Pen Pals

Sandra

As I sat in the hospital ward next to the empty bed waiting for John to return from his latest x-ray, I let my mind drift back to the horrendous last 24 hours.

I had spent three wonderful days with my long-distance pen pal John, showing him the sights of my hometown when he came over from America to stay. We have been emailing each other for several months and had met briefly in St Louis when I stopped overnight as I passed through on my holiday with my 15-year-old daughter. Those three days had been amazing, we had a lot of fun and plenty of mind-blowing sex. There were plenty of tender moments which just confirmed how much he meant to me. I had been dreading the moment we had to say goodbye, but we both knew we would continue our relationship somehow.

We had agreed that John would return the Harley he had hired for the duration of his stay and then I would pick him up to take him to the train station. I hadn't been happy that he insisted on getting the train instead of letting me give him a lift to the airport, but it made sense. John dropped me off at my house before making his way to the hire company a few miles away. I collected my bag and car keys and set off. Pen

As I drove along the busy road, my mind was only on John. I wasn't ready to say goodbye: my feelings for him all over the place. I had decided 5 years ago I was never going to let another man get close to me after two failed marriages. I never expected to care so much about someone again. I knew I was in danger of falling head over heels for him and wasn't sure how we could make it work. Did the distance make it impossible and how often could we see each other?

Suddenly my mind was drawn back to the road, the traffic had stopped and up ahead I saw a commotion. Suddenly I heard the unmistakable two-tone siren of an ambulance and saw the flashing blue lights in my mirror. I felt a tiny flicker of fear and then brushed it away. I knew John was an experienced rider and wouldn't take any risks. The ambulance sailed past and I noticed there was a police officer directing the traffic around what appeared to be some sort of accident.

As I approached, I tried to concentrate on the road, but human nature meant I couldn't resist glancing over. I saw the unmistakable chassis of the now familiar Harley that John had been riding and saw his inert figure lying motionless in the road. With a scream, I slammed on my brakes, nearly causing another accident. Leaving the car in the road, I flung open the door and ran over to where a paramedic was assessing him. I shouted something in the direction of the police officer about moving my car for me and trying unsuccessfully to stay calm, I knelt and took his hand. John was unconscious and looking at the way his other arm was in an unnatural position, it was obviously broken. There was a lot of blood soaking his trousers, but I couldn't see where it was coming from. The police officer was asking me something, so I tried to tune back into him.

"Do you know him? Is he a relative? What is his name?" He was bombarding me with questions.

I tried to answer but couldn't get my thoughts straight. What was he to me? Pen pal, friend, boyfriend?

"He's my partner" I settled on. "He's visiting from the States".

I gave them the details they needed and stood helplessly as the paramedics worked on him. Thankfully, he had started to come around although he was very confused, I took the breath I hadn't realised I had been holding. As he had vomited, they administered IV analgesia before transferring him into the waiting ambulance. I asked if I could travel to hospital in the ambulance with him and they agreed. After giving the police officer the information he needed about the hire company and checking my car was secure, I climbed in the back and buckled myself in the seat at the side.

By the time we had arrived at the hospital, John was able to talk to me and I sat there with tears of relief streaming down my face as I clung onto his hand. He had been given plenty of analgesia and was incoherent, but out of immediate danger.

The first few hours at the hospital in the accident and emergency department were a blur. After his initial assessment, John was sent for a scan. Luckily there was no serious head injury, but he did have a concussion which meant he wouldn't be allowed to leave the hospital for a day or two. He had a large gash to his thigh and several broken bones. Both his radius and ulna were fractured and would require surgery to manipulate the bones and keep them aligned in place. I didn't move from his side, terrified that something might happen if I left the room. The nurse on duty kept bringing me cups of tea and repeatedly suggested I went home to rest. I couldn't go anywhere until I knew John was safely back from surgery.

