Stella Makes Good (18 page)

marched straight into Liz’s office and slammed the door closed. ‘How could you?’

Liz looked up from her computer. ‘How could I what?’

‘Retrench her? She’s devastated.’

‘What choice did I have, Stella? If anything, I should have done it months ago.’

‘But you have no idea about her family situation. This couldn’t have come at a worse time.’

‘I’m sorry if Jesse’s personal life is problematic, but she’s a liability. It was only a matter of time before we had real problems.’

‘So you’re saying we don’t have real problems with her now? That this situation could have been avoided?’

‘Stella, you’re being deliberately difficult. We don’t have the funds or the resources to keep up with Jesse patrol.’

‘But on her good days, she positively beams and she’s always up-to-date with new releases. Jesse lives and breathes the library and the patrons love her for it.’

‘I’m sorry, Stella. My mind’s made up.’

We stared at each other a few moments before Liz said, ‘Anything else?’

‘You can’t do this.’

‘I can. It’s done. End of story.’ She shook her head and went back to reading her computer monitor. I stood my ground until she looked up again. ‘Seriously, Stella. I don’t have time for this.’

‘Neither do I,’ I said. ‘I quit.’

I grabbed my bag and marched out of the library.

I shook my head as I walked to my car. What had I just done? My job! Fuck. I couldn’t afford to quit. Besides, I loved the library. Yes, Liz was a pain, but she was a manageable pain most of the time. Nevertheless, I had to stick up for Jesse. Support her, go after her and talk her down, which was exactly what I intended to do.

I swung out onto the road, still furious with Liz. The woman had no compassion. She was a cyborg, no doubt about it.

It was hard to hear my phone ringing over the downpour but eventually I did. I fumbled through my bag and reached for it. ‘Yes?’ I said distractedly.

‘Stella, it’s Toby. I’ve got June’s test results. She doesn’t—’

I was having trouble concentrating, not to mention that visibility was almost nil. ‘Sorry. Could you repeat that?’

‘June doesn’t appear to have Alzheimer’s,’ said Toby calmly. ‘Doctor Gordon’s only conducted preliminary memory tests, as you know, but it doesn’t look sinister.’

Relief washed over me. ‘Thank goodness.’

‘We’ll schedule her for further appointments so we can absolutely rule it out, but I’m confident . . .’

I could barely hear Toby over the rain, and the cars in front of me had come to a standstill. There was some sort of commotion up ahead. Looked like a car accident. Smoke was billowing everywhere.

‘Stella?’ Toby said. ‘Stella, are you there?’

‘There’s been an accident,’ I said, pulling up on the side of the road. ‘Oh my God. It’s Jesse,’ I screamed, as I saw her car mangled up against a huge gum tree. The front part was totally wrecked.

‘Stella?’

‘We . . . we need an ambulance,’ I cried, dropping my mobile and tripping over my feet in my frantic attempt to get out of my car.

Two men were trying to break open the front doors of Jesse’s car.

‘What happened?’ I shrieked to the few bystanders who were watching.

‘She drove into a tree,’ said one.

I walked closer to the wreckage.

‘Don’t,’ said a man, grabbing me by the arm. ‘Don’t go any closer.’

‘I have to. She’s my best friend.’ I was shaking, doing my best to remain upright.

The stranger continued holding me. ‘We’ve called an ambulance. Shouldn’t be too much longer.’

I could see Jesse slumped back against the driver’s seat, bloodied, unconscious. There were sirens in the distance, getting closer.

‘I have to talk to her,’ I begged the man. ‘She needs to know I’m here.’

He looked at me kindly. ‘Let’s wait for the paramedics. Sam, come here.’

A Labrador that had been barking at the wreck fell silent and obediently came over to us.

‘I’ve got to help her,’ I sobbed, but did as the man suggested.

An ambulance parked near Jesse’s car and two women climbed out. A third ambo, a man, directed everyone to take several steps back. It all seemed to be happening in slow motion.

The police arrived and the man with the dog walked over to them. In a daze, I followed.

‘Did you actually witness the accident?’ one of the officers asked the man.

He hesitated. ‘Yes.’

‘And what did you see?’

‘I was walking Sam, my dog, on the other side of the road. The driver was travelling in the opposite direction. She pulled her car over and slowed right down. Maybe even stopped. And then barely a minute later . . .’ He paused.

‘Go on,’ said the officer, looking up from his notes.

‘Well, this is the unbelievable part. She seemed to accelerate straight into the tree.’

‘No!’ I screamed, feeling suddenly dizzy. Not Jesse.

Someone led me away. ‘Is there anyone we can call? Family? Your friend’s husband maybe?’

I shook my head, sobbing into my hands. Poor Jesse. This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t. Her car was completely mangled. It would be a miracle if she . . .

I couldn’t think like that. Jesse needed me to be strong. I wiped my eyes and stood up. ‘Yes, of course. Her family. I need to phone her family.’

Somehow I made it to my car, opened the door and retrieved the phone I’d flung on the floor in my haste to get out. I dialled Steve’s number.

The ambulance’s siren started up again as it sped away.

‘Where are they taking her?’ I heard the man with the dog ask the police.

‘Royal,’ one of them said.

Mike, I thought, just as Steve answered the phone.

‘What do you want?’

‘Steve?’ My voice quavered. ‘Jesse’s been in a terrible accident.’ The words tumbled out of my mouth. ‘Car accident. They’re taking her to the Royal.’

‘If this is some kind of joke—’

‘Please hurry.’

Before he could say anything else, I hung up and dialled Carly’s number.

‘Hey, Stella.’

‘Carly!’ I sobbed. ‘It’s Jesse. She’s been in a car accident. They’ve taken her to the Royal. I’ll see you there.’

