by Helga Jensen
As I sit with Jamie beside his hospital bed, I am in self-denial once again. I am convinced that he does not have pleurisy due to his broken ribs. I also convince myself that his nose is definitely not broken, despite the fact that it looks as though it is halfway across his face.
‘I’m sure it will be fine, Jamie. Nothing seems broken,’ I reassure him in his deep sleep.
He eventually wakes up when the doctor comes around to explain the extent of his injuries.
‘It really hurts,’ Jamie says, sounding muffled.
‘Are you his next of kin?’ the doctor enquires. ‘I need to put someone down as next of kin in case of emergency. I notice nothing has been filled out yet.’
‘No, no, I am just a friend. I’ll step outside if you need to talk,’ I reply.
‘Yes, she’s my next of kin. Please stay, Amelia,’ says Jamie.
The doctor takes my contact details and then shows me an X-ray.
‘Right, well, you can clearly see the break here and here,’ says the doctor, pointing to the X-ray. ‘We need to run a few more tests, but…’
To me, I don’t see anything at all. It looks like some big black and white photo of a skeleton, if I am honest.
‘You are one lucky man. Another inch and we would have a very different story. As for your broken nose… I will need to realign that. The good news is that I am able to manually realign it today,’ he says with a smile. ‘I shall be back to see you later, Mr Lewis,’ he adds.
The doctor pauses for a while and looks a little hesitant before stopping in front of me.
‘Can you speak with me outside when you’re ready, please?’
I suppose he needs to know who has done this to him.
Poor Jamie, he has broken ribs, a broken nose, all because of me. The only thing he doesn’t have is pleurisy, thankfully.
‘Should we press charges, Jamie?’ I whisper. ‘We can’t have him do this to you. We need to catch him quickly before he leaves the country. Maybe they can stop him if we phone the police.’
‘No, let him go. If we press charges, then you will have to say how you met him and it will be all over the papers that you met a scammer online,’ says Jamie. He takes a breath, grimacing as he does so. ‘I don’t want you to have to go through all of that. Promise me that if the doctor asks any questions that you will agree with my version of events.’
As always Jamie is thinking of everyone else, even as he lies here in this state.
‘Oh, Jamie,’ I say. I lean over and kiss his forehead. Poor Jamie.
* * *
The kind Indian doctor is looking at a chart when I spot him.
‘Good, I wanted a word because we have a patient who has been admitted who also looks as though he’s been in a fight. Although not as bad as Mr Lewis. I wondered whether there was any connection? He’s an American with no next of kin here. Just a stab in the dark, but in case you knew him.’
‘What? Is it Patrick?’ I ask.
‘Ah, no, different patient. His name is not Patrick.’
‘No, of course. It’s Rudolph, is that right?’
‘Yes, nice, pleasant chap. Very charming.’
‘Well, umm, not really, but, yes. I know him. He was visiting me.’
‘Do you want to see him? He’s just here,’ says the doctor.
The doctor pulls a curtain and there is Patrick. His eye is coming up a nice shade of blue. It makes him look rugged and still does nothing to detract from his handsome face. It is what is inside that is ugly.
‘Amelia. Thank God. Look, nobody knows I’m here, okay. Can you please say you’re my next of kin? I’ll pay you back for the flight money if you do, right. It’s my stomach; they think there’s a blockage. I thought it was my intolerance but I’m in agony. A woman in reception had to call me an ambulance and everything,’ says Patrick.
‘I want the hotel bill money back too,’ I say. ‘Serves you right for all the faking that you’ve been doing. You know what they say about the boy who cried wolf,’ I add.
The doctor looks at me, appalled.
‘Sorry,’ I mouth, looking back at him.
‘We’re going to take him down to surgery for some exploration, so it would be good to get this all sorted,’ says the doctor. ‘Can I put you down?’
The doctor stands with the clipboard waiting for my response. I can feel his breath on me, he is so close. He lowers his glasses and looks at me, as if to hurry me along. I don’t want to agree but the busy doctor is waiting, just as he had for Jamie’s form a few moments earlier. Stupidly, I feel forced to agree, but only to help the doctor. What neither of them realise is that in a few moments time I am going to call the police. I don’t care what Jamie says. Patrick is not getting away with doing this to Jamie, or me. As soon as I have given my details again, I hurry away. I can’t bear to look at Patrick after what he has done.
‘Look, I have to meet my friend. I’m going to have to go,’ I say to the doctor. Sian has already arrived to see Jamie, and I don’t want to waste a moment longer with Patrick. I bid the doctor goodbye.
* * *
‘What the hell happened?’ asks Sian as she sees me rushing towards Jamie’s ward.
I explain everything and ask her exactly what she knew. Her guilty face tells me that I haven’t had enough surprises for one day.
‘I have a confession to make. Come to the coffee machine with me for a minute,’ she says, leading me towards a row of chairs.
