Post-accident Developments

By EgmontGrigor2020

Chapter 1

Larry Rivers was driving an 18-year-old clapped-out Japanese car on a quiet country road in southern New Zealand when a 4WD SUV came out of a tree-lined driveway to a farmhouse at speed.

It crossed into the wrong side of the highway and collided head-on with his vehicle.

There was a fearful sound of breaking glass and disintegrating body panels as Larry's car virtually converted into recyclable scrap.

He saw the startled expression of the bearded driver's face and then nothing, as the force of the impact knocked him unconscious as a section of the dashboard (instrument panel) broke off in pieces. The engine of his car was pushed toward him, but the inflated air bag protected him.

The other driver, Chester Macfie, was shaken but not hurt, thanks to the alloy 'bull bar' fitted at the front of his vehicle designed to absorb much of the shock with the vehicle hitting a buffalo or kangaroo in Australia or a horse or a 3000 lb bull in New Zealand. He called his wife.

"Millie, I lost control of the Prado (Toyota Land Cruiser) coming out on to the road and hit a car head-on, wrecking it,

"Omigod, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little shaken. The knee and chest air bags activated. Haven't seen the condition of the occupants in the light car yet."

"Omigod, what now?"

"Call the authorities and report a serious motor-vehicle collusion, sweetheart."

"Are you sure about that? It may lead to your losing your driving licence?"

"Just call them. Saving lives, if there's still time, is more important than me being arrested for dangerous driving, or whatever."

"And I agree. Extricate yourself and go to their aid. I'll call Kate Joplin first as she's an ex-nurse and is only five minutes' drive away."

Chester used brute strength to pulled the buckled and jammed driver's door open.

The dazed driver said, "Oh hi. Something hit my car."

"Are you okay?"

"Just had the crap almost scared out of me but everything attached to a joint appears to be moving, and there's no sign of blood that I've spotted."

"You were lucky, my vehicle weights 3000 kg."

"Ah, that's why my light-weight tin can appears almost flattened."

"Yeah, let's get your out of here is case of fire. I'm Chester Macfie."

"You're speaking to Larry Rivers from the north. I'm down here on a year's working holiday, getting away from the business rat race in Auckland."

Larry did little in the extraction, with heavy-weight and muscular Chester plucking him out of the wreck as if Larry was a rag doll.

Chester said the emergency services had been called and that was a former nurse driving up rapidly toward them now.

Kate Joplin looked at the victim, looked at the partial wreck and breathed, "How the fuck did you survive that without obvious injury?"

"Divine protection?"

She eyed him and grinned.

How do you account for that?"

"Today's the 13th and thirteen has been my lucky number ever since I was in my early teens. It was the number of my first representative rugby jersey when I was, yes, thirteen."

"Lay on this rug please while I check for external injuries."

"What, with Chester looking on?"

She laughed,

"I won't need to check you dick; you'd be writhing on the ground if that was injured. Here's his wife Millie arriving now. She'll be eager to cup your dick from her husband's prying eyes."

Kate began checking limbs and said, "Are you and itinerant traveller?"

"Yes, I'm in the district looking for farm work for a couple of months or so. I'm keen to mix work with trying out the Canterbury ski fields.

Kate said, "Millie and I and Millie and Chester's daughter will take you skiing if you stick around. A doctor will be in the ambulance and he may order you to hospital for x-rays and other checks because you have been in a crunching accident of huge impact."

"It I pass a casual inspection and vault over the roadside fence would he..."

"No, absolutely not. His hospital would not welcome a Government inquiry into negligence in treatment of a survivor of a serious motor vehicle accident that it's a wonder you survived."

"Fuck."

"No thanks, and its impolite to be such an opportunist."

"Kate, love you humour," Larry said, choking, and he vomited over Kate's shoes.

"That, young man, is stark evidence of accident trauma. It's definitely hospital for you, for routine checks and 24 hours minimum of observation."

"I apologise and will buy you replacement..."

"Can it, um...?"

"Larry," Chester said.

"Think nothing of it, Larry. Vomiting on my shoes is preferable to being peed upon."

The three of them laughed.

Fifteen minutes later an ambulance arrived, following by a police vehicle and a few minutes later to a vehicle recovery tow wagon.

"Christ," marvelled the tow driver, then looking at Larry. "Somehow you managed to survive that wrecking crash?"