‘But—’

‘Carly, I don’t know any more. Just hurry up and get there.’

As soon as I hung up, my phone rang. It was Toby.

‘Stella, Mike’s on his way in. He’s had word to expect a patient who’s been in a car smash near your work. Is it—’

‘Jesse. God, yes. She looks bad. Really bad. I don’t know what to do.’

‘At this stage there’s probably not much you can do. Are you coming in?’

My mind went blank.

‘Stella, are you there?’ Toby’s voice was firm and clear. ‘We’re getting ready to receive her. I’ll talk to you when I can.’

I dropped the phone to my side. Over at Jesse’s car, the police were taking photos, removing personal items and interviewing witnesses.

The man with the dog reappeared next to me. ‘I’ll drive you to the hospital,’ he said gently.

‘No, I couldn’t.’

‘It’s no trouble, as long as you don’t mind Sam joining us.’

I motioned towards the police. ‘Don’t you have to stay?’

‘I’ve told them everything I can remember. They have my details. They’ll be in touch if they need me. Come on, it’s a ten-minute drive. Let me take you.’

I burst into tears again. I needed to be with Jesse but I was a mess. I wiped my eyes and nodded. ‘Thanks.’

‘Sorry, I introduced Sam but not myself,’ he said as he helped me into my car. ‘I’m Robert. Rob. And you are?’

I sat in the passenger seat in a daze, staring at the throng around Jesse’s car. It still didn’t seem real. ‘Stella,’ I said vaguely.

Rob pulled out onto the road. He was driving at the speed limit but we seemed to be moving in slow motion.

‘Excuse me,’ I said. ‘I need to ring my husband, ex-husband actually. But we’re still good friends. He should know.’

‘Can you remember his number?’

I nodded. ‘Speed dial.’

Terry answered after one ring.

‘Jesse’s been in a car accident,’ I told him, sobbing again. ‘They’re taking her to the Royal. Meet me there?’

‘Of course, love. On my way.’

Rob and I arrived at the hospital seven minutes later. He tied Sam to a pole just near the emergency entrance. It was wet and cold outside.

‘Will he be okay?’ I asked.

‘The smokers will keep him company,’ said Rob, guiding me through the hospital’s automatic doors.

I was in shock, unable to focus, so Rob asked for directions to the emergency waiting room. Around us, doctors and nurses flew by in a blur. Finally, we made it to the waiting room. I looked around hoping to see a familiar face. No one else was there yet.

‘Can I get you anything?’ Rob asked. ‘Water? Coffee?’

I shook my head.

‘At least take a seat,’ he said, signalling to a row of chairs near the windows.

I sat, wringing my clammy hands together. ‘I don’t know what to do. What do you think’s happening? Where is she? Why isn’t anyone else here?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘My God,’ I said, my voice sounding strangled and foreign. ‘I don’t know what to do.’

‘I don’t want to leave you here alone,’ said Rob, ‘but I feel like an intruder. I shouldn’t stay.’

‘Please do, at least until someone else gets here.’

‘I’m really sorry about your friend.’

I looked at him and seemed to see him for the first time. ‘Yeah.’ I started crying again. ‘How did it happen? The roads were wet and slippery, but Jesse’s driven that road hundreds of times. Hundreds.’

Rob was silent.

‘You told the police that Jesse slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road,’ I said.

‘That’s what I saw.’

‘Then what happened?’

‘Look, Stella, maybe I didn’t see things clearly. I’m not sure.’

‘But you said she accelerated into the tree?’

Rob took a deep breath and sighed. ‘Yes. To be honest, it looked like she slowed down almost to a stop and then sped into the gum tree. I’m sorry.’

I was sobbing again, shaking my head. ‘That can’t be true.’

Rob nodded. ‘I hope you’re right.’

The seconds ticked by as if they were hours. I distracted myself by thinking about the kids, the roast I was cooking for dinner, the storm and the flash flooding in the area. But there was only so much distraction I could manage before other thoughts started hijacking my brain. The last time I’d been in a hospital waiting room—other than for June’s sprained arm—was after Dad’s car accident. Images of him in intensive care filled my mind: tubes everywhere, the burns . . . Once the swelling and bruising had faded, it had looked like he’d had a facelift. His legs had borne the brunt of the impact and had required numerous skin grafts . . . I shuddered at the memory, wishing Mum and Dad lived closer, not in Melbourne, a thousand kilometres away.

Carly came rushing into the room. ‘I got here as quickly as I could. What happened?’

I stood up. ‘Jesse’s been in a terrible accident.’

Carly hugged me. ‘I hope they’ve got the other bloke in custody.’

I stood back from her and wiped my eyes. ‘That’s just it. There wasn’t anyone else involved.’

I looked around for Rob but he’d gone. My car keys were on the seat next to me. I hadn’t even thanked him.

Carly gasped. ‘But how did it happen?’

‘Yes, how?’ It was Steve.

It was the first time I’d seen him since last Thursday night. I went to hug him, but he backed away.

‘Don’t touch me. Just tell me what happened to my wife.’

‘She was in an accident,’ I started.

‘You were there?’

‘No. I arrived a few minutes later. It happened just after she left the library.’

‘That goddamn library! I told her I didn’t want her working there.’

It’s a little too late for that, I thought as the three of us stood there awkwardly.

‘I’m so sorry,’ ventured Carly.

Steve didn’t acknowledge her. He walked over to the unoccupied nurses’ station and rang the bell. ‘Hello? Anybody here?’

I couldn’t believe his attitude. It was as if he’d been greatly inconvenienced and was doing everyone a favour just by gracing us with his presence.

A minute later, Mike appeared. It was odd seeing him again so soon. Then again, lunch seemed like years ago. Carly and I rushed over to him.