For you, Lucy. (On Hold)

That One Night.

"Mr.Albert?" said the voice on the other side of the phone.
"Yes?" asked Robbie Albert.
"Could you come to the hospital as fast as possible...There has been an accident involving Mrs.Lucy Albert."

The phone receiver was placed back immediately after Robbie heard the address of the hospital.
Jumping into his old Toyota, he sped towards the local hospital, his heart speeding likewise.

"No...not my Lucy. How could that happen? She had just walked a few blocks away to buy groceries. They must've gotten the wrong Lucy." He tried to comfort his paining heart but his mind stated otherwise, telling him to expect the worst.

Parking quickly, he ran inside. The white clad, serious faced figures scared him. Almost like all of them bore bad news about his beloved. Out of breath, he stopped at the reception and panted.
"Lucy Albert, motor accident. Where can I find her?"
"She'll be in room number...226. That'll be the fourth door on your right, down that corridor." Said the stern looking woman. She looked like she'd never smiled or shown any emotion, ever.
She smiled sadly at him.

As he ran down the corridor,the numbers on the doors faded into a blur and he couldn't make any of them out, till he reached 226. He peeped inside to see a lady, covered up to her chest with a pretty, patterned quilt. Her face was peaceful but for the side which was covered with bandages tinted red and surgical tape. Lucy. He wanted to go in and gently wake her up but his feet remained firmly rooted on the other side of the door. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face a middle aged doctor with greying hair and creases on his forehead. His face too, held a sad smile.
"You are her husband if I'm not wrong?" He said.
Robbie nodded.
"I'm Dr.Liam."
Robbie nodded again.
"I'm afraid I bear bad news." Said Dr.Liam.
"Just get it over with." replied Robbie gruffly.
"She was crossing the road when a speeding car hit her. Her head collided with the hood of the car leaving her with multiple fractures in her skull and...her brain has been affected too. We..."
The words swam around Robbie's head. He had one main concern.
"Will she live?" He asked.
"I...I'm afraid not Mr.Albert, the injuries were too severe." The doctor replied haltingly.
"I'm sorry Mr.Albert." He continued, his voice gentler.

Robbie Albert walked into the dreaded room and over to his wife's bedside. The monitors showed a very faint heartbeat and a blood pressure, very low.
"This is unfair Lucy." He said.
The beeps from the monitors were the only reply he got.
"We had so much ahead of us. Why are you leaving me so soon?"
Numbers on the screen dropped.
"Don't you remember we were going to die hand in hand sitting in our rocking chairs, well over a hundred years old?" His voice was beginning to crack.
The line fell straight and the beeps turned into a continuous, depressing cry.
"I love you, Lucy."
Her hands turned cold and the man who hadn't cried since he was seven, knelt beside the bed and wept.
                   *****************
                        CHAPTER 1.
                      16 years later...

60 year old Robbie Albert sat up in bed. His clock read 7:00 am, as usual. He got up and walked over to the calender that hung on his wall. He put his finger on the little square that read 6th October. It had been underlined in red, just like it had been every year since 1979. He sighed and walked back to his bed, sitting down like every joint in his body ached terribly. He picked up the photo frame that stood on his bedside table. It held Lucy's picture. 6th October in his mind, he smiled sadly.
"Happy Anniversary, Lucy." He said.

Like he did every year on this date, he walked over to an annually opened cupboard and opened it. The once smoothly opening doors of the storage cupboard, creaked open. Robbie pulled out a dust covered box decorated with  glittery pink hearts. Lucy's idea. Two minutes later he sat in his armchair and opened the cardboard box like it contained priceless jewels. He smiled as he went through photo albums of their marriage, tiny trinkets and all odds and ends Lucy had stated valuable as memoirs. He had found this habit of hers annoying yet endearing  but he never stopped her. He liked to see her smile whenever she placed another seemingly meaningless object in the box. Now, he was happy he hadn't stopped her. Those objects were some of the only things that made him feel like she was beside him, laughing at old pictures, exclaiming over those little things she had collected over the years.

As he went through the last album in the box, a parched, yellow paper floated down from between the last few pages of the album. Puzzled, he picked it up. He could hardly make out the words, the writing was so faded. But, it wouldn't take a detective to realise that it was Lucy's handwriting. Robbie's heart beat fast. How come he'd never seen this before? Setting his glasses firmly on the bridge of his nose, he strained to make out the words. 'Lucy Grainger Albert's Bucket List' it said. Something told him the Albert had been added much later  (it was the only word clearly visible to the naked eye). He scrambled out of his seat and ran; as fast as a 60 year old man with mild arthritis could, over to his desk. Switching on his table lamp, he bent over the yellow paper. He could make out the words better under the light.
"1. Camp overnight at a gorge.
  2. Go skydiving.
  3.Tell Robbie I love him check..." it read. It was long but Robbie was too busy chuckling to himself over the third item on this list to continue.
                              ~~~
Robbie Albert walked up and down the street his house was on, taking in the sights of little children playing in their backyards and hoping he too had a child of his own. Someone to keep him company in his years of retirement. He and Lucy had always thought that there would be time to build their family later. "How could they have taken time, life and each other for granted?" Wondered the old man for probably the billionth time in less than 20 years.

His day passed slowly and after doing everything he could think of doing, he decided to take a small nap. He sat at the edge of the bed and glanced at Lucy's picture. Something was different.  Her face looked the same but it seemed like she was hiding some urgency behind her beautiful smile. Putting the thought aside, he lay down, but no matter what, he couldn't fall asleep. Lucy's bucket list kept preying on his mind. He looked at her photograph again. Bucket list. Lucy. Bucket list. Lucy. Bucket list. Lucy....
Road trip.

The very idea sent excitement coursing through his veins. He would complete her bucket list, her unfinished desires. He smiled brightly at Lucy's photograph.
"We're going on a road trip, Lucy." He said.
He got up and half ran into the storage room. He came out a couple of minutes later, this time a bit slower as he was dragging two vintage, leather suitcases with him.

The wooden floorboards creaked whiningly. They hadn't witnessed such unusual action since 1999.

Note
Thank you for reading the first chapter of my book! This is my first try at writing a book on wattpad. Please comment and vote if you liked it! Suggestions for improvement are welcome.
New chapters every Friday!