Crystal's Life

Crystal's Life

I awoke, above me there was a plain ceiling, it was a cr?me colour, but
now it was turning more of a browny grey. There were several cracks and
chips of paint missing from it, which had probably fallen off into some
poor person's mouth, as their mouth had been forced open by tubes of
all sorts. I gazed at it just observing and thinking how long that
ceiling had been like that, and, when the NHS would have enough money
to fix it. Suddenly a nurse disturbed my thoughts.
"Hello Crystal&;#8230; I see you're awake now. I've just come to
check you're ok." She had long brown hair that was swept back into a
neat ponytail, some wispy bits of hair were held back by a few clips.
She had a smiley face that would cheer anyone up if they were in a
state of depression. She was about mid-height and was of medium build,
she had a bright happy personality.
"Would you like to sit up now you're awake?"
"Yes please. I'm fed up with having to lie flat on my back staring at
the ceiling."
With that I leaned forward while she adjusted it for me to sit
upright.
"Yes the ceiling can get a bit boring after a while. Better?"
"Yes thanks, where are my parents?" I questioned. I was eager to see
them; I'd been in the operating theatre for 5 hours and hadn't seen
them for most of the day.
"Oh they went out shopping, they said they'd be back at 7
o'clock."
"Oh&;#8230; what time is it now?"
"It's nearly 6:15"
"Thanks, you've been great, what's your name? I didn't catch it
earlier."
"Jennifer, everyone calls me Jenni or Jen."
"I suppose you know my name by reading my records."
"Well, yes, oh before I go, there's a guy outside called Ben. He asked
if he could see you, he arrived at about 6:00. Do you know him?"
"Yes send him in please, if I'm allowed visitors."
"Yes certainly, one minute I'll go and get him."
At last a visitor; I couldn't wait to see Ben. He was my boyfriend and
a best friend in one.
I saw him walking along the corridor then down across the ward. Ben was
an Australian I'd met on my tours. We'd clicked the moment we met.
Ben's looks were to die for; he had luscious black, wavy hair, deep
oceany blue eyes, which were hard not to gaze into for hours on end.
With his tall figure and broad chest, altogether he was irresistible.
Ben had recently proposed to me. Of course I jumped at the chance and
said yes. There was no one else who could make me as happy as he did.
We'd known each other for 2 years, when he proposed to me. It started
off with us being friends and going out in a crowd to the clubs and
discos. After a few times of speaking to each other, he'd asked me out.
I didn't think at the time we were going to get married, but here we
were 2 years on and getting married.
"Hi Crystal, how are you feeling? I brought you these to cheer you up"
he spoke in his Australian accent. It was great to hear his voice
again. His voice was bold and confident, which describes his character
well.
"Thanks you're the greatest" with that he bent over and gave me a peck
on the forehead. I could feel his warm breath on my skin, which sent a
shiver of pure delight down my spine. He'd brought me a bunch of
tulips, which were my favourite flowers; a bar of Galaxy and a
wordsearch book to keep me occupied, with a highlighter. It was such a
thoughtful gesture, I just wanted him to scoop me up and take me home.
I didn't want to be in a hospital any longer. But I knew that I'd be
staying a while. I'd just gone under a 5-hour operation to replace my
leaky valve on my heart. So I knew that I wouldn't be moving for the
next few days. As long as he was here I was happy. All I wanted now was
to see my parents.

I'd been planning for this operation since I was about 12 years of age,
when I was told that I'd never have a perfect heart. I would always
have to take it at my own pace and never exert myself.
What was wrong with my valve people asked? Every valve is made up of 3
triangles. On one of my valves one of those triangles was shorter than
the rest so it didn't close up properly. What would happen was when my
heart pumped, some of the oxygen and blood would turn and go back into
my heart. This had made it sound like a swishing sea instead of a
positive boom on a drum. I'd heard it so many times while having an
Echo. They fixed it by attaching some other tissue on to it. The other
option that I could have taken was to have a mechanical one fitted. I
didn't really want customs to be looking at me everytime I went through
the metal detector at the airport, so I had some tissue removed from
another place and put onto my valve. Quite a tricky operation. Everyone
assured me that I had a 98\% chance of living so I wasn't really that
worried.

