Chapter Fifteen
On his way from his visit to Ryan, Adrian takes the turn off to Maitland.
There was nothing that hurried him back home immediately and there was also no way that he can be in Cape Town and not see René. They worked the same shifts, so chances are that she is at the barracks.
Adrian parks his car outside the barracks and walks on to René’s room. He softly knocked his familiar coded tap on the door and waited a while before René opens the door. Her face lights up seeing Adrian.
“Hi, handsome.” she smiles.
“Hello, René.” Adrian smiles back at her and shyly presents her with a bouquet of roses.
“I um . . . I was in Cape Town and I thought maybe . . . maybe I could drop in and see you. I miss you.”
René embraces Adrian and they kiss each other passionately for a while.
“It’s so good to see you.” he says.
“It’s great to have you here. You are scarce.” René teases. She puts the roses aside and closes the door. Adrian blushes self consciously.
“I can’t remember your barracks room being so small.”
“Would you like to sit outside? It’s just . . . we won’t have much privacy and we so much to talk about.”
“It’s okay here. It’s chilly anyway.”
Adrian sits down on the soft chair at her dressing table and after putting a steaming cup of coffee on the table for Adrian, René takes a seat on her bed.
“I heard about the armed robbery the other day. It was terrible. I was so worried about you.”
“To be honest with you, Barry and I honestly thought that we won’t come out there alive. Between the suspects and Barry, more than a hundred shots were fired.”
René stares wide eyed.
“And none of you were hit?”
“No. If a person doesn’t believe in God, he should have been there the other day. Of all those shots, only about seven hit the car. Most of them were the R5 projectiles. So, do you enjoy your new partner’s company?” Adrian tries to change the subject.
“Yes, but I really miss Rose. She was very special.”
“I can’t bear the thought of losing Nero. I really thought about you a lot after that ordeal.”
René laughs.
“Believe me. I was aware of that.”
“What breed of dog did they allocate to you now?”
“A sheep dog. Apparently, they are the best breed for drug detection. They are thinking of sending me and Whisky for that training where they teach the dogs to sniff out blood and semen samples on rape and murder cases.”
“Good gracious! You are so fortunate! That’s an interesting field to work in.”
“Isn’t Nero leaning more over to drug detection?”
“No. He is a patrol dog mainly.”
“Would never say that? He is hopelessly too friendly and calm for that.”
Adrian laughs.
“Never fall for that one! Just ask the criminals out there in Grabouw. They are scared as hell for him.”
René smiles, puts her mug aside and gets up. She walks closer to Adrian, takes his hands in hers and he gets up from where he is sitting. She pulls him closer, embraces him fiercely and kisses him passionately. After a while, René tries to take Adrian’s shirt off, but he gently prevents her from doing so. Adrian takes René’s hands in his and tries to catch his breath.
“René, I love you so much. You are a beautiful, wonderful woman, but . . . but please, don’t do this.”
René kisses Adrian again and after a while, Adrian realizes that if he doesn’t stop now, he might give in to temptation and that he might dishonor her. René was drop dead gorgeous and everything in Adrian cried out for her, but he knows it is wrong to take her.
“René . . . René, no, no . . . please . . . please don’t.”
Adrian takes René’s face tenderly in his hands and looks in her eyes.
“Adrian, I love you. I really want you. Please, this is not wrong. We love each other.”
“I love you too and I also want to be with you, but this is wrong. We are not married yet and this is against God’s will. He can’t bless our relationship. Not like this.”
“Adrian, I know you proclaim to be a Christian, but so am I. Please, don’t bring religion into this. I love you. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s that simple.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t agree.”
René loosens her from Adrian’s embrace, turns around. Adrian gently turns her back toward him.
“René, René . . . please, please don’t cry. I’m doing this now because I love you. Because I have too much respect for you. Please, we are so young and we have our whole lives ahead of us.”
“And you don’t want to share it with me.”
“I’ve never said that. What do you expect from me?”
“Some sort of commitment will be nice!”
Adrian closes his eyes.
“Well, René, I’m not ready for a permanent commitment, if that is what you are looking for. I’m barely 22. I have a lot I want to achieve in my life and I can’t expect you to live with me for maybe a short while, risking making you a widow like that.”
“You are just playing around. That’s the problem. Like any man.”
