Engle Byen A Place to Call Home Page 5

  “Here, have some Angel Fool cake dear, I made it myself,” Muriel giggled.

  “Oh, it looks nice, Muriel, except I think it’s called Angel Food cake and what’s this fingernail doing in it? Sorry, but I think I will pass on the cake.”

  After I quickly finished my coffee I went outside to start the yard work Muriel had assigned me. I started up the lawn mower and proceeded up and down and side to side mowing the grass, there wasn’t much to do but then I stopped mid-mow.

  As I stood there a thought came into my head, ‘Who mows my small patch of lawn out the back and front of my house? I don't own a lawnmower and I've never seen or heard anyone else do it.’ The thought kept swirling around in my mind, I’m becoming confused.

  I feel a tap on my shoulder and nearly jump out of my skin. “Michael, the lawn looks great, can you be an angel and rake up the leaves now, thank you.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Viktor, your face, what happened to you?” I said in a shocked voice as he opened his front door.

  “I’m OK, Michael, just umm, ran into a door. That’s why I couldn’t see you for your appointment today at the hospital, I can’t go to work looking like this."

  I didn’t know Viktor lived next door to me with Ralph, I don’t think we ever mentioned to each other where we lived. Viktor has a room at the hospital where he sees patients and staff requiring massage therapy.

  “Come on in Michael, I had no idea you lived next door. I have a massage table and equipment set up here, I do see some patients here at home after hospital hours.”

  I noticed Viktor had a slight limp as he escorted me directly into his massage room, the room smelled like hospital disinfectant.

  “What’s that smell, Viktor?”

  “Oh, I’ll put on some lovely essential oils for you.”

  I looked close up at Viktor’s face. “There’s quite a few superficial wounds there, Viktor, but nothing that requires stitches. I guess you’ve already seen a doctor?”

  “No I haven’t, but I’ll be OK, and you have just had a look. Right, nurse Michael? Now I know you live next door I can pop over if I need to,” Viktor said.

  I disrobed and laid down on the massage table, Viktor placed a towel over me, it also smelt like disinfectant.

  “So, Michael, I guess it’s the same spot that’s troubling you, shoulder blades?”

  "Yes it is, the pain doesn't seem to ease much after you've weaved your magic hands over me I get some relief, then the pain returns a few days later.”

  "I'll try something new with you today, it's called cupping. I just place these small glass balls over your back and light them; they assist in sucking out all the toxins and may help alleviate the pain in your shoulder blades. It may hurt a bit, OK, here we go." As Viktor placed the cups on my back they did hurt a little but hey, I’m tough.

  “So, Viktor, tell me the truth about those marks and bruises on your face and I couldn’t help but notice your limp.”

  “Like I said Michael, I walked into a door and then tripped over.”

  “Viktor, I’m a nurse and your injuries are not consistent with what you say happened.”

  While the cups were sucking away slightly painfully on my back, Viktor began massaging my legs without replying to my question. I wondered if Ralph was assaulting Viktor, I don’t know what their relationship is, I didn’t even know they lived together until today when Viktor contacted me to change the location of today’s appointment. So, the assault must have happened last night. I didn’t hear any disturbances coming from Ralph’s house last night, I am a deep sleeper so it’s possible I wouldn’t have heard anything.

  Poor Viktor, he is such a lovely and caring person; whoever did this to him, well I just couldn’t imagine who. I doubt Ralph would be capable, but then I don’t know him very well, this is the first time I have been inside his house. Maybe a jilted lover?

  My mind was running rampant with thoughts about who could possibly assault Viktor and why. Obviously, Viktor doesn't want to talk to me about it, I should let it go, but I can't. It hurts me deeply that someone could hurt another person in such a vicious and cruel way. I will have to keep an eye on Viktor in future.

  “So, how’s your man, Michael?” Viktor asked deflecting my question.