Well back to present day. Ben and I talked for what seemed ages; we
were talking about friends, and what we were going to do at the
wedding. The wedding was going to be in a church on top of a cliff, in
the middle of July when the weather was bright and sunny. After the
wedding Ben and I were going to take a stroll along the top of the
cliff, enjoying the view and each other's company. A Rolls Royce then
picks us up and whooshes us off to the airport where we get a flight to
Australia to go and see Ben's family as they lived out there. After a
few days we get a jet to the Bahamas for our honeymoon before returning
back to Britain. It was all planned. Luckily I was having my operation
in February so I'd have plenty of time to recover.
Then I saw Mum and Dad come in, Ben, being courteous stood up and
greeted them, offered them his seat. My parents adored Ben, they
thought we were a perfect couple. Ben and I had decided for names of
our children, when we do have children. If it's a boy either Steven or
Will and for a girl Jenni.
Suddenly I started to get shooting pains through my chest; I was
finding it hard to breathe. My chest was getting tighter, tighter,
tighter like a shoe with its shoelaces being tugged to the limit. Ben
quickly leapt into action and pressed the emergency button and shouted
for help. Several nurses came running they took one look at me and
whisked me off to theatre. Ben came running down the corridor after me,
he clutched my hand and reassured me. I was starting to panic now, I
was starting to feel dizzy and the pain was even more intense. Ben was
there clutching my hand reassuring. I was getting really scared, I
couldn't breath properly, it was coming out in short sharp gasps. Every
breath felt like my last. In the theatre they put me on an oxygen mask
and gave me some painkillers. Then suddenly I felt my eyes close and
darkness.

When I woke up Ben was asleep in the chair next to my bed; he looked
like an angel when he was asleep. I noticed that I had tubes and wires
coming out of me everywhere. Suddenly he awoke; he looked at me and
smiled. With that he moved his chair close to the bed and clutched my
hand in his, his hands were big and warm. We looked into each other's
eyes, then he told me that I'd rejected my valve so they had to perform
an emergency operation and replaced it with a metal one. "Looks like
I'll have to put up with setting off a few alarms" I chorused to try
and make some happiness out of a sad matter. He gave a little nervous
giggle then looked at me with his puppy dog-eyed expression.
"Crystal, you mean everything to me, I love the attitude you have
towards life, you always try to make light of the darkest scenes." he
muttered, turning a little red in the cheeks. I leant over and kissed
him to show that I understood.
"I'll be fine, don't you worry. I won't let anything take over my body.
Our family are fighters!"
"I know, you've proven that."
My mum and dad came running down the corridor, they had big smiles on
their faces. They were obviously pleased to see I was alright.
"Don't you ever do that to us again" my mum instructed in her
light-hearted tone.
"I promise, I wouldn't dream of leaving all of you."
"Good, we bought you this" with that my dad opened a bag and handed
over a little box. It was so small it could fit into the palm of my
hand. I opened it and inside there was the most beautiful gold bracelet
with a gold plaque with my name on it.
"Oh mum, dad you really shouldn't have, it's&;#8230;gorgeous."
"It's for my little survivor," said an emotional dad.
I turned round and smiled, I had tears welling up in my eyes. I was
going to cry any minute.
My mum sat on one side of my bed and dad sat on the far end next to
Ben. I just wanted to clutch my mum and dad in my arms, but there were
too many tubes. I never wanted my parents to die. They'd been the best
parents a girl could have. They always supported me in what I wanted to
do. They never let me give up hope. That's probably why I am so strong,
because they are strong too.
After a few days I was better. My mum and dad were staying in a hotel
at the time, but Ben stayed with me most of the time. He would go out
with my parents to keep them occupied then come back and sleep in the
chair next to me. I was glad that he wasn't around all the time, as I
knew I'd get ratty at him and we'd get stressed out. He was a very
understanding guy.
The nurse came round on one of her normal duties. It was Jen again.
We'd built up quite a good friendship, we'd promised each other to keep
in touch after I got let out. She'd told me all about her family, she
had one sister, a Mum, Dad and her Nan who lived next door. They all
lived on a farm. She told me loads of stories about her child hood with
the animals that kept me entertained. All the different animals had
different characters, she told me. On the farm they had dogs, herds of
cows, several flocks of sheep, one of which was a flock of blues, a
horse that was her sisters and a little flock of chickens. Quite a
handful. Jen would go back to the farm after every shift and help on
the farm, even though she was tired. She said she didn't mind, and that
she loved all the animals and would rather help them than go to sleep.