“You’re not fair now. You know what, I’m very heartbroken that everything turned out like this. I love you very much, but I’m going home. I’m working tomorrow again and I don’t like conflict at all.”
“You are not going home. You are running away from the situation! That’s quite mature, don’t you think?”
Adrian takes a deep breath.
“Listen, you know where I am, where to find me, okay? Maybe when you calm down and see my point of view that I love you too much and I respect you too much, then we can start to see each other again.”
Adrian softly kisses René on the cheek.
“I love you.”
“No, you don’t.”
Adrian sighs and walks to his car, driving on toward Grabouw, knowing in his heart that his relationship with René is over.
Adrian arrives at the farm some forty minutes later. Barry isn’t back yet it seemed.
Adrian parks the car, gets out and walks onto the main house where the smell of a pot of coffee and the smell of freshly baked cake or muffins greets him. Adrian enters the kitchen and walks onto the lounge where Chrissie is sitting in the late afternoon sun, busy with some needle work. She makes the most beautiful pictures with needle work. It is as if the picture will come alive any moment.
Chrissie looks up.
“Hello, my son,” she greets Adrian, but then she becomes very concerned.
“What’s wrong?”
Adrian sits down on one of the couches.
“I think I’m single again.” he says very sadly.
Chrissie frowns, puts the needle work aside.
“What happened, love? Did you visit René?”
Adrian nods.
“I wanted to surprise her when I came back from Ryan. We had such a great time, but . . . then she expected too much of me. I refused her. It wasn’t easy.”
Adrian swallows hard.
“She is such a beautiful, sexy woman, so passionate. She gave me so much love and . . .” he blushes embarrassed.
“She left me breathless. I could feel how I’m responding to her and I knew that if I don’t stop, I’ll dishonour her. And that is not how I want it to be. I want my first time to be when I’m married. It must be holy and special. Like it’s meant to be.” he puts his face in his hands.
“But she doesn’t feel the same . . .” he says softly.
Chrissie gets up, puts her arm around Adrian’s shoulders and holds him close.
“I’m so sad . . .” Adrian says sadly.
“I’ve hurt her feelings, Mom. We had a huge fight because she feels I don’t love her enough. It’s exactly the opposite. I love her too much, respect her too much to dishonour her like t
hat.”
Adrian bravely dries the lost tear off his cheek.
“Why am I so stupid, so old fashioned?”
“You are not stupid and you are not old fashioned. You are a God-fearing man who obeys His commands and respect the teachings your parents gave you. You know you’ll be rewarded for the right decisions you make in life. You and René barely know each other. I’m proud of you. It doesn’t seem to be the right thing now, but you have done the right thing.”
“I love her, Mom. I don’t consider marrying her and I’m so not ready for permanent commitments but I don’t know if I’ll ever meet such a nice girl like that ever in my life again. We understand each other, the demands of our work.”
Chrissie hugs him close.
“Whatever you decide, think about God’s will. You are very young. To be as handsome as you are has a lot of risks.”
Adrian smiles bravely.
“Thanks, Mom. I do feel a little better.”
“Hang in there, my son. That’s all growing pains.”
Adrian gets up and walks to the cottage. He unpacks his bag and starts preparing his uniform for the next day.
Just after seven, Barry arrives.
“Hi, Engelsman. Forgot where the house is?”
Barry smiles.
“Hi, old man. No, just had a great visit. That’s all. Gisela and her folks send their regards. Did ye enjoy your visit at Ryan?”
“Yeah. We had a great time.”
“So then, why the sad face? I’m getting the feeling ye are not telling me everything.”
“Well . . .” Adrian sighs.
“I think René and I are through.” he takes a cider from the fridge and opens it.
“Ouch. What happened?”
“Well, she wanted intimacy and I turned her down. Now she feels that I don’t love her enough.”
Adrian sits down and looks miserable.
“That’s exactly why I don’t want to be in a relationship right now. I can’t commit and I can’t be in a relationship where premarital sex is the norm and the prerequisite to be happy. But it hurts. I loved her. I really loved her. It was very hard to say no and to stop her. She drives me crazy. My whole being cried out for her, to experience her, but I knew it was wrong to take her.”
Barry also opens a cider and takes a seat opposite Adrian.
“I can identify with ye on that, but wanting intimacy is from me side. The only thing that stops me, is me fear of God. I don’t want to displease Him. I want to do the honorable thing. And then, Gisela is so young! She is still a child. Her Da will literally kill me anyway.”
