The Owls Club

THE OWLS CLUB.

Author's Note: This story is a love story featuring exclusively lesbians. It does get erotic in places, if this offends, go no further.

The following story and the universe it occurs in only exist in the mind and imagination of the author. This will be a slow burn, with details that some may find boring, on the other hand, if you like slow romantic stories, involving two or more women, you may want to read it through to its climax. [Pardon the pun]. This story contains elements of family life and warm and gentle people. It is a work of fiction, none of the characters or places are real.

Reader discretion is advised.

Applicable Tags: Novel/Novella length. The story sometimes switches from the first to the third person. I hope you don't get too confused.

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© 2023 Arking & RDKing, All Rights Reserved. Duplication of this literary piece without expressed permission of the author for any purpose is prohibited.

Chapter 25 -- A Stroke, The Recovery, and an Engagement.

Michelle screamed. She ran to Kathy's side, knelt beside her, and rolled her over onto her lap, she felt for a pulse and found none, and she put her ear to her Mistress's nose and mouth, only because she had seen it done on TV not knowing what she was listening for. She continued screaming, calling for help.

No one came.

She knew time was of the essence.

Tears were cascading down her cheeks, her screaming was louder, and she began to shake her Mistress. She knew she had to act, but what to do?

"Don't die, don't die," Is all that she could say, over and over again. Her head was spinning, she began to talk out loud to herself, as if issuing instructions.

"The phone, ring Mia," Her eyes scanned the bedside tables, and she carefully laid her Mistress back down, and reached for the phone. She brought up Mia's number and pressed the call button. It seemed like forever before it was answered,

Mia was in a chirpy mood when she answered, knowing it was Kathleen's phone ringing her. "Hi, I thought you'd be down here to see how it was working?"

"Mia, help me, Kathy has collapsed, I can't wake her, I can't feel her, Battement de cœur -- Pouls, [heartbeat - pulse,] what do I do, help me,"

Mia took it all in, and at the same time as she was listening, she was waving to Emily. The seriousness on her face made Emily come running and stand next to her silently, waiting to be told what was happening.

"Stop panicking and listen to me," Then turning to Emily told her to get the car out, they were going to Kathy's.

"Michelle, stay calm, find the other phone, and dial triple zero, I will stay on this phone. We are on our way. Do you know CPR?" She asked her.

Michelle was listening, her own heart racing, she went running back to the kitchen then quickly picked up her phone she rushed back to Kathleen's side as she was dialing the 0-0-0 emergency number.

It was answered on the first ring.

"What's your emergency?" A woman's voice asked.

"My Mistress isn't breathing, she fell over," Michelle answered as she burst into tears again.

"What's your location?

Michelle gave her the address.

"I don't know CPR or anything," she blurted out.

"An emergency doctor will be there within 7 minutes. Can you feel a pulse?"

"No, NO, I tried I can't feel it,"

"Calm yourself, he is almost there, what's your name?"

"It's Michelle Dumuir, how do I find her pulse?"

"Michelle, take a deep breath and calm yourself. My name is Mary and I'm going to help you. The Resuscitation Doctor is not far away. Now listen carefully to me, are you listening?

"Yes, Yes, I'm listening,"

"Place your index finger next to your thumb and middle finger on the side of her neck. They should go in the groove under her jaw and next to the windpipe. Press firmly until you feel a pulse. Count the pulses for 30 seconds,"

"Yes, Yes, I can feel it, but it is so faint. I can hear a siren," Michelle was almost screaming.

"That's good, you can feel her pulse, Michelle,"

There was a noise of a car coming to a sudden, screaming stop and running feet up the verandah. A loud voice was at the front door.

"Hello, open the door, Michelle,"

Michelle jumped up and ran for the front door, once opened she just pointed to their bedroom. The Resuscitation Doctor sprang into action, as he pushed by her.

He was carrying two bags one marked Defibrillator in large letters the other just an ordinary-looking bag which he kept attached on his back.

"How long has she been like this?" He asked.

His hands now were on her chest, one top of the other pumping down in a steady motion.

"I don't know, not long," She replied in between sobbing.

"How long, think back, who did you ring first?" He asked, his eyes dark and tired looking.

Michelle then remembered Mia, she looked at her phone the call to Mia was still open and read 2 minutes and 37 seconds.