"Yeah, it wasn't my time to go," Larry joked and his photo and that quote plus a description of the accident scene appeared on page three of next morning's newspaper.

As Larry was being placed into the ambulance, Millie handed him the business card of Chester and Millie Macfie, Aberdeen Angus Cattle Stud and Corriedale Sheep Stud breeders, of mid-Canterbury,

"Phone me the minute you know you are to be discharged from hospital, Larry, and I come and get you. You will stay with us until you are fully over this terrible trauma."

"And stay longer if you wish to work for me," Chester said with a huge smile. "Check with your lawyer first."

"What lawyer is that?"

"The lawyer you'll hire to get a replacement vehicle out of me if your insurance won't cover the cost fully of a similar replacement vehicle."

"There won't be a lawyer engaged by me, Chester. It was an accident, brought upon you driving without due care and attention. We can talk mutually like gentlemen about my replacement vehicle for the near wreck I was driving. The sun glare was in your eyes when you turned to drive on to the road, err reflected off my car's windscreen."

"No, I don't..."

Kate interrupted and said, "Chester, don't be so dismissive. This young man is telling you something. No further comment now but think about what he's said, deeply."

Chester looked at his wife.

Milly put her forefinger to her lips and he nodded.

Chapter 2

Thirty-six hours after Larry's admission to hospital, he called the Macfie's home and Millie answered the phone.

"Hi, it's Larry."

"When?"

"Approximately at 11.00."

"I'm on my way."

"Don't..."

He realised the call had been cut. Milly had visited him the previous day and knew he was itching to regain his life in the outside world.

She arrived at 10 a.m.

They kissed and he hugged her enthusiastically.

"Larry..." she said nervously.

"I know, sorry. I can't wait to get out of here."

"The supervising doctor for this hospital ward is on his way up with the papers for you to sign. I phoned him and reminded him that my mother is a member of the hospital board and so he got his arse into gear."

Fourteen minutes later they walked out of the hospital and the lithe and fit young man said in delight, "Dr Harris says I have no signs of concussion and I know I have no memory loss. Great eh?"

Milly grabbed him and kissed him and said, "The police superintendent in charge of driving prosecutions called Chester earlier this morning to say it was unlikely he would face serious driving charges. They chatted and Lester said why not charge him with careless driving causing a non-injury accident and Superintendent Bell asked would he plead guilty to that charge in the Lower Court. Chester said definitely and was told in that case he would face a fine and some demerit points on his driver's licence and contemplation of more serious charges would be dropped."

That's great news, I'm so please. Um, Milly?"

"What? Oh," she smiled, releasing him from her tight grip.

They walked over to a compact Jaguar and she said, "I bought this after we'd sold our much larger high-country farm and purchased the stud farm, with plenty of money left over. Chester said we should buy ourselves the vehicle we would like best."

"He bought the first of three Prado's he's had since then and I bought this vehicle, that's now aged but it suits me fine. You are invited to drive. After a big accident it's said the driver should get behind the wheel again as soon as possible to prevent a drop in confidence seizing him or her."

They drove off and Larry said. "I've usually owned cheap previous owned cars as I'm not fussed about vehicle looks, design style and gadgets they have installed. A robust road-runner is all I required, with a good sound system installed."

The vehicle you were driving that my husband demolished would have scarcely qualified as a road-runner, I would have thought."

"Looks can be deceptively. The previous owner had rebuilt it and installed a motor reclaimed from a wreck that had twin turbochargers. It was capable of going like a scalded cat."

"Hmm, haven't we done well," Milly mused.

"Pardon me?"

"Coming into contact with someone with the wit, looks and potential of you Larry."

Milly was impressed at the way Larry handled her 17-year-old Jaguar X-type V6 carefully, appropriately for an elderly lady of the road.

They drove up to the beautifully designed farmhouse surrounded by mature trees and stopped behind the black Chev Camaro.

Larry looked at it admiringly, watched by Milly who then waved to Chester, who was arriving accompanied by a wiry, young and good-looking female.

"Welcome to the Macfie's home, Larry," Chester said shaking hands and introduced his and Milly's daughter, Nessa.

"We haven't told Nessa why you are here, yet. She just arrived home this morning from Australia attending a seminar," Chester said, not yet introducing Larry by name.

"Omigod, you are Larry Rivers, the only survivor from that light aircraft carrying skiers in the Andes that crashed some months ago."