They sigh and look at each other.
“Just don’t get married for the sake of ‘having licence’, Barry. Because then, that’s pleading for a disaster. One can’t base a relationship on sex alone. It’s deeper than that.”
“I don’t know, old man. It’s certainly a very important part of marriage, according to me, anyway.”
“Yeah? And what if one of you becomes paralyzed or you hit your golden oldies and your impotent, what then? I don’t agree. Marriage is love, security, respect, friendship, companionship.”
“You know what? I honestly don’t know what I’ll do without your wisdom. Strangely enough, I’m older than ye are, but you are so wise, in everything. But I’ll tell you what, whatever happens and if it helps any, everything will work out the way it should. You always say that. One day, you will get a woman that loves ye the way you are, with all your values and who will give you all the love and the family ye deserve.”
Their day shift is a quiet one. So quiet, that Adrian decides to patrol the farm areas. There are no farm attacks in the Grabouw area, but there is a vehicle in the suburban area.
“Good gracious, Adrian! Look there! That plane is coming down!” Barry screams.
Adrian stares.
“Barry, give me the blue lights and sirens.”
Adrian throws the car in top gear, and picks up the microphone.
“Romeo! Romeo! Golf Romeo 6, urgent!”
“Golf Romeo 6, send!”
Adrian stares in horror as the plane hits the ground, erupting in a ball of flames.
“Romeo! A light aircraft has just crashed! I saw it happen! Permission with chopper!”
“Proceed!”
“Chopper, chopper, Golf Romeo 6!” Adrian calls.
There is an uncomfortable silence. Barry switches the radio to the channel for Air Wing and Adrian tries again.
“Chopper, chopper! Golf Romeo 6, urgent!”
“Send for Chopper, Golf Romeo 6.”
“I have a disaster complaint, a disaster complaint! A light aircraft has just crashed! I saw it happen! I’ll try to get to the scene, but please! Get into the air. I need your assistance! It’s on the farms in the Grabouw/Elgin area!”
“Copied, Golf Romeo 6.”
“I’ll be on group seven control! You’ll find me there!”
Barry switches back to group seven control.
“Romeo, Romeo, Golf Romeo 6!” Adrian calls.
“Proceed!”
“Romeo, please contact my station commander and all the key personnel. Please organize a dog unit for me too! I have a dog, but every bit helps.”
“Copied! I’ve got you on the location system. How far are you from the scene?”
“It looks as if I’m close, Romeo! It’s a bit tricky to get there! I think you will have to contact the mortuary too, I don’t think there are any survivors!”
“Copied.”
Barry looks at Adrian. He is pale of the shocking incident they had to witness.
“I never ever want to see something like that ever again.” Barry says.
“It’s like a scene from a movie. I felt so helpless.”
“I know, Engelsman. It’s really gruesome. I’m not feeling very well either.”
Adrian realizes that the road becomes inaccessible.
“Damn it! Romeo, Romeo, Golf Romeo 6!”
“Golf Romeo 6, proceed!”
“I can’t drive any further! The terrain is too bad! It’s very wet and slippery, I am going to get stuck here if I proceed! I will have to footbeat from where we are now!”
“Do you have a hand radio, Golf Romeo 6?”
“Positive! Golf Romeo 111! Or you can phone me on my cell phone too!”
Adrian and Barry get out and start jogging in the direction of the crash site. It is a long run and after quite a while, Adrian stops to catch his breath.
“Ye okay, old man?”
“Take Nero. I need to catch my breath. My lungs are closing up. I wonder where is the chopper. It’s been a while.”
“I’m sure they are on their way. Are ye sure you’ll be okay? I don’t want to leave you like this.”
“I’m okay. Go. I’ll catch up.”
Barry runs off with Nero in the direction of the crash and Adrian desperately tries to catch his breath. He takes an inhale or two from his asthma medication and starts jogging again in the direction of the crash site.
When Adrian finally gets there, he also hears the welcome sound of the approaching Squirrel. He knows that the pilot will call for back up and other personnel to the crash site.
Being more a patrol dog than a rescue dog, Nero tried his best to be of good aid to Barry, but Adrian knows that the specialist sniffer dogs will have to come and sniff out the body or bodies. The aircraft was burnt beyond recognition and only the propeller and tail of the plane were virtually unscathed and recognizable.
