(aka Bike) Part 697 by Angharad |
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“Miss Watts, the poor man died.”
“Whose fault was that? I nearly got killed too.”
“Yes, but a bike is replaceable.”
“What if he had killed me, too or instead?”
“Then I wouldn’t be talking to you now, would I?”
“Just a minute, Sergeant, I am going about my own business and quite legitimately, when two mistakes by fools in motor vehicles nearly kills four of us. I am angry that I nearly got killed, and I’m really pissed that a very valuable bike got trashed, all because two fools couldn’t wait a few seconds.”
“The one paid with his life, the other is very poorly and her daughter could be deprived of a mother.”
“To be driving like that with a child in the car was stupid. Practically every time I ride a bike some homicidal maniac in a car or van or truck tries to kill me. What do you lot do about it? Bugger all. Even when one of them nearly succeeds, all you seem to have is sympathy that he missed and killed himself instead.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We accept your account of the accident, and our crash investigation team will check it out.”
“So you don’t believe me?”
“I just said we did, but witnesses, especially in the heat of the moment, can get things wrong.”
“I didn’t. I saw what was going to happen as soon as the blue car passed me, and tried to take avoiding action, but side-pull brakes don’t stop you that quickly and it was only because I was still moving that I managed to avoid the van. He just spun around as the car hit his back end, and then he came straight at me. I unclipped and let go the bike at the same time, falling into the bank and bouncing along it, the van came past and trashed my bike and I bounced along behind him leaving a few bits on skin and lycra on the road. It bloody well hurts.”
“I’m sure it does.”
“Plus I broke two fingers.”
“The van driver was killed.”
“I know that, I saw his brains all over the tree. I switched off his engine to reduce the risk of fire. It was his own stupid fault.”
“What if he left a widow and children?”
“Then perhaps he should have thought more about them before he drove so stupidly.”
“If you hadn’t been going so fast, he might have made it across the road, or the Subaru might have been able to over take you and clear the junction?”
“Yeah, and if he hadn’t been born, it wouldn’t have happened–what sort of logic is that? I had right of way, I was riding safely, the two drivers were at fault. You know as well as I do that ninety nine percent of accidents involving cyclists are the driver’s fault.”
“Just a wee bit biased there, aren’t we?” said the copper, who with his mate were making loads of notes.
“No, there are statistics to back it up, and most of the time the driver gets away with it. Look at that prat up in North Wales a year or so ago, killed four cyclists and injured several others, driving on bald tyres on icy roads, and he got fined a few hundred quid. He should have been doing time for multiple manslaughter–except cyclists don’t count as humans.”
“Calm down, Miss Watts, cyclists do count and we take incidents involving them very seriously.”
“Calm down, it’s not you who will wake up seeing a van coming at you every night, is it? And what about my children? Or don’t they count either? I’ve said all I’m going to, if you want any more contact my solicitor.”
Just then Simon arrived. “I thought I could hear your voice,” he said then looking at the burly police sergeant who’d been taking my statement, said, “Bloody hell, Masher.”
“Stone me, Cameron, the human battering ram, what are you doing here?”
“Collecting my fiancée, what about you?”
“Collecting a statement about a fatal.” He looked at Simon and then at me. “That’s your fiancée?”
“Yeah, the lovely, Cathy.”
“Good luck, mate, you’ll need it.” He went past Simon who was looking perplexed.
“What’s all that about?” he asked me.
“It seems everyone wants me to feel sorry about some dick head who tried to climb a tree with a van, nearly killing me in the process.”
“Oh, what happened?” Although it was becoming tedious, I told him the same account as I had told everyone else. “God, you were lucky.”
“Yes, I was, whether God had anything to do with it, is another matter.”
“What?” he said but I declined to repeat my possible blasphemy, not because I was ashamed of it but I was tired and hurting. I was still waiting for the scan results.
A doctor poked his head in the cubicle, “Sorry, the scan isn’t as clear as we wanted, I’m sending you down for an ultrasound.”
“I thought they used those for pregnancies?” I asked.
“We do.”
“But I’m not pregnant, I can’t be.”