By the next morning, John was in a private room just off the main mixed ward. The surgery to repair his forearm had been a success, and his thigh would boast a long scar once the gash healed. I had dozed on and off throughout the night in the chair next to his bed and was now exhausted, but I was pleased to hear the positive diagnosis from the doctor when he did his ward rounds. As long as the final x-ray showed the bones lined up properly, he would be allowed to be discharged into my care after another night or two in the hospital. They wanted to keep an eye on him for a little while longer due to the concussion.

John

Opening my eyes seemed to take all of the energy that I could find. My entire body felt like I had gone 10 rounds with a grizzly bear and didn't fare too well. My right arm felt heavy with a dull ache and my head was throbbing so hard that it was difficult to focus. When I was able to start to make out shapes through the fog, I could tell that I was in a hospital bed with a large cast on my arm and tight bandages wrapping my head and my left leg.

Turning my head slightly to my left I could see a shadowy outline of a woman curled up in the chair beside my bed. Focusing harder I could see that it was Sandra and she was sleeping. What was going on? Why was I laying in a hospital bed? Short clips of memory were coming back into focus as I remembered the black sedan followed by the impact. Then nothing.

I tried to move into a sitting position in the bed and the room started to spin. This caused the throbbing in my head to intensify and I moaned in discomfort. Hearing me moving around must have woken Sandra because she jumped from the chair she was napping in and exclaimed "John, you are awake! Thank God. Let me get the nurse."

She reached over to the bed I was laying in and pressed the button to call the nurse. Sandra took my left hand in hers speaking softly.

"I am so glad to see you. You scared me terribly."

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to. What happened? The last thing that I remember was a black sedan hitting me from behind, then waking up here."

"Yes, you were in an accident on the motorbike. The ambulance brought you to emergency where they had to do surgery to repair your broken arm and stitch up a nasty gash on your leg. The doctors say that you will be fine with some rest and physiotherapy."

"How long have I been here? Why does my head hurt so bad?"

"You were brought in yesterday morning. So you have been here for nearly 24 hours. The doctor said that because of the impact of the accident you have a concussion. The scans show that there is no major damage so that should clear up in a few days."

The door opened and a large, middle aged, grey headed black woman walked into the room. She was nearly as big around as she was tall and had what seemed like a permanent scowl on her face.

"Well good morning sleepyhead, it is nice of you to join us this morning. My name is Janice, I am your nurse and will be taking care of you. Can I take some vital signs?"

Her voice was friendly and pleasant despite the look on her face. I guess appearances can be deceiving.

"Sure, whatever you need," I replied. I did not want to get on this woman's bad side. She looked like she could do as much if not more damage to me that the accident had. Once she had taken my temperature, pulse and blood pressure, she checked the bandages on my head and leg then poked and prodded the cast on my arm. I assume she was making sure that it was not too tight and cutting off the circulation.

"How are you feeling? Do you have much pain?"

"No, the pain is fine, but my head is really throbbing."

"That makes sense since you have a concussion. All of your vital signs are normal which is a great sign. Let me check with the doctor to see if I can give you something for your headache. I will be right back."

Looking over at Sandra I could see the tension and concern on her face and I thought I would try to lighten her mood.

"I don't think that I will be looking forward to any sponge baths from Janice during my stay.

Sandra smiled faintly while telling me "The only sponge baths you will be getting will come from me mister and don't you forget it."

Janice came back into the room holding a syringe in her hand. She inserted it into my IV and pressed the plunger injecting the medication.

"That should help with your headache here in just a couple of minutes. The doctor is making his rounds and should be here shortly to talk to you. Is there anything else that I can do for you right now?"

"No, no I think I am fine. Thank you."

"Your welcome, now rest and someone will be back to check on you shortly." Janice turned on her heel and walked away.

"Sandra, have you been here this whole time? You look exhausted."

"Yes, but I got some sleep last night. I am fine. Thanks for the compliment by the way."

"That isn't what I meant. Thanks for staying by my side, you are a real angel, but you can see now that I am fine. Why don't you go home and get some real rest? That chair didn't look very comfortable. Besides, I am sure that Alice needs you."

