Stella Makes Good

by Lisa Heidke

  ‘I have to talk to her,’ I begged the man. ‘She needs to know I’m here.’

  He looked at me kindly. ‘Let’s wait for the paramedics. Sam, come here.’

  A Labrador that had been barking at the wreck fell silent and obediently came over to us.

  ‘I’ve got to help her,’ I sobbed, but did as the man suggested.

  An ambulance parked near Jesse’s car and two women climbed out. A third ambo, a man, directed everyone to take several steps back. It all seemed to be happening in slow motion.

  The police arrived and the man with the dog walked over to them. In a daze, I followed.

  ‘Did you actually witness the accident?’ one of the officers asked the man.

  He hesitated. ‘Yes.’

  ‘And what did you see?’

  ‘I was walking Sam, my dog, on the other side of the road. The driver was travelling in the opposite direction. She pulled her car over and slowed right down. Maybe even stopped. And then barely a minute later …’ He paused.

  ‘Go on,’ said the officer, looking up from his notes.

  ‘Well, this is the unbelievable part. She seemed to accelerate straight into the tree.’

  ‘No!’ I screamed, feeling suddenly dizzy. Not Jesse.

  Someone led me away. ‘Is there anyone we can call? Family? Your friend’s husband maybe?’

  I shook my head, sobbing into my hands. Poor Jesse. This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t. Her car was completely mangled. It would be a miracle if she …

  I couldn’t think like that. Jesse needed me to be strong. I wiped my eyes and stood up. ‘Yes, of course. Her family. I need to phone her family.’

  Somehow I made it to my car, opened the door and retrieved the phone I’d flung on the floor in my haste to get out. I dialled Steve’s number.

  The ambulance’s siren started up again as it sped away.

  ‘Where are they taking her?’ I heard the man with the dog ask the police.

  ‘Royal,’ one of them said.

  Mike, I thought, just as Steve answered the phone.

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Steve?’ My voice quavered. ‘Jesse’s been in a terrible accident.’ The words tumbled out of my mouth. ‘Car accident. They’re taking her to the Royal.’

  ‘If this is some kind of joke—’

  ‘Please hurry.’

  Before he could say anything else, I hung up and dialled Carly’s number.

  ‘Hey, Stella.’

  ‘Carly!’ I sobbed. ‘It’s Jesse. She’s been in a car accident. They’ve taken her to the Royal. I’ll see you there.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Carly, I don’t know any more. Just hurry up and get there.’

  As soon as I hung up, my phone rang. It was Toby.

  ‘Stella, Mike’s on his way in. He’s had word to expect a patient who’s been in a car smash near your work. Is it—’

  ‘Jesse. God, yes. She looks bad. Really bad. I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘At this stage there’s probably not much you can do. Are you coming in?’

  My mind went blank.

  ‘Stella, are you there?’ Toby’s voice was firm and clear. ‘We’re getting ready to receive her. I’ll talk to you when I can.’

  I dropped the phone to my side. Over at Jesse’s car, the police were taking photos, removing personal items and interviewing witnesses.

  The man with the dog reappeared next to me. ‘I’ll drive you to the hospital,’ he said gently.

  ‘No, I couldn’t.’

  ‘It’s no trouble, as long as you don’t mind Sam joining us.’

  I motioned towards the police. ‘Don’t you have to stay?’

  ‘I’ve told them everything I can remember. They have my details. They’ll be in touch if they need me. Come on, it’s a ten-minute drive. Let me take you.’

  I burst into tears again. I needed to be with Jesse but I was a mess. I wiped my eyes and nodded. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Sorry, I introduced Sam but not myself,’ he said as he helped me into my car. ‘I’m Robert. Rob. And you are?’

  I sat in the passenger seat in a daze, staring at the throng around Jesse’s car. It still didn’t seem real. ‘Stella,’ I said vaguely.

  Rob pulled out onto the road. He was driving at the speed limit but we seemed to be moving in slow motion.

  ‘Excuse me,’ I said. ‘I need to ring my husband, ex-husband actually. But we’re still good friends. He should know.’

  ‘Can you remember his number?’

  I nodded. ‘Speed dial.’

  Terry answered after one ring.

  ‘Jesse’s been in a car accident,’ I told him, sobbing again. ‘They’re taking her to the Royal. Meet me there?’

