'and regardless what anyone can say about you, you are very easy on the eyes ... both of you'

I do believe that Natasha blushed slightly but my attention went to a laughing Petra. 'Nice after thought.'

Natasha then took a deep breath before speaking. 'David, I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, ' a little grin appeared before she continued, 'perhaps ever is closer. I now think I owe you an apology. I think you've told me a few times that I was an arrogant bitch, or words to that effect. Recently, I found that my father agreed. I know he'd sometimes said things like that but I always put it down as his way of dealing with me, I never realised that he actually thought that way. I know you were the one that told him about my drug problem and, very much in hindsight, I thank you for it, even if I don't know why you did it.'

'Because Petra asked me to help and we both thought that was the best solution.'

'I thought that might be the case. I know you have a thing for my cousin.'

Petra blushed as we both looked at her.

'Father took me to a rehabilitation clinic and I talked to those who, like me, believed they controlled the habit, not the other way around. I was shocked, I genuinely believed that it was just a bit of fun, but as my father said, they are illegal for a good reason. I came out of that clinic truly frightened. I had a long talk with my father and he promised to help where he could but that it was up to me to do the hard work. Of course I promised that I would. He then shook me up even more when he mentioned you.'

'Me?' I couldn't help asking.

Natasha gave a nice smile that even reached her eyes. 'Yes you. He reminded me of your promise and how you kept it even when he threatened you. He mentioned that word "integrity" again and without that a promise had no value whatsoever. It took a lot of soul searching but eventually I came to understand, albeit with no small amount of help from Petra here.'

Again we looked at her cousin and again saw her blushing.

'Petra has always backed me up, however wrong I was, so I was shocked when she didn't this time. It was a shock that I needed. She'd told me that you know about her perceived view that I am insecure. Of course, I'd always denied it to her but more specifically to myself, that would be admitting to imperfection and I couldn't do that.'

'By the sound of it Natasha, this last week or so, you've obviously bashed yourself about quite a bit. Let's just say that I'm more than happy to accept any apology you make and wipe the slate clean. I also hope that you've kicked the drugs and are now happy.' I said becoming rather uncomfortable with Natasha's intense revelations.

Fortunately, both young women were happy to end that bit, so the conversation switched to me and how long I was likely to be in hospital.

'Around the three month period before the casts come off. Living alone there is no way I can get out much before then. One leg in plaster would be bad enough but with both and my wrist as well, it's downright impossible to do anything on my own right now.' I explained, trying not to sound too depressed.