The Runaway Woman. Josephine Cox

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СКАЧАТЬ I thought she was dead, Lucy. I really thought she was dead.’ He began trembling uncontrollably. ‘Go to her, Lucy. She needs you.’ Burying his head in his hands, he sobbed uncontrollably.

      Just then the ambulance crew emerged from the sitting room, with Lucy’s mother secured onto a stretcher. She appeared to be unconscious. Her head was bandaged and there were splashes of blood on the upper part of her clothing.

      ‘Go with them, Lucy!’ her father urged her. ‘Please! I’ll be all right … go with your mother.’

      Lucy was in a quandary. She hated leaving him behind but, like he said, she had to go with her mother to the hospital. ‘You really ought to come with us,’ she said, but he shook his head and pushed her away.

      Thinking quickly, Lucy ran to the telephone and dialled her home number; she was thankful that it was Sam, not Martin, who answered.

      ‘Hello!’

      ‘It’s me, Sam. Grandma’s had a bad accident … No, there’s no time. Just get here and stay with Granddad … Hurry! Please hurry!’ She slammed the phone down and returned to her father. ‘Sam is on his way,’ she promised, but all he needed to know was that Lucy was going with her mother.

      ‘Go on!’ He ushered her away. ‘Your mum needs you more than I do … go on! I’ll be fine. I’ll wait for Sam. He’ll get me to the hospital. You go.’

      When she hesitated, he yelled, ‘Please, Lucy, just go!’ He gave her a shove. ‘Your mother needs you!’

      ‘All right, Dad, but be sure to watch out for Sam.’ She ran down the hallway and onto the street. The ambulance men had already secured her mother and made her as comfortable as was possible.

      Quickly, Lucy climbed in. She was concerned when asked to sit a short distance from her mother, as the crewman was tending to her. She understood the urgency and complied with the instruction.

      Seated on the tiny bench, Lucy stretched out her arm and took hold of her mother’s hand. When her mother grew restless, Lucy squeezed her hand. ‘It’s Lucy, Mum. I love you so much. I’m here, Mum, and we’ll soon be at the hospital. Dad’s following on.’ Unsure as to whether her mother could hear her, Lucy felt absolutely helpless.

      Throughout the seemingly endless journey, however, she continued talking to her mother, reassuring her.

      The shock was beginning to take a grip on Lucy, who, like her dad, could not stop trembling, while her anxious gaze was fixed constantly on her mum’s bloodied face.

      It looked bad to Lucy. The deep gashes and bruises ran from beneath the bandages to her jaw and chin. The wider bandages and dressing over the upper part of her face and head were soaked with blood.

      Lucy was relieved when her mother began to breathe more easily, although there was still the occasional shuddering breath that she seemed to hold for ever.

      As they rushed through the night with sirens screaming, Lucy’s mother grew increasingly agitated. Sliding back the cabin window, the ambulance man yelled to the driver to call ahead with further medical information.

      Able to comfort her mother with words of love and a gentle squeeze of the hand, Lucy constantly reassured her.

      When the ambulance turned onto the highway, she caught a passing glimpse of what looked like Martin’s van. It was going at speed in the opposite direction, towards her parents’ house. ‘Thank God!’ she murmured. ‘They’ll take care of Dad now.’

      The journey to hospital seemed endless, but soon they were turning in through the gates. ‘We’re at the hospital, Mum. You’ll be all right now,’ Lucy told her mother but there was no response.

      When they arrived at the emergency department doors, Lucy quickly scrambled out of the ambulance, and the driver and attendant lifted out the stretcher with her mother still unconscious. Keeping her safe between the two of them, they hastened across the tarmac and in through the emergency entrance, where the trauma team was waiting.

      Lucy followed. Her voice trembling, she glanced up to the skies and prayed, ‘Please, Lord, don’t let her die. Don’t take her away from us.’

      A world without her mother in it would be a bleak prospect indeed.

      Inside the hospital, Lucy’s mother was rushed away. From the corridor, as the door swung shut behind the stretcher, Lucy caught a glimpse of her mother, white as chalk, the medical staff already closing in around her.

      A minute later, the ambulance crew reappeared. One of them paused to reassure Lucy, and when she asked if her mother was going to be all right, his answer was gentle, but evasive. ‘I’m sure the doctor will be out to see you as soon as your mother is stabilised. I can assure you, though, she is in the best of hands.’ That said, he hurried on his way.

      A few minutes later, Lucy was relieved to see a nurse approaching. ‘How is she?’ She clambered to her feet. ‘Please … will she be all right?’

      The nurse had a gentle manner. ‘Your mother is not yet conscious, but she is stabilised,’ she said kindly. ‘The doctors are now assessing the full extent of her injuries. Meantime, it will help us if you could explain how exactly she sustained those injuries.’

      ‘I’m not altogether sure,’ Lucy explained. ‘Dad said she stumbled and hit her head on the fender. She hasn’t been too steady recently. Only a short time back, she had a nasty fall in the street. It shook her confidence, and left her frail and nervous. She’s been unusually quiet of late … not at all like her old self.’ The tears she had tried so hard to keep back now ran down her face. ‘Please, Nurse, she will be all right, won’t she?’

      ‘That’s not for me to say. She does have serious injuries, but like I say, she is much calmer now.’ The nurse was sympathetic, but she had no way of knowing the full extent of the injuries. ‘We’ll know what to expect after the doctors have concluded their examination. It will be some time yet, before they can talk to you, so I wonder, rather than sitting here worrying, how about I take you for a cup of tea?’

      ‘No!’ Lucy was adamant. ‘Thank you, but I need to speak with the doctors.’

      The nurse was patient. She had been through similar situations many times, and she knew how frantic the relatives could be while they waited for news of their loved ones. ‘Please, will you come away for a few minutes? Worrying won’t help your mother. I’ll let them know where we’ll be, and in any case, we won’t be gone too long. Just long enough for you to take a breath and talk to me about your mother.’

      She pointed to the door behind Lucy. ‘You’re badly shaken up, and I do understand why you don’t want to move from here. But just a few steps away, through that door, is a little café where we can sit and wait and it’s more comfortable than here. The doctors will be a while yet, so how about the two of us go through to the café and find ourselves a pot of tea? Then you can tell me what happened to your mother after she had that first fall. It’s important that the doctors know the full history.’

      ‘I’m frightened to leave her,’ Lucy murmured, wiping the tears from her face with her hands. ‘I need to stay here.’

      The nurse laid her hand over Lucy’s. ‘It’s Lucy, isn’t it?’ She had gathered that information from the ambulance men.

      ‘Yes.’

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