The Cruel Twists of Love (14 page)

“I’m Helen Evans
and it’s nice to meet you Mrs. Jones” as the old lady releases her

“
Pish pash you can call me Elsie dear” she whispers and she heads home with her mugs and leaving Helen to finish the kitchen alone.

              She managed to dust and clean the fridge
out when she hears Phil calling her name from upstairs and quickly runs to the scullery and hiding the cleaning products. Not that she can hide what she done but to allow him to think it was easy and no trouble for her to do this for him. She rushes to greet Phil at the bottom of the stairs

“I got a surprise for you” she says a little breathless and grabbing his hand and dragging him to the kitchen. She hoped he liked what she done.

“I hope you like it” she says nervously as she opens the door for him to a clean kitchen

“
What you done Helen?” he looks mad, shit he doesn’t like it

“I done your fridge too” trying to lift his mood

“Shit Helen, there must have been mould for Christ sake, are you o.k.?”

“
I’m a little hungry, that why I came in here. But when I saw your fridge I couldn’t leave it” but she did feel a little breathless from all the cleaning

“
Your eyes are a little red Helen, I think you having a reaction to the mould. Helen, Helen” he sounds so far away she thinks as the room begins to spin.

             “Helen
, Helen, come on baby open your eyes, I got you Baby” she struggling to get her breath.

“
Breathe slowly, there you go” she feels like she is been carried and tries to opens her eyes but they sting.

“
What the poor girl done Phillip?” she hears when she feels the cold air on her face

“
Not now Elsie, Helen just having a reaction but if you could get my keys please” the tightening in her throat getting tighter as she struggles to breathe.

“I
will drive Phillip. You will need to be in the back with Helen. Was it all that mould?”

“
How the hell do you know? Shit Elsie you a nosey bitch sometimes” and snapping angrily at Elsie

“
Don’t Phil” She gasps the words out.

“
Don’t you worry love, Phillip has got you dear”

“
And I box your ears later you not too old yet Phillip Taylor” she scolds him.  She starts to fit as she is put in the car.

“
We are going to need an ambulance Elsie. Helen can you hear me?” and her world goes black again.

          “Mrs
. Taylor do you know where you are?” she opens her eyes to a man in green overalls

“Mrs
. Taylor we have given you a shot to open your airways up, you should start to feel a little better now” where was she and she looks around for Phil confused

“
Your Husband meeting you at the hospital, can you tell me where you are?”

“
Um, I am in an Ambulance?” Helen says quietly 

“But
I was cleaning the kitchen” she was confused as to why she here. Helen eyes sting and she tries to rub them.

“
Don’t do that Mrs. Taylor they will give you some drops at the hospital” and he stops her hands in the rescue mission of her sore eyes

“
Have you any allergies?”

“
No”

“
Have you ever had any fits before?”

“I fainted once
before when I was drunk, but no fits”

“Well Helen, so did I when I also had too much to drink” he jokes kindly at Helen

“You look a little young to be married”

“
Umm I not, why did you think I was?” the ambulance turns a corner and she grabs the arm rest to steady herself

“
Sorry must have crossed wires I thought Dr Taylor said you were his wife, don’t be worried about falling you well strapped in” they turn sharply again and Helen instantly grabs the rest again

“I liked to strap the girls in
and Sharon at the front takes the men” and twinkles his eyes suggestively at Helen

“I’m ill” she giggles
but a little flirting making Helen feel a little brighter

“
That the best type of girl you can’t run away” he teases

“
But I think I get a busted nose from the misses as Sharon a snitch” and checking her eyes with a light and reading her charts she was attached to

“
Your B.P a little high but we nearly there as you had a beauty sleep” and swirling his hand in the air for Sharon to see in the mirror and she can feel the ambulance speeding up.

“
Keep talking Helen. I only got Sharon all day and she a right pain in the arse” he jokes

“I heard that” Sharon shouts from the front and Helen starts feeling a little sick.

“You are going a bit green Helen. Must be my chat up lines” and reaching for a sick bowl for Helen

“
No sick on the sides of the ambulance please, It a bugger of a thing to clean off” he scolds her playfully and she feels the build-up in her stomach and she starts to vomit into the bowl.

“
Charming the best looking girl all week in here and I make her sick with my jokes” he teases her but quickly rechecking her charts as she continues to vomit on a empty stomach

“I not going to give you something for the sickness as we here” and changing her bowl with another one
before opening the back door of the Ambulance

          She can’t see Phil anywhere as she hurriedly rushed in through the corridor
and bashing the doors with the feet of her trolley and she pushed into the waiting area.

“
These lovely ladies will take over, Miss?” and sliding her over onto another trolley

“
It’s Evans” he smiles kindly at her and goes over to the doctor in charge with his clipboard as the nurse start asking her questions and Helen continues to be sick and struggling to answering her.

