Read Online Swimming Upstream by Ruth Mancini - Free Book Online Page B

happened?”
    “I had an accident. On my bike.”
    “Your bike? You were on a bicycle?”
    “Motorbike. I had a Kawasaki. A Five Hundred. I
used to import and sell them, bikes. And cars, too. A real good crack, it was,
got to drive them all over, delivering them to customers. I had a good little
business going. Till I hit a tree. It was wet. I just skidded off the road.”
    “God. How awful. Were you badly hurt?”
    “You could say that.” A wry grin. “Both legs
broken, and, worse, damage to my spinal cord. “Incomplete”. That means it
wasn’t a total loss of function, thank God. But I didn’t know that at the time.
I was in traction for weeks. It was bloody miserable. It felt as if my life was
over, at the time. That was back in Eighty-Four.”
    The year I’d met Larsen. There I was, all tied up
with the business of falling in love, while Martin was in pain, lying on his
back in a hospital bed. I felt a stab of pity for him.
    I said, “You must think I’m a real baby, then. All
I’ve got is a sprained ankle, and look at me, moaning about it.”
    Martin smiled. “The trick is to keep it moving. And
put pressure on it. Try standing on it. Stand on one leg.”
    “What, now?”
    Martin laughed. “I’m serious. As often as you can.
You need to strengthen it. Physio’s what you need - and lots of it. I can help
you if you like.”
    “You’re a physiotherapist?”
    “Well, no. Not exactly. But I’ve picked up a few
techniques along the way. Believe me, I’ve come across more than a few serious injuries
since I’ve been coaching.” He paused. “That doesn’t sound very good does it?”
    I laughed. “I know what you mean.”
    “Anyway, I got interested after the accident, in
rehabilitation, I mean. After I got some movement back in my spine. I kept
telling myself, making this bargain with God, you know, that if He would let me
walk again I would do something positive…and then I did walk. And, well, every
cloud, you know. I figured if I can’t train enough to compete myself, I can
help other people.”
    “That’s very…well, big-hearted of you.”
    Martin shrugged. “It took me a while to get there.
I kind of gave up for a while, after the accident. Got a bit down. You know. But
I got there in the end. And my back’s much better now. Good enough for
lifesaving, anyway. And I keep in good shape.”
     “I can see that,” I said, then wished I hadn’t. “So,”
I added quickly, “How long have you been working at the complex?”
    “A couple of years.”
    “Ever had to save anyone’s life?”
    “Once or twice. There was one time when a very
overweight woman came in eating a kebab.
    “What?” I laughed. “You’re kidding.”
    “Straight up.” Martin was smiling now. “I was just
about to go over to her, tell her we didn’t allow food by the pool side. Next
thing, she’s screwed up her wrapper, lowered herself into the shallow end,
flopped onto her stomach and sunk straight down to the bottom.”
    “Oh my God, what did you do?”
    “Well, jumped in, of course, pulled her out. Resuscitated
her.”
    “You gave her the kiss of life?”
    “Of course. Had to. That’s my job.”
    “And she was okay?”
    “Yeah, she was fine. I had onion breath, though,
for the rest of my shift.”
    I laughed. Martin looked down at me and smiled. He
placed his hand on top of mine. “So. How are you feeling now?”
    I glanced down at my ankle and, under the pretext
of making myself more comfortable, slid my hand from under his and used it to
shift my body weight. “Better. I’m fine. Really.”
    “Good.” Martin leaned forwards and kissed me
gently on the cheek. He let his lips pause there for a moment and I could feel
his breath, warm against my face.
    “Please,” I said, quickly, to stop him.
    He looked into my eyes. His face was still very
close to mine. “What?” he whispered.
    I stumbled for words. “Catherine,” I said and
added, “Don’t hurt her.”
    I knew I’d said the wrong