"Will Shannon come to see me, Earl?"
The visitor hesitated and then said, "Listen son, this is nothing against you. She just doesn't like men after what happened about a year ago."
"Attacked?"
"Yes, sexually assaulted and knocked about. I would have dealt with them severely but there were no clues to follow as the police have found."
"How foul. I'm so sorry Earl."
"It's not your fault son. It was a surprise she stopped to pick you up under the circumstances. She took a quick look after trussing you up. She found a piece of wood she thought was used to club you and I've handed that to the police. She also found tire marks and peg marks where you camped and then found a coffee pot tossed into the creek. The police are here with me son but I've asked that I visit you first to break that news gently. You've had a rough time. They also want you to look at some mugshots of known recent offenders."
"That's very kind of you Earl. I'll do my best but my memory is still foggy. Apart from knowing my name and being on a camping vacation through Central Otago, I know little else except that I live with my mom, but where that is, I have no idea. At present with my defective memory and no ID, I'm a nobody. The cops will probably arrest me for being a guy being a drifter without possessions.
"Don't worry Drystan, you are under my patronage. The hospital wants you to stay here until Monday. I can collect you around noon and you'll stay with me. My wife Sarah and Shannon will look after your comfort. Doc Cassidy will call each day to dress your head wound and to monitor your memory improvement. You did take a fair whack apparently."
"But why, why are you doing this?"
"Two women travellers, we don't know who they were, found Shannon on the roadside about a mile from where you were found. They brought her to this hospital and then just disappeared. The folk at Admissions were busy calling folk and didn't notice the two young women leave. They were supposed to have spoken with Southland accents, you known the supposedly southern drawl. The police could find no trace of them, which was unfortunate because I would have rewarded them for what they did for Shannon. She really was in a mess."
"And now she's been the Good Samaritan and you are being my patron at her request."
"Yes, that's right," Earl said, scratching the back of his head. That's exactly it, you are a smart thinker. What do you work at?"
When Drystan looked at him blankly, Earl sighed and patted Drystan's arm. "Don't fret son, we'll get you fully recovered. Perhaps it may do Shannon some good to be around a person worst off than her. Doc Cassidy referred her to a specialist and he says mentally she'd improved greatly mentally, but she's not ready yet to leave it all behind her."
"Earl, I remember some things, many things in fact but not specific things, if you know what I mean. I don't seem to remember where Central Otago is although the name sounds familiar and that hat you are wearing is called a Stetson and amazingly to me, I had a vision during a drugged sleep on my second day here.
"Your daughter's face, that loomed right over me and she appeared very distressed when she couldn't lift me all the way into her vehicle and I distinctly recalled telling her what to do. I told her to tie my hands to one of the rope tie brackets on the outside of the tray, using my shirt for that and using her underskirt to tie my feet up to the cargo box rope hook and then she could drive off with my feet clear of the roadway."
"That's all you remember, isn't it? Shannon said you fell unconscious again."
"Well, Drystan, you were left just in your underpants so there was no shirt to tie you to the side of the cargo box. She tore up her skirt to tie your feet up. And tied one end of her bra around your wrists and tied the other end to a tie-down hook. At the hospital they gave her a blanket to put around herself while she waited for the police to arrive."
"She put herself through that for me?"
"We're very proud of her Drystan. I'll fetch the cops in now."
The two policemen shook their heads as they left.
The only new information they had was the assault victim's name and confirmation that he was on a camping holiday.
Looking at images of possible suspects on a laptop, Drystan thought he recognized the little punk who watched him being hit but something was telling him to say nothing.
"No, they are not known to me, none of them. Do you have mugshots of babes?"
The cops grinned and left after thanking him politely.
"At least you have nothing to worry about," Earl said, also leaving.
That comment of course left Drystan worrying about not having anything to worry about.
On Sunday night, Senior Nurse Allen arrived at Drystan's bed and she to him she was 'doing her rounds' and would call back later. She said he looked much improved and said to call her Jenni, but only when no one else was around.