‘I feel awful…’ she starts. ‘Before I say anything else, please understand that I did it all for you. When he was in New York, Jamie told me that he had concerns about Patrick. We could have prevented all of this much earlier. I just wanted you to be happy, Amelia. That’s why I even put words into Patrick’s mouth. Like, when I called him up that time and I told him about the thong and hinted how you two met. I liked him and thought he could be good for you, even if he wasn’t the real Patrick,’ explains Sian.
‘What? You knew he wasn’t the real Patrick all along? It was you that told him about how we met and the thong? This is crazy. Sian, I don’t believe you could do this to your best friend. What is wrong with you?’ I say.
‘Look. I never knew it would backfire, did I? Then Jamie started having suspicions. You know when you went out for dinner with Jamie, the night you saw the show? I spoke to him after he met you and he told me something,’ says Sian.
‘What did he tell you?’
‘He told me about the conference and, as you now know, it was all about fraud and scams. So… he called me, he was worried. He said that from everything you had said about Patrick, it was typical scam stuff. He said he was going to try and find out more about him. I told him not to be silly and not to tell you about his stupid suspicions. But this was the reason he took the pic of him in the airport, so he could check him out when he got back to London and put him into some scanner thing at work. Look, let’s go back to Jamie. He’ll tell you the rest of it.’
Sian and I don’t look at each other as we head back to Jamie. I begin to wonder if I really know my lifelong friends at all.
‘Jamie. You have to tell me all you know,’ I beg. Between Sian and him, I am not very pleased with either of them right now for keeping all this from me.
‘It was obvious, Amelia. I knew something was wrong and I should have stopped it earlier. That’s why I told you that night to be careful and not rush into anything. Sian made me promise not to say anything because it was all her idea. I didn’t know for sure, so I kept quiet. But I figured he was up to something. I didn’t tell you and I really should have,’ he says.
‘Too right you should have told me. Both of you are as bad as each other.’
I don’t want this discussion with Jamie in his condition and, as for Sian, I am so angry with her. If they had told me the truth before, then I would never have slept with Patrick and fallen for his spiel. I would never have even gone to New York. This has all been because of Sian getting carried away. How could she possibly do this to me?
Does she think I am so sad and lonely that she felt it necessary to find a complete phoney on the internet and dupe me? This is mortifying. As for Patrick, he must have been laughing at the thought of such an easy target.
I storm out of the hospital into the cold winter air, where I begin to cry. Today has been far too full of nasty surprises.
Chapter 43
WhatsApp – an apology
Monday
I’m so sorry.
Will you at least speak to me?
I need to explain.
I know you’re reading these as it shows me on WhatsApp.
I’m probably the last person you want to speak to right now, but I need to tell you my side of the story.
I should have told you in New York.
I was a fool for not telling you earlier.
Like I said, I’m sorry.
Tuesday
Good afternoon :-)
Are you going to speak to me today?
I hope you’re going to speak to me. I miss you.
It feels good to message you, even if you won’t reply.
Shall I tell you about my day so far?
I spent my day thinking about you.
I had coffee, a croissant and thought of you.
I thought of the time we had in New York together.
Wednesday
Good morning ☺
Are you going to ask me how I am?
Will you speak to me today?
I had toast for breakfast. I know, a very boring fact. It’s difficult having a one-way conversation here.
Please message me back.
An hour has gone by, so I guess this means you’re still refusing to message me back.
I’m not going to give up on you.
Nothing’s changed, I meant what I said.
Give my love to Jasper and Rupert. I miss them and I miss you too.
Thursday
It’s been 3 days now. Why won’t you at least speak to me?
It wasn’t my fault, please understand that.
You do realise that you can’t avoid me forever, don’t you?
You’re going to have to speak to me at Sian’s wedding.
I know you’re going to look amazing as a bridesmaid ☺
I can’t wait to see you there; I only hope you’ll finally speak to me.
Goodnight, sleep tight.
Please speak to me in the morning, btw. X
Friday
This morning I had Weetabix for breakfast.
Oh, I had an orange juice too. Variety is the spice of life, so they say.
Okay, I know I’m acting like a stalker now.
That’s why I’ve decided that today is my last day of messaging you.
It breaks my heart that we have known each other so long. Yet you won’t even speak to me right now.
I should never have said I loved you and I should have told you sooner that I was suspicious of Patrick.
I value our friendship so much and don’t want to lose that.
I can’t imagine not seeing you.
I can’t imagine not seeing that beautiful smile of yours.
Will you speak to me?
It’s been hours since my first message, Amelia. I’m going to sleep now.
I promise not to message tomorrow and move on with my life. I’m sorry for everything. Jamie Xxxxxx
I sit and think about the messages. I am still angry with both him and Sian for not telling me sooner. They say it takes two to tango, but in this instance, it took three of us to create such a mess.
Sian is to blame for starting all of this and making everything worse by putting words in Patrick’s mouth. I am to blame for going along with it all and believing that someone like Patrick would fall in love with me over the internet. Meanwhile, Jamie should have aired his suspicions sooner, then I would never have slept with such a dreadful man. I am angry with myself, just as much as I am with Jamie and Sian.
