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1944
Grace hadn’t seen Jonathon since the day he had fallen in the river. Jonathon’s parents said he had been taken to a specialised unit for people who had suffered from the war. This was in London and Grace didn’t have the money to get to London, she barely had enough money to support herself as the cafe had hardly any customers. But one day a few months after Jonathon’s parents came to see Grace to tell her they were going to London and if she wanted to come she could and all would be paid for. Grace was even ready to go in her apron and rags she just wanted to be near him. The driver drove them to the station and then dropped them off where they caught the train that would take them to London.
“Grace wake up dear we are here” Jonathon’s mother whispered in Graces ear. Grace slowly opened her eyes and saw mass of buildings and grey sky. She wasn’t sure what she was thinking she would find but this wasn’t what she had planned. Jonathon’s father pulled the suitcases down from the storage space and they all got off the train. The apartment they were staying in was very nice and clean with basic furniture but Grace would have settled for an empty room if it meant she could see her Jonathon. They took a short walk along the streets of London and Grace could see the damage the war had done to London, some buildings weren’t even standing anymore and Grace couldn’t believe how different it was here to the little village in the hills where she knew she belonged with Jonathon. They arrived at a tall gate and Jonathon’s father walked over to a man in the guard box who then let them all inside. They were seated in a very cold room where the chairs were plain and hard and Grace kept feeling herself slide of them and had to re-adjust herself. A nurse opens the door and leads in Jonathon who is in some form of trousers and shirt and Grace was happy she had brought him some clothes with her which she held next to her in a bag. Grace stands up and goes to walk over to him but Jonathon doesn’t even look up as he enters and the nurse sits him down the other side of the room. Jonathon looked so skinny and Grace could see the bags under his eyes where she hadn’t been sleeping, at that point Grace looks up to see several other male doctors and one man who appeared to be in army uniform walk in and stand by him.
“Jonathon it’s me” Jonathon’s mums whispers across to him. He looks up at his mother with a confused expression and then says straight out,
“I don’t know who you are” He looks back down at the floor and at that point Jonathons mum burst into tears and walks out of the room followed by his father who glances back at Grace and as he leaves. Grace doesn’t follow and walks over to Jonathon, he heels clonk on the floor and echo around the room. Grace finds herself shaking as she takes the steps and when she gets close to Jonathon she kneels down. All the doctors and nurses give each other a concerned look.
“Try not to get to close please” One of the female nurse says to Grace, but she ignores this and touches out for his hand. As she feels his skin it isn’t how she remembered, it has lost its soft touch and feels rough and dry.
“Jonathon... it’s me Grace, I’ve come to see you my dar” Then at that moment Grace feels herself fly backwards and hit her head on the floor. Her face starts to sting and she holds onto it as Jonathon is screaming ,
“I DON’T KNOW YOU” over and over again and Grace slides backwards to the other side of the room where Jonathon is restrained to the floor where the man in uniform sits on him. Jonathons father rushes in and sees Grace on the floor, he picks her up and leads her outside. Even when the door is closed however all she can here is his screams “I DON’T KNOW YOU” Grace looks up at Jonathons father and then to the floor and whispers,
“What's happened to him” A tear breaks free of Graces eyes and hits the floor and Grace walks out of the hospital.
They don’t visit Jonathon for a few days and Grace spends most of her time in the hotel even when his parents are out visiting London. All Grace can hear is his screams over and over again. Grace looks in the mirror at the bruise on her face that is rather purple now and attempts to cover it up with some makeup. Grace then puts on one of her best dresses and heads back to the hospital. Grace finds herself again in a smaller waiting room this time and waits for Jonathon to arrive. The doctor enters and sits down opposite her and Grace smiles and looks back at the door but it doesn’t open. “I'm afraid Jonathon isn’t fit to have visitors today I'm so sorry” Grace looks back at the man and shakes her head.
“You don’t understand I need to see him, I'm on the only one that can make him better” The doctor gives her a sympathetic smile and says,
“I am ever so sorry. Maybe try again in a few days” He stands up and gestures to the door and Grace stands up and leaves the room. “Do you need me to walk you out”
“No” Grace snaps “Sorry no I can find my own way out” she says and gives the doctor and smile “Thank you anyway” Grace begins to walk down the corridor and turns the corner and then stops and backs herself up onto the wall. She gives it a few seconds and then looks back and the doctor is gone. Grace takes off her heels and holds them in her hands and tip toes down the corridor. The cool floor is welcoming on Grace hot feet and she finds herself lost down a corridor with several ways to turn. Grace picks the first left and is reaches a door that appears to be locked. Grace pears through the glass and sees lots of men laying in beds either side of the rooms. A nurse spots her and walks to the door and unlocks it and pushes it open.