Larry scuffed a foot and mumbled yes.

"Were they friends of yours who died." Milly asked sympathetically and he nodded.

Nessa said one of those killed was Larry's fiancée Heather Noble."

"Omigod," Milly said, hugging Larry. "I remember that now. Heather was a former New Zealand downhill skiing champion based at the North Island's Whakapapa Ski Field on Mt Ruapehu. Were you also a skier there?"

Larry sniffed and said he skied competitively before becoming a weekend instructor at Whakapapa and became busy giving his star pupil Heather extra training and support in his free time.

"Mum, let Larry be, he's probably not yet out of grieving," said Nessa, a psychologist, who worked at a medical facility in their rural district.

"It... it was I who suggested we go to the Andes instead of Europe as usual during the Western Hemisphere summer."

"And you had to talk her into the change?" Milly asked.

"Dammit, mum back off."

"It's okay Nessa," Larry said, smiling weakly. "I'm coping better now that I'm out of sight and hearing of her unforgiving parents and extended family."

"Larry, I'm trained in psychology and now practice in it fulltime," Nessa said. "You are doing the right thing by distancing yourself from anything taking a toll on your well-being. I believe that Heather wouldn't had gone with you to South America if she had been completely closed to the idea, even if under pressure from her fiancé."

"That's what I've been told by medical people."

"Just let it come aboard you, Larry."

"Thanks, Nessa. I like your sports car."

Chester cleared his throat.

"Larry, I said to Milly that we should give you a replacement car and she agreed and I asked her to pick one out for you. Take her for a test drive later today with Milly and if the vehicle suits you, she'll go to the dealer's where it will be registered in your name, with nothing for you to pay."

"No, I can't possibly..."

"Into the driver's seat, Larry," Nessa said. "Mum, I'm going in your place and will help Larry to remove his objections should he find he likes the car. What is it?"

"A black car, obviously, one previous owner 2013 Chevrolet Camaro, super-charged 6-speed manual coupe. Go for it darling, and enjoy having a cute chick by your side Larry."

Larry waved, tooted the horn and drove off and muttered, "Gawd, your mother is lovely but can be rather embarrassing."

"That's how she is, and always will be," Nessa said, patting him on the lower thigh.

They both glanced at her hand resting on his leg and watched its slow withdrawal.

"Sorry."

"Whatever for, Nessa? I found that of therapeutic benefit."

The both laughed. Nessa asked why were her parents giving him such an expensive car and he related the incident that put him into hospital for 36 hours.

"That's lovely of them and possibly mum was feeling guilty too. I bet she'd got dad steamed up over something, probably late payment of bills, and he jump into his SUV pumped up and thinking he should go to the pub and cool down over a beer."

"That was an imaginative theory. Perhaps you should write a novel."

"I have no inclination but I'm popular as a presenter of professional papers, which is why I was invited to be a presenter at the Australian-New Zealand psychology seminar in Melbourne that I returned from this morning. Attendees voted me a winner of the most constructive and personable presenter trophy, and there were fourteen presenters to choose from, some being really big names in psychology.",

"I bet you picked up the flair for doing that from your mother when reading to you as a child, making the story characters appearing to come alive for you."

There was silence for a few seconds, and then Nessa said warmly, "That was very intuitive of you Larry."

"Thanks. My mum was a monotone reader to me as a child but she always worked on me to do things properly and would explain why that was necessary and that's why I appear to be a better than average ski instructor because I can help skiers to understand the technicalities and why they are so important to improve ski performance."

"Wow, Larry. I'm ready for my first tech understanding lesson."

"So, you do ski?"

"Hell yeah, as do mum and dad who have skied like me since they were 5-year-olds."

"What do you think of the car, Larry."

"I use a car like workhorse and what means this vehicle is rather too flash for me. Also, a roof rack is essential for me and I doubt that a roof rack would be all that trustworthy on this Camaro."

"Well, my parents are agreeable to changing this vehicle to something more suitable for you, so just do it. Let's head for the vehicle dealership now."

Larry kicked a few tyres and then settled on a five-year-old Subaru Legacy 4WD GT with turbocharger and sturdy roof rack already fitted. They went for a test drive and he liked that.

Chapter 3

Larry and Nessa arrived back at the farmhouse and Chester and Milly came out to greet them.