Barry looks worriedly at Adrian.
“Ye are not okay. You can barely breathe.”
“I’ll be fine. Just give me a few minutes.”
The one policeman emerges from the helicopter and salutes are exchanged.
“Major? Do you have water on board?” Barry asks.
“Yeah. You need some?”
“Me buddy does.”
Major Dupisanie looks worriedly at Adrian.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes
, Major. We had to run a couple of kilometres to get here. I’ll be fine.”
He gives Adrian some water and Adrian accepts gratefully.
“Did you see this happen?”
“Good gracious, Major. It was very bad. It looked like a scene from a movie. It’s not nice seeing something like that.”
“I can only imagine.”
Adrian hears another chopper and looks up. A smaller chopper, the new Robin, land close to them and Henry gets out with the pilot.
Adrian and Barry dutifully salute Henry.
“This is not a very nice scene.” Henry says.
“What happened here?”
“We were patrolling the farms, Major. Constable Daniels saw the plane coming down. I drove as far as we could. The rest we had to footbeat.”
“Just follow up with Romeo about all the other key people. It’s been a while.”
Only after four hours, Adrian and Barry leave the scene and tiredly walk to the car, soaking wet and cold.
“I need an ice cold drink.” Adrian says.
Barry shoots him a double take.
“Ye are crazy. I’ll settle for a cup of hot chocolate, a nice hot shower and a set of dry, clean uniform.”
Adrian laughs.
“Okay. Count me in.” he picks up the mike.
“Romeo, Romeo, Golf Romeo 6.”
“Golf Romeo 6, proceed.”
“Romeo, I’m quickly going home. I need a hot shower and a set of clean, dry uniform. I’m all soaking wet and dirty.”
“Roger, Golf Romeo 6. It’s very quiet anyway, so enjoy.”
“Thanks, Romeo. We’ll be as quick as possible.”
Just over half an hour later Adrian and Barry are back on duty, first stopping at the garage for hot chocolate.
“Bloody hell, I’m cold!” Barry complains.
“I really hope we don’t have to do anything outside again whilst its raining. At least not for today.”
Adrian smiles.
“You can’t disagree, but this surely reminds you of Scotland?”
Barry chuckles.
“Ye have me there.”
“Just sit tight. I’ll get us some hot chocolate.”
Barry smiles gratefully and busies himself with some reports while Adrian gets out.
Adrian is just away for a minute or two when it happens.
“Golf Romeo 6! Golf Romeo 6 to Romeo, urgent!”
“Golf Romeo 6, proceed, Romeo.”
“I see that you are the closest to the complaint. I have a housebreaking in progress, a housebreaking in progress. Can I proceed?”
“Positive!”
“I proceed! The address is in 225 Keurboomdraai Street, Grabouw. Reference number 242579. Did you copy?”
“Aye, Roger! Copied. We’ll go immediately. Out.”
Barry switches on the sirens and Adrian rushes out.
“What’s up, Engelsman?”
“Housebreaking in progress.”
Barry takes the cups, puts it in the cup holders and Adrian starts the vehicle, speeding on with screaming sirens and flashing blue lights, disturbing the peace in the normally quiet town.
“What’s the location?”
“225 Keurboomdraai Street.”
Adrian loses his temper.
“Mrs Bothma.”
They look at each other.
“Today is the day! If there is nothing, she’ll get into this car and I’ll lock her up. That’s final!”
Adrian stops at the house and they run out.
And there she was, Mrs. Bothma.
“Ma’am, why did you phone the Police?” Adrian asks angrily.
“Get off my property! I don’t want a murderer here! Send someone else!”
Adrian tries his very best not to become furious.
“Ma’am, listen closely. If I go inside the house and I don’t find anything, I’m going to lock you up for giving false information to the police, for wasting State resources and for crimen injuria. I know all the gossip stories. Everyone knows I’m innocent. Where is the problem?”
“There is someone in my house! I don’t want you here! Leave!”
Adrian ignores her and him and Barry enters the house. They search everywhere, even outside, but there is nobody or any evidence that a housebreaking occurred.
“How did the suspect come in, missus?” Barry asks.
“There is no-one here. Where did the person allegedly enter?” Adrian asks.
“You are dumb!”
“Ma’am! Where! Where did the person enter?!”