Drystan had fallen asleep twice and was just about to nod off again when there was a rustle alongside his bed and from the low-level night lighting, he was able to confirm it was Jenni.
"Do you still want your little treat?"
"Oh, yes."
"I shouldn't be doing this as I'm about to become engaged to my boyfriend."
Drystan thought she needed a confidence boost so asked, "It's for my own good, isn't it, I mean as a patient?"
"Oh yes, definitely." said Jenni, undoing the top of her uniform and whispering she was wearing a front-fastening bra to make it easier for him. She unfastened it and out popped a lovely-shaped breast as far as Drystan could see in the gloom.
He stroked it and when he cupped it, Jenni pushed forward and he gently took the nipple into his mouth. He flicked his tongue and was conscious of her accelerating rate of breathing. Oh, he was a lucky guy, he thought, and not at all surprised that he'd remembered what to do with a woman.
Well, it would be the last thing a guy would forget, right?"
As he pulled away from the breast, her mouth came down on to his lips and they kissed long and softly. She lifted herself partly on to the bed gingerly to avoid pulling his rib cage muscles.
She pulled his left arm down to her groin, after pulling up the bottom of her uniform and he moved his hand forward until the felt the outline of her vulva, ignoring the pain from his cracked ribs.
He opened his lips and her tongue dropped in but as he went to lift aside her panties she pulled away and said, 'No, I'm sorry but no."
A distant buzzer sounded. She kissed his lips briefly and was gone.
Drystan was rather surprised that she'd been more generous than she initially indicated, sighed and his left hand on the stronger side of his body reached for his erection.
In the early hours of Monday morning, Jenni presented him with a breast and they kissed immediately and he worked on arousing the nipple by gentle rubbing. He attempted to run his fingers into her pussy but Jenni was firm about that. He resumed sucking the breast and soon she was almost panting.
"I'll give you a hand job if you require release," she murmured.
It was so unexpected.
"Throw the bed clothes back," he said hoarsely and she squirmed in apology and explained she would feel she'd betrayed her boyfriend if she sucked Drystan.
Drystan said that was fine, he's thought it might be like that and she sounded pleased in thanking him for being such a lovely man and scampered around the bed to keep away from his injured ribs.
She half lay on the bed so that she was able to kiss him while stroking him and had both boobs out to give Drystan a choice. Eventually she began moaning in frustration and Drystan made the connection, that his mind was improving: he became aware she was within an ace of her climbing up to fuck him but it was not to be. She kissed him deeply and went off groaning.
He called Jenni and she returned to hear him apologise.
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
Jenni cried, mortified. "No, you are not to blame; I've been such a big tease,"
"Nah, going that far you've made me the happiest guy in the hospital; nay, in the entire city," he chuckled.
She giggled and said yes, it was for his own good, wasn't it?
Next morning, about to go off duty, Jenni arrived and after a quick check up and down the corridor darted in and kissed him goodbye.
"There's finality in that goodbye."
"Yes."
He remained puzzled and Jenni said he was being discharged at noon into the home care of Mr DeLuca, a wealthy rancher.
"Oh yes." Drystan reached out for another kiss and thanked Jenni for bringing back his memory about being discharged that day, for looking after him so well and he wished her a very happy married life. She darted out, wiping at her eyes.
At noon, Earl arrived with an orderly and wheelchair. Drystan was wearing a hospital gown and a dressing gown.
Earl looked at the patient and sighed. "I forget you were left with nothing."
As they left the ward, Blondie came after them waving something white.
"Mr Boland, your underpants."
She said to Earl, "Excuse me sir but I must do this: he's so cute," kissing Drystan on the forehead.
When Drystan was aboard the SUV, sitting gingerly and with a hand under the seatbelt to hold it out a bit so it offered no pressure against his broken ribs, Earl thanked the orderly who'd assisted them and took his seat behind the wheel.