Most of all, I am embarrassed for being such a fool.
I have made a complete mess of things since the divorce and now it is time to put everything right.
Chapter 44
West Wales – news from the hospital
I am already late for work when I see my mobile light up. It says ‘private number’, so I am afraid to ignore it in case they don’t call back. Perhaps it is the police.
Unfortunately, the police have told me that Jamie refused to confirm it was Patrick who caused the injuries to him. He still protected me, even though I begged him not to. I, on the other hand, refuse to give up. I am waiting for the police to call me back. I want my money returned, but Patrick says everything I paid for was a gift. For a moment I was smug when he said that, as I knew I had evidence of him messaging me in the Bridal Shop, asking me to pay for his flight. However, I also instantly realised that I deleted every single message from Patrick during a moment of rage. I am sure Jamie would know how to retrieve deleted messages but he doesn’t want to get involved. I know he is trying to protect me from everyone knowing what happened and I respect that; I just don’t want Patrick ever doing this to another woman, which I know he will.
‘Hello, is this Mrs Amelia… umm, Simpson?’ says a voice on the other end of the phone.
‘Yes, it is.’
‘It’s the hospital. You put your name down as next of kin for…’
‘Omg, has something happened?’
‘Well, it’s just to let you know that we’re taking him in for surgery. He’s come back for some stitches to be removed and we found what we suspect is a cancerous…’
‘What? Patrick has cancer?’ After all the faking he has done this is what has happened to him.
‘Patrick?’ asks the voice.
‘Sorry, Rudolph.’
‘Rudolph? Oh, Rudolph. That lovely charmer. Ha. No, there was a Rudolph in another ward, but he discharged himself. Didn’t he tell you? I thought you were on his next of kin notes. When I entered his notes into the system, I remembered it was a bit strange that two patients had an identical next of kin… Anyway, I digress now, I must stop doing that, sorry. I’m talking about Mr Jamie Lewis. Ooh, we do have our wires crossed here, don’t we?’
‘Jamie has cancer? Patrick has discharged himself, the snake. What are you trying to tell me here?’ I say.
No, no, this cannot be happening. Not to Jamie. And why haven’t the police arrested that evil man yet. Surely, he can’t be allowed to just walk out like that. I suppose it is all about evidence and he is a convincing liar.
‘What snake? Who is Patrick?’ she asks.
‘Oh, never mind. Long story. What about Jamie? What’s wrong?’
‘Well, it’s just as well one of the young doctors spotted the mass when he came back for his check-up. It was difficult to see previously with all the swelling. We almost missed it. He’s very lucky that he managed to break his nose or we may not have found it as early on. He has been sedated, but before he had the procedure, he asked us to call you to see if you could pick him up when he’s discharged. He could do with someone to help him home tonight. All being well he can be discharged around 5pm. Is that okay? We’ll ring you when he’s out of theatre.’
I put the phone down and immediately call in sick. I was supposed to help with the display for the newly refitted shop today but will never make work in time. Besides, how am I supposed to do anything knowing that Jamie has some kind of cancer? I didn’t understand the terminology. I would google it and learn what I can, but I don’t think I could even spell it. Oh, my lovely Jamie.
I pop the kettle on to make tea. My mouth has suddenly gone dry. Poor Jamie who is always there for me.
I promise things will change if only he will be okay. I’m going to tell him how I feel and risk everything. He needs to know the truth. I have to take that chance.
* * *
The afternoon can’t come around fast enough. I manage to arrange for Dick to take the boys after school and head around to the hospital. I see Jamie right away. He looks okay, a b
it dazed perhaps, but not as bad as he could be.
‘Oh, you poor thing. What on earth has been happening? I feel terrible that I wasn’t there.’
‘It’s okay,’ he mumbles through his bandaged nose. ‘It was a polyp of some kind. They’re sending off the sample, but they think it was okay in the end. Bit of a panic due to an overeager registrar, apparently. Then when they couldn’t stop my nose bleeding they had to whisk me straight down to theatre. Hope you don’t mind that they called you.’
‘Of course, I don’t mind, silly. It isn’t cancer after all? Oh, thank goodness, Jamie… Come on, I’ll take you home,’ I say, reaching my arm out to lead him away.
We don’t say much as we leave the hospital. I can hardly understand what he tries to say anyhow with his nostrils mummified like this.
‘Can you breathe?’ I finally ask. It doesn’t look very comfortable.
‘Yes, I’m fine. I’m breathing through my mouth at the mo. Well, at least I won’t snore any longer,’ Jamie says, laughing. ‘Aww, that hurt.’
‘Shh, don’t speak, Jamie. Put your head back and relax. Okay.’
He dozes in the car on the way home. When we finally reach his house he insists that he is fine to stay alone. I kiss the top of his head as I drop him off at his front door.