I loved hearing about her farm it sounded so interesting.
"Come and visit sometime when you're feeling better, you'll enjoy
it."
"I'll make sure I do" I replied enthusiastically.

A few years after my operation, Ben and I were happily married with
twins. They were called Jenni and Steven, like we'd said years
ago.
I was at home watching television with Jen and my children; we were
having a good conversation about how she'd just got a major crush on a
guy called Chris. When suddenly the phone rang, startling both Jen and
I.
"Hello 0..7..3..0..8&;#8230;.8..7..7..1..9..8. Crystal
speaking"
"Hello Mrs Kelsey, it's the Accident and Emergency department at the
William Harvey, your husband is here, he has been involved in a car
collision. Please don't feel the need for alarm he's fine. Can you
please make your way swiftly, thank you."
That was it I hung up the phone. I started to fidget not sure what to
do first. "Crystal&;#8230;what's wrong?" asked Jen in a concerned
manner.
"Ben's been involved in a car crash"
"Oh my god. You go, go see him quickly"
"What about the&;#8230;"
"Don't worry I'll bring them up as soon as they're ready"
I managed to shout out a thank you as I went out. I fumbled with my car
keys and eventually got them in the lock.
The hospital was about a 15-minute drive on the motorway. Today it took
me 5 minutes. Nothing was going to stop me from getting to my husband.
What had happened to him? Was he ok? Was he going to live? These were
some of the questions running through my head as I drove to the
hospital.
As I approached the hospital I was coming over all shaky. By the time
I'd parked the car I was as shaky as a jelly on a vibrator. I walked
along the corridor. As I approached Reception I saw the receptionist
who looked up and smiled.
"Hello, can I help you?" she asked in a bright cheery voice
"Um&;#8230;yes my husband has been involved in a car crash, is he
alright?" I asked in a shaky tone of voice
"First I need to know his full name, can you give it to me please
Mrs&;#8230;."
"Kelsey... his name is Ben, Ben Kelsey."
"Um&;#8230; yes he's been brought in. At the moment he's in theatre
having an operation on his chest."
"Why what happened to him?" I asked starting to get a bit
distressed
"He had a bit of glass stuck into him that's all, don't panic it wasn't
near his heart," She said trying to be as helpful as possible
"would you like to come and sit in the relatives room, until the
operation is over" She started to coax me over to the relatives'
room.
"Yes...ok." I agreed, I didn't really feel like it, but it's the only
place to sit down
I found out the receptionists name was Teresa, she sat me down and got
me cup of tea. Teresa sat with me for a few minutes then she had to go
back to reception, as more and more people were coming in. After about
half an hour a doctor came in.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Holmes" he said in a silky, sexy voice. How could I be
thinking about these sorts of things, when I'm here for my husband? He
was very good looking, we looked into each other's eyes for a while,
and then I shook myself internally from staring at his gorgeously silky
brown eyes.
"Is my husband alright?" I asked eagerly
"I'm afraid that he died 10 minutes ago, we tried as hard as we could
to save him but he had a blood clot that burst as we were trying to
remove it. It was in one of his main valves of his heart. You see as we
were repairing the damage caused by the crash, we noticed a blot clot,
which unfortunately burst as we were attempting to remove it." He tried
to put it to me gently; it obviously took a lot of guts to do this sort
of thing.
"So&;#8230;did he... basically bleed to death, be honest, please?" I
was starting to choke up with emotion.
"To be perfectly honest yes he did" He was so honest it hurt inside. I
didn't think that he was going to answer so truthfully. This answer
just took me by surprise. I just burst into tears, I was so upset, my
true love had left me and we had two children. I'd have to look after
them by myself, how was I going to cope? How was I going to be able to
organise everything like the funeral with the children around? what
would I tell the children? My mind was a blur of confusion.