Mrs. Bothma shows them a hole in the wall, scarcely the size of an orange.
“That’s it! Lock your house. We’re going to the station.”
“I refuse!”
Barry gently, but firmly takes her by the arm and forces her into the car. She violently tries to get out.
“Missus, if you break anything, and I mean, anything, I will let the dog loose, I promise.”
In a minute or two, Adrian emerges from the house and they arrive at the station. Adrian contacts Henry and asks him to meet them in the parking area of the vehicles so that they don’t have to struggle to get Mrs. Bothma to Henry’s office.
Arriving at the station, Henry awaits them.
“Hi, Major.”
“Constable.”
Henry walks to the door.
“Mrs. Bothma?”
“Who are you? I’m looking for the station commander!”
“I am the station commander.”
“Please discharge this Constable!” she says agitated.
“Which one, Ma’am?”
Mrs. Bothma looks at Adrian and then at Henry.
“That blonde one!” she stays quiet for a short while.
“What’s going on here?” she asks angrily.
“Why do you have the same surnames? Do you think I’m stupid?”
Henry tries his best to remain sympathetic.
“We don’t think you are stupid, Ma’am. The blonde Constable is my son. What did he do?”
“He wants to lock me up!” Mrs. Bothma shouts.
“Constable, did she phone?”
“Yes, Major. She phoned a housebreaking in progress through. Nothing was taken. There is no evidence of an attempted break in either.”
“He is not just a murderer, he lies too!”
Henry starts losing his temper, but he tries to remain calm.
“Ma’am, I promise you, he can’t even hurt a fly. I warned you so many times about your false calls. I warned you that we will lock you up, but you never listened. It’s a criminal offence to phone the police and to ask them to go out if nothing is wrong.”
Mrs. Bothma starts crying.
“No-one ever listens to me! You always put the phone down in my ear! Don’t worry, you’ll also get old and then no-one will listen to you!”
“Constables, just help me to escort her to the trauma room. I’m going to call an ambulance. She is going to Lentegeur.”
The next day when they report for their second day shift, Lieutenant October has bad news for Adrian.
“Sorry, Parker. Bad news for you today.” he hands him a subpoena and Adrian pulls his face in dissatisfaction.
“You are going to have to hurry to get a copy of your statement. It’s the court in Wynberg.”
“Good gracious, Okkie. You know how to ruin my day.” Adrian says sarcastically.
“Are you working outside today?”
“No, I’ll be inside. Then you can take Golf Romeo 10.”
“Why don’t you work with Barry?”
“Sounds inviting, but I can’t leave the charge office to the students. Don’t worry, I’ll give a reliable crew to Barry.”
“Okay then. Well, let me go and waste my time.”
Adrian turns around as Barry emerges from the safe.
“Sorry, Engelsman. I have to go to Wynberg. Okkie will organise you a crew for Golf Romeo 6.”
“Are ye taking Nero with?”
“No, I c
an’t. I’m taking Golf Romeo 10.”
Adrian hands the leash to Barry and Nero whimpers.
“Ag no, Nero. It’s okay, boy. I’ll see you later. If you are good and listen well to Barry, I’ll bring you a big, juicy bone from the butcher.”
Nero barks and Adrian chuckles.
“He’ll be good.”
“Take care, old man. Drive safely.”
“No worries. I always do. I’ll be back before any of you noticed I’ve been gone.”
Just after one that afternoon, Adrian gets into the van, stretches and sighs.
It was such a waste sitting there for a couple of hours, just so that the case can be postponed again. He finishes his juice and accurately throws the cannister into a dustbin next to his van before he phones Barry.
“Hi, Engelsman. Just let everyone know that I’m on my way, please?”
“Okay. How did it go?”
“Postponed. Again.” Adrian sighs.
“Anyway, ETA is about an hour. Should be in by two.”
“Roger. See ye then.”
Adrian disconnects and starts his journey toward Grabouw. He feels eager to be back at the station as he didn’t like it if his time was wasted like this. Approaching a very busy crossing, Adrian notices with relief that the light is still green for him to go, but he nevertheless approaches the intersection with caution and notices from his peripheral vision the approaching BMW on his side.
Adrian desperately applies brakes and tries to swerve away from the impact, but the BMW hits him right on the driver’s side. Because Adrian applied brakes and tried to swerve away, it causes the van to roll over once before it lands back on its wheels again.