"I have already made arrangements for Alice. She will be fine. But since you seem to be getting along OK maybe I will run down to the cafeteria to see how awful their coffee tastes. I could use some caffeine. Are you sure that you will be OK?"

"Sure, I am fine. I will just take a nap until you get back. Thanks again for staying with me. It means a lot."

Sandra bent and kissed me on the cheek. "Be back soon," she said leaving the room. She hadn't been gone but a few minutes when a short balding man about my age came into the room carrying a stack of patient charts under his arm.

"Good morning John. My name is Dr Collins. Janice tells me that your vitals have checked out OK. How are you feeling after she gave you something for the headache?"

"Pretty good Doc. It seems to have taken the edge off. Can you tell me about what happened? How long will I be here?"

"You were brought into emergency after an accident involving your motorbike and another vehicle. You had a severe compound fracture of your right arm that required surgery to properly set back into place. Subsequent X-Rays show that all is in place but it will take 6-8 weeks for the cast to come off. After that you will need some physiotherapy to get your arm back in shape. There was a deep laceration to the inside of your left thigh. We were able to get that controlled easy enough but it did require 34 sutures and several staples to close the wound. Those will need to be removed in about a week. Our biggest concern was that you had lost consciousness. The ambulance driver said that your helmet was nearly split in two when he arrived. You owe your life to that helmet John. Because of the cranial impact you have a concussion, but the CAT scan shows no real damage so that should start to clear up in a few days. We would like to keep you here for another day or two to evaluate the concussion just as a precaution, but you should be fine to go home after that."

"Well Doc, it sounds like you did a great job fixing me up. Thank you. It is nothing personal but I really dislike hospitals and would like to get out as soon as I can. A day or two doesn't sound too bad. As you can tell, I am not from England. I was only here visiting. When can I travel? When can I get back to the US?"

"You really should wait until the staples and sutures are removed from your leg. You wouldn't want that wound to break open while travelling. It will be an uncomfortable airplane ride with that full arm cast, but you should be able to manage. I would think that as long as your leg wound heals like it should, you can go home in about a week to ten days. Do you have somewhere you can stay until then?"

"I will have to check and see. I stayed in a very nice B&B while I was here visiting and I would have to see if they still have room available. I will get something arranged before I leave here. Thanks again."

"Not a problem. You just rest now. If there is anything that you need just let Janice know. Her call button is right there beside you." Dr Collins then picked up his pile of charts and was gone to see his next patient.

Laying my head back down on the pillow, I was soon drifting back off to sleep.

Sandra

Settling myself back into the chair next to John's bed, I watched him sleeping. The pain was no longer etched on his handsome face and for the first time since the accident, I relaxed a little. My two foster daughters weren't due home for another 4 days and my daughter Alice was going to stay with her grandma for an extra few days so I knew I could be at the hospital for much of the time. I also knew I had the option of letting the girls stay with my adult son who was also a foster carer, so I wasn't too concerned about the next few weeks.

I would have to get a taxi to take me back home and to try to recover my car as it was still parked near the scene of the accident. John's case was still in my car and he would need his clothes to get changed into when he was finally discharged. I would discuss it with him when he woke up but for now, I wanted him to rest as he looked so peaceful.

Janice bustled into the room to do the observations of his vital signs. I sighed with frustration under my breath; I knew this had to be done frequently, but I wish she wouldn't keep disturbing him. He had been attached to a monitor that had continuously measured his heart and respiration rate as well as oxygen levels and blood pressure, but as he improved, it had been removed. John woke up as she put the cuff around his left arm to check his blood pressure and gave me a small smile when he saw me.

"How are you feeling?" I asked at the same time as John asked me how my coffee was. We laughed and it was good to see him in better spirits.

"My head feels much better, but my arm is still aching a little" he replied.

Janice asked if he needed some more pain relief, but he declined saying it was manageable. When she finished her 'jobs' she left us alone reminding us to use the call alarm if he needed anything.

"The coffee wasn't too bad, it could have tasted like dishwater and I would have drunk it, I needed the caffeine" I told him. "I didn't know if you would be hungry and the food in here can be hit and miss so I've grabbed a few things from the canteen for you".