Doctor Holmes came over and pulled me into his chest, I just sobbed
into his chest. It felt good that someone understood and cared. He
comforted me for several minutes until I calmed down, then he sat with
me and talked to me. He was eager to know about Ben and I. I found out
his name was Patrick. Patrick advised me to think about all the good
times Ben and I had, had. We got chatting and I was sort of starting to
enjoy spending time with him. Suddenly his pager went, with that he
rose to leave, but before he did he took a card out his pocket and
scribbled on the back of it. Then he passed it to and ran off saying
someone was in labour. I looked at the card on one side it had his
mobile number on it and on the other it had his home number on it
saying 'Call me if you need help'. I was really touched. Even though
I'd only just met Patrick I felt like I'd known him for ages. Jen
walked in with the children suddenly disturbing my thoughts. I quickly
put the card into my coat pocket and ran to hug the children.
"How is he Crystal?" asked Jen with a noticeable nervousness in her
voice.
"He passed away about ? an hour ago. A blood clot burst as they were
removing it and he bled to death." I burst into tears again.
"Oh come here." comforted Jen, she was trying hard to stop me crying. I
didn't really need a lot of comfort as I had my mind on other
things&;#8230;

A few months later I was in a state of depression. I'd managed to sort
the funeral of Ben out with some help of my parents. They were
distraught at the news and were nearly as upset as I was. It all went
well. The relatives of Ben turned up and I learnt a bit about his child
hood, how he was complete terror, giving all the teachers in his school
a hard time. But as he'd grown older he'd become more
sophisticated.

I'd been in touch with Patrick a lot, as he would talk to me and keep
my mind off Ben and we'd been out for a drink. He'd cheered me up and
pulled me out of my depressed state. We became really good friends and
talked to each other about everything. We were like brother and sister.
He'd get me to ask girls out for him and in return he'd ask some guys
out for me. They never lasted long but they were fun. One night we were
out at a club called Indigo, which was a club with all the best dance
music. We danced together, as friends, which was great fun. Everyone
was looking at us as if we were a couple. I got so many glares from
women who thought that we were together. I felt like I was the envy of
every girl on the dance floor. How wrong they were to assume we were
more than friends. We left the club early as Patrick had an early shift
at the hospital. He drove me back in his red BMW convertible and when
we got outside my house we stopped and chatted about the evening.
"Right I suppose I'd better go then." I said eagerly, to get the
conversation rolling again. I looked at him. The light of the moon was
reflecting off of Patrick's small black, oval glasses like a mirror.
Patrick only wore his glasses for driving and reading. Suddenly he
turned to look at me, then removed his glasses. We stared into each
other's eyes for what seemed eternity. His eyes were like black holes,
once you'd entered you could never return, they were a black so dark it
was a wonder how they could be that brown. His hair was nearly as dark;
he had a lovely face, not too school boyish just perfect! I noticed
that he always took a lot of pride in his appearance, which I admired
in a man. As we gazed into each other's eyes our heads came together
until we kissed. His lips were like silk against mine. My mind went a
blank and I was lost, he wrapped his arms around my waist, a feeling of
sheer delight ran up and down my spine. Maybe this was our destiny. My
husband died and an angel of heaven comes down to sympathise with me.
If only!

A couple of days later I was lazing around the house after doing the
housework, both kids were out at mates houses and probably wouldn't be
back 'til 6 o'clock. It was now 2 o'clock. When suddenly there was a
knock at the door, I swung my legs off the sofa and made my way to the
door. I couldn't see who it was at the door; it looked like a man. I
opened the door lazily and was shocked to see Patrick on the doorstep
with a bunch of roses and a bottle of wine.
"Can I come in, I thought I'd come round and cheer you up!" he chorused
cheerfully.
"Sure come in, you surprised me, didn't expect to see you 'til the
weekend"
We sat down and opened the wine, we started chatting, and then Patrick
started to tell me all the stories happening at the hospital. I loved
to hear him tell me these stories, he'd go on for ages and I didn't
mind. We got through the bottle of wine in no time. I started to
arrange the flowers on the dining room table with my back to Patrick.
Suddenly I felt two strong arms wrap themselves round my waist and him
massaging my neck with his lips, I became paralysed and he had to help
me stand upright. Patrick started to take steps backwards, then he spun
me round and we came into a lock of complete passion. We fell onto the
sofa, kissing each other tenderly. Patrick knew how to treat a lady; he
was a real lady's man and was never full of himself like most other men
I'd met.