The driver of the BMW gets out and furiously approaches Adrian’s vehicle, but Ryan, who was in the same traffic, gets hold of him.
“Hold on there, china. Where do you think you are going?”
“You stupid idiot! Can’t you see he rammed into my car? Look there! It’s a virtually brand new vehicle with thousands of rands’ damage to it! Stupid policeman!”
“I promise you, if you try to leave the scene, I’ll track you down! I have your registration number and I’ve seen everything happening! You’re not going anywhere!”
Ryan takes out his cell phone and phones the nearest Police station and emergency services before walking closer to the van. His blood runs cold when he sees that it is a police vehicle from Grabouw and yet, Adrian drove a bigger vehicle the other day, a 4 x 4 . . .
Ryan approaches the van on the passenger’s side and manages to open the door after a while, looking onto the picture he didn’t want to see. He softly places the flat of his fingers on Adrian’s neck.
Adrian is alive, but unconscious and very critically injured. Ryan turns around, walks to his own car where he takes out a blanket to drape over Adrian. After draping the blanket over Adrian, he keeps his fingers on Adrian’s neck to assess his pulse.
Ryan is sitting like that waiting anxiously for the emergency services when Adrian regains consciousness, wearily opening his eyes and groaning softly.
“Hey buddy.” Ryan says softly.
“It’s okay. I’m here. The ambulance is coming.”
“Ryan . . .”
“Hush, buddy. Don’t talk. Just rest.”
“Please . . . help me, it hurts . . .”
“I’m here, buddy. The ambulance is coming any moment now. We’ll get you out in no time. You’ll be okay.”
Ryan gently takes Adrian’s left hand in his, not sure if it is hurt. The worry inside him grows very big. Adrian is obviously in shock. It is very obvious that he is badly injured and yet he is relatively calm with no major response except the silent tears running over his cheeks.
Ryan silently hopes that the medics will give Adrian some strong sedative of some sort because Adrian is trapped inside and he bleeds from what appears to be coming from his one hip. Ryan carefully puts his one hand on the bleeding and presses down.
Adrian groans softly.
“Just hang on. Don’t move, okay?”
“It hurts . . . please . . . don’t go . . .”
The sirens scream in the background, much to Ryan’s relief.
“Just another minute or two, buddy. It’s okay. I’m here. I’m not leaving. Don’t move, okay?”
“Ryan . . . please . . . phone Barry . . .”
“I’ll do that, buddy. Just stay calm. Everything will be all right.”
The fire brigade starts taking the door down on the driver’s side and this greatly increases Adrian’s anxiety.
“Easy, buddy, easy.”
“What . . . are they . . . doing?”
“They are taking the door down to take you out, buddy. Just hang in there. It won’t be long now. Everything is all right.”
As soon as the fire brigade took down the door on the driver’s side, the paramedics approach them and starts emergency procedures on Adrian. They connect him to an IV and inject him with a sedative that will make him very drowsy so that he will be unaware of the commotion around him when they cut him out of the vehicle.
Ryan stands aside to make space for the fire brigade at the passenger’s side.
“No . . . no . . . Ryan, please . . . don’t go . . .”
“I’m right here, buddy. They are going to help you to get out. I’m right here.”
Adrian slips into unconsciousness again which is a good thing for the mean time, but a bad thing on the long run.
“Where are you going to take him?” Ryan asks the paramedics.
“We phoned MedicAlert. They said he prefers Somerset West Medi Clinic, but his condition is critical. We’ll take him to Rondebosch Medi Clinic. Its five minutes from here.”
Ryan tries to smile.
“Thanks.”
Ryan turns toward the policeman on the scene.
“I’m not sure how long you can wait.” Ryan says.
“I still need to phone Grabouw SAPS.”
“No worries, sir. It’s already been done. You can accompany the policeman to the hospital.”
Very puzzled, Barry looks out of the window at the scene of Henry speeding out of the station premises.
“What’s going on?” Barry asks the students.
They all look at him, not very responsive and Barry become agitated.
“Good grief, lads! If the station is under attack, will ye even notice?”
Someone replies something in Xhosa and Barry feels himself losing his temper, but he takes a deep breath and searches for Lieutenant October who emerges from the area where the vending machine is.
“Lieutenant, do ye know why the Major left in such a hurry?”
Lieutenant October looks puzzled.
“No. Did Adrian phone to say when he is coming?”
