by Anna Samuels
I felt myself blush at her words. She was still smiling at me warmly and I felt a rush of awareness fill me as our eyes held. ‘I wouldn’t go that far,’ I murmured.
‘Sarah, you carried me up a cliff! You’re incredible,’ she told me, her words softly spoken.
I felt myself swallow involuntarily and for some reason, couldn’t look away from her intense gaze. Her eyes were such a beautiful green and the way she was looking at me-well, I couldn’t ignore it.
‘I just did what anyone would do in the same situation. You were in trouble, and I helped.’
‘You sure did,’ she smiled warmly. ‘You’ll always be my heroine from this point on,’ she told me happily.
I grinned feeling faintly embarrassed. ‘Well, okay…so, how are you feeling?’ I asked her, hoping to change the subject.
‘I feel great now! They’ve pumped me full of painkillers so I can’t even feel the leg anymore.’
‘That’s good…’
‘They have to operate, Sarah.’
I nodded, ‘Yeah, uh…the doctor…well, I think he got the wrong impression about who I was. He told me about the operation. I think he thought I was a family member.’
‘I told him you were,’ she revealed.
I was surprised. ‘You did?’
‘Yes…they were going to keep me here, Sarah. I’m on holiday in Wales and I can’t get any of my family to come all the way here to rescue me. I figured if they thought you were my partner, they’d release me into your care and then we could both go about our business separately.’
‘I don’t think that’s the idea of having someone to care for you.’
‘No, I know!’ she exclaimed, ‘but I’m desperate, Sarah. Please help me! I won’t burden you! I just need to get released from this place.’
‘Why?’
‘Oh, I hate hospitals! And really! There’s no need to keep me in! It’s just a broken leg!’
‘And a bump to the head.’
‘That was nothing,’ she said dismissively.
‘I don’t think so,’ I frowned.
She looked at me carefully. ‘So, you won’t help me?’ she questioned.
‘I didn’t say that,’ I replied.
She smiled at me then, a slow creeping change which made her even more beautiful than she already was. ‘You’ll get me out of here?’
I nodded. ‘Sure…why not.’
‘Oh, thank you, Sarah! You’re an absolute godsend!’
I met her eyes, smiling. ‘Well, a proper heroine wouldn’t abandon you after all we’ve been through!’
‘Oh, you’re amazing! Thank you so much.’
‘So, what’s the plan?’ I asked, leaning towards the bed a little.
‘Okay, well you’ll need to pretend to be my girlfriend,’ she told me.
I nodded.
‘And probably sign some papers for me.’
‘I see,’ I murmured.
‘I think I have to stay in tonight because they have to do the operation and monitor me because of the hit to the head. After that, I think I will be free to leave as soon as I have someone to care for me.’
I nodded, ‘That sounds fine then,’ I murmured, thinking hard, ‘aside from one condition I have…’
‘What condition?’ she frowned.
‘If we’re going to do this, when we get out of here, I am going to take care of you temporarily,’ I told her.
‘Oh Sarah! You don’t have to do that!’
‘Yes, I do. In fact, my answer is no if you don’t agree to me helping you,’ I said matter of factly.
She sighed and then met my eyes. ‘Okay…’
‘Yes?’ I asked.
She nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘Good. Well, shall I leave you to it?’ I asked, glancing around.
‘Only if you want to,’ she said, looking over at me with wide eyes. ‘I’d rather not be alone unless I have to.’
I nodded slowly, thinking that this must be scary for her. Being on holiday and suddenly vulnerable must be quite unsettling, I mused. ‘No, of course you don’t want to be on your own. I’ll stay. Of course, I’ll stay,’ I told her.
She smiled at me warmly. ‘Thanks Sarah.’
Chapter 3
New friends
With it decided that I was staying, I settled back in the seat and tried to get comfortable. My shoulders ached badly and I circled them in order to try and quell the pain.
‘You alright?’ she asked, watching me.
‘Yes, just aching muscles,’ I told her. ‘I’m not used to much physical exercise,’ I laughed. ‘Today was a bit of a shock to the system.’
