Queasy As Falling Off A Boat.
by: Hadarang
part:260

I knew I was dreaming, but I couldn't break out of it, I couldn't make myself wake up. I was in the hospital behind a sheet of plate glass looking itno Stella's room. She was lying on the bed, not moving but I knew she was still alive. I saw two porters bring in the mortuary trolley, they picked her up and began to put her into the trolley, I was screaming and banging on the window but they couldn't or wouldn't hear me. They lowered her into the trolley and began to push it out of the room. I was screaming, "She isn't dead, she isn't dead," over and over but no one could hear me.

Suddenly a bell rang all around me, I jerked awake and the phone by the bed was ringing. It took me a moment to realise I'd been having a very bad dream. I answered the phone with hesitation.

"Your call, Lady Catherine."

"Erm what?"

"You asked for an alarm call."

"Oh yes, sorry I'm half asleep, thank you." I put the handset down and tried to wake myself up. I was a bath of sweat, the dream had been awful brought about no doubt, by my fears for Stella. I made myself a cup of tea and began to run a bath. Showers are all very well for getting clean but I felt in need of some pampering and my legs needed a shave.

I emptied some bath cream stuff into the water and watched it froth up, it smelt nice too. I adjusted the temperature and slipped into the welcoming water, carefully balancing my tea on the edge of the bath. Then bliss, a warm bath with a cuppa if I'd had some romantic music say, Vaughan-Williams or Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, it would have been so nice I might just have stayed there all night.

Instead, I drank my tea and had a short soak, then shaved my legs and finally washed my hair under the shower. I dried it and my little body, and clad in my wrap, went in pursuit of something to wear in the restaurant. I felt it needed a dress and I flicked through the bare essentials I had in the wardrobe. It wasn't very much, I nipped into Stella's room and she had a faux leopard skin pattern dress with a cream background. I took it with me and tried it on with a cream bra and pants set. It looked very nice, since the surgery, the weight gains had been on my boobs and bum which filled the dress out rather effectively. I hoped she wouldn't mind me borrowing it.

The shoes I'd bought were almost the same brown as the dress and had a three-inch stiletto heel. They were moderately comfortable. Sadly I didn't have a matching bag, so had to use a small clutch bag in a darker brown, one of Stella's cast-offs, but big enough to hold my key, my purse and some makeup, together with a few tissues.

I styled my hair, actually, I combed and brushed it a bit so it didn't look too big a mess. I put on my makeup and some jewellery plus my watch, then a squirt of No 5, and I was more or less ready.

It was only half-past seven, so I went into Stella's room again and packed together a couple of nighties, her dressing gown and slippers plus one or two more intimate things. Then left it on the bed for the morning when I would go and see her.

That had used up a quarter of an hour and after a quick check in the mirror, I went down to the Green Room to check out the table and await my friends.

It was one of the nicest tables in the room, almost out of the public gaze but positioned so it didn't miss anything. I felt quite voyeuristic but positioned myself in the most advantageous seat, so I could see practically all that went on.

Tom and Pippa arrived a few minutes after eight, they both looked very smart. Pippa was wearing a trouser suit and Tom had his charcoal grey suit, with a grey shirt and dark rose coloured tie. They spoke to a waiter who brought them over to me, I'd warned them to use my 'future' name.

"You both look very smart," I said greeting them with a hug and a kiss.

"You don't look too bad yourself," said Pippa and Tom nodded his agreement.

"What this old thing?" I said and smirked.

"Okay, what's so funny?" asked Pippa, no she didn't ask she demanded to know.

"This dress is actually Stella's, I didn't bring anything really suitable with me."

"Watch you don't get jam on it then," said Pippa.

"I don't usually, I leave that to older types you know, like ancient academics."

"Ooh, they are the worst," said Pippa, rolling her eyes.

"At least I don't get toner all over me," said Tom with a huge grin on his face.

I looked quizzically at him and then Pippa. She blushed and said, "I had a slight accident with the photocopier this morning."

"What sort of accident?" I demanded the low down, at least it would be something else to talk about apart from that Youtube clip."

"I slipped as I picked up the toner cartridge, it went everywhere."

"I thought they were showing a rerun of the Black and White Minstrel show." Tom was now sniggering.

"How did you get it off?"

"I went home and showered, my clothes are ruined but I think my house insurance may cover them."

"Check it carefully because they often don't cover clothes at all." How would I know, I'd never insured a property. Still, what is it they say, the lesser the knowledge the stronger the opinion. I'd never let fact get in the way of my opinions. What a hypocrite.

We ordered I had lamb. As long as I didn't relate it to the small woolly things bouncing around fields, I was okay. Tom had a curry, okay a beef one, but what his gut must be like I hated to think, probably asbestos-lined. Pippa had a chicken dish, I've forgotten which one now. We also ordered a bottle of red wine, a burgundy.

"How was Stella?" asked Tom.

"Very poorly, they didn't want me to go in to see her. She looked so weak, I had difficulty recognising her for a moment."

Tom looked aghast and Pippa equally upset.

"She had been beaten up by those swine and it started another haemorrhage. She's had umpteen transfusions since. I was shocked by it all."

"Oh poor Stella, is there anything I can do to help?" Pippa looked almost ready to burst into tears.

"That goes for me too," added Tom, now looking angry. "Why in God's name did they have to beat her?"

"I don't know, but the rescue was only just in time, much later and she'd have bled to death."

"Did they get them all?" Tom had raised a serious point.

"God, I hope so, I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder."

"Might it be better if you forsook the Camerons and just disappeared?"

"Tom, how can you ask such a thing? I'm shocked." I blushed at his question.

"I'm trying to think how you might evade these buggers, that's all. The Camerons can't, they are too well known."

"I think I might be equally notorious by now."

"Why?" asked Pippa then said, "Oh yeah, just remembered, Youtube."

"Add BBC and various other media and it's fairly easy to see why." I shivered as I thought how much my face had been seen on the media, my dormouse wrestling and interviews on the news would guarantee that plenty of people knew my face, if not my name."

I tried to turn the conversation onto other things but they kept bringing it back to Stella. I told them about my dream earlier.

"Ooh, goodness, I hope it isn't some sort of foreboding." Pippa looked quite worried.

"Me too, although I don't believe in such things too much."

"No, you're a hardened scientist. aren't you Cathy?" Tom was in a sarcastic mood. "Are you sure it wasn't the tuna salad?"

"Positive, I read a thing recently about diet influencing dreams, it doesn't." I declined to add, 'so there,' at the end.

"So if I dream of Madras tonight?" Tom said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Ma who?" said Pippa trying to lighten the chat.

"Good one, Pip," I said, glad that she had stopped the argument which I would probably have lost. Tom is far cleverer than I am.

Suddenly it was eleven and time for them to go home. I felt quite alone until I went up to the suite and found Simon asleep on the bed.

"Good meal?" he asked and promptly drifted back to sleep before I could answer him.

Typical, I thought, just bloody typical.