  ‘Of course, love. On my way.’

  Rob and I arrived at the hospital seven minutes later. He tied Sam to a pole just near the emergency entrance. It was wet and cold outside.

  ‘Will he be okay?’ I asked.

  ‘The smokers will keep him company,’ said Rob, guiding me through the hospital’s automatic doors.

  I was in shock, unable to focus, so Rob asked for directions to the emergency waiting room. Around us, doctors and nurses flew by in a blur. Finally, we made it to the waiting room. I looked around hoping to see a familiar face. No one else was there yet.

  ‘Can I get you anything?’ Rob asked. ‘Water? Coffee?’

  I shook my head.

  ‘At least take a seat,’ he said, signalling to a row of chairs near the windows.

  I sat, wringing my clammy hands together. ‘I don’t know what to do. What do you think’s happening? Where is she? Why isn’t anyone else here?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘My God,’ I said, my voice sounding strangled and foreign. ‘I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘I don’t want to leave you here alone,’ said Rob, ‘but I feel like an intruder. I shouldn’t stay.’

  ‘Please do, at least until someone else gets here.’

  ‘I’m really sorry about your friend.’

  I looked at him and seemed to see him for the first time. ‘Yeah.’ I started crying again. ‘How did it happen? The roads were wet and slippery, but Jesse’s driven that road hundreds of times. Hundreds.’

  Rob was silent.

  ‘You told the police that Jesse slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road,’ I said.

  ‘That’s what I saw.’

  ‘Then what happened?’

  ‘Look, Stella, maybe I didn’t see things clearly. I’m not sure.’

  ‘But you said she accelerated into the tree?’

  Rob took a deep breath and sighed. ‘Yes. To be honest, it looked like she slowed down almost to a stop and then sped into the gum tree. I’m sorry.’

  I was sobbing again, shaking my head. ‘That can’t be true.’

  Rob nodded. ‘I hope you’re right.’

  The seconds ticked by as if they were hours. I distracted myself by thinking about the kids, the roast I was cooking for dinner, the storm and the flash flooding in the area. But there was only so much distraction I could manage before other thoughts started hijacking my brain. The last time I’d been in a hospital waiting room—other than for June’s sprained arm—was after Dad’s car accident. Images of him in intensive care filled my mind: tubes everywhere, the burns … Once the swelling and bruising had faded, it had looked like he’d had a facelift. His legs had borne the brunt of the impact and had required numerous skin grafts … I shuddered at the memory, wishing Mum and Dad lived closer, not in Melbourne, a thousand kilometres away.

  Carly came rushing into the room. ‘I got here as quickly as I could. What happened?’

  I stood up. ‘Jesse’s been in a terrible accident.’

  Carly hugged me. ‘I hope they’ve got the other bloke in custody.’

  I stood back from her and wiped my eyes. ‘That’s just it. There wasn’t anyone else involved.’

  I looked around for Rob but he’d gone
. My car keys were on the seat next to me. I hadn’t even thanked him.

  Carly gasped. ‘But how did it happen?’

  ‘Yes, how?’ It was Steve.

  It was the first time I’d seen him since last Thursday night. I went to hug him, but he backed away.

  ‘Don’t touch me. Just tell me what happened to my wife.’

  ‘She was in an accident,’ I started.

  ‘You were there?’

  ‘No. I arrived a few minutes later. It happened just after she left the library.’

  ‘That goddamn library! I told her I didn’t want her working there.’

  It’s a little too late for that, I thought as the three of us stood there awkwardly.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ ventured Carly.

  Steve didn’t acknowledge her. He walked over to the unoccupied nurses’ station and rang the bell. ‘Hello? Anybody here?’

  I couldn’t believe his attitude. It was as if he’d been greatly inconvenienced and was doing everyone a favour just by gracing us with his presence.

  A minute later, Mike appeared. It was odd seeing him again so soon. Then again, lunch seemed like years ago. Carly and I rushed over to him.

  ‘I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,’ he said. ‘Stella, I’m so sorry. How are you bearing—’

  ‘Ahem, Doctor? I’m Steve Foster, Jesse’s husband.’

  ‘Yes, I know who you are,’ said Mike calmly.

