Deception - 37. Dec Chapter 37

“Dr, this is a good friend of Gres, from Alberta Canada. Hugh Lindeman, who arrived at Brisbane International Airport at 7.15 this morning, after a 15-hour flight from Vancouver, I activated a plan to try and help Gres, involving getting Hugh here to spend time with him, and he was already on his way when Gres had his little melt down yesterday” Sam said, “That is interesting, there must be a strong connection between the two of you, if he sensed something at the exact time that you stepped foot in Australia” the Doctor commented with interest as he led the way down the passageway.

As they approached the room that Gres was in, Sam held his hand up, signaling Hugh to stop and wait, which he did, as the doctor walked in, with Sam close behind. “Sam, oh it’s good to see you” I said loudly, thrilled to see my friend, “I have been having this strange feeling all day today, which started at 7.15am this morning, do you know why?” I asked, as Sam walked to the end of the bed to divert my eyes away from the door. “Oh, I’m not sure what it could be, unless it’s this stray that I picked up this afternoon” Sam said, and on cue, Hugh stepped into the doorway, and slowly walked into the room.

“Hugh” I said loudly, “What are…” the rest was lost as Hugh gave his mate a big hug, and I began to cry into his shoulder. Sam and the doctor left the room, to allow us some time together. Eventually when I had calmed down a bit, Hugh held me at arm’s length, “Mate, 7.15 this morning was the time that I arrived at Brisbane airport this morning” Hugh said with a big smile, “I’ve been travelling since 9.35pm last night – Alberta time, because I heard that my mate in Australia was hurting” Hugh added and I pulled him into a hug again.

Once he had recovered again, Gres sat back down in the day chair, and Hugh pulled out the small box that he had in his jacket pocket, and handed it to Gres, “Just a small gift for you mate, from me, I bought it in Brisbane this morning, while I was shopping for some Aussie clothing” Hugh said with a big grin, and this made Gres laugh.

Sam walked in at that moment, “It’s good to hear you laugh again Gres” Sam said and Hugh nodded his head in agreement at that. “Wait a moment, I sent you a text message this morning, and you replied to me…” Gres said and this got Sam and Hugh laughing, and Gres joined in.

“I’m off to do some research work, I will catch up with you at dinner time Hugh” Sam said, and he left the room, “I left home in such a rush yesterday, my parents forgot tell me that Sam is a Federal Court Magistrate, when the limo driver who picked me up at Adelaide Airport this afternoon, mentioned Sam as His honour, I stopped dead still, shocked at what I heard, I got all nervous and didn’t know what to do” Hugh said, and this got me laughing again. “Just as big a shock as I got, when you walked in here eh mate” I said with a big grin.

For nearly two hours, Hugh and I chatted, even while I was eating dinner, Hugh explained the trip back to Australia, travelling Business class all the way, and also about the incredible apartment that Sam lives in. When Hugh saw what time it was, he jumped up, “Cripes, I have to go or Miss Phelps will have my balls for breakfast” he said which got me rolling with laughter, and Hugh quickly explained about Sam’s house keeper, before promising to be back in the morning, and they shook hands and hugged, before Hugh headed out, where a nurse briefly stopped him.

“You have been the best medicine for Gres, ever since he arrived here, well done, and I hope we will see you here again tomorrow” she said with a big smile, “I sure will, that’s what I travelled 14 thousand kilometres to do” Hugh replied and he headed towards the elevator. Arriving back at the apartment with just a few minutes to spare, Hugh walked into the living area not sure what to expect.

“Is that you Hugh?” came Sam’s voice from down the passage, “Yes Sam” Hugh replied nervously, “Miss Phelps had to go home early, dinner is in the oven, if you wouldn’t mind dishing it up, I will be there in a moment” Sam said.

Hugh went to the kitchen, washed his hands in the sink, then seeing two plates and two sets of cutlery, a large serving spoon and oven gloves on the bench, he got to work dishing out the meal onto the plates, just as Sam came out of his study. “Good evening Sam” Hugh said politely, as Sam entered the kitchen area and retrieved the Salt & pepper from one cupboard, then two glasses from another, before retrieving the fruit juice from the fridge.

“I forgot to mention to you, that on Wednesdays and weekends Miss Phelps has days off, as she is a university student, and she uses those days for study, the other days she has morning lectures, then comes here to clean and cook for me” it works out quite well for the both of us” Sam said as he began eating the very tasty lamb casserole. After dinner, I insisted on doing the washing up, and Sam laughed and pointed out the dishwasher, tucked away in the corner of the kitchen. “Just give them a rinse, stack it all in, put in a detergent tablet and press start, Miss Phelps will put the dishes away tomorrow” Sam said.

That evening we sat down and watch a movie, as Sam has a huge selection of DVD’s, when Hugh asked why he doesn’t watch the news, Sam said that he prefers not to, in case there is something on there that may involve a case he is hearing or will hear in the future. After the movie, Hugh went to his room, had a shower and went to bed, feeling a little tired from all of the travelling. Sam woke up Hugh at 7am the next morning, suggesting he try and get into a regular routine, to combat the jet lag and time difference.

Sam left the apartment at 7.30, when Hugh was making himself some breakfast, after he had located the bread for toast, plates, cutlery and then the toaster. After stacking the dishes in the sink, Hugh got what he wanted to take with him, then called a taxi to collect him, and headed downstairs to the front of the building.

Arriving at the hospital at 8.30, Hugh found me not in my room, so leaving his backpack on the chair, he went to the nurse’s station. “Good Morning Hugh, Gres is having Physiotherapy at the moment, he should be back in about an hour” the nurse said cheerfully, and Hugh returned to the room and began reading the book he had brought with him.