  “He’s not my man, but things seem to be going that way," I responded as best I could with my head in the hole of the massage table. "We are just taking it slowly, I didn't care for him much at first, apart from his devilish good looks, but looks aren't everything, right? He has been teasing me since the day we met by being sexually overt but that didn't work, the last time I saw him was when he set up a romantic picnic at the beach a few days ago, the day he saved me from drowning. That was the day that you discovered us in the dunes."

  ‘Oh, hang on,’ I thought, ‘when I introduced them Viktor said he had met Jacob previously and Jacob denied knowing Viktor. Then that death stare!’

  It's all coming back to me now; Jacob gave Viktor the darkest, the evilest look I have ever seen. No, it can't be; could Jacob have viciously hurt my cute innocent Viktor? As usual, my mind began spinning out of control. Does Viktor have some dirt on Jacob, maybe they were dating or Jacob and Viktor have been together and I am not to find out about them? Everyone keeps telling me to keep away from him; I will have to do some discrete investigative work on this.

  “So, Viktor, how do you know Ralph?” I asked in my best discreet detective voice.

  “I was looking for somewhere to live after I moved into town and answered an advertisement Ralph placed looking for a housemate. It was shortly after that I began working at St Angelina’s hospital as a massage therapist.”

  “How do you and Ralph get along?”

  “Oh very well, just like brothers, he’s such a lovely guy and no, Michael, he wasn’t the one that bashed me.”

  “A-ha,” I yelled as best I could with my face still lodged in the massage table, “So you do admit someone did assault you and you didn’t walk into a door!”

  “You got me!” Viktor replied in that cute accent.

  “So who was it, who did this to you, they will have me to answer to,” I demanded as I rose up from the massage table. "Ouch, that hurts!" I squealed as some of the cups fell off my back. Viktor gently pushed me back into the lying position again.

  “Relax, Michael, it’s going to be OK, I am just going to take these cups off your back now.” I heard the cups pop as they came off my back, kind of hurt too. Viktor moved to the front of the massage table and gently rubbed the temples on the side of my head. “Relax, Michael, relax.”

  I drifted off to sleep. I could very faintly hear angelic voices, they were singing, I could just barely hear the words having the time of your life, the singing voices gave me such a joyous uplifting feeling, it felt like they were calling me to join with them. I felt wonderful, I was floating and carefree listening to the angels sing, suddenly I started plummeting downwards, everything went dark, I fell softly to the ground. Where was I? I had no idea.

  The darkness was everywhere; I could only hear my breath. I stood up and looked into the darkness, soon after there was a slight light poking through some clouds that weren’t there before. I can hear a swooshing noise coming from above me, I look up and see a white angel flying up into the sky, he’s wearing white pants, no shirt or shoes. I get a quick glimpse of his face as he swoops high into the sky. It’s Viktor!

  I am now surrounded by white mist but nothing else. Oh, shit, I am dead, aren’t I?

  Just then a black angel flies out of nowhere and begins attacking the white angel, they whack each other with their wings and I remember I had a dream like this not long ago, and the black angel was Jacob and he was attacking me. I screamed out but had no voice. “Michael, Michael!” I hear someone calling my name, they are shaking me.

  “That was some dream you were having there,” Viktor said, “Guess I made you too relaxed,” he giggled.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Yes, Mr Burgess,
No, Mr Burgess… it was one of those nights attending to Mr Angelo Burgess which is generally no easy task, but he becomes particularly cantankerous in the evening when I’m the only nurse on duty. Maybe the old buzzard tries to wind me up on purpose? I finally get him settled and give him a sedative to help him sleep.

  “Jacquie!” he said.

  “Jacob!” I said at the same time.

  “Huh, what?” We said together.

  Jacob had entered the room and as soon as he saw me he turned and left in a mighty hurry.

  “Did you see her nurse? That was Jacquie, the female orderly I was asking you about. The one that was going to help me with that IT deal I was telling you about. You must have scared her off, you fool, one look at you and she was out the door. See, nothing wrong with me.” Angelo said, slurring his words as the sedative took effect and he drifted off to sleep.