  Steve seemed taken aback. ‘Can I see my wife?’

  ‘I’m afraid Jesse’s had a severe head trauma,’ Mike started. ‘It appears—’

  Both Carly and I gasped. My whole body was shaking.

  ‘Is she alive?’ Steve jumped in.

  ‘Yes, Jesse’s alive,’ Mike said. ‘But you can’t see her. She’s being examined for injuries.’

  ‘But Mike,’ I said, my voice rising, ‘she’s okay, isn’t she?’

  Steve looked at me. ‘How do you know his name?’

  ‘Doctor Mike Thompson,’ said Mike, not missing a beat as he stuck out his hand to shake Steve’s. ‘I have some papers for you to sign, Mr Foster. This way, if you will.’

  He led Steve out of the waiting room and down the corridor.

  Carly and I had been sitting there for what seemed like hours when Terry showed up.

  ‘How is she?’ he asked after hugging us both.

  ‘We don’t know,’ I said, shaking my head.

  ‘What happened?’ He wrapped his arms around me in a gesture of comfort.

  Briefly, I thought about the oddness of Terry and Mike both being here, but I was too worried to care about social niceties.

  ‘It all happened so quickly,’ I sobbed. ‘Jesse ran out of the library crying, I confronted Liz—’

  ‘Why was she crying?’ Carly asked.

  ‘Liz retrenched her. Claimed Jesse’s quirks had become too much of a distraction for her to continue working properly.’

  ‘Poor Jesse,’ said Carly. ‘She would have been devastated.’

  I nodded. ‘After my argument with Liz, I quit—’

  ‘You what?’ said Terry. ‘It must have been quite a disagreement.’

  ‘I got in the car and headed home. I’d only been driving a couple of minutes before I came across the accident.’

  ‘Jesus!’ said Terry. ‘How did it happen?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ I stammered. ‘A witness says she deliberately accelerated into a tree, but Jesse would never do anything so reckless. She loves her kids.’

  Terry shook his head. ‘Nightmare.’

  ‘A nightmare we’re having to live through.’ Steve was back again.

  ‘Steve, mate,’ said Terry, ‘I’m so sorry about this. But Jesse’s one strong woman. She’ll pull through, you’ll see.’

  ‘I wish I had your blind confidence,’ Steve said dismissively.

  ‘Do you want me to call Jesse’s parents?’ I asked him.

  ‘I’ve already rung them,’ he said.

  It felt like I’d been at the hospital forever but only fifty-five minutes had lapsed. At this stage, we couldn’t do more than wait. I phoned Hannah and Ben to fill them in on the situation, and asked Steve if he wanted me to ask a friend to pick up Ollie and Emily from school.

  He declined, telling me, ‘It’s all under control.’

  A little while later, Toby walked into the room. Both Carly and I swooped down on him.

  ‘How is she?’ I asked.

  ‘Early days,’ he replied, then saw Steve and went over to him. ‘Mr Foster?’

  Steve jumped slightly. ‘Do I know you?’

  ‘I don’t think so. My name’s Toby Mitchell. Together with Doctor Thompson, I’m attending to your wife.’

  ‘What are you doing here then?’

  ‘Keeping you up-to-date and informed,’ Toby said calmly. ‘At the moment, Jesse’s undergoing a series of X-rays to assess for fractures of the skull and spinal instability.’

  ‘Oh God,’ Carly said, clutching at my shoulder.

  ‘Her brain has sustained significant swelling and bruising due to the trauma of the accident.’

  Steve considered Toby’s words for a moment. ‘Right. So, when will she be better?’

  ‘I’m afraid that’s like asking how long a piece of string is. The truth is, we really don’t know. As long as it takes, I’m afraid.’

  ‘As long as it takes? Really? That’s your professional opinion?’

  Toby nodded. ‘I’ll let you know more as and when we have news.’

  He pulled me aside and spoke briefly about June’s test results before disappearing through the doors to attend to Jesse. I had to hand it to Toby: he had grace under pressure. If I’d been him, I would have belted Steve.

  Terry walked over to me. ‘Stella, I’m sorry about Jesse, but if there’s nothing I can do here, why don’t I go home, check on Mum, see the kids after school and organise dinner? Looks like you’re in for a long night and I think I can be more helpful doing something practical.’

