This is a fictional account. Merry Christmas All!
*
Katie woke with a start and bolted up in bed. 'Where the hell am I?' she wondered in a bit of a panic. Bright sunshine streamed in the two windows made frosty looking from the snow and cold outside. It was warm and cozy inside and she was in a soft double bed with a nice thick comforter. She looked at herself and and saw that she had on an old flannel shirt she did not recognize. It was then she felt the pain in her head. She slowly moved her hand to the spot where the pain seemed to be centered and felt a small lump. 'Had she fallen and banged her head?' she thought. No, she remembered driving along in her car in an early winter snow storm on her way to grandma's nursing home. What the heck had happened? Where was she?
Her head hurt pretty badly and she slouched back down on the fluffy pillow behind. It felt better to lie flat. She tried to move her legs but her left one felt like it weighed a ton. Katie peeled back the comforter and sheets and gasped at what she saw. She was naked except for the flannel shirt. Her left leg was in some sort of plaster cast from her foot to above her knee. How had she broken her leg? Who had put this cast on her? Where were her clothes?
The pain in her head reminded her to lie back again. 'What is going on here?' she wondered. Katie looked around the room for clues about where she was. It looked like a cozy cabin with plenty of windows. The windows were doing a good job keeping the cold out and warmth in. She was in a large bedroom and she could see a bathroom off one wall. The same far wall had a railing with stairs descending to the floor below. She was obviously in the second floor of a house. There was a second door at the top of the stairs on the same far wall that was closed. Could be closet or another room.
What was she to do? She did not see her clothes anywhere. Her boots were on the floor by a dresser but that was all she could see of her clothes. Her purse was on the dresser. She suddenly realized she needed to pee. Could she get up by herself and make it to the bathroom? Katie tried to move her left leg slightly and she did but it felt very heavy. She could even feel some pain. She doubted she could put much weight on it or walk without crutches. She would not be able to bend that knee, that was for certain.
The need to pee reminded her she needed to do something. She decided to call out and hope someone friendly heard her. What if she was in the house of some sick pervert? Whoever it was had stripped her of her clothes. Had he molested her when she was out? 'Oh, my god,' she thought. Maybe it is a little old lady, she hoped, but then realized no little old lady could have gotten her up the steps.
"Hello," Katie called out softly at first and then louder two more times.
Katie listened to see if anyone heard her. She could hear movement downstairs now and then someone coming up the stairs. The stairs creaked softly as the person ascended to the top. Soon she saw a man's gray head coming up past the floor and behind the stair railing. He had a friendly face and a warm smile.
"Well...well...look who's finally awake. I was beginning to worry we'd need to take you to the hospital. How are you feeling?" he asked, now up the steps and walking towards her.
Katie looked at the old man. She judged him to be at least seventy. His thinning gray hair was parted and combed neatly to the side. He too wore a flannel shirt and khaki pants. He had thick socks on his feet she noticed as he approached. He looked like he was an attractive man in his younger days. He was a little over weight now but not terribly so.
"Hello, Katie," the old man said. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Who're you and where am I?" Katie said.
"Sorry, I'll bet you're worried about that. I'm James Rogers, Doctor James Rogers, or I used to be anyway. My friends call me Jim or Doc," he said with a kindly disarming smile.
"Where am I?" Katie demanded.
"You're in my house. Mine and Dave's house. He is downstairs making breakfast for you," Jim said.
"What happened? Why am I here?" Katie demanded to know more.
"You had a terrible car accident in the snow. Took out the telephone pole near our mailbox," Jim said. "Lucky for you Dave was late getting the mail or you might have been out there all night and frozen to death."
Katie heard a pounding on the steps and seconds later a beautiful Golden Retriever crested the stairs and bounded over to the bed. The dog would have jumped up on the bed to greet her if Jim hadn't yelled.
"Brandy...stay down off the bed...Brandy! Sorry, she is only three and still loves to play like a puppy," he added.
Brandy came around the bed by Jim. He petted her head and held her by his side. Brandy looked at Katie like she wanted to lick her face with kisses.
"Pretty dog," Katie said.
"Thanks. She can be a handful but she is all love too," Jim smiled.
"Is my car okay?" Katie asked worried.
"No, I'm afraid not. You smashed the front end pretty good against the pole. It may actually be totaled if the book value is less than the repair. What year is it? We can look it up on the internet. I'm assuming you have insurance?" Jim asked in a fatherly sort of way.
"Yes, sure, I think I still have collision," Katie said. "It's a 1996 so it may not be worth fixing if the damage is too much."
"Well, the important thing is you're alright," Jim said smiling. "How is your head?"
"It hurts and I have a lump here," Katie showed him.
"Yeah, you must have hit the steering wheel pretty good. No airbag in the car?" Jim asked.
"Should be," Katie said.
"Well, it didn't deploy then," Jim said.
"Jim, where are my clothes?" Katie asked looking around.
"You had a bloody nose and a banged up lip too," Jim said. "You bled all over your shirt and pants. I have them in the wash."
Katie finally realized her lip was swollen too and her nose hurt. "What a mess I am," she said lightly touching her puffy lip.
"You're lucky really. I was most worried about that bump on your head though. You feel okay, do ya?" Jim asked like a doctor would.
"It's sore but otherwise I think I just have a headache," Katie said. "What about my leg?"
"Well, you broke it," Jim said. "It was a simple fracture and I fixed it for you. It would have been nice to have x-rays but I've seen a million similar and I think it should heal great. We couldn't get you to the hospital anyway. All the roads are out with the snow. We got twenty inches according to the local weather. Our SUV is powerful but not good enough to overcome twenty inches. Plus our power and phones are out, thanks to you taking out the telephone pole." He smiled kindly.
"Oh, my god!" All I remember is driving along looking for the road to my grandmother's nursing home. I took a wrong turn in the snow I think. Everything was just white and I couldn't see the signs or find the right road," Katie said.
"Oh, your grandmother lives around here?" Jim said.
"In Ladysmith, Wisconsin," Katie said.
"Oh, that is about twelve miles north," Jim said. "We live off a lake just south of there."
"How did you get me up the stairs?" Katie asked.
"Well, we were afraid to move you at first but realized we did not have a choice with the weather. Dave came back to the house after he discovered you and we drove the SUV down to your car. We hooked rope to our trailer hitch and to your car and pulled you free of the pole. We managed to pull your car up the long driveway to get it off the street. It is parked outside," Jim said.
"Wow," Katie gasped.
"We then were able to pry your driver side door open and get you out. I still have a lot of medical equipment from my doctor days and we used an old stretcher I have to carry you inside," Jim stated.
"My god," Katie said.