Some how we had made our way to my bedroom. Patrick started to unbutton
his Pierre Calvin shirt, then proceeded to undo his belt.

A couple of hours later Patrick had his arm laid across my shoulders
lazily. He looked down at me and we locked into another passionate
embrace. Then when we arose I looked at the time, 5.15pm. "Oh no, my
children will be home in ? hour, quick we need to get up." I sprung out
of bed sweeping up my dressing gown and clothes. We both hastily got
dressed and managed to hide all the evidence just before they entered
the door. "Hi Mum!" screeched Steven. He thundered into the lounge, I
looked up and so did Patrick. "Hey Steven, how are you?" asked Patrick
without trying to sound suspicious.
"Fine thanks Patrick, how are you?"
"Alright, oh hello Jenni, are you okay?" He asked with a sense of
concern in his voice. Her arm was bleeding furiously from a gash.
Patrick rose from his seat and swept Jenni from here feet and took her
into the kitchen, and then he hastily shoved it under the tap. The
blood was pouring out, a tea towel was on the side, which he scooped up
and pressed against the wound with enough force to stop the bleeding
but not enough to hurt Jenni. Patrick started to assure Jenni that
she'd be all right then subtly started to question how she'd done
it.
She told him that she was running into the house and caught her arm on
the rusty nail on the gate. Then he questioned me on whether the kids
had had their tetanus injection. Which I was glad to say they had.
Before I knew it Patrick was rushing Jenni to my car, he ordered me to
come and open the door, then we hastily got into the car and sped off
down the motorway to the hospital. I was in the front with Steven and
Patrick was in the back with Jenni, attempting to keep her as calm as
possible.
When we reached the hospital everybody leapt out of the car and raced
for their lives in the hospital. We rushed in to casualty. It all
seemed to go so fast. Patrick ran along the corridors shouting for
help, then a trolley appeared from nowhere, he hastily placed Jenni on
the trolley like a fragile ragdoll then proceeded to run along side the
trolley into the operating theatre. Steven and I chased after them into
theatre. I didn't think her injury was that serious, but maybe it was.
We were told to sit in the relative's room.
Later on Patrick came into the room with Jenni skipping along behind. I
leapt up from my seat and scooped her up in my arms. "Thank God you're
alright, I was worried about you." I exclaimed in disbelief.
"She's fine, it was quite a deep wound but it will heal. The doctors
sewed it up just to help it heal quicker. I was worried that she'd lose
too much blood that's why I rushed her in here. I'm sorry I startled
you all." Patrick explained
"Oh that's alright, as long as she's alright now I'm glad." Steven came
over but there was no room for him, so Patrick took Steven and gave him
a hug as he was feeling left out.

Over the years Patrick and I were getting closer and closer. Steven
and Jenni were starting to notice that Patrick was coming round more
often. They never asked questions but I could tell what they were
thinking. Both of them were always polite around adults, they also
loved to muck about with Patrick. Some nights all four of us would sit
around playing board games, cards or watched a movie. When Ben died
they were only two so they didn't really know their father. They tended
to treat Patrick as their father and he treated them like his own. We
all got on well.
One day in May, Steven, Jenni, Patrick and I decided to go on a rowing
trip down the local stream. Steven and Jenni insisted that they wanted
to go in a canoe each. So I let them get in a canoe and have a chance
to paddle along free, Patrick and I shared a pedalo. We were having
great fun pedalling along and the kids kept coming up to us and bashing
in to the sides. This would consequently rock our pedalo. Each time
they did hit the pedalo Patrick and I would rock furiously from side to
side to give them the satisfaction they wanted.
When we got back to the house the kids were really hyped up and were on
the phones to their friends telling them what a great day they'd had
and arranging for each of them to go round to their houses. At last
they'd be out of the house. That meant Patrick and I could have the day
to ourselves. This meant he'd be spending the night over!!!

