Skinner sat in the hospital chair next to his girlfriend who was recovering from their car accident. She still hadn't woken up, and Skinner couldn't sleep all night. He looked at his watch. It was six am in the morning. The nurses came by a couple of times throughout the night and gave him coffee while they checked on Sally.
She was doing better now, they said, and she should wake up sometime the next day. So Skinner sat there, waiting, yearning for her to wake up. Two hours later, just after 8am, there was a knock on their door. The nurse came through. "Mr Skinner?" She asked. Skinner looked up as he held Sally's hand. "Yes?" He asked worriedly.
"I just wanted to let you know that Ms Ringdon's family are here. Would it be okay if they came in?" She asked. Skinner nodded. He wanted to meet Sally' family, but he was nervous. After all, he hadn't met them before as their relationship was still in its early days.
So he took a deep breath and watched as the nurse opened the door wider, and Sally's parents walked in. Skinner knew their names as Sally had told him about them. Her mother was called Louise- she was a dentist, and her father was a practicing MD. They had come from a comfortable background, but had to work hard to get to where they were in life.
Louise was a tall woman - she was slender and had long brown hair and dark brown eyes, and she wore glasses. Sally's father was called John - he also had dark brown hair and brown eyes. They came in the room, and straight away rushed over to Sally.
"Oh my God. Sally," Louise said worriedly, as she rushed to her daughter's bedside. John was also worried. "My Sally," he said, then he noticed Skinner. "You're Walter Skinner, I presume?" He asked. Skinner nodded nervously. He didn't know if he would blame Skinner for the accident - he wouldn't blame them if they did. "Yes that's me," he said. "You must be John and Louise, Sally's parents," he said. To his surprise, John held out his hand for him to shake.
The two men shook hands. "I admit I was angry with you on the way over here, but Louise calmed me down," he admitted. Another nurse entered the room and she and her colleague gave them chairs to sit on.
Louise cradled Sally's hand in hers. "My baby," she said softly. "I know. I blame myself for what happened, so I wouldn't blame you if you did, too," he said. This got John's attention. "So what did happen then, Mr Skinner?" He asked. Skinner sighed. He explained about the accident and John said nothing for a while. He just stared at his daughter lying in a hospital bed.
"I think you should go," he said softly after a long while. Skinner looked up, alarmed. "I beg your pardon?" He asked. Louise looked up too. "John? What are you doing?" She asked. "I think you should go," John repeated, his voice dangerously quiet. "But, John, come on. Sally loves him. You know what she said to me about him over the phone that time," Louise pleaded.
"That was before. We trusted him with our daughter, and now look what happened to her. I think you should just go, leave us alone, and not come back," John told Skinner.
Skinner's face fell but he felt John was right. He sadly let go of Sally's hand and stood up. "OK. I understand," he said. "No, really, Walter, you don't have to go," Louise protested. But Skinner held up his hand. "It's okay, Mrs. Ringdon. John has every right to be mad at me. I'll leave you all now. Just, please let me know when Sally wakes up," he said.
John nodded and stood with his back to Skinner as he gazed down at his daughter. "John!" Louise hissed, but John ignored her as Skinner took one last look at Sally and left the room.