Country Retreat - 52. T-Boned

After a relaxing weekend at the cottage, I arrived back home in Allendale East, where Hunter had dinner ready for me on arrival, which I appreciated. With the long weekend approaching, and the cottage not being available for those four days, I was considering flying to Adelaide to spend some time with Giles and Antonio, but on Wednesday evening, I received a text message from Giles. “Antonio travelling home for the long weekend, can I come over there, please? Giles” and I didn’t hesitate to respond quickly.

“Sure mate, are you going to fly over or drive?” I replied, “Pick me up from the airport on Thursday evening please,” Giles replied before the phone rang and I jumped in fright. “That will be ok with you and your house guest I hope?” Giles said when I answered the call, and I chuckled at this. “Yes, that is fine by me, and Hunter will probably spend most of the weekend out in the garden which he loves doing,” I replied.

After a short chat, I said that I would collect him from Mount Gambier Airport when the plane arrived at 6.45 pm and that we could spend a day or two down at the beach in Port Macdonnell if he wanted to. Giles said he would pass on going for a swim, as it was starting to get a little too chilly to go swimming now. I let Hunter know that we would have my good friend coming to stay for the Easter long weekend, starting from Thursday evening and asked him to write down any supplies that we would need before then for the whole weekend, as I knew that Friday and Sunday the local store would be closed.

After work on Monday, Hunter and I went shopping for food and any other supplies, including some rechargeable batteries for his two sets of Hearing Aids, which had been playing up a bit lately. On Wednesday with Hunter at home today, and I expect he was busy getting the house clean and ready for Giles arriving tomorrow night, I kept busy with my studies and work, which sometimes was a real juggling act.

I was very pleased to arrive home to find dinner ready and the house sparkling clean. “You have been very busy today, by the looks of it. Thank you for all your hard work today,” I said as we sat down for dinner, once I had showered and changed. “Considering that you have fed and clothed and housed me, it is my pleasure to do this for you,” Hunter replied smiling. “Have you been keeping up with your studies as well?” I asked. “Yes professor, all my assignments and reading are up to date,” Hunter replied, which had me chuckling.

The following day, I had a light day according to my timetable, I had no lectures today, but one tutorial session plus two counselling sessions, so I was finished for the day by 2 pm, which I was pleased about. I didn’t think it was worth driving home for just a few hours and heading back in time to collect Giles from the airport, so I went for a drive east, with no set destination in mind.

About twenty minutes later, I saw a sign stating that I was approaching the SA/Victoria border, so I slowed down, just as an idiot on the side of the road in front of me decided to do a U-turn right in front of me and I quickly hit the brakes, before there was a loud bang and I came to a sudden stop.

When I woke up, I was in hospital but I wasn’t sure why. “He is awake,” I heard a voice say, not sure who it was talking, and it was about fifteen minutes later before all the poking and prodding finished. “What happened?” I asked still feeling a bit disorientated. “You were in a car accident near the border. You T-boned another vehicle that was trying to turn around and with the sun in his eyes, he didn’t see you coming,” it was explained to me as my vision started to clear up a bit and I recognised Giles.

“Hey mate, welcome back to the real world, you gave us quite a scare,” he said to me, “How did you…?” I asked not sure what I was asking. “I was coming to visit you this weekend remember, and when I stepped off the plane my mobile rang with Gramps calling to inform me that he had a call from Mount Gambier Hospital informing him that you had been in a car accident. So I rented a car and came here straight away, you have been unconscious for about four hours, and don’t worry, I telephoned Hunter, he knows that you are here, and he is very worried about you,” Giles said to me.

“Who is Hunter?” I asked feeling very tired and I was soon fast asleep. I seemed to have dozed on and off a lot, and I was not sure what time of the day or night it was, let alone what day it was. Giles came to visit me a few times a day, and I eventually remembered who Hunter was, when he also came to visit with Giles, on what I was told was my third day in hospital.

I was told that my beloved 4x4 vehicle was a right off, and Giles had arranged to have everything taken out and removed from my vehicle, which was now being stored at my home in Allendale East.