We woke up quite late; it was about 11 o'clock when we finally left the
house. The previous evening (whilst still sober) we decided that we'd
go out on our bikes and take a picnic with us. I had a dark magenta,
coloured mountain bike, which suited me down to the ground, and Patrick
had his dark green mountain bike with suspension. We rode for ages side
by side just chatting away. We rode along side the sea then dropped
down beside the canal, and rode along side the canal all the way out
into the country. Where we set up our picnic and ate, after eating we
sat there and gazed up at the sky. Then Patrick lazily laid his arm
across my shoulders. I accepted this gesture and snuggled into him. I
closed my eyes and started to daydream about how life couldn't get much
better. When I opened my eyes again I saw that Patrick had disappeared
and his arm was no longer around me. I felt like a lost soul and
unprotected. I sat up and looked around. He was no where to be seen,
now I was starting to worry, where was he? What if he was in some kind
of trouble while I was asleep, what condition was I going to find him
if any at all? I rose to my feet and looked left, right, left again,
right again and then behind me. No where to be seen.
"Patrick where are you? PATRICK, PATRICK WHERE ARE YOU?" I bellowed at
the top of my voice.
I kept my ears open in case he was a long way away. I started to walk
out in to the middle of the field where we'd been sitting. Whilst doing
this I continued to scream and shout for Patrick. Just as I was going
to turn around and go back to the main drag I heard a faint shout for
help. I screamed again. Then I heard it, "Crystal, Crystal, over here."
It was very faint but loud enough for me to pick it up.
"PATRICK, KEEP SHOUTING SO I CAN FOLLOW YOUR VOICE." I shouted back
hoping he'd heard me. Thankfully he did hear me and started shouting
any old nonsense. As soon as I heard him I started to run in that
direction. Suddenly I came to a deep bank and just managed to stop my
self-falling down. "PATRICK WHERE ARE YOU?" I screamed.
"No, need to shout Crystal I'm here."said Patrick. With that I looked
down and to my surprise there was Patrick sat in a little heap at the
bottom of the bank.
"Patrick, thank God I found you, I was so worried about you, are you
alright? What have you done?"
I questioned with disbelief. He looked like a helpless ragdoll who
couldn't get up without the help of a strong hand.
"I'm OK, all I've done is sprained my ankle, nothing to worry about.
This is what we're going to do. First get a piece of wood to stick in
the ground so that if you have to go and get things then you can find
me easily, second get me two pieces of wood which are strong and some
string." He ordered me; I didn't like the fact that he was ordering me
about but I obeyed, as he was the more experienced when it came to this
sort of thing. I got a huge plank of wood which had obviously been
dumped and rammed it into the ground with tremendous force. Then I
proceeded with my next task, to find two pieces of wood and string. I
found the wood easily and threw it down to him. One of the pieces
nearly hit his sprained ankle. Now the string, this was a lot harder to
find. Then I noticed that my laces were undone. I bent over to tie them
up then suddenly realised that I could use them. I tugged with all my
force to get them out. What Patrick had done was put the wood either
side of his ankle then tied the laces round to secure the wood in
place. Next I was to make my way down the bank, I managed to get down
to Patrick, but it was just a case of getting us back up without more
injuries. I wrapped Patrick's arm around my neck and put my arm round
his waist. Then I pulled him up on to his feet, now for the difficult
bit, getting up the bank. We decided that we'd go up it by side
stepping that way it was like a ski slope. Surely it was going to take
a long time but at least we'd get up.
When we got to the top we laid out on the grass to catch our breath
back. Once we'd done that we rose again and made our way back to where
our picnic was. I sat Patrick down and got him what he needed, and then
I proceeded to get help. I leapt on to my bike and pedalled furiously,
I passed field after field after field, there was no sign of life but
then I saw a pub on the horizon, it was 'Botolphs Bridge'. I entered
into the bar but there was no one to be seen, I walked round the
deserted pub and kept my ears pricked for any sign of life.