She told the doctor and added, "Maybe a couple of minutes more before I found her,"

"OK, Michelle, that's good," he told her, his face tried to smile but he was concentrating they all knew the longer the brain went without oxygen the more damage was done. He then spoke into the microphone attached to the collar of his shirt.

"Base, this is Alpha ten fourteen, we have a cardiac arrest, nil response, I am going to defib as soon as the crew get here, this goes to the top of the list,"

Michelle, put the phone to her ear and spoke, "Mia, where are you?"

Mia was still there listening to everything, "Michelle we are still fifteen minutes away, Terry and Cynthia are heading down too. What's going on down there, talk to us,"

As the girls were talking another paramedic team arrived with the ambulance.

They went in immediately to help the Resus Doctor.

"Let's get some oxygen into her shall we, at 95% over 30 minutes please. We need to start a beat quickly, set up for a defib, get an adrenalin intravenous ready 1 mg Bolus at 3-minute intervals," The doctor told them as they came in. Sweat was running down his face, a junior medic took over pumping Kathy's chest. The three-person medical team went into a routine familiar to them. A sense of urgency without panic. A machine was set up and little white dots were being placed over Kathleen's body.

Michelle held her hands over her mouth, her crying continued, she was screaming out loud, "NO, NO, NO,"

Mia and Emily both shouted to her over the phone. "What is happening, MICHELLE," they shouted down the phone.

Another call was coming in as they were speaking, she had missed the four previous calls while this was all taking place.

It was Cynthia. "Michelle, are you OK Is Kathy, OK? What has happened?"

Michelle was watching everything as if it were in slow motion. She didn't understand what was going on. How could her strong Mistress, be like this, the fear in her eyes and her voice betrayed her to everyone around her.

She heard them all speaking to each other and then another Paramedic team arrived on the scene. "Clear" and she saw her Mistress's body jolt on the floor.

"Michelle, what's going on?" Cynthia asked again. "Michelle, we are almost there sweetie,"

Michelle was in shock. She was stammering, noncoherent in her speech, shaking, one of the medical team eased her away from the scene and put her arm around her. Took her to the kitchen. She took the phone from her, sat her in a chair at the kitchen table, and spoke into the phone.

"Hello, who am I talking to?"

"Cynthia Ambrose, Kathy is my sister-in-law. Who are you?"

"I'm Jillian Watson, I am a nurse with St. Johns. Kathy is having a heart attack, we have a Resuscitation Doctor on-site and a Paramedic Emergency team. She is in safe hands.

"Is Michelle all right?" Cynthia asked with a worried voice.

"She is upset, at the moment, it has come as a bit of a shock I imagine, I am going to stay with her while they stabilize Kathy," The nurse told her.

"Is she all right, Kathy I mean? We are just around the corner, we'll be there in a couple of minutes tell her,"

As Terry turned his Bentley into Fletcher Road, emergency vehicles blocked his way. A Police officer put up his hand and approached his car.

"Sorry sir, the road is blocked off at the moment," He said through the driver's window.

"I'm Terry Ambrose, that's my sister they are working on in there,"

"OK, just pull over there sir," He told him, pointing to a grass verge.

Neighbors had come out to chat over their front fences when they heard the multiple sirens and saw the emergency vehicles pull up outside Ambrose's place. They nodded to Terry and Cynthia as they hurried past, not pausing to answer the many questions, they saw the worried looks on their faces, as they made their way into the old family home.

Cynthia hurried forward and rushed into the house.

She stopped at the bedroom door and watched in stunned silence. She had tears forming in her eyes as she turned to look at her husband, Terry put his arms around her shoulders and eased her down towards the kitchen. He whispered to her, "Put on a brave face, our Kathleen has survived a lot worse,"

Terry had rung his daughter 3 times without getting an answer. He rang Emily and got answered immediately.

"How far away are you?"

"Just coming through Semaphore, so 5 minutes, I guess. How is Aunt Kathy?" Her voice was nervous, not her normal bright bubbly self. That was to be expected thought her grandfather. He was going to play it down for her but changed his mind.

"We don't know yet Em, they are still with her. Best you come in the back door, the front is chokers. You'll find my car parked in front of old Doc Martyn's place," He told her. "Just pull up behind me,"

"She's going to be okay isn't she Grand dad?" Emily asked, wanting to be reassured.