She smiled. ‘You were incredibly strong,’ she commented.
‘All those years of body building,’ I joked.
She smiled at me.
‘So, you’re here on holiday too?’ I asked.
She nodded, smiling. ‘Yes. I’ve been here for almost a week. It’s such a lovely area and I’ve seen loads of wonderful sights. I didn’t realise you were here on holiday,’ she murmured, looking at me thoughtfully.
‘Yes. My grandmother grew up in this area so I wanted to come and explore,’ I explained.
‘Oh, I see! That’s lovely.’
I nodded, ‘Yes. I can see why she always spoke so highly of it.’
‘It’s a gorgeous area of the world,’ she commented.
‘It is.’
‘So, are you on holiday alone, Sarah?’ she asked.
‘I am, yes…how about you?’ I enquired, not wanting to go into the reasons why I was on my own.
‘Yeah…on my lonesome sadly,’ she smiled. ‘I split with my partner a short while ago,’ she informed me, ‘so I’m getting used to doing things solo…’
I nodded, sympathetically. ‘I’ve just split with my partner too.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah,’ I sighed. ‘A week ago, actually. Things are pretty rough at home so I thought a break away would do me good,’ I told her.
She looked at me with a frown. ‘Who on earth would break up with you?’ she asked softly.
I felt my cheeks warm with colour. ‘You don’t know me, Nikki. Maybe I’m a complete nightmare…’
‘Somehow, I suspect not,’ she replied. ‘I bet she is though, right?’
‘She?’ I questioned, lifting my eyebrows.
‘Accurate guess?’
‘Yeah…’ I nodded, looking down.
‘I always know,’ she smiled, scanning my face with her eyes. ‘I have great gay dar.’
I chuckled at her. ‘Takes one to know one, right?’ I joked.
‘What, moi? Whatever gives me away, Sarah?’
‘Oh, I don’t know…something in the eyes,’ I smiled.
She widened her smile as she looked at me. ‘You’re right…that’s where it is exactly.’
‘So why did you break up with your partner?’ I wondered.
‘She left me for someone else,’ Nikki told me matter-of-factly.
‘No way! I’m sorry!’
‘Yeah, so was I…until I realised I deserve much better and wasn’t happy anyway.’
‘Why weren’t you happy?’
‘Because it was one of those relationships which was awkward from the beginning. We argued quite a lot and I don’t like living like that.’
‘Me neither,’ I agreed. ‘How long were you together?’
‘Just under a year…’
‘I see.’
‘And why did yours end?’ she wondered.
‘She met someone else at work. They’ve been seeing each other for months apparently. I just don’t understand it. Why not break up with me first? Why not just finish the relationship you’re in before embarking on a new one?’
‘Because life isn’t like that,’ she murmured. ‘It’s not straight-forward and easy. It’s messy and complicated.’
‘Well I like easy and uncomplicated,’ I told her.
‘Me too,’ she nodded. ‘I just haven’t found anyone who is like that in
a relationship.’
I sighed. ‘Exactly. Honestly, I’m nearly thirty,’ I told her, ‘I thought things would be so different by now.’
‘In what way?’
‘I wanted to settle down, buy a house, maybe get married and have some children. I’m pretty traditional for a lesbian. I just want the simple things in life but I haven’t met the right person to have them with.’
‘I’m sure you will,’ she told me kindly. ‘I mean, you seem pretty great.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, as pink tinged my cheeks. ‘What about you?’
‘What about me?’
‘Well, what do you want from life?’
‘Everything you just said,’ she told me wistfully. ‘I want to find the woman of my dreams, move to a house by the sea and have children and pets and a garden to potter in. I’m like you, Sarah…pretty traditional with simple pleasures pleasing me. I don’t want anything extravagant, I just want to be happy.’
‘That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?’
‘It sure is,’ she smiled.
As I smiled back at her, the curtain opened and a doctor stood there. We both looked to him expectantly.
‘Hello! My name is Doctor Barnes,’ he informed us.