“I get something for the sickness, you not allergic to anything?” she shakes her head and wished she hadn’t as she starting to feel light-headed again

“I’m looking for my wife Helen Taylor she was brought in by ambulance” Phil’s voice but she not his wife? The confusion setting in again as her head is cloudy and vomiting again

“
Could you check out Mrs. Jones, she was exposed to the mould too, thanks” she could just make out “pish pash” from Elsie when Phillip comes around her curtain and looking at her sick bowl

“N
urse there a Mallory-Weiss tear” and the nurse hurries back in

“Helen, we going to have to put a tube down your throat to check,
will you get the endoscopes for me I will do it” and he gives the nurse a stern stare

“I
will get the doctor on call to do it Phil” and she hurries out of the cubical

“I give you the shot the nurse brought you as it will relax you for the endoscopy” he says kindly and he holds her hair
when she is sick again

“I thought we be in Newport
?” finding a break in her sickness

“I told them to bring you to Cardiff. I know the staff here and who good and who not Helen
, this is going to sting” he injects her with the cool liquid turning burning hot as it courses through her veins

“
That might stop the bleeding but we need to cheek to be sure”

“
Now Miss let have a look” a young man that looks like he just out of school comes around the corner.

“If you think for one
minute I let you touch her. I’m your superior and I’m telling you to piss off Mike”

“Phil there no-one else on call
I got to” but Helen can see he intimidated by Phil as her sickness slows

“I
will do it and you can watch me got it?” he snarls at him

“
Alright Helen when the dipstick goes to get the endoscope I will change your clothes” and walking out with the doctor and returning with blue scrubs

“
These will have to do sorry I forgot your dress” and patently undressing Helen and deposing her borrowed overalls in a bag and sealing it closed then slowly easing the bottoms on and then the top

“I like you in scrubs” he teases
her and kisses her head

“
This is not going to be pleasant sorry but I need to check” opening the curtain and dragging Mike back in with a trolley

“
Not a bloody word Mike do you hear me or we both be fired. I covered up for you before, now and I’m asking you for a favour” Mike nods and closes the curtain tighter

“Phil” she tries to plead with him that she was o.k.
and that she felt better since the injection but he holds his hand in warning

“
Now Helen I’m going to spray this into your mouth if you could open wide” she gags as the spray hits her back of her throat

“
That good, you doing great Helen you will need to swallow the tube down” getting the tube and putting into her mouth but she can’t swallow her throat is too numb.

“
You got to swallow Helen” and he pushes it down further and gagging again as her throat fights the intrusion.

“
Just going to pop the camera down now Helen” he so close when he looks at the pictures on the screen

“
Yes, there a tear in your oesophagus but I think it will heal on its own”

“Mike, can you see it?
Look just there? You can take the tube out” Mike starts to remove the camera and then the tube

“Gently now
that it” finally it out she thinks relieved

“If you get some pain killers I
will watch her tonight” kissing her head gently.

“
Thanks for the kitchen Helen, but don’t ever frighten me like that again” he scolds her and he strokes her hair

“I was hungry” she says throatily

“No food for you for about two hours Doctor Orders” and laughs at Helen as she groans her displeasure

“I better go and see the old bat from next
door, I want be long” and touching her cheek before he leaves   

            Helen is on her own in her hospital room because Phillip was taking Elsie home but Phil was coming back later with some clean clothes from home. Her parents phoned earlier to see how she was and if she needed anything from home. Helen was still hungry but also had a sore throat and her stomach ached and her eyes still stung.                                                                                                                                                                                   

        Hospitals
policy no longer allowed flowers on the wards, but Phillip getting his own way had brought Helen a large bunch of yellow roses and her favourite colour in flowers. And were now proudly at the bottom of her bed. The waiting times were over for today but Phillip had pulled strings and was staying the night at the hospital with her and had put himself on call for the night. 

        A blonde nurse coming into her room and a welcome distraction from the boredom Helen was feeling
was wheeling the blood pressure checker and fresh water and was getting the ear thermometer ready.

“
O.k. if I check your temp?” she asks kindly but not waiting for an answer as she sticks it into Helen ear

“
That fine, could you hold your arm out” and wrapping the band around Helen arm and starting the machine as Helen feels the band tightening with the air being pumped in, then slowly loosening with a hissing sound

“
Much better, have you know Phil long?” the nurse asks when puts away the band and fills in Helen chart

“
Nearly a year” she blurs the truth a little, she had known him for nine months, and that was what she asked Helen

“
Oh, sorry I didn’t recognize you. You the girl from club”

“
You were there?”

“
Yes we were on a date but he sent me home with his friends when the fight started, sorry I got to go” and bustling out as another Nurse in a different colour comes in

“Carol?
Have you moved to this ward?” with the first nurse shaking her head and rushing out

“
Just one minute Helen” and following Carol out and Helen creeps to the door to find out what that was all about and she can make out Carol talking

“
Sorry Maggie I just wanted to know who he dumped me for, just one glance from little Miss. perfect in there and four years down the drain”

“
You can’t carry on like this Carol and I will have to report you Carol you know that” Helen can hear a firm threat in the other nurse’s voice