Night and Day.

An excerpt from "ATTN" (contact the author for details)
This is a work of pure fantasy. It is not based on actual people I know or have met. Some names may be valid handles on chat sites, however I have used my imagination to create these names and do not know any people currently using them. Premission to use all or any of this piece must be sort from the author.

Part 1

Looking at the building as she drives into a visitor parking space as she has done so many times before, a nervous feeling in her stomach causes her to shiver.

Why am I doing this she thinks. A promise is a promise but surely someone with at least a basic knowledge of computers would have been a more appropriate choice for this task. Holding the steering wheel tightly she thinks back to the event that brought her here.

The phone ringing. A distant ringing, jumping up, still not sure if it’s her imagination as she reaches for it.

“Jane? I’m so sorry to wake you, it’s Helen’s mum.” she hears a voice say.

“Oh, hello Mrs Winter” she says wearily, then looking at the clock, seeing 2.58 AM says, “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

A sinking feeling knowing Helen’s mother would never call at this time unless something terrible had happened envelopes her.

“There’s been an accident dear, Helen is alright but has been injured and I knew you would probably want to go to her. We are driving down now and should be there by morning.”

“Oh, yes I’ll go now. What hospital?” she says as she pulls on the crumpled pants she wore the day before.

“St. John’s in the Orthopedic Ward.”

“No problem Mrs Winter, I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

“Thankyou dear. I’m trying not to worry but knowing you are there with Helen will ease my mind.”

“Will you have a phone with you driving down? The number on your Christmas card?”

“Yes, Jane that’s the number. Please call if there is any change or for any reason.”

“I will, don’t worry, I’ll make sure they take the best care of Helen.”

“I know you will Jane, Helen trust’s you more than anyone.”

Helen trust’s you more than anyone. Mrs Winter’s voice echoing in her head as she sits looking at the building.

Slowly opening the car door, taking the note book with pages of detailed instructions, careful step by step lists of what to do, where to go in a world so foreign to Jane, she is almost afraid to venture in.

But she must, she has promised her best friend and she will do it.

Taking a deep breath she walks purposefully to the glass door, turning the key to swing it open, running up the stairs to the first floor and along to the door that she has been such a part of her life the last few years. The place that she has come to often to share good and bad news, to relax, to cry, a second home when she needed it. They are like night and day. Jane, the practical country girl with the homemade everything. Fair skinned, blonde and tiny. Helen, the sophistocated shopper. Dark, almost exotically beautiful and tall.

Hearing a familiar meowing inside, she knows Spot is not hungry for food, but love as a neighbour has been feeding her since the accident.

Smiling at the memory of the day Helen saw Spot sitting all alone in the pet store window years ago. She was all black, not a mark on her, with the biggest green eyes. Choosing a name for her took place that same night over a bottle of wine and pizza. When the bottle no longer yielded a single drop, Helen said, “Not one spot on you!” At that, Spot looked up, meowed, did a long stretch and rubbed against Helen’s crossed legs. So from that day on, she was Spot!

Carefully opening the door, not certain if Spot will run out, she steps into the apartment. There is a soft scent from the wilting flowers on the table by the door. A single coffee cup sits on the bench, opened mail lays on the table. Such a familiar sight, everything in order as Helen’s life always seems to be.

Spot recognising the chance for a cuddle has been winding herself around her legs. Jane drops her bag and the book on the table, sits on the sofa as Spot bounds up, purring loudly, rubbing her face against Jane’s. Smiling at the many times she has been greated this way by her friends “best friend”, she relaxes a little, her mind wandering back to the previous night.

Stumbling as she pulls on a sweatshirt, still not totally awake from the chilling call, she reaches for her bag, grabs a fresh pack of cigarettes and her keys then slips her feet into her discarded shoes at the door.

Shuddering as she hears her door slam, hoping the neighbours didn’t hear, she runs down the few steps to the street and out to her car.

All is dark and still around her. The car clock says 3:10. She laughs at her record time in leaving. 12 minutes from a deep sleep to starting her car must be a record. Swinging wide onto the street she barely slows as she turns the corner up the hill to the main road. Little is moving at this time and with green lights all the way finds a park outside the hospital west wing in minutes.