‘Nice to meet you,’ Nikki replied.
‘And you. We have an opening to do your operation in an hour. We’ll need to get you prepped.’
‘Okay,’ Nikki said. ‘So, when can I get out of here?’
‘You’ll definitely be in tonight, but I can try and get a release for you tomorrow-all being well.’
‘Great! My girlfriend and I are desperate to get back to enjoying our holiday,’ she told him smiling and then looking over at me in adoring fashion.
Her look made me blush and I had to look away from her. I turned my gaze to the doctor, who was speaking again.
‘…so, we’ll come back and take you in soon.’
‘Thank you, Doctor Barnes.’
I watched him as he left.
‘That’s good news then,’ I said, turning back towards her.
‘It sure is, yes! So, will you come back tomorrow to collect me?’ she asked, looking unsure.
‘Yes, of course. Shall I go now then?’ I wondered.
‘It’s completely up to you,’ she replied. ‘I don’t want to keep you from your holiday. I really don’t want to mess any of it up for you.’
‘It’s fine,’ I said, waving a hand dismissively. I stood up. ‘Well, I’ll come back in the morning and hopefully they’ll release you.’
‘Yes, I seriously hope so! I hate hospitals,’ she murmured, looking around and giving an exaggerated shudder.
‘Yeah, me too. Anyway, I hope it all goes well. See you in the morning?’ I questioned.
‘Yes, I’ll see you then,’ she replied. ‘And Sarah?’
‘Yes?’
‘Thank you so much for helping me today. I’ll never forget what you did for me.’
I smiled at her warmly. ‘You’re more than welcome. It’s been lovely to meet you actually.’
‘Ditto,’ she smiled.
‘See you in the morning,’ I said, walking away.
‘Bye Sarah! See you tomorrow.’
I took the lift down to my car and then drove away, out of the car park and away from the hospital. Despite not knowing Nikki earlier in the day, it felt weird to leave her alone on her own in a strange place. I didn’t feel entirely happy with the situation and yet she had said to leave so I figured it was okay.
I got back to the holiday cabin in just over ten minutes. The place was calm and quiet with few other guests staying at this time of year. I unlocked the door and went inside. All of a sudden, I felt exhausted. Not only had I driven a four-and-a-half-hour journey but I had been involved in an emergency that had been completely unexpected and overwhelming. I slumped onto the sofa feeling shattered.
As I sat there trying to comprehend the events of the day, there was only one thing I kept coming back to. Nikki. Meeting her had thrown me so completely that I find I was unable to shake her image in my mind.
Her beautiful, green eyes flickered through my thoughts and lingered. She was gorgeous in my eyes; tall, blonde and utterly beguiling. I wondered how she was getting on and whether the operation was finished. I debated whether I should have stayed to support her through it. My mind was all over the place so eventually I decided to take a long, hot bath.
Sometime later, lying in the soapy heat, I still thought of Nikki. Her smiling eyes haunted me while I tried to relax and I found myself thinking about her in more physical ways and shifting in the water as the awareness grew. My body heated as I imagined getting close to her. As quickly as the thoughts had arrived, I pushed them aside. I had no right to be thinking about her in such a way! I had only just met the woman and she was currently struggling with pain in a hospital! I told myself I was being inappropriate and willed my body to relax. I managed it temporarily, only for the images to float back moments later. With a sigh, I decided to get out of the bath.
My night was spent tossing and turning. I was tired beyond words but couldn’t seem to settle. In the early hours of the morning I eventually slept. When I woke, it was early and despite the hour, I got up. I wanted to go back to the hospital. Perhaps I should never have left, I decided.
With breakfast eaten and my clothes on, I headed out of the door. It was only eight by that point, but I wanted to see her.
I locked up the cabin and then walked down to my car. After programming the sat nav, I was off.
Ten minutes later, I pulled back into the hospital car park. I then left the car and rode the lift to the ward where Nikki had been the previous night. I headed for the reception of the ward to ask after her.
