ang2252
Silver Member
TRUE LOVE NEVER DIES
She closed the door quietly as she left the surgery. Her thoughts were in a complete turmoil. People passed her by without giving her a second glance but she was sure that she must look different.
She heard Jeremy calling after her and turned around to see him stood in the doorway. Dear Jeremy. Her thoughts went back to when she first met him, Jim had been fine then and had gone to the surgery for a routine check up and some vaccinations. Over the years he had become more of a friend and she could recall the first time that they had called him Jeremy, at his request, instead of giving him his full title. It had seemed so disrespectful at first but now it was second nature.
Jeremy had gone through the rough times with them. He had been there every time Jim had had a relapse. He had held him when the pain had been unbearable and then he had held her when things had become too much
“Are you going to be alright “ he asked when he caught up with her.
She started to sob and he put his arm around her shoulder and led her back into the surgery. The waiting room was empty which was unusual for the time of day and the receptionist asked if she would like a cup of tea?
They went into Jeremy’s consulting room and sat down on the hard, uncomfortable surgery chairs.
“Oh Jeremy” was all that she could manage to say between her sobs “Oh Jeremy”
He sat beside her with his arm draped around her slim shoulders. He knew that he was in love with her, he had been from the first time that he had set eyes on her. He was sure that she had no idea and that was how it was going to have to stay, at least for the time being.
Susan, the receptionist came into the room with two mugs of tea on a tray and a box of tissues. She looked at Deidre, sat there so obviously distraught and then her eyes wandered to her boss, Jeremy Bradshaw. She had worked for him for many years now and she had never seen him become so involved in a case. Looking at him now she began to realise why! She turned around to leave the room wishing that he had shown her the obvious love and affection that was in his eyes now for Deirdre Spencer.
Jeremy spoke first “Do you want me to take you home, Deirdre? I can close the surgery for an hour and Susan can always reach me on my mobile if there’s an emergency.”
She looked at him through the mist of her tears and saw such a handsome young man, full of care and concern care that she suddenly felt so guilty. She knew what a busy schedule he had, it was mid afternoon and she had seen the appointment book open at the evening surgery section on Susan’s desk when she had arrived half an hour earlier. Was it only half an hour since she had walked in here with such hope? She had prayed all the way to the surgery that the results of Jim’s tests would be good and that Jeremy would greet her with a smile on his face and tell her that they had all been worrying needlessly. But as Jeremy had called her into his consulting room she could tell that the news was going to be bad.
She brought herself back to the present and looked away from Jeremy’s staring eyes.
“That’s so kind of you, Jeremy but I think that I need to walk home. I need to gather my thoughts so that I can tell the children what to expect. Besides you have enough to do here, you’ve been kind enough as it is, we’re not you’re only patients and I know that you have a full evening surgery”
He lifted the mug of tea and handed it to her slowly “Here drink this before it gets cold.” He looked out of the window to see that it was starting to rain. “The weather is getting worse” he said, “The offer still stands if you want it”
She was wearing a summer dress and a cardigan with strappy sandals on her feet and she knew that the sensible thing to do would be to accept his offer of a lift home, but today nothing seemed to be making sense.
“Thanks Jeremy but I’m sure. It’s only a ten minute walk, but if you don’t mind I’ll borrow that umbrella in the corner”
He walked over to the far corner of the room and picked up an old umbrella which a patient must have left in the waiting room and not returned to collect.
He handed it to her “Ring me later this evening if you need me” he said knowing that she already had his mobile number in case there had been any need to contact him urgently over the past few months.
As she walked through the waiting room she noticed that it was already half full of patients and she was relieved that she had refused his offer of a lift home.
The rain was coming steadily down as she stepped out of the surgery again; she put the umbrella up and noticed that one of the spokes was broken. She didn’t care. Nothing mattered any more.
She had known that Jim was ill but it was hard to accept that he wasn’t going to get better.
She started to think back as she walked along, oblivious to what was going on around her.
It was a busy Friday afternoon and everybody seemed to be in such a hurry. Cars were stood still as the amount of traffic increased with the school run and the early finish of workers for the weekend.
“Oh Jim, what was life going to be like without you?”