I put the sandwich, biscuits and packet of crisps on the table next to the bed. "It's not a great selection, but I can always bring something nicer back from home when I go". I explained to John that I would need to pop home at some point to collect my car and bring him some of his belongings from his case. He thanked me for the food saying he still didn't feel up to eating yet and suggested I went home to get some rest. I knew it made sense and although I didn't intend to catch up on my missed sleep, I was happy to leave John in the capable hands of Janice although he wasn't looking so sure at that thought when I mentioned it. I carefully gave him a hug trying to avoid his plastered arm and kissed his mouth gently.

"Less of that" said the all-seeing Janice as she walked past the still open door. I jumped away from the bed knowing I looked guilty even though for once my actions had been completely innocent.

I managed to get a taxi quickly and before long I had collected my car using the spare key I kept in my handbag and I drove the short distance home. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I sorted out a small bag to take back to the hospital for John. As well as a change of clothes, I put in some toiletries and several extra pairs of his boxer briefs. I wanted to make sure he was properly covered up under his hospital gown especially with all those lovely nurses around offering to give him a sponge bath.

I found some strawberries left over from our picnic at Stonehenge, which seemed so long ago now and put them in a cool bag along with some chocolate brownies. It didn't take long to get back to the hospital and after parking my car and quickly found the ward John was on. As I entered his room, I saw he wasn't alone. There was a gorgeous woman in there with him. I realised straight away she was a healthcare assistant rather than a nurse and from what I could gather in those first few seconds she was offering to help John to freshen up.

"Hi, I'm Sandra" I introduced myself. "I'll be able to help John get a wash now I'm back". I produced his wash bag with a flourish to show her I was prepared.

"It looks like I got back just in time; I hope you're not too disappointed" I teased as she left the room.

I made sure the door was shut properly and went into the bathroom to fill a bowl up with warm water.

John

I was sleeping pretty soundly until Janice woke me. How was anyone supposed to get any rest in the hospital when every two hours there was someone there poking, prodding and squeezing you? I know that she was only doing her job and by the way that she expertly went about her business, she was very good at it.

As she was taking my blood pressure, I noticed Sandra was back from the cafeteria and I smiled knowing that she was once again by my side. After a short chat Sandra let me know that she needed to get home to get some things straightened out and with a brief kiss on the lips she was gone.

Janice came back into the room with an almost impish grin on her face.

"You are a lucky man you know?"

"Oh, I know that very well. I have seen many motorcycle accidents over the years. In just a few weeks, other than a few scars, I won't even be able to tell I was in one. Most don't have that luxury."

"Yes, I suppose that is true. But that isn't what I meant by lucky."

Noticing the confused look on my face Janice sighed, I suppose because of my ignorance and continued.

"That lovely woman Sandra has not left your side other than when you were in surgery then entire time you have been here. I see that neither of you are wearing rings so I assume that you are not married and the way that she dotes on you and shows affection you two are not siblings or cousins. I typically only see that type of situation when a couple has been together for a very long time. You are a lucky man."

Now I understood what Janice was saying. I think that Janice saw the light bulb go on as well. She gave me a smile and a pat on the shoulder.

"Someone will be in shortly to help freshen you up a bit."

Janice left the room and I started thinking about what she had said. I knew that there was more to my relationship with Sandra than just the pen pal that I had started with. Even before the first time that we met in person back in St Louis I felt a closeness with Sandra that seemed much more than just friendship. Then we had that one special night together while she was traveling leading to my crossing the Atlantic to spend more time with her. When we were apart all I wanted to do was see her again. When we were together all I wanted was to hold her close and not let go. Where could this really go between the two of us? With my limited retirement income there was no way that I could leave my home in the US and afford to move to England. Was there? Sandra had responsibilities. She had foster children to care for as well as Alice. She couldn't just pack up and leave everything behind. Could she? All of this was giving me another headache and I was about to press the call button to ask Janice for more medicine when my door opened.