It turned out she had been moved and the woman at the desk redirected me upstairs to a new ward. I thanked her and headed up the stairs. I felt anxious and worried suddenly. I hoped she was okay.
When I reached the ward, it was quiet. I realised that Nikki might be sleeping so I walked in quietly so as not to disturb her. When I stepped around her curtain, I found that she was not only awake but looking as if she was ready to leave!
‘Hey Nikki,’ I said, stepping in.
‘Sarah!’ she smiled happily. ‘You came back!’
‘Of course I came back!’ I laughed. ‘Did you expect me to abandon you?’
‘I hoped not, but then you never can tell!’ she chuckled.
I went to sit beside her bed. ‘I was worried about you actually.’
‘You were?’ she asked, looking pleasantly surprised. ‘It that why you’re so early?’
‘I had some trouble sleeping last night. I worried I shouldn’t have left you alone.’
‘Oh, you’re so sweet!’ she exclaimed. ‘I was fine…well aside from a rubbish night sleep too! They had a snoring woman over there for half the night! It was awful!’
‘Oh dear…well hopefully we can get you out of here soon,’ I said, looking down at her leg. ‘How did it all go? The operation?’
‘Fine…there was two breaks and they’ve both been repaired successfully. I just need to wear this cast and boot for the next six weeks and then I’ll be back to normal hopefully.’
‘I hope so too,’ I nodded. ‘It looks much better now they’ve put it in a cast…and at least it’s only the lower section of your leg! If it were your upper leg you may well be in a wheelchair!’
‘I know! I had exactly the same thought. Thank goodness I fell on the right bit!’ she laughed.
‘Well, it would have been better not to fall at all,’ I replied, ‘but never mind. It’s done now…’
‘Yeah,’ she laughed. ‘Clumsy me!’
‘How did it happen?’ I asked, realising I had never asked the obvious question.
‘I was taking a photo and concentrating on the picture, not the step I was standing on. As I focused the camera, I lost my footing and fell.’
‘Ah, I see…’
‘And to be honest, I can be clumsy sometime
s. Big feet!’ she chuckled.
I looked down to her feet, frowning and saw perfectly normal, adult sized women’s feet. When I looked back to her face, I saw she was joking with me. I laughed aloud and sat down beside her. ‘Nikki!’
‘Well, you have to laugh, don’t you?’
‘You do,’ I agreed, still smiling. I realised I smiled a lot around Nikki. ‘So, when do you get to leave?’
‘I’ve already got the ball rolling. The doctor is working on getting me released. It should be sometime this morning he said.’
‘Great! So, what’s the plan when we leave?’ I asked her.
‘You tell me!’ she said, shrugging.
‘Well…I was thinking about it and it would be best if we went to collect your belongings and then I take you to my cabin where I’m staying. We can get you comfortable and settled and then…I don’t know, maybe spend the day getting to know each other?’
She smiled at me. ‘You really don’t have to do all this for me, Sarah.’
‘Nikki, don’t start this again. This was the agreement!’
‘Yeah, yeah…I just…you do know what you’re getting yourself into right?’
‘I have no idea,’ I told her smiling, ‘but my instincts tell me I am doing the right thing.’
‘What you’re doing is very honourable and kind but I feel like I’m taking over your holiday.’
‘Don’t be silly! I’ll still do all the stuff I wanted to do, it’ll just be…different,’ I decided.
‘Different how?’
‘Different because I’ll have a friend to do it alongside,’ I told her softly.
Her face changed and she smiled at me. ‘Now that…sounds perfect,’ she replied quietly.
Chapter 4
All night long
Half an hour later, Nikki was discharged from the hospital. I carried her handbag as she made her way along the corridors on her new crutches.
‘These are going to take some getting used to!’ she exclaimed as we got into the lift.
‘I’ll bet! You’ll be a pro in no time though,’ I assured her.
‘Yeah, I guess. I feel really clumsy right now, and the leg feels really heavy.’
‘Does it? You’ll get used to it.’
‘I will…’
‘So, where is your holiday house?’