  What the hell just happened? That was definitely Jacob I saw come into the room just now and vanish like a flash once he saw me. Why was Angelo so sure it was this female orderly named Jacquie he has recently been asking me about? Jacob, Jacquie the names are similar. Maybe Jacob cross-dresses and gives Angelo a lap dance for money? The old guy is loaded, after all, I chuckle to myself.

  I step outside of Angelo’s room and make my way down the corridor, keeping my eyes peeled for Jacob. It’s rare for an orderly to come up to the wards in the evening unless he came to visit me. It was definitely Jacob I saw, it must have been the sedative kicking in that distorted Angelo’s vision when he thought he saw this so-called Jacquie.

  Oh well, back to my rounds.

  ***

  I was under Miss Duffy's bed, reaching out for something that she had dropped which rolled under there when I saw the legs of someone approaching her bed. I could tell by the uniform pants it was an orderly, obviously Jacob. I wondered what he would be doing approaching Miss Duffy so I stayed under the bed, unbeknown to Jacob, to suss out the situation.

  “Hello my sweetheart, how are you today?” Jacob asked.

  “So excited to be seeing you again my gorgeous husband to be,” Miss Duffy cooed. “Michael, Michael, where are you? Jacob is here.”

  I rose up from under Miss Duffy’s bed and placed the item I retrieved on her bedside drawers. I looked at the figure that was standing on the other side of the bed holding Miss Duffy’s hand. My vision was slightly blurred, I couldn’t quite make out his face and then it came into focus. Jacob, my Jacob though, not the older-gentleman-Jacob that Miss Duffy had previously described. He looked at me with a confused and intrigued expression on his face.

  “Ummmm, Jacob, what’s going on?” I asked him.

  Very cautiously he replied, “Eerrrr, I’m just visiting Angela here.”

  "Michael, you must be at our wedding, of course, it will have to be here in the hospital. I hope at least I can get out of this bed on our special day, though we haven’t decided the date yet,” Miss Duffy said as she lovingly looked at Jacob while stroking his hand.

  “Are you sure this is what you want, Miss Duffy?”

  “Yes, Michael, it is,” she snapped at me. “All I have ever wanted is to be married and now, for the first time in my life, someone wants to marry me. It’s my dying wish Michael. I thought you understood.”

  Even though Jacob was still standing there just across the bed from me I was becoming quite upset at Jacob’s deception. I couldn’t hold back any further. “What’s his motivation to marry you, Miss Duffy, sorry to say but what would be the benefit to Jacob for marrying you? I know you said you don’t have much money but why would a fit, healthy, young man like Jacob marry a… more mature lady like yourself and as you know, unfortunately, you are not long for this world and… your husband to be is in love with me!”

  She began laughing hysterically. “Michael, have you been raiding the drugs cabinet? Oh, that's so funny. For a moment there I thought I was going to have a heart attack, but not before I get married! As I have told you previously, he's not interested in what little assets I have, all he said he wanted was to be my soul mate, all he wanted was my soul. Isn’t that right dear?” She asked turning to Jacob.

  He just stood there and smirked, the little so and so. I just wanted to knock that smirk right off his gorgeous face.

  I looked at her quizzically. She continued, “Michael, look at Jacob, he’s way too old for you, sorry dear,” she said turning briefly to Jacob, “But you did give me the best laugh I have had in ages, Michael.”

  I stormed out of the room.

  Feeling enraged, I waited at the nurse’s station ready to pounce on Jacob as soon as he walked past. ‘Hang on,’ I thought, ‘what did Miss Duffy mean Jacob was too old for me and why did she find it so highly amusing?’

  “Hold it right there, mate,” I said to Jacob in the scariest voice I could muster as I pushed him up against the wall. “What the hell are you playing at offering to marry an elderly patient that doesn’t have much more time to live?”

  He didn’t answer, so I shoved him against the wall again, pinning him to it with my forearm resting against his chest. “Huh? Huh?” I kept repeating as I kept pushing him back against the wall. He looked me right in the eyes while adrenalin was pumping furiously throughout my body.