“Can I help you” she smiles at Grace but then looks at her bruise and her face becomes worried.
“Oh I'm here to see my husband could you let me in”
“Sorry no visitors are allowed down here if you like to back to reception then we can arrange a time for you to come back it’s a much safer way” Grace thinks of a way to get through the door but gives in and smiles back at the nurse and walks back admitting defeat. But as the nurse closes the door Grace doesn’t here her lock it. She spins round and walks over to the door. The nurse is nearly at the end of the corridor past the door and Grace slowly opens the door and closes it as quietly as she can. Once past that door she begins to look down each room seeing many men most asleep or ones just sat looking at the floor. Suddenly there’s a massive bang on one of the doors which makes Grace jump and her heart beats pounding at her chest, Grace turns to see a man with his face pressed up against the glass with some saliva dribbling out of his mouth, the man continues to then bang his head and stares at Grace. She holds her hand up to her face and forces herself to continue down the corridor. All this time she is thinking I need to get him out of here. Then she sees him sleeping in one of the rooms on his own. Grace runs to the door and tugs at the handle but finds its locked shut again and she curses under her breath. Grace frantically looks around and on the table lay a set of keys, Grace checks the corridor and runs over and grabs the set. She tries a few keys and finally one clicks and the door is free. Grace enters the room and closes the door with a small click and closes all the curtains of the window and one on the door. She places her bag and shoes down on the floor and walks over to where Jonathon is sleeping and sits herself down in the chair next to him. His breathing is heavier than when they used to sleep in each other’s arms. Grace pulls the chair up closer to his face and puts out her hand and touches his face. There are many scars from the burns still on his face and they feel strange to touch. Suddenly his hand flies from under the covers and grabs hold of hers and Grace lets out a little cry. His eyes focus on hers and harsh and angry and then they soften and his grip loosens and he lets her hand go and sits up in bed. Grace looks at Jonathon half frightened and delighted that he let go. He clears his throat and softly says,
“G..G..” Grace nods encouraging him to speak “Grace” Tears begins to fall from her eyes and she can’t stop nodding at him.
“Yes, yes it’s me Jonathon” she sobs. He then leans forward and embraces Grace and pulls her close to him stroking her soft hair. Grace feels the warmth of his body against hers and she melts into his body. He slowly pulls away and looks into her face and wipes a few tears from her face,
“I have missed you so much my darling Grace” he leans in and begins to kiss her passionately forcing his tongue inside her mouth. Grace lets out a small moan of pleasure at the touch of him again and feeling his hands on her body. He slowly calms his kissing down and lays back down holding Grace in his arms.
“Where are we” he says looking around the room looking confused.
“We are in the hospital, you know whe”
“Why?” he cuts her off
“Because the doctors need to help you with your”
“Why?” He lets go of her and gets up off of the bed and backs into the corner, Grace looks at him begging him to come back to where they were five minutes ago.
“Jonathon listen to me” He then looks directly at Grace
“Who the hell are you” he tries to back further into the corner
“It’s me Grace, Jonathon it’s me”
“I don’t know who you are, GET OUT” he begins to shout. Grace gets off the bed and walks around to come the same side as him but he grabs hold of a jug of water next to him and chucks it at her soaking her and the room. Grace backs away but slips falling to the floor, Jonathon runs over and jumps on top of her and stares into her eyes and scream,
“WHO ARE YOU” some spit hits her in the face and she grabs his face with both of her hands and tries to push him away. She then looks directly in his eyes and screams back at him
“ITS ME GRACE, YOUR WIFE YOUR DARLING WIFE WHO LOVES YOU VERY MUCH AND JUST WANTS YOU TO COME HOME WITH ME” Jonathon stops fighting and looks at her and blinks a few times.
“Grace, it’s you” He sees her face and looks at her bruise “What happened to you? Who did this to you?” He gets off the top of her and stands up offering his hand to her which she accepts and stands up and brushes herself down. She walks over to the her bag and shoes and picks them up just as the door flies open and three doctors storm in and run over to Jonathon shouting at him to get down. Grace walks out of the door leaving them behind and runs back down the corridor,
“EXCUSE ME” one of the nurses calls after her but Grace doesn’t listen or stop running until she is outside of the hospital grounds.
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Thank you for reading Part Seven of Lonely Girl and I hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry I took a break from posting a part to it, its just I felt I needed to make sure I was writing the story how I wanted and I spent some time writing possible ways it could go and im finally happy for you all to read the one I want to post. Again thank you for coming back and reading the series each time and hope you come back for part eight.
All content (imagery and writing) copyright Michael Sweeney Photography
Friday, 8 July 2011
Lonely Girl Part Seven
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