Tom and Desai are brought together by circumstance, friendship, and understanding of what each other really need from the other. A monster threatens their happiness, but they rise above to reach the pinnacle they both want and need. True love always...
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"Hello, Tom how are you?" Diana asked as she watched the children play dodgem with their walkers after they woke up from their nap.
"I'm (he burped loudly) drunk, very drunk, mum. Where's that beautiful wife of mine?"
Diana was shocked she should have already been there. "Darling, she left over an hour ago."
***
Desai slammed on the brakes and sat stunned as the front of her car was narrowly missed by a lorry as it ran a red light plowing into the car that was headed in the opposite direction. She could see the woman's face and that of the children in the now crumpled SUV as they all went from smiling to screaming in an instant.
She looked around at the people on the street and sidewalk most of which were pointing their phones in the direction of the wreckage.
As soon as everything came to a stop she rushed from the car to check on the woman and children then quickly checked on the lorry driver who was sitting with his head in his hands crying. "Sir, are you injured?" she asked him grabbing the fire extinguisher from his truck. "Help me!" she screamed at him. "There's petrol everywhere!"
He shook his head. "The brakes just – no brakes."
Desai screamed at him, "Get up off your arse and help me!" then jerked his phone from him and dialed emergency services as she grabbed her fire extinguisher out of the boot. "I need them all," she said as she gave the address and began to use the fire extinguisher to cover the running petrol praying no one would toss a cigar or cigarette or cause a spark. "There's petrol in the street and under the vehicle. Please hurry!"
Once she had used the extinguishers she ran over to the woman. There was blood gushing from her arm that had been lacerated badly. Without thinking she tore off the sleeve of her blouse and made a quick bandage that hopefully would staunch the flow.
"You're going to be alright," she said soothingly as she sat hunkered down by the shattered window talking with the woman and consoling the children as they asked about each other, "All of you are going to be fine," she assured them.
"Don't leave me," the woman pleaded, "please Mrs. Hiddleston."
"Oh, my dear, I'm not going anywhere, and please call me Desai. What's your name?" she asked as she applied pressure to the cut on the woman's arm.
"Ethel Whisenant. Are my children alright?" she asked as blood trickled down her face from a wound on her forehead.
Tearing off the other sleeve she wiped the blood from the head wound then wound it around Ethel's arm. "How are all of you?" Desai asked the three children. "I cannot get in, the car is too smashed. I need for you to tell me the truth if you're hurt."
She looked over into the car and saw that the boy in the front seat had a broken leg and Ethel a broken arm which was a compound fracture. The cut on her other arm was still bleeding badly and Desai thought that it might be an arterial wound the way it was gushing out and being soaked up by the bandage that Desai had placed on it.