"Hello dear can I help you?" came a deep voice from behind. I swivelled
round and came face to face with a man. He was quite short, about 5 ft
with so many chins you couldn't count them. Also he had so many
wrinkles that he looked like an old oak tree. In his mouth a cigarette
was dropping ash on to the floor, he had little squinty eyes like a pig
and ginger hair. The names that immediately came to my head were Nigel
or Barry. I didn't know why, it was probably because my parents had
known a man named Nigel who looked like him, except he wasn't fat and
dumpy but tall and skinny like a bean. Dumpy as I'd nicknamed him was
dressed in a pair of old, worn out, blue jeans; also he was wearing a
red, green and white chequered shirt. I erased all my thoughts and
proceeded to tell "Dumpy" what had happened. After I told him he just
stood there and looked at me, I just stood there and stared at him
back. Then he blinked and proceeded to turn around and make his way to
the back of the pub then through a door. As I followed him through I
gazed round the pub. We walked along a dark, dingy enclosed corridor. I
noticed that he walked with a really bad limp, I found it hard not to
burst into fits of giggles. Then we turned into another room, he went
in first and stood behind the door and held it open for me. I walked
and stood in the middle of the room, as I looked round the room I saw
there was a settee, which was a dark red, a fireplace, which was made
of walnut. It all looked like a normal house. Then from behind me I
felt two arms fling round my waist and two hands attempting to undo my
blouse. I was shocked at what this guy was doing. I turned around and
released my self from his grip. Then I stood there and faced him, then
slapped him round the face. He looked really shocked, his cigarette had
fallen to the ground, there was a huge handprint on his face where I'd
just hit him.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?" I questioned in disgust.
I gave him a disgusted look, and placed my hands on my hips. He didn't
answer; I was starting to get furious.
"I'll tell you what you are, you're a sick pervert who takes advantage
of girls in distress, all because you're stuck in the middle of
no-where. What made you think I was going allow you to take advantage
of me? Now if you don't mind I'd like to use your phone to call for
help to save my boyfriend." I just had to make him realise he was not
getting away with it. He just looked at me, I could tell he was ashamed
at what he'd done. Then he nodded and pointed to a phone. I picked it
up and rang for an ambulance, I told them to meet me outside the pub
and I'd take them from there. Once I'd finished the phone call I put
the phone down, thanked "Dumpy" and hastily walked out. I sat on the
kerb of the road and waited for the ambulance. When it arrived I leapt
up on to my bike and rode as fast as I could so that the ambulance
wouldn't be crawling behind me, and the fact I wanted Patrick to be all
right. I'd already lost one true love; I didn't want to lose
another.
When we arrived, the ambulance people got out a stretcher and ran
across the field after me. Patrick knew the ambulance men as they were
always taking emergencies in and out of the hospital. They said that
they never expected to have to pick him up for an emergency and that
it'd be the gossip of the hospital for ages.
When we got to the hospital Patrick was taken to a cubicle. Of course
he wasn't panicking as he worked in this place and knew everyone there.
He gave all the relevant information and the nurses got to work
immediately. No sooner had we got in than we were out again. One of the
ambulance men called John gave us a lift home as he was going that way
and we didn't have any way of getting home. Patrick had to use crutches
to get around. I offered Patrick to stay at my house while his foot got
better, he accepted. He already had the main things he needed round at
my house as he spent so much time with me.
When we arrived home the kids were sat on the doorstep. They were
obviously worried at where we'd been. As I got out the car they rushed
up to me and slung their arms round my waist. Then they started
babbling at how they'd been worried where we'd got to. I explained
briefly what had happened, then sent Jenni with the key to open the
door, whilst Steven helped me take Patrick in.
Once everyone was settled and Patrick was sat down with his foot
resting we started to watch a video. It was The Matrix, which the kids
had wanted to see for ages. But no sooner than it had started than they
fell fast asleep. I carefully picked them up and put them to bed. When
I came back down from taking Jenni to bed I saw Patrick on the floor
kneeling. He told me to sit down, when I did so, I noticed that he'd
turned off the video and put some romantic music on. Then he said in a
soft gentle whisper:
"Crystal, I know that if I don't ask you now to be mine then I'll
regret it for the rest of my life. So please fulfil my dreams and be
mine, Crystal will you marry me?"
There was silence for ages. I just gazed into his deep silky brown
eyes. It seemed like eternity. I knew exactly what my answer was going
to be, but I wanted him to sweat a bit before I told him.
"Of course I will Patrick" I whispered back.
With that our bodies came close together while our lips were in a lock
of passion and utter happiness. It was the happiest and most hectic day
of my life. I was the happiest girl in the world. Patrick had now
proposed to me, I couldn't believe it; my mind was all fogged over with
happiness, excitement, joy and nervousness.
After we'd danced for a while Patrick stopped took one arm away from
round my waist and proceeded to rummage in his pocket. Then he produced
a little navy blue box. He showed me it then opened it, inside was a
gold ring with a huge diamond in the centre of it. It was twinkling at
me like the North Star on a dark night. He took it out of the box, took
my hand in his and placed it on my finger. It fitted perfectly. The
ring looked so wonderful, also as if it were too pretty and expensive
to be placed on my hand. I hugged Patrick; and started to cry.