  I hugged him, tears rolling down my cheeks. ‘Thanks, I appreciate it.’

  ‘It’ll give me some time to spend with Mum alone.’

  ‘She doesn’t have Alzheimer’s. I know you were worried so I had Toby—’

  ‘The doctor here? The one from last Sunday?’

  ‘Yeah. I had him organise some preliminary tests and just now he spoke to me about them. He said that once people get to a certain age and start forgetting things and becoming increasingly absent-minded, their children assume they have dementia, but it’s often not the case.’

  ‘That’s a relief.’

  ‘Yeah. It’s more likely a combination of old age, grief over Jimmy—’

  ‘Still?’

  ‘Still. And stress.’

  ‘About?’

  ‘Our separation, getting older, not being able to do what she wants when she wants. The fall the other day wouldn’t have helped.’

  ‘I guess I should have trimmed the hedges like she asked.’

  I nodded. ‘And maybe you could also take a more softly-softly approach with her regarding Amanda, too.’

  Terry rolled his eyes. ‘Amanda! I need to tell her I’ll be home late.’

  He kissed me, then walked over to Steve and shook his hand. Terry was a good bloke. I was so glad he was the father of my children.

  Just after he’d left, Jesse’s parents arrived and made a beeline for Steve.

  ‘My baby,’ cried Dot. ‘Where is she? What happened? Somebody tell me what happened!’

  ‘Jesse’s been in a car accident,’ Steve said. ‘She’s being attended to now.’

  ‘Is it bad?’

  ‘We don’t know yet,’ he said, and for the first time since he’d walked in, I sensed a vulnerability about him. His confident veneer was slipping.

  ‘Dot,’ I said, walking over and hugging her. ‘I’m so sorry.’

  ‘Stella, what happened? Were you with her?’

  I shook my head. ‘No, but I do know she’s in the best han
ds possible. These doctors are miracle workers. Jesse’s going to be fine.’ I was saying it for my own peace of mind as much as for Dot’s.

  Jesse’s dad, Tom, had hugged Steve but hadn’t said a word. I felt incredibly sad for him as he walked towards the windows and stared down into the car park. Dot joined him and took his hand.

  ‘What should we do?’ Carly whispered to me. ‘I feel useless sitting here.’

  I nodded. ‘Let’s wait until we hear more and then decide.’

  t seemed like forever before Toby and Mike reappeared.

  Mike was carrying a clipboard with several pages of notes attached. He cleared his throat. ‘Because little can be done to reverse the initial traumatic brain damage, our primary focus is on stabilising Jesse to prevent further injury.’

  Brain damage? The words pulsed through my mind and I barely heard the rest of what Mike was saying.

  ‘We’ve been able to stabilise her and we’re now ensuring proper oxygen supply to her brain and body. We’re also maintaining sufficient and adequate blood flow while controlling her blood pressure.’

  ‘But how is she?’ asked Dot. ‘When can I see her?’

  ‘Not yet, I’m afraid,’ Mike replied. ‘We’ve done X-rays and a CT scan to assess damage to the brain. What we do know is that Jesse has suffered a severe blunt head trauma, but the good news is that, despite swelling and bruising of the brain, we’ve ruled out any other mass lesion or compression of the brain stem.’ He paused. ‘However, Jesse is unconscious and has broken her right foot. She’s being prepped for surgery now.’

  ‘Unconscious?’ said Steve, speaking for the first time. ‘But that means she’s in a coma?’

  Mike nodded. ‘That’s correct. I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you.’

  Carly and I turned to each other, unable to speak.

  Tom stepped forward. ‘Tom Buckland, Jesse’s father. When do you think you’ll have a prognosis?’ he asked in a choked voice.

  ‘It’s hard to tell,’ Mike replied. ‘But we’re doing everything we can to make sure she’s comfortable. We’ll be giving her medications like steroids for swelling as well as anti-epileptic drugs in case of seizures. In the meantime, we have to wait until the brain recovers from the initial trauma.’

  ‘Jesse fainted the other day,’ Dot blurted out. ‘Could that have had anything to do with the accident? Did she black out? I told her she needed to slow down, that she was taking on too much stress and wasn’t taking care of herself or her family. But she doesn’t listen to me. No one listens to me.’