LITMIR.BIZ

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They had such a laugh in Woolies, and sitting at home bored stiff didn’t bear thinking of. ‘Look, Michael, once we get married and start a family, I will obviously give up work to bring up our children, but until then I want to continue working. I know it’s not the best job in the world, but I actually really enjoy it.’

      Knowing that it was the wrong time to argue this point, Michael kissed Nancy on the forehead. ‘OK, but I insist you take tomorrow off. We’re bound to be stuck up here all night and you can’t go to work with no sleep. Now drink your tea, and let’s get back to the others and see if there is any news on Roy yet.’

      After going outside to get a bit of fresh air to try to clear his fucked-up head, Vinny was amazed when his mum and aunt informed him that Colleen had now been sedated and given a bed in the hospital herself for the night. Vinny couldn’t help but smirk. ‘Fuck me. She’s gonna make a great nurse her, ain’t she?’ he quipped.

      For once, Queenie was in no mood for Vinny’s little jokes. Even though he hadn’t admitted it when she had asked him earlier, Queenie was no fool and she knew that the bullet that was currently being removed from Roy’s shattered skull had actually hit the wrong son. ‘Don’t be so sodding heartless, Vinny. How did you expect the girl to react? Her engagement party was meant to be one of the best days of her life. Colleen didn’t expect it to end not knowing if her future husband was going to live or die, did she?’

      ‘Mum, the doctor’s coming now,’ Lenny said, rushing down the corridor.

      Vivian and Queenie both leapt out of their seats. Brenda laid her head on Dean’s shoulder and for the first time in her life, silently prayed.

      ‘Is he OK? Please tell me the operation was a success?’ Queenie gabbled, beside herself once again.

      ‘He is alive, ain’t he?’ Vivian asked, noting the serious expression in the doctor’s eyes.

      ‘Yes, Roy is still alive. Shall we have a chat in one of the family rooms, Mrs Butler?’

      Clinging to her sister’s arm, Queenie shook her head. ‘Whatever you’ve got to say, just say it here. We’re all family.’

      Urging Queenie to sit down, Dr Howard sat on a chair next to her. ‘Overall, the operation performed on your son was a success.’

      ‘Thank you, God. Thank you so, so much,’ Queenie whispered, clasping her hands together and staring at the ceiling.

      ‘However, even though we are sure we have removed most of the fragments of the bullet, there has been some bleeding to the brain which might well cause other complications.’

      Vivian chewed at her fingernails. ‘What sort of complications?’

      ‘My brother is gonna be OK, right?’ Vinny asked.

      Dr Howard took a deep breath. ‘To be honest, it is a miracle that your brother is still with us. We will be able to tell you more about what the future holds if and when Roy regains consciousness.’

      Feeling the colour drain from his face, Michael clutched Nancy’s hand for support. ‘What do you mean, if and when he regains consciousness? You must know if Roy is gonna wake up or not?’

      If there was one thing that Queenie hated it was being kept in the dark. ‘Look ’ere, Doctor. That is my son lying in there and, good or bad, I want to know the truth about his condition. We’re a strong family and you don’t have to dress things up for the likes of us.’

      ‘The truth is, Mrs Butler, brain injuries of this kind are very hard to predict the outcome of. Obviously, there is a chance that your son might never regain consciousness, but we are extremely hopeful that he will.’

      ‘I don’t want my cousin to die. I love him,’ Lenny wept.

      Vivian cuddled her distraught son. ‘Roy needs you to be brave, son. He ain’t gonna die, not with his genes.’

      ‘My poor boy. When he wakes up, he will still be able to walk and talk properly, won’t he, Doctor?’ Queenie asked.

      ‘I really can’t answer that question, Mrs Butler. We will not know the full extent of Roy’s injuries until he wakes up.’

      Vinny began pacing up and down the corridor. ‘Apart from my brother actually dying, I wanna know the worst scenario, Doctor. As a family, we need to be prepared for what might lie ahead of us.’

      Dr Howard sighed. He was used to giving out bad news to people, but never found it an easy task dealing with families such as the Butlers. Hardcore East Enders were always pessimists rather than optimists, and seemed to crave to hear the worst.

      ‘OK. I will explain this as thoroughly as I can to you all. Obviously, there is a small chance that Roy might wake up and be exactly as he was before, but this is highly unlikely. The probability is, Roy’s memory will be affected and he will have to learn some basics all over again. By basics, I mean, walking, talking, dressing himself, eating, even using his arms possibly. That is the usual scenario with injuries such as Roy has sustained, but you never know what to fully expect until the patient is fully conscious, and Roy could turn out to be one of the lucky ones. If he isn’t, then we have specialists that he will work with to help rehabilitate him back into society once more.’

      Realizing there was a strong chance that his brother might wake up to be what he had always called a vegetable was far too much for Vinny to take in, and he started to head-butt a nearby wall.

      When Queenie and Vivian both leapt up to try and calm him down, realizing they were having no joy, Michael quickly took matters into his own hands. He put his arm around his brother’s shoulders and spoke softly to him. ‘You’re upsetting everyone, mate. Roy’s gonna be OK. We both know he’s as strong as an ox. Let’s go outside and get some fresh air, eh? I dunno about you but I could really do with a smoke.’

      When Vinny allowed Michael to lead him down the corridor, Queenie put her head in her hands. What she had gone through tonight was every mother’s worst nightmare, and she knew in her heart of hearts that her strapping, handsome middle son would never be the same again. Mother’s intuition was a strong thing, and Queenie had been born with a bucketful of the stuff.

      CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

      The days that followed Roy’s shooting were probably the worst of Queenie’s life. She had suffered much hardship over the years, especially as a child when living with her brute of a father, but not even seeing her mother beaten to a pulp compared to sitting at her son’s beside day after day willing him to pull through.

      Roy was still in a coma and Queenie felt completely helpless. As a doting mother, she had always done her utmost to be there for her children in a crisis but for once, apart from pray, there was little she could do. Her son’s life was in the hands of the gods, and not knowing if he was ever going to wake up was giving Queenie sleepless nights. Even worse was the thought of Roy waking up permanently brain-damaged. Queenie knew in her soul that she would rather Roy never wake up at all than be a completely different person to the one that he was before.

      Queenie was snapped out of her depressing thoughts by the return of Colleen. Her parents had just gone back to Ireland, where they had two other young children to care for, and had begged Colleen to do the same. Colleen had flatly refused and, once she had recovered from the initial shock of the shooting, had spent day and night at her fiancé’s bedside.

      ‘Hospitals always make you feel so grubby, don’t they? I never noticed it so much working in one, but I do as a visitor. I take it the doctor hasn’t been in today yet?’

      Queenie shook her head sadly, watching as Colleen sat down next to Roy and lovingly clasped his lifeless hand in her own. Colleen had been a real little diamond these past few days, but Queenie was worried about her health and state of mind. She had a sickness bug that just wouldn’t budge. She wasn’t eating at all, and spent all her time chatting happily to Roy as though he could actually hear her. ‘Have you thought about when you are going to go back to work yet, love?’

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