Three is a crowd: Will this be David’s wakeup call? 

(Continued from last issue)

David and Diane have been married for years; then there is Julie, the young secretary whose axis collides with the couple’s in ways none of them saw coming.

DAVID

Once I had sat down again, and Kenneth saw that I was ready to listen to him, he took a breath, then in a cool, detached, professional manner, listed all the injuries Diane had sustained which included cracked ribs, a slipped disc and fractured arm, but thankfully no serious injuries to any of her vital organs.

“So, she’s going to be fine, right?” I asked hopefully.
“Yes; mind you, it’s going to be a long and slow journey of recovery, but I’m confident that she will eventually make a full recovery.”
“Thank you,” I breathed in relief.
“You’re welcome, but remember it’s not going to be a quick or easy recovery; your wife is going to be pretty much incapacitated for at least a month, probably longer; so, once she is discharged, which will hopefully be in about a week or so, she is still going to need a lot of help, for even the most basic of tasks, for several weeks.”

“That’s no problem, I’ll ensure she gets it,” I vowed firmly. Even though we did not even have a maid at the moment,
let alone the kind of help Kenneth was describing, all that mattered was that Diane was going to be alright. I would figure out the rest later.

“Good,” Kenneth nodded in satisfaction, then stood up. “I’ll take you up to see her now, and when you’re done with that, we’ll come back down and you can handle the admission paperwork and accounts details,” he said in the brusque, business- like tone he had adopted when speaking to me, while simultaneously leading the way out of the consultation room, and back into the corridor we had come down.

I followed eagerly, anxious to see Diane, but also just glad to be out of a closed room alone with Kenneth. To his credit, he had maintained a professional attitude in our interaction, but that did not erase the fact that beneath the surface, we both made each other’s blood boil.

DIANE

Although the doctor had promised that the nurse would give me something for the pain, if she had, it was not working, for every part of my body ached and I was trying to breathe through it a second at a time, when I heard the door to the room open.

Opening my eyes ever so slightly, for even that hurt, I saw the doctor walk back in – followed closely by David.

“Diane!” he exclaimed, in a mixture of shock and relief, as he rushed past the doctor to my side.

As soon as I saw him, his face filled with concern and tender care, I was overcome with a flood of emotion, and immediately broke down in deep, racking sobs.

“I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry,” I cried.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” he hushed me, while comfortingly stroking my face and hair.

“I wasn’t paying attention to the road, and it all….”
“Shhh, that’s not important; all that matters is that you survived and you’re going to be okay; I was so scared I was going to lose you!”

I don’t know what reaction I had expected from David, but considering that in addition to all my other failings, I had just caused a massive car accident, probably totaled the car in the process, not to mention the damages to the other car, and legal ramifications that we were going to have to deal with, he literally wearing his heart on his sleeve, and being so tender and caring, definitely wasn’t it; in that moment I don’t think I could have been more grateful or loved him more.

“Thank you,” I murmured honestly.

“You don’t need to thank me; just get well and come back home,” he answered, then planted a soft kiss on my forehead. “I’m going to go now and let you get some rest, but I’ll be back first thing tomorrow morning,” he promised.

I didn’t want him to leave, but our short exchange was already wearing out my battered body; my eyes were growing heavy again and I did not have the strength to protest; so, instead, I murmured a quiet “goodnight”, and then gave in to my body’s fatigue.

By the time David closed the door behind him on his way out, I was already falling into a deep, fitful sleep.

JULIE

I spent the entire night thinking about how I hoped my meeting with Kenneth the next day would go, as well as what story I would give Sandra about where I was going.

Unfortunately, I did not have much of a social life, a fact Sandra was well aware of; so, I couldn’t simply say I was going to see a friend, as she would get curious about which friend I was going to see on a working day and why.

In the end, I figured the most believable story, would be that I was going shopping; although I wasn’t much of a shopper, it was an innocent enough sounding story, and if she asked what I had bought when I returned empty-handed, I could always say I had not found anything I liked.

In any case, it would give me a few hours with Kenneth, which would hopefully be sufficient for us to work out our differences, especially since I planned to leave Junior at the apartment with Sandra, so we would not have any distractions.

Even though David never came to the apartment on a working day morning, I, nonetheless, waited until after nine, when I was certain that he was already at work, with no chance of him unexpectedly showing up at the apartment, before casually informing Sandra that I was going to town for some shopping.

Just like I had hoped, my announcement did not raise any particular interest from Sandra.

“Cool, what time will you be back?” she simply asked.
“I’m not sure, but definitely by lunch time; do you think you will manage with Junior till then?”

“Of course; he’s a great baby and it’s just a few hours. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” she assured me.
“Thanks; call if you need anything, or if he starts acting up.”

“Okay, but I’m sure there won’t be any need to. Go on and do your shopping and don’t worry about us,” she repeated encouragingly.

Satisfied, I nodded, pecked Junior goodbye, and then left the apartment.

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