"Why are you crying?" Patrick asked in a soothing voice.
"I'm not crying, they're tears of happiness" I informed him with a
smile on my face.
"Oh that's ok then, I thought I'd upset you" he whispered into my ear,
his warm breath on my neck. Then his lips started to massage my neck
tenderly. I felt like I was in heaven, I could see white fluffy clouds,
he was wearing a black tuxedo and I was in a gold wavy dress. There
were all the people I knew there as we danced together, I could see my
mum; dad, grandparents, the twins, Ben and his parents were there too.
Even Ben seemed to be smiling at me in recognition that I'd moved on.
Jen was also there with the man she'd described to me so many times who
she had a mega crush on but never had the guts to ask out. His name was
Chris. Then as Patrick and I danced I imagined that I closed my eyes
and suddenly appeared back down to earth. I opened my eyes from my
dream and realised that my dream was to be my wedding.
After six months of preparation the big day was here. My wedding day, I
was panicking as usual and getting really hyped up. The twins were all
dressed up. Jenni had a silver dress on in the same style as my wedding
dress and Steven was in a mini black tuxedo with a silver handkerchief
hanging out of his jacket pocket. They both looked so grown up. They
were both 11 now. I'd asked my friend Jenni to help me get changed
along with my mum, as there were so many pieces to my dress. Jenni had
invited Chris under much persuasion from me. He was helping Patrick
along with Patrick's dad. Both of Patrick's parents were really sweet,
kind and enthusiastic. We all seemed to get on, which was great. It was
now time for me to put on my dress. It was a brilliant gold colour that
reflected the light. It was sleeveless and was tight round the top then
proceeded to go out as it reached the bottom. The veil had golden
tinges to it; I had gold shoes to match. Then it was time to go. I was
to ride in a horse drawn carriage with brilliant white horses. It was
big enough to hold six people so we got everyone in. Once we'd pulled
up, the twins got out, followed by Jenni, followed by my mum and lastly
me. I walked into the entrance of the church where I met my dad. I saw
that as he gazed at me there was a tear in his eye. "I hope that's a
tear of happiness" I told him. He nodded and hastily wiped it away.
Jenni and my mum had gone and sat down. I bent down to Jenni and Steven
and gave them a hug. They fully understood that Patrick was now going
to be their father. They didn't mind at all. Then they picked up the
extension of my dress at the back and we were off down the long aisle.
I looked up to see Patrick watching me, he smiled, I smiled back, this
was going to be the best day of my life. I knew that for sure.

At the after wedding party there was music, a buffet, dancing and a
general atmosphere of happiness. Everyone was chatting and laughing
about this and that. I was talking to Jenni and some other friends of
mine including; Zoe, Louise, Emily, Fiona, Olivia and Jozee. We were
all the mates, which had kept in touch from secondary school. At that
time we were talking about the time we went to the club 'Purple
Ronnie's' and I met the Italian guy. But it unfortunately didn't work
out as I'd collapsed on the floor from over exhaustion. So basically my
heart couldn't cope with all the dancing. Someone apparently heard that
he was going to put something in my drink so that I'd sleep with him.
So my little fainting phase saved me even more. That was an experience
never to be forgotten. Then Patrick came over and started chatting to
everyone. All my friends really liked him. "Sorry ladies but I'm going
to have to take my wife away for a dance and drink, but I promise I'll
return her to you as soon as I'm done!" Patrick interrupted. With that
he led me onto the dance floor. He was in his black tuxedo and I was in
my gold dress. There was smoke on the dance floor just like my dream. I
was also pleased as all my family and friends were here. It surely was
the wedding day of my dreams. I had two great kids, some great friends,
my parents, Patrick's parents and my husband and soul mate in one room.
I was the happiest I'd ever been. Nothing could ruin a day like today
and it was a day to be remembered always by Patrick and myself as it
was our special day.
As we spun around on the dance floor I closed my eyes yet again. I
won't say what I saw, I'll leave that for your imagination to figure
out and guess what the rest of my life was like.

Written by Miss .C. Bray