The nurse at reception smiles and says “You must be Jane.”

With a worried look she says, “Yes, I’m Jane.”

The receptionist laughs and says, “Don’t look so concerned, Helen said you would be here in record time and you proved her right.”

She replies quickly, “So Helen is alright?”

“Well the nurses can tell you more, she is in a lot of pain and has been medicated but the doctor feels she should recover completely.”

“Oh great! I was so worried. Can I see her?”

“Down here” she says as she walks to the dimly lit corridor. “She’s been waiting for you but the drugs for the pain have her drifting off. Don’t worry if she stops talking mid sentence. She’ll wake up again and possibly continue where she stopped off.”

As the heavy door swings open, she sees her best friend looking more pale then ever before but with a wide smile. Covered in white, Helen looks like a museum mummy. Her face has a large bruise clearly visible from under a turban like dressing over her forehead. Tiny stitches down her cheek, onto her swollen lip. Her right arm to her fingers bandaged. A sling holding her left arm. To the bottom of the bed a frame covered with a sheet hides the evidence of further injury.

Fighting tears at seeing Helen in such a state she steps closer to ask, “ Well is there anything I can hug without hurting you?”

“Don’t make me laugh! It hurts too much.” giggles Helen, “and I think my little finger on my left hand is okay, so hug it!”

The friends both laugh, as do the receptionist and nurse who are leaving the room.

“So tell me, what on earth happened?” says Jane as she pulls a chair close to the bed.

“Oh Jane, I feel so foolish but I know it wasn’t my fault. Remember that corner on High Street where we said someone was bound to be killed one day? Well I know I should have completely stopped and looked but I just slowed down, which probably saved my life. The guy who hit me is a few rooms down. He just didn’t see the sign either.”

“Talk about deja vu Helen. This morning I thought of that conversation we had when I was driving past there. So you know how long you’ll be here?”

“Two weeks minimum, possibly much more. That’s why I need you to do something for me, something very important.”

“Sure, anything I can do I will. You know that.”

“Well you might find it harder than you imagined. I need you to go online and tell my cyber lover what happened.”

“Can’t you just call him?”

“It’s too complicated to explain but no, not at the moment I can’t. He’s working and could be one of several places I don’t have numbers for. I left a message on his machine but he told me he rarely checks in when he’s away. We always meet the same place, same time and email if we can’t so could you do that for me please? I’ve asked here but the hospital isn’t online.”

“I have no idea what to do. What if I break your computer?”

“Owwww, stop making me laugh. You can’t break it. The way you sit at the computer when you play Solitaire, like it’s going to bite you. More likely it will break you. It’s really easy. You double click like you do the Aces, everything you need is bookmarked or has a shortcut to it.”

“Bookmark, shortcut? I’m really going to need to write all this down.”

“Beat you to it. Here.” says Helen as she hands Jane a small exercise book with the hospital name across the front. “The nurse got it for me when I asked for some paper to give you instructions to help me out while I was here. They really have been wonderful.”

Turning to the first the page, Jane emits a slight giggle at the first line in large letters.

SIT DOWN AND TURN ON THE COMPUTER.

As she reads down, she sees everything in easy step by step order, including things not to do or click on, as well as what should appear next. Turning the page, then another. This is getting more complicated she thinks.

“I didn’t finish it.” says Helen. “My hand was aching. Can you write the rest for me?”

“Sure I can and then we better go through it so I have at least some idea of what I’ll be trying to do.”

Feeling a light pain, realising it’s Spot gently clawing her arm, she stokes the soft furr to hear the purring and clawing grow more intense. Then with a jump, Spot is gone, over to the window to watch a bird hopping from branch to branch.

Coffee first she thinks, as she automatically fills the kettle, gets ground coffee from the freezer to make another pot of hot strong coffee. She sighs as the realises she has placed two cups on the bench.

Spot, stretched out on the wide window ledge turns from her licking as Jane walks in and sits down at the computer. A friendly meow brings a smile to her tense face as Spot returns to her licking unaware of the turmoil and fear inside her mum’s closest friend.

© 1998
damah@hotmail.com