“Aye. Some 30 minutes ago. He should be in by two.”
Henry arrives at the car accident scene and closes his eyes briefly, trying to recollect.
It is an ugly scene and the van is a complete write off. Whoever drove it, could barely be alive, if at all.
Henry gets into the van to try to determine who was driving it. Inside the ignition on the key ring was the leather cross Adrian made himself.
The reality hits Henry very hard.
“Afternoon, Major. Thanks for coming so soon.”
Henry turns around, and chokes back the tears.
“Major? Are you okay?”
“Were you first on the scene, Sergeant?”
“Yes, Major.”
“The . . . the policeman that drove the van . . . were you able to see if he was alive?”
“He was, Major. But he was in very bad shape. You seem very upset, Major. Are you okay? I wish all station commanders were so concerned over their members.”
“The policeman . . . he . . . he is my youngest son . . .”
“Good gracious, Major! I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Um . . . I think we are capable of handling all the nece
ssary things around here. Maybe you should go. We’ll get your statement later. The medics of Netcare took him to the Rondebosch Medi Clinic.”
Shortly arrival at the hospital, Ryan remembers that Adrian asked him to phone Barry.
Ryan swallows hard. It wasn’t going to be an easy task. The phone on the other side rings a while before Ryan hears Barry’s friendly voice.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Barry. It’s Ryan.”
“Good gracious! What brings me this honor?“
“Barry, um . . . I’m sorry, kid. I . . . I need you to sit down.”
It’s silent for a very short while.
“Och, no! Ryan! No! Please, please don’t do this! Please tell me Adrian’s okay!”
Ryan hears Barry is desperately trying to fight back the tears.
“Barry . . . I’m waiting for the doctor. When they left for the hospital, Adrian was still alive, but . . . he is in very bad shape.”
“Oh, God! Please, Jesus, please help us! Please don’t take Adrian too, please! I beg You!”
“Barry? Barry, listen to me, okay?”
Ryan tries to calm Barry down, but his heart cringes at the sound of Barry’s crying. Goodness knows, Adrian and Ryan are very close, but Adrian and Barry even more. Adrian means everything to Barry. He and his family are Barry’s only family, his only support structure.
“Where . . . where are ye?” Barry finally manages.
“Rondebosch Medi Clinic. Barry, I will phone you as soon as I get word. Henry is probably also on his way here. Please, just promise me, hang in there, okay?”
“I feel so helpless!” Barry cries.
“I can’t leave now . . . we don’t have enough personnel . . . Adrian might need me and . . . Ryan, please, please whatever ye do, stay with him?”
“I will do that, buddy. Hang in there. And please, when you come through after work, please drive carefully.”
Only some hours later, the doctor emerges from the surgery and approaches Henry.
Henry looks up, tiredness and worry edged on his face.
The surgeon takes a seat next to Henry, takes off his glasses and tiredly rubs over his eyes.
“Mr. Parker, are you related to the policeman that came in here?”
“Yes. I’m his dad. Is he . . . is he okay?”
“I transferred him to the surgical ICU. He is very badly injured.”
“But . . . will he make it at least?”
“Yes, he will. But only if there is not some infection of some sort.”
“What are you saying?” Henry asks.
“Mr. Parker, your son has got several fractures and he has internal injuries too. I have put him in an induced coma. The pain will be too much for him to take at this stage. And he is not going to go to work very soon, if that is what you want to know.”
“Did he sustain any back or neck injuries?”
“No. I’m not sure if I know of any policemen wearing their seatbelt and it was strange to hear from the medics that he wore one. The seatbelt caused him a lot of injuries, but I’ll tell you something, if he didn’t wear one, he would have smashed his face to pieces. He can be very glad that the car didn’t catch fire.”
Just after eight one morning some two weeks later, Barry enters the surgical ICU and takes a seat next to Adrian.
It hasn’t been a very easy time for any of them and although Adrian is sleeping, Barry notices that Adrian wasn’t on the life support any more and he realizes that Adrian should be out of the coma as well.
One of the nurses comes in with a tray into the ward, smiles briefly.
“When he wakes up, see if you can help him to eat something. Doesn’t have to be everything, but he really needs to try to build his strength again. Would you like some coffee?”
Barry smiles ruefully.
“Aye, thanks. Gisela here?”