They had been together now for fifteen years and she could remember every day.
From the first day that he had come into her life she had adored him, she had taken one look into his dark brown eyes and had known instantly that he was the one that she wanted.
The early years were so much fun. They lived close to the coast and the coastal path was beautiful no matter what time of the year it was. Every Saturday and Sunday they would go out and walk for hours. When they got back home, depending on how the weather had been they would either settle down for the evening in front of the fire or relax under the big old oak tree at the bottom of the garden. No matter what they were always happy in each other’s company.
And then after ten years Laura had come along. She was such a beautiful baby with dark brown, almost black, curly hair and big brown eyes. Jim had been fascinated with her.
She was brought out of her thoughts by a car horn beeping, she looked around half expecting Jeremy to pull up along side her but when she looked around she couldn’t see anyone that she knew. She carried on walking and she started to think back to the day that she came out of hospital with Luke. He was her second child and looked like an exact replica of Laura on the day that she had been brought home. Jim had started to be ill by this time and they had decided it would be best for him to stay in the house whilst she was being picked up from hospital.
As they walked in through the front door Jim was there by their side. Even though he was so ill he could not contain the excitement he so obviously felt.
It wasn’t long after that that he began to go downhill. No longer could he go for a walk on their much-loved coastal path. She would go out and take the children along the path but a feeling of guilt always made her hurry back to see how Jim was.
His appetite diminished. His two healthy sized meals a day became ridiculously small snacks which he ate whenever he could, which became less and less as the illness took it’s hold.
He slept most of the time, because of the medication that he was on, but Jeremy had called around regularly and we had all lived in hope.
Then one day Jim suddenly seemed to improve. He ate a little more and seemed to enjoy it; he was sleeping less and seemed a little less lethargic. Jeremy thought that it might be that he was responding to some new medication, which we had agreed that Jim would try.
After great discussion we all agreed that Jim should go for some more specialist tests to see if the illness was in remission or if it was just the medication making things easier for him.
It was today that she had gone full of so much hope to Jeremy’s surgery for the results of those tests. Jeremy had telephoned her that morning and asked her to call around at the end of his lunch time surgery. His voice had been non-committal over the telephone; in fact he had what she called his professional voice.
From the moment she had seen his face as he called her into his room she had known. He had sat her down and gently told her that Jim was going to die and that there was not much that he could do but help her to make his last few days as comfortable as possible.
She had been stunned. Days, that was the length of time that he had said. She couldn’t believe it.
And here she was walking home in the rain searching for a way to tell the rest of her family. The children now aged five and two were going to be devastated. They had always done everything together from walking in the park, to playing games on the beach when they went on holiday and lying on the lounge floor watching television on cold winter nights. She was so glad that Laura was at school and Luke at her parent’s house today so that she hadn’t needed to take them to the surgery with her. But they would be home now, her mother had offered to pick Laura up from school whilst her father stayed with Jim.
She turned into Balmoral Avenue and started slowly to walk down the road until she came to the bend where knew that she would soon be able to see the front door of number 236, the house which they had bought twelve years ago.
The main reason for buying the house had been the wonderful large back garden for Jim.
She realised that it had stopped raining and she put the umbrella down just before reaching the front door.
On opening the door she was greeted by a deadly silence. She flung the umbrella down onto the floor and run along the hallway into the lounge but there was no one there.
She felt her heart start to bang against the walls of her chest as ran from room to room. Where was Jim? He hadn’t been out of the house in weeks, surely her father had not taken him to their house. Also the children should have been home with her mother by now.
She ran back to the front door just as her father and Jeremy walked in. She was confused. She had just left Jeremy and her father was looking after Jim. What was happening? Her father took her by the arm and led her back into the lounge. It was then that she noticed Jim’s blanket strewn across the floor. Jeremy looked at her and said, “He’s gone, Deirdre. Your father arrived with him at the surgery just after you left. There was nothing that we could do. You’re father drove past you on the way to the surgery and tried to get your attention but you never heard him beep the car horn. I’m so sorry”
He knew that once Bernard, her husband, came home that she would be all right but he would stay with her until then.
He asked her father to put the kettle on and then very quietly placed Jim’s collar and lead on the hall table.