They both appeared disappointed by the choice of a more downmarket vehicle.

"Guys, Larry favours a less conspicuous vehicle and the Legacy is renowned for being a great road-runner. They also cope well with snow and the roof rack is sturdy, just what he wanted. And he expected you to smile when told it costs almost $14,000 less than the Camaro."

Milly complained, "But money wasn't..."

"Mum, dad just show plenty of teeth and smile big. Larry is happy. He told me in the car he's thirty-one, with one older sister and two younger brothers and is a lawyer specializing in business law. Hels had three months of his 12-month leave of absence following the alpine tragedy, granted by the large Auckland law firm who engaged him straight out of law school."

"Oh, thirty-one, that's just right for you at twenty-nine and..."

Nessa sighed and Chester said sharply, "Milly, stop it. You know that Nessa is practically engaged to Philip Evans."

"Stop what? And for your information, I haven't seen a sign of an engagement ring and they have been dating for years."

"Twenty months actually," Nessa smiled.

Patting her curly brunette hair, she said, "I'm not sure yet that I like Philip enough for the long haul. He doesn't generate much excitement."

Milly threw her arms into the air in despair and Larry said, "Come and I'll take you in a burl in my new car, Chester. I noticed a non-sealed road down the highway a bit."

"Well, I'm due for a bit of excitement, I'm coming too." Milly said.

The three of them arrived back to be greeted by Nessa.

She thought her parents appeared a little pale.

"How was it?"

"He's good enough to be a rally driver," Chester said. He accelerated going into bends when I would have been braking firmly."

"Me too," Milly said and going over Steven's Bridge I think all four wheels had left the ground as we went up the rise on to the bridge."

"Nessa, go and change into a more acceptable bikini. Your top is bulging out of the top and bottom of that skimpy band of cloth that bears no relationship to decency."

"I think it looks very modern and very daring," Larry smirked.

"Omigod, I'm off to lie down," Milly said weakly.

"Join me in the pool at the rear of the house, Larry. Unpack later, just arrive in your underpants.

Chester looked at his watch and said he was off to watch Saturday afternoon football, live on television.

Larry arrived at the pool to find Nessa swimming in the water without a top.

"My top came off and I can't find it," she said.

"It's about a metre left of your right foot."

"Oh, is it? I must say you have a half-decent bulge at the front of your underpants. You may swim nude if you wish."

"Nah, it may send your mother's blood-pressure sky rocketing,"

"Oh, we can't allow that to happen. May I touch?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because we may soon believe that the time is appropriate for us to have consensual sex."

"Omigod, are you that easy to roll over? I find that exciting."

Larry entered the water via the ladder and went up close to her.

"Are you going to kiss me?"

"Not at this time and please remember I'm here as a farmhand, not as your on-call gigolo. Please tell me about what level you are at with your skiing."

"About average" she scowled.

"Bullshit."

Surprised, she flared, "How can you say that; you know nothing about me. Don't be so stupid."

"You have a wiry frame and carry little surplus weight apart from your tits and appear to have energy to burn."

Nessa's eyes bulged.

"That suggests more than usual strength for a female of your statue and indicates stamina."

Her mouth hung a little and remained that way as Larry continued.

"Your walk and your grace in turning, indicated by the ease in which you get in and out of cars and your natural body co-ordination, clearly suggest there's potentially a great skier inside you overdue at being drawn out fully."

"Finally, Nessa, I shouldn't be saying this to you but it will be great to your ego; I bet you are a great fuck."

"Omigod, Larry, I apologize deeply." Nessa choked and dabbing at her eyes. "I claimed almost contemptuously that you knew nothing about me. To my shock, I'm now aware you know at lot about me, almost as well as I'm aware of those observations you spoke about myself."

She dabbed her eyes again with her fingers and said, "Finally, you exposed something very private known only to myself. Yes, I deeply believe I'm a great fuck and yes, I acknowledge that belief goes hand in hand with my other attributes you spoke about. Oh please, oh please, will you train me to become a greatly improved skier?"

Larry said yes, but not immediately as he was still grieving over the loss of Heather.

"Perhaps within a month I would be ready," he said. "Heather and I worked extremely hard together and we became lovers and then I thought we'd eventually marry but first she with to concentrate on attempting to gain national selection to go to the Winter Olympics or get the nod to try for world championship titles."