“No. She worked her last night shift. She’ll be off for the next week. Do you know her?”
Barry blushes shyly.
“She’s me girlfriend. I’m so grateful to know that she can take care of me buddy. I thought she might finish working this morn, but I was hoping that I would still see her. Is Adrian any better?”
“No, not really. The pathologists were here to take blood tests. He has been running a bad temperature for more than 24 hours that we are not happy with.”
Barry lays his hand on Adrian’s forehead and cheeks.
“The meds not helping?” he asks worriedly.
“No, not really.”
The nurse leaves the room and Barry takes up Adrian’s left hand in his. Barry closes his eyes, fighting back the tears.
“Oh, Lord Jesus,” he starts praying intensely.
“You are so Almighty, so Holy. All that is evil including sickness must flee from Your Holy Presence. Please, I beg You, please take Adrian into Your Loving, Powerful Arms, hold him close. Touch him, please heal him. He is such a precious person, such a precious gift. Please comfort him, please take away all his pain and this fever. I pray this all in Your Mighty and Holy Name, the glorious Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Barry bravely dries his tears, takes up his Bible and starts reading.
After a while, Adrian opens his eyes, turns his head and stares at Barry.
“Barry . . .”
Barry looks up, puts his Bible aside.
“Hey, old man.” he says softly.
“How are ye?”
“It hurts . . .”
“It’ll be okay. You are in good care now. Everything will be all right. They brought ye breakfast. Are you hungry?”
“A little bit.”
Barry pushes the trolley closer, buzzes the nurse to adjust Adrian’s bed so that he would be more comfortable. Adrian picks up the utensils, but he rests back onto the pillows again, very weak to move. Barry patiently helps Adrian to eat his breakfast, but as expected, Adrian doesn’t eat much. When Adrian falls asleep, Barry picks up his Bible again to read, but looks up as the doctor enters the ward.
“Hello, Barry.”
“Hi, Doctor. Um . . . did . . . did ye get the results of the blood tests back?”
“Yes, Barry. We did. That’s the reason why I’m here. We have a serious problem and I need to know something. I’m not sure how you’ll react to what I want to know.”
Barry stares at him.
“Barry, I’m a straight person and I’ll give it to you straight. Adrian’s immune system is compromised and forgive me, but, since Adrian got here, I noticed the intense bond of friendship you have toward Adrian.”
“Are ye implying . . . ?”
“I’m sorry, Barry. As a doctor, I need to ask.”
“Well, ye are wasting your time! Adrian is me best friend, but in case you have missed it, I’m dating one of your nurses in this hospital! Good gracious! I can’t believe what ye just said! How dare you!”
“You can’t deny it, Barry, this was the first logical explanation we could think of.”
“Really? And what do the blood works show?”
“He doesn’t have enough white blood cells at this stage. But he is HIV negative.”
“So why did ye dare to have this conversation with me? It’s not to say that if we share the same flat, the same squad car and that we are close, that we . . . Good gracious!” Barry gets up, furious. He runs his hands over his hair, takes a deep breath and turns back to face the doctor.
“I’m sorry. It’s been a horrible time . . . Is there anything I can do? Can’t I donate blood or something?”
“It’s okay. I’m sorry too. But I needed to ask. Adrian is O-negative, Barry. It’s a very dangerous blood type. He can give blood to anyone, but he can’t receive blood from just anyone. It must be O-negative.”
“Well, please ask the nurse to come. Can we do a direct transfusion?”
“We can certainly do so.”
After a very long while, while resting in his chair next to Adrian’s bedside and
reading his Bible, Barry’s cell phone beeps.
Barry gets up and walks to the outside of the ICU ward to answer his phone.
“Hi, Barry. It’s Chrissie. I just want to know how you are doing and if there is any better news of Adrian.”
“Aye. He awoke last night and he had some breakfast this morn. They ran some blood tests on him because he was running a very bad temperature for a while. Apparently he has an infection and his immune system is compromised. We did a direct blood transfusion just half an hour ago.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand. Did you give him blood?” Chrissie asks a bit shocked.
“Aye. We are the same blood type. O-negative. I just wish there was more I could do . . .”
“You have done so much already. Barry, sweetheart, please stay in touch, let me know if there are any changes.”
“No worries. I’ll do so.”
“Barry, thank you so much for being there for Adrian. It really means so much to us. We love you very much.”
“I love you too.”