Free Love's Dilemma (Sixty Minute Romance) by Naomi Davies

shock
for the whole week.
    Max’s condition did not change although the doctors and
nurses said he was doing well. This was not obvious to Clair and Sandy when
they visited him each day. He looked the same and all the machines beeped the
same. Nothing was happening. Most days they went together on the tube to the
hospital before taking it in turns over a two hour visit to sit next to him. It
was hard to sit there for the whole two hours and they would take short breaks
to clear their heads when they needed to. On the Friday after the accident
Max’s eyes opened. Sandy shouted.
    “Max!”
    He closed his eyes again, and things seemed to have
returned back to how they were before.
    Sandy ran out into the corridor and announced with a
loud shout to the hospital.
    “He opened his eyes, he opened his eyes!”
    A pair of nurses ran up to Max’s room and rushed
inside. Then they checked a whole lot of readings and machines that surrounded
him. After two minutes one of them said to the other.
    “I’ll get Rashid.” She ran out.
    Sandy and Clair had stood back to give the nurses room.
    The nurse returned with Rashid who was obviously a
consultant of some sort.
    “Please ladies; I’ll need a few minutes to check things
out. Please wait in the waiting room. I’ll come and see you when I have
finished.”
    “He’s alright is he?” Sandy asked in desperation.
    “Please, let me attend to him and then I will come and
see you.” Rashid was professional and calm. Clair and Sandy were trying not to
hope too much that something good might have happened.
    After fifteen minutes Dr Rashid Mehta came and spoke to
them. He was smiling and ebullient. He addressed Sandy directly.
    “You brother has just woken up. He is very lucky, we
were not expecting this so soon. He can’t talk, but he did make moves to get
out of his bed. I have explained to him that he has two broken legs and can’t
go anywhere at the moment. I think he understood. Go and see him but do not
tire him. You have five more minutes today, then he must rest.” Sandy hugged Dr
Mehta and Clair said thank you. She wasn’t sure if you were allowed to hug
consultants.
    They went back into Max’s room to find him looking
exactly the same except his eyes were open. He looked at them both in
recognition but couldn’t do anything else. This was enough to get both of the
girls smiling and crying at the same time. Dr Mehta came in after five minutes
and they left Max.
    Clair and Sandy both looked a mess after an emotional
week and a positive hospital visit. They decided to stop off for a drink on the
way home. The release of tension and emotion for both of them was huge, and
they even smiled and laughed a little together as they drank and shared stories
of Max. They probably drank a little too much but enjoyed the comfort of each
other. They each took a taxi home and slept well for the first time in a week.

 
     
    Chapter Ten – The Second Week
     
    Saturday should have been a day of celebration. To some
degree it was. Clair woke up after sleeping for a good eight hours. Her mum
knocked on her bedroom door and brought her a light breakfast on a tray. Cora
had obviously been crying in the night. It had become her new way of living in
the last week. She had cried more than Clair although she couldn’t explain to
Aaron the reason why.
    “Max opened his eyes last night; he did wake up didn’t
he?” Clair was unsure.
    “He did kiddo. The hospital have phoned this morning to
say that Max has started saying a few words including ‘Sandy’ and ‘Clair’ They don’t
want you to visit until after six this evening because they are going to try to
change some of his drugs today. But you and Sandy might be allowed to stay
longer if you want to and if Max is strong enough for it.”
    Clair’s mobile phone rang, it was Sandy. She had also
had the same phone call from the hospital. They made arrangements to meet at
the hospital at six on the dot. Sandy had asked Anne to cancel