Wrongful Accusations - Chapter 7
Hit by a van
At around noon, I was thoroughly sick of sitting in my apartment so I jumped in the shower, put on some sweats, and grabbed my bike from the bedroom closet. As soon as I stepped out of my door, I looked around me to see if Neil the Neighbor was somewhere lurking.
I wheeled my bike to the front of his apartment and let the kickstand down. I pulled a cheap dollar store mirror from my pocket and turned my back to the big picture window. I pretended to check my red hair for black roots peeking out. Something caught my eye so I dropped the mirror to the concrete and bent over to retrieve it.
What looked like a camera lens was looking out at me and I made sure Nasty Neil got an eyeful as I picked up the mirror and straightened back up. Miraculously, the mirror sustained minimal damage. I could still see myself so I put it back in my pocket.
That was how Neil kept up with me. Before I got to the bottom of the stairs, Neil exited the apartment of one of the neighbors. He didn’t say anything; he just looked at me while he wiped his hands with a blue towel.
“How’s it going, Neil? Just heading out for a bike ride by the river, too bad you can’t join me.”
“Sassy, stop playing with me, I’ve accepted the fact that you will never have anything to do with me.”
“Neil, come on. You know I’m still with Jerry. I’m a one-man woman.”
Neil rolled his eyes and went back into the apartment that he had come from. Sensitive little stalker ain’t he? I’m sure he was a good guy, but he wasn’t for me. He was too old, too short, and too ugly. I know it sounds superficial but why would I leave my perfectly good man for a guy that I had no interest in?
It didn’t take long for me to ride from Adams Ave to Riverside Dr because of the hills, but I knew it would be murder coming back up.
Despite the chilly weather, there were plenty of runners and walkers dressed in tank tops and shorts sprinkled among those who were in their right mind and wore sweats and hoodies. The wind that blew across the Mississippi River nearly froze the hair off my arm but I still rode as fast as I could, ringing my bell to let people know that I was coming through.
I wanted to ride over to Harbor Town to do my monthly daydreaming, but I decided I was good and that the McMansions could wait for another day.
Hunger had reared its greedy head but my bike wouldn’t be my bike anymore if I put it someplace while I fed my face. Since I was maybe six blocks from Cole Slaw’s office at the corner of Third St and Poplar Ave, I headed that way.
Even though I rode in the street, I tried not to be in the way of the motorists. As I was about to turn off of Front onto Jefferson, I was suddenly rammed and slung from my bike. It felt like I had learned how to fly before the sidewalk came up to meet me. I was lucky to not have gone through the front window of Morgan Keegan.
I turned over trying to ignore my body’s screams. I built up enough strength to turn my head and saw a tan Chrysler van pull to the curb. The windows were darkly tinted so I couldn’t see my assailant. I heard what sounded like one of the doors opening. The speeder was probably coming to check on me and my crumpled-up bike 3 feet away. An eighteen-wheeler turned the corner and the van driver closed the door and drove off behind it.
They had no intentions of helping me. They wanted to finish me off but got scared. I knew I had seen the van somewhere but I was in too much pain to think about it. There wasn’t very much traffic in that area on a Saturday morning, so I hoped that I wouldn’t be there until nightfall when the Beale Street patrons came stumbling by.
I built up enough strength to reach into my pocket to see if my cell phone had survived the impact. My hand landed on the mirror first, the poor so-and-so had not survived this fall, so I let it hit the ground. I felt like I was going to black out from the pain when I reached into my pocket again and found my cell phone. The screen was cracked but when I pushed Cole Slaw’s number, I could hear it ringing. Thank God, Jesus, and all the king’s men. I pushed the speaker phone button because I didn’t know how long I would be able to hold my arm to the side of my head.
“Hello Sassy Sandra, this is Spicy Cole Slaw, how can I help you?”
“Come help me.”
“Sassy, what’s wrong, where are you?”
“Lying on the sidewalk on the side of Morgan Keegan.”
“Girl, why are you freaking on the sidewalk, in broad daylight, for the whole world to see? Are you making a video for YouTube?”
“Cole Slaw, listen to me. I’ve been hit by a van; I need you to come and get me. If you can’t come, call an ambulance.” I waited for her response but didn’t hear any. When I heard the dial tone, I figured that either she was on her way or she had fainted. I had no power left in me to call her back so I closed my eyes and prayed for an easy transition.
When I came to, I was in the back of an ambulance and Cole Slaw was staring into my face, holding my hand, and crying.
“Don’t cry, it’s only a scratch,” I said. I barely spoke above a whisper but she heard me.
“I wish it were. A doctor will have to confirm, but they think your right leg is broken as well as three of your ribs. Your arms are fine, just a little bruised up.” Wow was all I could say before I closed my eyes again.
I had slept through everything because when I came to, I was in a hospital bed with my leg in a sling. Both of my arms were bandaged up and a big thing around my torso felt very much like I assumed a straight jacket felt. There were balloons and flowers all over the room. Jerry was sitting in a chair beside me watching TV with the volume on mute. When he realized I was awake he began to smile.
“How are you sleepy head? You’re not trying to leave me are you?”
“Not intentionally. God, my head hurts.”
Jerry got up and walked to the other side of my bed. He handed me a trigger that had a tube going from the bottom of it to a hanging bag. There was also a tube going from the bag to an IV in my hand. I pushed the button and within minutes I felt almost numb. Like someone had taken a magic pencil and erased the pain from my head.
“What is this?”
“All I know is that it’s some kind of pain medicine. You look happy like you’ve had a happy ending.”
“Yeah, you think they’ll let me take some of this stuff home? It’s a lot better than Tylenol.”
“I don’t think so,” Jerry said, kissing my hand. “Get some rest.”
“But I’m not sleepy,” I yawned. Then visions of candied yams danced in my head.
When I woke up, Cole Slaw and her fiancé, Lieutenant Marcus Wilson, were standing near the windows talking.
“Hey, love birds. You better not get married until I’m out of here. I’m going to be the maid of honor, even if I have to hop down the aisle on this bad leg.”
“We promise to wait until you are completely healed before we jump the broom,” Marcus said walking over to me.
“How are you doing, sweetie? Are you up to making a statement? If not we can come back when you are feeling better, “ Cole asked.
“I’m fine. The sooner I tell you what happened the sooner you can find him and hold him down for me.”
I explained to Marcus and Cole Slaw that I had just finished riding my bike on Riverside and was heading to Cole Slaw’s office when I got hit. Marcus was writing down my description of the van when a thought came to me. Neil had used a van just like that when he first moved into our apartment complex. The van had to belong to a friend or relative because I saw it parked near the backstairs one other time.
“I think it was my neighbor.”
“Neil the Neighbor? Are you sure? I thought he was in love with you,” Cole Slaw said.
“That’s the problem. He has a video camera in his living room window and I believe he has been using it to stalk me.”
“How did he know that you would be downtown?” Marcus asked.
“I told him.”
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