  He smirked and said, “You gonna hit me, Mikey? Come on, no one is around, hit me, Mikey now's the time. Or you wanna kiss me? Yeah, kiss me, Mikey, I know you want to.”

  He smelt so good and he was right; I didn’t know if I wanted to hit him or kiss him, so I released my grip on him.

  He grabbed my waist and pulled me close to him, “You are so hot when you are angry, Mikey. You are turning me on like you wouldn’t believe.”

  ‘Oh, I could believe it,’ I thought as I felt him pressing his growing manhood against me. He put his hand on the back of my head and pushed my face to his and began kissing me. I started to kiss him back, thoughts were swirling around in my head, I pushed him away.

  He began to walk away, turned and gave me that irresistible smirk of his.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I arrived at work not looking forward to my double shift that will finish at midnight, went to my usual ward, again another quiet day ahead by the look of the patient list. I walked toward the room of my favourite patient, Angela Duffy, to say hi and see how she is today. I got to her bed and it was empty; I guess another nurse has taken her somewhere for some tests or the like.

  “Michael, there you are, I’ve been looking for you,” said a slightly out of breath Viktor, “Can you follow me to the nurses’ station please?”

  We arrived at the nurses’ station. “Michael, the other nurses asked me to speak to you directly because they know we are friends. Unfortunately, Angela Duffy died last night.”

  I stood there in shock, taking in the words that just left Viktor’s lips. I shouldn’t be feeling like this, I’m a nurse, a professional that deals with this type of thing now and then; I let my guard down and became emotionally attached to a patient.

  “Did she pass away peacefully do you know?” I asked Viktor.

  “Well, I heard you grew quite an attachment to her so I would like to say yes, she did pass peacefully, but if you’re asking me as a professional, I’d have to say no, she didn’t. I was here before she was taken down to the morgue, she looked like a shrivelled-up pea; like she had her soul sucked out of her.”

  “What? I haven’t quite heard anyone say anything like that before, what does that mean, her soul sucked out of her?”

  “Never mind, Michael, I’ll explain later, right now it looks like you could do with a hug.”

  Viktor took me in his arms and held me tight, I hadn't made physical contact with Viktor like this before, it felt good, well amazing actually. I felt my pain slowly dissipate from my body. I felt at peace, secure, safe and as one with him. As Viktor eventually broke his hold of me he looked me right in the eyes and I felt the strangest sensation, I had the feeling that he knew me, knew all about me, he was so familiar to me, yet not. I have neve
r felt as close to someone as I did right then, I feel a bond, a close bond with him like he has known me all my life. I come back to my senses and notice the wounds on Viktor's face that prevented him from working at the hospital have completely healed.

  “I might just hang around here at the nurses’ station for a while Michael, to keep an eye on you, make sure you are OK. I don’t have any patients booked in until later.”

  “I feel much better now Viktor, thanks so much for caring about me; I know you are in your treatment room downstairs if I need you.”

  “No worries then, Michael, I will be watching over you, see you later.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  As the day turned into the evening I felt exhausted as my double shift continued. The hospital ward felt lonely now that Angela Duffy had passed away. Something didn’t feel right; I just know Jacob is involved somehow. As I was walking past Angelo Burgess’s room I could hear muffled voices. I wondered who was in there with him, he doesn’t usually receive visitors. My curiosity got the better of me and I stopped in my tracks. I quietly took a few steps back and stood silently outside the door and listened to the conversation, the voices just louder than a whisper.

  “So, we have a deal then Angelo, my gorgeous stud muffin?”

  “Yeah, yeah, of course. Sounds too good to be true, Jacquie, but I trust you. So let’s seal the deal with a kiss then, come over here and pucker up my sweet.”

  “Oh, Angelo, if only you weren’t so infirmed I'd show you a really good time."

  “Jacquie, you are too wicked, you evil minx.”

  “How about I lift up the covers and get your motor running.”

  I was suddenly in a state of shock, I recognised the voice and before I knew it I was standing right next to Angelo’s bed watching on as someone’s head was bobbing up and down under the covers while Angelo lay there with his eyes closed moaning in pleasure.