Again, her grandfather was caught in two minds. Do I say yes to make her feel a little better, he thought, then tell her the truth face to face, it ran threw his mind quickly, and he just said "Yes, of course, she is, your Aunt Kathy is a tough old bird,"

He was unconvincing.

Cynthia went straight over to Michelle and just hugged her as she stood up to greet them. Her face was a whiter shade of pale.

Cynthia tried to wipe away her tears but as soon as she did, they would reappear.

Turning to the nurse, she held out her hand, Jillian Watson took it and shook it gently, she put a weak smile on her lips and nodded to Terry.

"What can you tell us, Jillian," He asked.

"Not a great deal, the Resus Doctor and the Paramedics have been working on her for over 20 minutes now. The fact they are still in there with her is a positive sign,"

She told them all.

No sooner had she spoken than there was movement and sounds coming from the front of the house, Terry went to the hallway to have a look and saw Kathleen on a gurney, with a heart monitor attached to it, as they maneuvered it out of the house.

The nurse was there to reassure the family and to gather details on the patient.

The Resus Doctor was walking next to the gurney and was talking to her. He had a smile on his tired and worn-out face. Michelle was being held back by Cynthia, but she was having none of it. She struggled she twisted and turned her body without much success. She was physically exhausted, though she had done nothing to warrant it, except cry.

That can be exhausting.

The Ambulance took off, its siren screaming sending its warning to get out of their way, they were in a hurry.

Terry looked up and asked the nurse, "Which hospital?"

The nurse was on her phone and smiled at him as she listened to what was being said to her.

"Sorry about that. They are off to the RAH, eta 23 minutes normally, they have a clear run, so they will be there in 17 minutes," She told them.

Terry put his hand on his wife's shoulder. "Let Michelle go, and once she is dressed, we'll take her up there," Referring to the hospital.

Michelle was still in her oversized T-shirt and panties she slept in.

Terry took hold of Michelle's shoulders and looked into her eyes. For a split-second, Michelle saw her Mistress looking back at her, through her brother's eyes. Terry gave her a little shake and spoke in his authoritative tone, the same one that his sister uses when she has to deal with errant Frenchmen or a misbehaving sub.

"Go and get dressed, make yourself look nice for her. I know it sounds silly, but with all that's going on right now, you need to be at your best for her. Now go!"

Cynthia looked on and took a deep breath. It wasn't often that her Terry took that tone with people, and it made her heart beat a little faster when he did. A lot of loving memories came flooding back to her.

Michelle raced down the hallway like a child. She closed her door rather sharply and quickly started changing. She was still doing so when Mia and Emily arrived via the back door.

Emily went straight over to her grandmother they hugged, "Is she going to be OK," Em asked.

"Em, sweetheart we don't know yet, but the Doctors had smiles on their faces as they put her in the ambulance," Her Grandmother replied.

"Where's Michelle?" She asked to nobody in particular.

"Getting dressed," She was told.

Emily walked up to the bedroom, knocked, and walked straight in, saying as she opened the door. "It's only me,"

Michelle was sat at the dressing table, trying desperately to fix her makeup. The tears were still flowing.

"Oh Michelle, it will be OK, Aunty Kathy is a stubborn old cow at times, she isn't going anywhere," Emily started to brush her hair for her, trying to calm her down.

Michelle was sitting there in only a pair of French silk knickers and a matching bra, Emily sucked in a deep breath it whistled through her teeth.

"She sees you dressed like this, and she'll most likely drag you into her hospital bed with her,"

Michelle smiled. The first time in the last hour or so.

"What are you going to wear on top?" Emily enquired.

Michelle shrugged, "Maybe that floral red and white summer dress, Kathy liked me in that," She began to think about how she looked.

"You do look stunning in that, and wear those heels you wore on Friday night, it will put a little wiggle in your walk," Her face was smiling but deep down there was a fear lurking inside, the what-if type of fear. Emily didn't let it come to the fore, she kept it well hidden.

She snapped out of her short sudden daydream and smiled into the mirror.

Michelle's eyes were misty, but she had stopped crying.

She slipped into the $400 shoes and wiggled her derriere at Emily, who smiled at her.

"Cheeky," As she reached out and patted her behind.

They walked down the hallway hand in hand and entered the kitchen.

"Look what I've found?" Emily told everyone.

They all smiled at her, and Terry nodded appreciatively, "You look fabulous Michelle, Kathy will be so proud," He told her.