“I didn’t say we were doing it for pregnancy, I’m trying to discover if you have a rupture of the spleen.”
“If I did, wouldn’t I have bled to death by now?”
“Not necessarily, sometimes they take a few hours to happen.”
“You know best,” I said surrendering.
“Get that in writing,” called Simon, ever supportive of me–the swine.
I was pushed on a trolley down towards X-ray again, only this time, I had cold goo smeared all over my belly and some sort of transducer was moved back and fore over my abdomen.
“Interesting,” said the radiographer.
“What is?” I asked trying to see the screen of the machine.
“You look perfectly normal.”
“Do I, shows how deceptive appearances can be, doesn’t it?”
“How did they do the hysterectomy, there’s no scar?”
“There was no hysterectomy, I have XY chromosomes.”
“Oh, androgen insensitive?”
“Yeah, sort of.”
“Okay, I can’t see anything wrong with your spleen, although you will have some bruising.”
“Yeah, like all over.”
“What did you do?”
“Avoided being hit by a van on a country lane.”
“What in a car?”
“No, a bike.”
“A motor bike?”
“No–a bicycle, I sort of opted to crash into the bank at thirty miles an hour.”
“Can they go that fast?”
“Yeah, moments before I was doing over fifty, but it was down hill.”
“Gosh, you are lucky.”
“Yeah, my bike wasn’t.”
“Oh, did you break it?”
“No, I didn’t the van driver drove over it.”
“Oh, still, maybe it can be repaired.”
“Noooo,” I said shaking my head, “it’s six thousand pounds worth of carbon fibre, it’s in bits.”
“Six thousand, oh dear, that’s a lot of money.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
“Won’t the van driver’s insurance pay for it?”
“I don’t know, because he’s in a worse shape than my bike.” She looked strangely at me, obviously trying to understand what I meant. “He hit a tree–head first.”
“Oh,” she said.
Comments
Interesting chapter
This was definitely an interesting chapter! It would seem the one cop and Simon know each other, either from prep school or college. They definitely seem to have, at one time or another, been teammates either in rugby or soccer (I'd guess the former myself)!
Cathy's luck seems to be running about the same as usual. She apparently did not rupture her spleen, since the techie performing the ultrasound didn't mention any such problem.
Jenny
Well, that knocks it
The ultrasound knocks the idea that Cathy had "healed" herself square on the head. Too bad. I think.
The police officer seems to intellectually understand that Cathy is likely in shock, but it doesn't seem to have penetrated emotionally. Even if Cathy had not been injured at all, she would still be primarily concerned with her own status before that of a stranger. It's a survival characteristic.
KJT
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
Yeah
but it was a good thought.
But, Cathy could spend some time holding her belly with the bruises, there is still hope.
I doubt that the blue light special will work on a bicycle frame. I'm afraid that's one to throw away and replace.
She needs to learn not to talk to the cops so much. They're a tricky bunch and always out to get someone. I don't think she admitted to any wrong doing, oh - possibly speed on the bike - but the drivers were the issue at the intersection.
Cathy's proven over and over that she thinks fast whether it's self-preservation, protecting her family or rescuing others, she has amazing reflexes. The superhero is still here.
Yeah, it is too bad
We were all hoping for some happy news but who knows, maybe a Miraculous Birth is in her future ?
Kim
Blue light healing
Despite the hopes and ambitions of many commenters here, surely it's rational that the healing repairs existing tissue.
On the other hand, creating new tissue from nothing (remember, Cathy's gonads have been removed - they're not still hanging below!)...
I'd like to think that Angharad (mainly?) writes what is possible (albeit highly improbable!) rather than the impossible (waving a magic wand etc.)
Although "blue light healing" and communication with the deceased currently lack scientific explanation (and possibly always will), there have been numerous media reports over the years of real life people, most of whom are/were generally regarded as rational, sane beings, who claim to have experienced one or the other.
So improbably quick healing - possible.
Instantly growing new body bits - impossible.
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
I think I would loose
interest if the story went from the merely improbable to the out right impossible. I have enjoyed this story a lot, and there has been a bit o magic here and there. But overall, while unlikely, I can keep my sense of belief engaged.