“Giles had arranged to stay for most of next week before he had to return to Adelaide and his own studies, so he was able to come and visit me, as well as to bring Hunter into Mount Gambier each day so he could attend his lectures and tutorials. I was finally released from the hospital after five nights, having sustained a severe concussion, lots of cuts and bruises, a sprained wrist and a dislocated elbow, so no permanent damage.

I was informed that the other driver had a long way to go to recover from the accident which he had been charged with reckless driving and driving intoxicated with a low alcohol reading. Gramps had sorted out the insurance for my vehicle as well as dealing with my hospital care, where I had been a private patient, once I was out of ICU overnight when first admitted.

Lucky for me, there is a Jeep dealership in Mount Gambier, so as soon as I was discharged from the hospital Giles and Hunter took me there to get a replacement vehicle. This time instead of getting a Jeep Wrangler, I looked at getting a Jeep Gladiator and found one that I liked, that included a lot of extra accessories, including roof bars, a towbar, front bumper, whinch and spotlights.

Once the purchase had been completed, and with Giles driving, we headed for home, where I was told by the doctors to rest for the remainder of the week and the weekend, before returning to work. On Sunday morning, we said farewell to Giles as he drove his hire car back to Mount Gambier, before heading to the airport to fly back to Adelaide, and I continued to just rest and relax often sitting out on the pergola watching Hunter working in the garden

On Monday morning, although it was still a little difficult, I prepared for my first day back at work since the accident, and with Hunter driving with me supervising, we headed to the TAFE & Uni for work and studies. For the next two weeks, I had arranged for a colleague to take up most of my workload so that I could concentrate on mostly my studies, until I was back to full strength again, with Hunter as a huge help with this, as he did all the driving, building up his confidence to be able to do it more which was good to see.

Nine weeks after Easter, the end of semester one was finally over, and I had booked the use of the cottage for the whole two weeks, well before Easter, as I planned to spend as much time as possible just relaxing and doing very little. I was climbing into the passenger side of my new vehicle, as Hunter was enjoying being the driver on trips back home at the end of the day, when a police vehicle pulled up behind us, and two officers climbed out.

“Oscar Kingston? We need you to come with us, as we have questions to ask you about the accident that you were involved in a few weeks back,” the senior constable said to me as he approached, and I handed Hunter the keys. “Very well. Am I under arrest?” I replied a little shocked that this was happening. “We will see once we have asked you a few questions?” the senior officer asked, “No, I would like to know, am I under arrest or not?” I asked more strongly, “Come with us now please Mr Kingston,” the officer said as he grabbed my arm and started to force it behind me.

“Oww, watch it, that is my injured arm, please don’t force it…” I could say before my injured arm was dislocated by the force, and I collapsed to the ground in pain. “Get up now, you are coming with us,” the officer demanded, “Hey, cut that out, can’t you see you have just injured him, he needs to go to the hospital right away,” Hunter protested, and this is when I noticed that he had his mobile in his hand down at waist height pointing in my direction.

“Mind your business sonny and leave us be,” the second officer said to Hunter, “Any problems here Mr Kingston?” one of the Campus security officers asked when he appeared, “Yes, these officers have just injured Mr Kingston and they refuse to take him to the hospital. Can you please call for an ambulance right away,” Hunter responded with concern in his voice.

“No need, we will take him there ourselves, when we are done with him,” the officer said as he shoved me into the back of the police van and slammed the door shut. Luckily I landed on my uninjured side on the floor of the van, but the jarring effect sent shooting pain up my arm, and I now had tears running down my face. A few minutes later I was escorted into the police station and sat down in an interview room.

“I want a lawyer, and I want to speak to your supervisor,” I asked, “It is after 5 pm, so you will have to wait until the morning for both requests, just stay put and we will speak to you shortly,” the officer said to me, “Not without a lawyer you won't,” I responded, before the door was slammed shut and I was alone.

I had no idea how long I was in the room, as I drifted in and out of consciousness, and it took a bit of shouting to get me to fully wake me up when someone did come. “Mr Kingston, my name is Lyle Harrison, I am your family appointed barrister, we have paramedics on their way to take you to the hospital,” I was informed, and moments later I was assisted onto a stretcher, and my arm was placed in a loose sling to try and keep it from moving too much.