She closed the door quietly as she left the surgery. Her thoughts were in a complete turmoil. People passed her by without giving her a second glance but she was sure that she must look different.
She heard Jeremy calling after her and turned around to see him stood in the doorway. Dear Jeremy. Her thoughts went back to when she first met him, Jim had been fine then and had gone to the surgery for a routine check up and some vaccinations. Over the years he had become more of a friend and she could recall the first time that they had called him Jeremy, at his request, instead of giving him his full title. It had seemed so disrespectful at first but now it was second nature.
Jeremy had gone through the rough times with them. He had been there every time Jim had had a relapse. He had held him when the pain had been unbearable and then he had held her when things had become too much
“Are you going to be alright “ he asked when he caught up with her.
She started to sob and he put his arm around her shoulder and led her back into the surgery. The waiting room was empty which was unusual for the time of day and the receptionist asked if she would like a cup of tea?
They went into Jeremy’s consulting room and sat down on the hard, uncomfortable surgery chairs.
“Oh Jeremy” was all that she could manage to say between her sobs “Oh Jeremy”
He sat beside her with his arm draped around her slim shoulders. He knew that he was in love with her, he had been from the first time that he had set eyes on her. He was sure that she had no idea and that was how it was going to have to stay, at least for the time being.
Susan, the receptionist came into the room with two mugs of tea on a tray and a box of tissues. She looked at Deidre, sat there so obviously distraught and then her eyes wandered to her boss, Jeremy Bradshaw. She had worked for him for many years now and she had never seen him become so involved in a case. Looking at him now she began to realise why! She turned around to leave the room wishing that he had shown her the obvious love and affection that was in his eyes now for Deirdre Spencer.
Jeremy spoke first “Do you want me to take you home, Deirdre? I can close the surgery for an hour and Susan can always reach me on my mobile if there’s an emergency.”
She looked at him through the mist of her tears and saw such a handsome young man, full of care and concern care that she suddenly felt so guilty. She knew what a busy schedule he had, it was mid afternoon and she had seen the appointment book open at the evening surgery section on Susan’s desk when she had arrived half an hour earlier. Was it only half an hour since she had walked in here with such hope? She had prayed all the way to the surgery that the results of Jim’s tests would be good and that Jeremy would greet her with a smile on his face and tell her that they had all been worrying needlessly. But as Jeremy had called her into his consulting room she could tell that the news was going to be bad.
She brought herself back to the present and looked away from Jeremy’s staring eyes.
“That’s so kind of you, Jeremy but I think that I need to walk home. I need to gather my thoughts so that I can tell the children what to expect. Besides you have enough to do here, you’ve been kind enough as it is, we’re not you’re only patients and I know that you have a full evening surgery”
He lifted the mug of tea and handed it to her slowly “Here drink this before it gets cold.” He looked out of the window to see that it was starting to rain. “The weather is getting worse” he said, “The offer still stands if you want it”
She was wearing a summer dress and a cardigan with strappy sandals on her feet and she knew that the sensible thing to do would be to accept his offer of a lift home, but today nothing seemed to be making sense.
“Thanks Jeremy but I’m sure. It’s only a ten minute walk, but if you don’t mind I’ll borrow that umbrella in the corner”
He walked over to the far corner of the room and picked up an old umbrella which a patient must have left in the waiting room and not returned to collect.
He handed it to her “Ring me later this evening if you need me” he said knowing that she already had his mobile number in case there had been any need to contact him urgently over the past few months.
As she walked through the waiting room she noticed that it was already half full of patients and she was relieved that she had refused his offer of a lift home.
The rain was coming steadily down as she stepped out of the surgery again; she put the umbrella up and noticed that one of the spokes was broken. She didn’t care. Nothing mattered any more.
She had known that Jim was ill but it was hard to accept that he wasn’t going to get better.
She started to think back as she walked along, oblivious to what was going on around her.
It was a busy Friday afternoon and everybody seemed to be in such a hurry. Cars were stood still as the amount of traffic increased with the school run and the early finish of workers for the weekend.
“Oh Jim, what was life going to be like without you?”
They had been together now for fifteen years and she could remember every day.