Mia went up to her and hugged her warmly, gave her a little kiss on her cheek, and said nothing, but the smile on her face said everything.

Terry looked at his phone and growled. "Do you know where your mother is Emily?"

"No idea, Monday morning, she might be doing the food shopping," Came the reply.

"Then why isn't she answering her phone? He asked.

Mia chuckled, "Most likely left it at home," She looked sideways at her fiancée.

Emily caught the look and responded "Oh come on Mia, I did it once. And you've never let me live it down,"

"I didn't say a word, babe,"

"You didn't have to, I saw THAT look you gave me,"

They were both smiling.

Michelle went with Mia and Emile in the BMW and followed the Bentley of Terry and Cynthia Ambrose.

The Royal Adelaide Hospital was the only public hospital that had a specialist cardiac department. Kathleen was rushed there. The expert medical team stabilised her while in the ambulance.

The family arrived a short while after the ambulance and went straight to the admissions counter. They were there asking and answering a multitude of questions. They were told that Kathleen had gone into surgery and that they could wait in the family lounge. It would probably be several hours until she was out of surgery and recovered enough to see them.

The Admission Nurse mistakenly asked for a Mister Ambrose. Without thinking Terry just held out his hand to receive the necessary paperwork. She handed him several sheets and was pulled to one side.

The nurse spoke in a hushed voice, "Mr. Ambrose, we didn't have a lot of time to wait for you to arrive, your wife went straight into surgery, and we didn't get the customary consent forms signed or any of her previous medical history," The nurse mistakenly said to him.

Terry smiled and wondered how he was going to handle it.

"I'm her brother, not her husband. I'll explain everything to Michelle her partner,"

"Oh, so sorry, maybe I should handle that?" She continued without missing a beat.

"We are all family, so speak to us all, hey,"

Terry got everyone together and they sat around a small low table in the center of the room, it was covered with old magazines of various descriptions.

The nurse smiled at them all, and said, "Michelle, I need you to sign this informed consent form," But not knowing who she was talking to. The older woman most likely she thought.

"Oui, what does it mean?" Michelle asked.

Then turning to Michelle she said, "It just means we are going to perform surgery on Kathleen and as next of kin you give us consent to do whatever is necessary,"

Although she didn't show any surprise when Michelle spoke up, she was still a little taken aback at the young woman.

Michelle signed the form, and then the nurse turned it over for her to fill out the next of kin information. She hesitated then looked at Terry and Cynthia and quickly asked, "Êtes-vous sûr que je devrais le faire? je veux dire que nous ne sommes pas mariés.' [Are you sure I should be doing this? I mean we are not married]

Terry looked at her with a puzzled look on his face, then turned to Mia and Emily.

Mia jumped in before being asked, "WOW slow down Michelle, my French isn't that good," she smiled at her as she expressed her concern.

The nurse interrupted them all and suggested they get an official interpreter. "It is hospital policy, I'm afraid,"

Mia looked at the nurse and explained that she could do it if Michelle spoke slower.

All the while Michelle looked concerned, the expression on her face displayed it.

T

The nurse stood up and explained again, "It is hospital policy I'm afraid, when a patient or their family doesn't understand the forms because English isn't their first language, then we're to arrange for an interpreter,"

The nurse took out her internal mobile phone and a plastic sheet with a range of phone numbers. She dialed a number and waited. When it was answered, she identified herself and requested a French-speaking interpreter. She waited and when a woman came on the phone in response to her request, she explained her predicament. She then handed the phone to Michelle.

"Bonjour, je m'appelle Charlotte Matin. Avez-vous besoin que je vous explique les détails du plus proche parent?' [Hello, my name is Charlotte Matin. Do you need me to explain the next of kin details for you?]

"Bonjour Charlotte, je m'appelle Michelle Dumuir, oui s'il vous plaît. Ce serait peut-être mieux pour moi si nous pouvions le faire, pas par telephone. Je peux parler anglais pour être compris en général, mais l'écrit est plus difficile, et je ne veux pas faire d'erreur. [Hello Charlotte, I am Michelle Dumuir, yes please. It may be better for me if we could do this, not over the phone. I can speak English to be understood generally but the written word is harder, and I don't want to make a mistake.]

"Certainement, mais il faudra vingt minutes avant que je puisse être avec vous. Cela vous conviendra-t-il?" [Certainly, but it will be twenty minutes before I can be with you. Will that be convenient for you?]