At 9.45am I was wheeled back into my room, and on seeing my friend, I smiled broadly happy to see my friend. “That physiotherapist is a tyrant, works me like a slave” I said with a cheeky grin, as the nurse helped me into the day chair and left. Hugh chatted away for the remainder of the morning, with me mentioning that each day, I have to do a 1 ½ hour physiotherapy session, and at least twice a day go for short walks down the hallways.

While I was having lunch, Hugh went down to the café near the entrance to the hospital, so he could have some lunch, and on the way back he asked the ward nurse, if he could take Gres outside in the sunshine for a while. Agreeing that it was a good idea, the nurse said she would bring a wheel chair to the room soon as Hugh headed to Gres’s room, where once again, I wasn’t in there, but in the bathroom instead.

“Are you ok in there, mate?” Hugh called out to me, “Can you come in please mate, I need some help” Gres replied, and opening the door, Hugh found me on the bathroom floor naked struggling to sit up. Grabbing a towel, Hugh placed it over his friends lap before checking to see if I was hurt in any way. “Just put me on the shower chair, and hand me the shower rose” Gres said, annoyed that he had lost balance yet again.

Once in the chair, Hugh grabbed the shower and facing it away from me, he turned it on and adjusted the temperature, before handing it to me, before heading out of the bathroom, just as a nurse walked into the room, with a wheel chair. “Gres fell over, he’s not hurt, I got him up onto the shower chair and he’s just having a shower” Hugh explained to the nurse, who smiled and headed back out of the room.

While I was having a shower, Hugh located some fresh clothes for me and laid them out on the bed, and when he heard the shower turn off he knocked on the bathroom door, “Come in Hugh” I said, and over the next ten minutes, Hugh had his mate dried and dressed, and seated in the wheelchair, ready for an outing into the sunshine.

I was pleased to be outside, as I couldn’t remember the last time I had been outdoors, enjoying the warmth of the sun, and Hugh took me to a quiet garden area, that is semi shaded, and away from all the hospital noise and traffic noise in the distance. “Thanks mate, this is just what I needed, it’s been ages since I’ve been outside in the sun” I commented, breaking the long silence. “When do they say you can get out of hospital?” Hugh asked me, “When I stop bloody falling over, I’m still having balance troubles” Gres replied in an unhappy voice, wishing he could get out of the hospital soon.

Each day for two weeks, Hugh made the daily journey to the hospital, on weekdays he delayed his arrival till 9.30am, and on the weekend’s he would arrive at 8am, as the days passed, Gres began to get stronger, and his balance problems eventually subsided. When the day finally arrived that I was permitted to leave hospital, it was a Saturday morning, Sam and Hugh made the journey together in a taxi, and greeted me cheerfully as they arrived at my room at 8am, showered, dressed and packed ready to go.

I was informed that I had to spend a week in the city, so as to remain close to the hospital in case of any sudden changes in his health, and Sam had the other spare room at his apartment ready for my arrival, and this was my first time in Sam’s home, and was surprised at how nice it is. “Far better than my place I bet” I said as we entered the apartment, and I was surprised at how wide and open, and very modern looking.

Sam announced that he had some work to do in his study, so he suggested that we go and take a walk in the nearby park or go and see a movie, which both of us agreed was a great idea. I was not needing any personal care help any more, but Hugh being the caring mate he is, stayed close by in case he was needed, and for the next 6 days I just relaxed most of the time, apart from the mandatory exercise that Hugh demanded I do, since I had been bed ridden for so long.

On the Friday evening, Sam announced that they were all going Port Lincoln to deliver me back home, and it was then that I realized that he hadn’t told Hugh the full truth of the work that he does. While Hugh was putting the dishes in the dishwasher, I took the chance to speak to Sam alone, “Sam, when I was in Canada, Hugh, Marcus and Rhys asked me what it is that I do for work, I explained to them that I was a qualified Vet Nurse, but more recently I have been helping with running a eco camping business” I said to Sam quietly, who frowned at first and then smiled broadly.

“So, you are saying, he doesn’t know about the island, the underground house, or that you actually own it all and two other islands” Sam said with a chuckle, and I smiled and nodded my head, “What are you two chuckling about?” Hugh said as he approached the lounge room, were Sam and I were seated, “Oh nothing much, it was just something I was recalling from when I first met you guys” I said smiling.

Hugh looked and frowned at Sam and me, knowing something was up, but he had no idea what it is, and decided to not ask any more about it, as no doubt he would find out soon enough.

“Hugh, we will be catching the early morning flight to Port Lincoln, so we will need to be up at 6am” Sam said before standing up, “And I need to finish some reading regarding work, before we leave, so I will say good night” Sam added and he headed to his study, closing the door behind him. Hugh and I decided to watch a DVD movie, and while they were doing this, Sam was making a telephone call.

“Hello Bryce, its Sam here, we will be on the early morning flight tomorrow, can you organize to collect the three of us, and take us to the island” Sam said as soon as the phone was answered, “Yes Sam, that will be no problem, will you and Hugh be staying overnight?” Bryce asked with a smile, pleased that I was finally coming home.

“Yes, I will be staying overnight; I think Hugh will be staying for a week or so. Oh, and Hugh has no idea about the island, the underground house or that Gres owns it all, so let’s keep that under wraps, till Gres decides to let Hugh know about it all” Sam announced, and Bryce chuckled, “Yep no problems, see you all tomorrow”.