mistake getting in contact again.
Opening the toilet cubicle door, she tried gallantly to walk in a straight line towards the sink, ignoring the subtle glances of the woman applying lipstick in the mirror beside her.
Turning on the water tap, she looked around quizzically for the soap dispenser. It wasn’t in the least bit surprising to her that there wasn’t such a thing; the people who usually drank in such places probably hadn’t even heard of soap.
“ That one’s got hand wash, if that’s what you’re looking for.”
Felicity turned to look at the woman beside her, who was pointing to the unoccupied sink in the corner. She looked so radiant and happy, her rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes giving off warm vibes. She looked in love.
“ Thanks” Felicity mumbled, wringing her wet hands and making her way towards the far corner, not noticing the puddle of water in her path…
The crunching sound appeared to come far in advance of the intense shooting pain in her head . The room had seemed to tumble around her for a fleeting moment, until she found herself staring open-eyed at the white toilet ceiling, her ankle throbbing and her ears ringing with a pulsating tone. She had slipped awkwardly onto her back. The coldness of the floor seeped gradually into her skin and bones and she heard the woman she had admired only moments before, screaming out for help. She tried to move, but her body failed to respond, paralysing her to the spot.
Felicity’s last vision before the blackness engulfed her was Dan. She watched like an outsider to her own body, as he gently tried to lift her from the cold floor, his eyes full of shame. The shocked woman who had looked so much in love had thrown herself into his arms before ordering him to administer help.
As Felicity struggled to stay focused on the sights and sounds around her as more people urgently entered the toilet to assess the commotion, she heard the woman whisper to Dan “I love you baby. You were great just then.”
Dan’s unmistakable reply echoed in her head as she finally gave i n to the darkness. “Not now Stacey. It’s not the time or the place.”
Chapter Five
Glenda carefully rearranged the flowers in the small vase beside Felicity’s hospital bed. Her daughter looked so peaceful sleeping. Despite the bandage around her head and slight bruising to her arms, her skin looked healthy and there had been no permanent damage.
She hadn’t believed it when she’d received the phone call from Dan the previous night. Her heart had sunk when she’d heard that Fee had been involved in an accident. Automatically assuming he meant a road traffic accident, she’d raced to the hospital fearing the worst. Upon arriving, she couldn’t discern whether she was more shocked by the news that Fee was unconscious or upon hearing that her daughter had been out drinking socially with old friends. Felicity, in The Kings Head pub? With Sylvia? It had taken a moment for the information to register with her. Since when had Fee began drinking in the town’s local pub and since when had she reacquainted herself with Sylvia?
Dan was more of a problem. Glenda hadn’t realised that the brunette woman by his side, who had aided Felicity in the womens’ loo, was also his girlfriend. She had thought that his cool, aloof behaviour towards the woman in front of doctors, had been odd. It was only when the woman had grabbed his hand, that she’d made the connection. It wasn’t in her nature to cause a commotion but she’d been furious with Dan, frantically giving him daggers whilst his girlfriend wasn’t looking.
The body language between the pair of them, and some gentle probing from Glenda, had revealed to her that they’d been an item for nearly two years. At least Dan had had the good grace to look ashamed as Stacey whittled on about their relationship together. Glenda smiled through gritted teeth, realising Stacey was none the wiser of Dan’s real