Gillian Jackson - The Accident

Not wanting their time together to end, Hannah invited Joe in for coffee when he took her home.

‘Can I help?’ he asked.

‘No thanks, it won’t be long.’ Hannah worked quickly in the kitchen, not wanting to miss a moment of Joe’s company. If she’d been on her own, her prosthetic leg would have been off by now, it was uncomfortable at the end of the day, but there was no way she was going to take it off in front of Joe.

‘Here we are.’ She smiled as she put a full tray on the coffee table and sat next to Joe on the sofa. Their conversation flowed as before, now covering their respective plans for Christmas. Hannah would have the children home and she wondered what Joe would be doing.

‘Nothing special,’ was his reply. ‘It’ll be the first without Alison of course, and I don’t think I’ll feel much like celebrating.’

Hannah thought for a few moments then asked, ‘Would you like to come here? It’ll be strange for me too, but the twins will be home and you’ll be very welcome. I’m not a bad cook either!’ She gave a nervous laugh, hoping he would say yes.

‘Are you sure, Hannah? I’d love to be with you, but how will the children feel about it?’

‘I’m sure they’ll welcome the opportunity to get to know you a little better.’ They were not empty words; she knew the twins really would take to Joe.

‘In that case I can hardly refuse. Thank you, I’d love to come.’

In that one evening their relationship changed and they were both aware of the subtle difference. Hannah welcomed it but was unsure how Joe was really feeling. She didn’t want the evening to end but when Joe moved slowly towards her to kiss her, she felt a sudden rush of uninvited panic and pulled away.

‘Joe ... doesn’t this,’ she put her hand on her knee, ‘repulse you at all?’ She had to ask; to make sure he knew what he was taking on, but as she stumbled over the words and feared what the answer might be, Joe silenced her with a kiss.

As they drew apart, the look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. This man will never hurt me, she thought, his love is solid, complete, as is mine for him!

‘Hannah,’ Joe whispered, ‘I think I’m falling in love with you!’

The last eighteen months had been a rollercoaster for Hannah and Joe. February’s accident heralded the very worst time of their lives, a time predominantly defined by loss and fear, a terrifying event which changed everything for them, and for so many others.

But then they met each other, and everything changed once again.

Joe proposed to Hannah in March, almost fourteen months since that fateful accident, and she had no hesitation in accepting. The twins were delighted for them. Sam gave Hannah away at the wedding in June, and Mel was Hannah’s maid-of-honour. It was a small affair with just the twins, Hannah’s neighbours Rosie and Frank, Cassie and Alan Jones, and Joe’s neighbours Phil and Helen. For the reception they hired the conservatory at The Greyhound, the scene of their first date.

After the breakdown of their marriages, both out of their control, Joe and Hannah were happy to start a new life with each other, and Hannah fell in love with Liffey as soon as she met her. Joe also gained two children — something he had always longed for.

They decided to move in together in a new house, to make a fresh start, and before long they were overwhelmed with joy to discover that Hannah was pregnant. Joe had assumed that he could never father children, but clearly he had been wrong, and they both felt the imminent arrival of their baby was a blessing which had been borne out of the horrific disaster that had shaped their lives all those months ago.

Out of the very worst experience of Joe and Hannah’s lives, beauty and joy was finally created, and they could finally put the horrors of the accident to rest.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for reading The Accident ,

The concept of ripples in a pond has always fascinated me, one action, one decision and the whole future is changed. The extreme weather conditions of the winter of 2017/18 disrupted the lives of many in the UK, causing untold accidents; we all have a story relating to that appalling weather.

Bereavement and life changing injuries affect people in different ways, something which I try to explore in The Accident . For Hannah the accident brings physical pain as she struggles to carve out a new life coping with her injuries, and emotional pain, living with the tyranny of the ‘what ifs’ and battling with guilt. The ripples affect her family too, altering the future she’d always taken for granted. Joe, who loses his beloved wife, is at his lowest ebb but the ripples extend to his family too and become the catalyst for greed and hatred.

Grief can appear to break us, but perhaps also remake us. I’ve always admired those who channel their grief into something positive, and so Timothy[= Jones’ parents become the example to us all. Refusing to allow their son’s memory to die they decide to fulfil his dream and build a living monument to his lost life, to make his years on earth count for something. I so enjoyed writing their story; beauty from ashes!

If you enjoyed reading The Accident , I would be grateful for a review on Amazonand Goodreads. If you would like to offer your personal comments, please contact me on my Facebook Author Pageor send a message through Twitter.You can also keep up to date with my writing projects on my website.

Gillian Jackson

gillianjackson.co.uk

Many thanks to Denise Smith, a truly inspirational lady, whose generous help and advice enabled me to create the character of Hannah. Also to the amazing team at Sapere Books who work so hard on my behalf and from whom I continue to learn so much on my journey as an author.

Published by Sapere Books.

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United Kingdom

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Copyright © Gillian Jackson, 2017

Gillian Jackson has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events, other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously.

Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales are purely coincidental.