From the first day that he had come into her life she had adored him, she had taken one look into his dark brown eyes and had known instantly that he was the one that she wanted.
The early years were so much fun. They lived close to the coast and the coastal path was beautiful no matter what time of the year it was. Every Saturday and Sunday they would go out and walk for hours. When they got back home, depending on how the weather had been they would either settle down for the evening in front of the fire or relax under the big old oak tree at the bottom of the garden. No matter what they were always happy in each other’s company.
And then after ten years Laura had come along. She was such a beautiful baby with dark brown, almost black, curly hair and big brown eyes. Jim had been fascinated with her.
She was brought out of her thoughts by a car horn beeping, she looked around half expecting Jeremy to pull up along side her but when she looked around she couldn’t see anyone that she knew. She carried on walking and she started to think back to the day that she came out of hospital with Luke. He was her second child and looked like an exact replica of Laura on the day that she had been brought home. Jim had started to be ill by this time and they had decided it would be best for him to stay in the house whilst she was being picked up from hospital.
As they walked in through the front door Jim was there by their side. Even though he was so ill he could not contain the excitement he so obviously felt.
It wasn’t long after that that he began to go downhill. No longer could he go for a walk on their much-loved coastal path. She would go out and take the children along the path but a feeling of guilt always made her hurry back to see how Jim was.
His appetite diminished. His two healthy sized meals a day became ridiculously small snacks which he ate whenever he could, which became less and less as the illness took it’s hold.
He slept most of the time, because of the medication that he was on, but Jeremy had called around regularly and we had all lived in hope.
Then one day Jim suddenly seemed to improve. He ate a little more and seemed to enjoy it; he was sleeping less and seemed a little less lethargic. Jeremy thought that it might be that he was responding to some new medication, which we had agreed that Jim would try.
After great discussion we all agreed that Jim should go for some more specialist tests to see if the illness was in remission or if it was just the medication making things easier for him.
It was today that she had gone full of so much hope to Jeremy’s surgery for the results of those tests. Jeremy had telephoned her that morning and asked her to call around at the end of his lunch time surgery. His voice had been non-committal over the telephone; in fact he had what she called his professional voice.
From the moment she had seen his face as he called her into his room she had known. He had sat her down and gently told her that Jim was going to die and that there was not much that he could do but help her to make his last few days as comfortable as possible.
She had been stunned. Days, that was the length of time that he had said. She couldn’t believe it.
And here she was walking home in the rain searching for a way to tell the rest of her family. The children now aged five and two were going to be devastated. They had always done everything together from walking in the park, to playing games on the beach when they went on holiday and lying on the lounge floor watching television on cold winter nights. She was so glad that Laura was at school and Luke at her parent’s house today so that she hadn’t needed to take them to the surgery with her. But they would be home now, her mother had offered to pick Laura up from school whilst her father stayed with Jim.
She turned into Balmoral Avenue and started slowly to walk down the road until she came to the bend where knew that she would soon be able to see the front door of number 236, the house which they had bought twelve years ago.
The main reason for buying the house had been the wonderful large back garden for Jim.
She realised that it had stopped raining and she put the umbrella down just before reaching the front door.
On opening the door she was greeted by a deadly silence. She flung the umbrella down onto the floor and run along the hallway into the lounge but there was no one there.
She felt her heart start to bang against the walls of her chest as ran from room to room. Where was Jim? He hadn’t been out of the house in weeks, surely her father had not taken him to their house. Also the children should have been home with her mother by now.
She ran back to the front door just as her father and Jeremy walked in. She was confused. She had just left Jeremy and her father was looking after Jim. What was happening? Her father took her by the arm and led her back into the lounge. It was then that she noticed Jim’s blanket strewn across the floor. Jeremy looked at her and said, “He’s gone, Deirdre. Your father arrived with him at the surgery just after you left. There was nothing that we could do. You’re father drove past you on the way to the surgery and tried to get your attention but you never heard him beep the car horn. I’m so sorry”
He knew that once Bernard, her husband, came home that she would be all right but he would stay with her until then.
He asked her father to put the kettle on and then very quietly placed Jim’s collar and lead on the hall table.