You know I was almost
You know I was almost expecting the radiographer to tell Cathy she was pregnant, being Cathy it wouldn't of surprised me lol.
If anything she is full of surprises, maybe it will still happen.
Megumi :)
Bailey's Angel
The Godmother :p
I hate to say it
Been there, done that, only Cathy has better reflexes than me, I got hit by the car.
It is true, people in cars seem to just regard cyclists as obstacles to to be gotten around. I can't tell you how many serious accidents I've avoided by a hair's breadth and the person in the car didn't even notice that I was on the side of the road, shaking and cursing, almost sick with adrenaline reaction.
All the same, it hurts even worse when they actually do hit you. Been there and done that as well, and I bear the scars.
Yep
Not to mention, to be abused. I was riding along over a brief stretch of highway shoulder ( yes, I know it is illegal in the US to do that but it was a Short stretch, promise ) and a car full of teenagers decided to have fun and dump soda on me and wound up wetting my trousers. Also, there was the time the asshat who opened the car door on me, caught the edge of it and went flying, broke my cheap bike frame and my glasses.
I bit my tongue and got the asshat to give me a lift a bit closer to home. Still, it took me another 3 hours to walk my warped bike home - in the middle of Summer - since I did not have money for cab fare. I was able to salvage the wheels on it luckily.
Motorists really suck at sharing the road with bikes.
Then again that was just my bike. I was backed into by a Chevy Suburban one time while I was walking down the middle of the road. I was a little overcast and it was the evening and he claimed he did not see me. I had no real memory of the accident but woke up in the hospital emergency room with about 3 hours of my life missing, a couple of pints of blood lost due to bruising alone, as well as the requisite cherry bomb on the back of my head.
Cathy needs to really count her blessings, even if she does not believe in that rot.
Kim
Just exactly
what did the policeman expect? Cathy to be all sweetness and light!! Not much chance of that when you,ve just had £6,000 pounds of bike turned into scrap metal,Its No wonder our girl was a little less than pleased, And having a policeman casting doubts on your story is not going to make you feel any happier!!
Kirri
Super Cathy
Needs to come back for a bit. Something tells me that there will be a whole lot more to this to come, and Cathy might need to don her green tunic tights and those boots and practice with her bow and arrow.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
maybe it's just me
I have to say I enjoy this tale in all its wild and sometimes insane wanderings. I love Angs take on things, the wry humour and subtle one liners tossed casually off and even where I might disagree with an idea or point I can see where it comes from and go with it.
BUT....had Cathy suddenly developed a uterus and been able to conceive I would have thrown my hands in the air groaned aloud and given up then and there. Oh sure I might have peeked in now and then after a comment but this story is essentially based on reality, so a development like that would have blown the credulity level. I get why some seem to want that, but I don't think it fits here. Shrug, I doubt Ang was heading there, despite the teasers.
Bike might wander into areas of mysticism and spirituality, things that we all look at or consider in our own way but a miraculous conception would have been a step too far I think. Each to their own view though, it's in the mind of the reader once it's out there. Keep pedaling Ang and we'll leap where we will. Preferably not into hedgerows if it's all the same...
Kristina
I try very hard to give bike
I try very hard to give bike riders room on the road and tend to watch them closely to avoid instances such as Cathy goes through. Sadly, the United States in general is not a great bike riding country as is the case in Great Britian and Europe, so many drivers simply don't understand them as being the same as other vehicles on the road. One thing that really used to make me, (when I was active law enforcement) stop a bike rider, was when I observed them NOT following the "rules of the road". I would rarely give them a ticket, but I would give them some serious "remedial drivers education". Two other things that seems to have really place bike riders in "harms way" are those who ride on the wrong side of the road TOWARDS traffic; and the current, total lack of lights for night riding. You can not depend just on reflectors to "cover your butt". J-Lynn
So, Simon's rugby frend wished him luck, did he?
It's your fault for being there, not the ahole who had to pass, or the other ahole who went thru a stop.
If not a Pinderello, mabe a less dear Carbon fiber Scott ?
Please, Simon ?
Cefin