Fields of Blue Flax Read Online Free PDF Page B

the tank. As she hurried into the shop, she took out her phone from the depths of her bag and saw that she had two missed calls from Gerry. Quickly, she called him back, pausing next to a stand of cheap sunglasses.
    ‘How are they?’
    ‘The news isn’t great. Anna’s got to go for x-rays and Jack’s having a CT scan so I’m staying with Anna for now. We can see Jack later.’
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘A car rammed them at speed, while they were stationary.’
    ‘Oh no, my babies…’
    ‘Just get down here, Chris.’
    He hung up, and Christine felt her eyes well up. She picked up a pair of sunglasses and headed for the till.
    ‘Number?’ asked the greasy-haired girl.
    ‘Just the one pair,’ Christine whispered.
    ‘No, which pump?’
    ‘Oh.’ Christine looked through the glass at her car. ‘Two.’
    ‘And you want those too?’ The girls pointed at the glasses.
    ‘Er, yes, please.’ Christine stared at them as if for the first time.
    ‘You know they’re kids’ glasses, it’s all we’ve got.’
    ‘Fine, how much altogether?’
    Back in her car Chris tried to put the glasses on. They were far too small. She threw them on the passenger seat, flipped down her sun visor and started the engine.
    Before she drove off, she reached for Lottie’s piano CD – ideal for keeping her calm. As she put the car into gear, she suddenly remembered that Mags was meant to be visiting that morning with a Simnel cake. She’d no time to phone, Mags would want every detail. Christine tapped out a quick text: ‘Not home. Kids had accident, off to Newcastle.More later. X’, and drove off.
    A couple of minutes later there was a ping on her phone. She slowed down and peered at the screen. ‘WHAT? Phone me!’ Christine put her phone on mute, flung it into her bag and pressed her foot down on the pedal.
     
    Christine burst into the hospital’s A&E department, frantically looking for Gerry. Scanning all the people sitting there, she saw an elderly couple holding hands. There was a teenager pressing a bloodied bandage to his temple. There were a couple of toddlers, dummies in their mouths, sitting on the floor beside a woman in a baseball cap. And there was a man in a suit, rather too shiny to be well made. He looked straight down to the floor through parted knees and beside him sat a girl, about ten, resting her head against his shoulder. No one looked up as Christine sprinted to the desk.
    ‘I’m looking for my family, they’ve been in an accident. My husband said he’d be here but I can’t see him.’ She steadied herself against the desk.
    ‘No problem, what’s the name?’
    ‘Christine.’
    The man raised his eyebrows.
    ‘Sorry. Wallace. Christine Wallace.’
    The man tapped on his keyboard then looked up. ‘Your daughter Anna’s still in x-ray but should be back soon in the ward at the end of that corridor there. But there’s a man – your husband, I presume? – in the day room just round the corner from here.’ He pointed his finger round to the left. ‘He’s with a policeman. Just knock and go in, Mrs Wallace.’
    As soon as she opened the door to the day room, Gerryrushed over and hugged her tightly. His beard tickled her skin and she sprang back, noticing as she did so how pale her husband was.
    ‘Chris, this is Sergeant Price.’
    Christine shook his hand as Gerry said, ‘Have a seat, we need to give some details.’
    ‘Where are they?’ Christine was abrupt. ‘I want to see them. Please.’
    ‘If you’d like to sit down, Mrs Wallace. I was just telling your husband…’
    ‘Why can’t we see them? The man said Anna’s in x-ray. Where’s Jack?’ Christine clutched her bag tight to her chest and stared at the men.
    ‘I’ve only seen Anna and she’ll be fine, they’re doing x-rays to check no bones’ve been broken, but we’ve not heard any more about Jack yet. There was talk of him going to intensive care.’
    ‘Well, can’t we ask someone? A doctor? A nurse?’ Christine was