NOTE: These are too cute! 3 I'll need to do some more serious ones at some point, though.
In response to WriterWings: I used googlemaps! Very handy. I use it often to get some realism in my stories.
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Sandra turned the page again. This time, the picture showed the silhouettes of two people, shrouded in darkness against the sunset. The two people were sitting on the edge of the pier. The colors were absolutely brilliant- the bright yellow of the sun, the purple of the clouds, the deep blue of the sky above. On the side, there were some crutches.
"What happened there, Mom?"
Sandra smiled fondly. She traced the silhouettes with her fingers and sighed wistfully. "That was when your father and I got engaged." She smiled. "It was funny how it happened, actually."
*flashback*
Nicholas pulled Sandra along, laughing as they ran across the beach. The sun was high overhead.
"Where are you taking me?" laughed Sandra.
"You'll see!"
They ran a little more. Nicholas tripped and they both went tumbling into the sand.
Nicholas howled in pain. Sandra knelt by his side. "What's wrong?"
"My ankle!" He grimaced in pain.
Sandra looked at his ankle. "What did you trip on?" His ankle was swollen, maybe twice its normal size. "Hang on a sec." She looked where he'd fallen. There was something near his fallen flip flop- a large rock, half buried in the sand. "That explains it." She turned back to him. "You tripped over a huge rock."
"How huge?" He grimaced again.
She gestured with her hands. "I'm calling an ambulance." Sandra pulled out her cell phone and dialed. 911.
"911, what is your emergency?"
"My name is Officer Sandra Shea Abner. I'm at Fritters Corner, near the third lifeguard station. My boy friend fell on the beach and his ankle is broken. Requesting an ambulance right away."
The operator typed a few things. "The ambulance is on its way, Ma'am."
"Thank you very much." Sandra hung up. She turned to Nicholas. "Help is on its way. We'll need to move closer to the street."
Nicholas sat up. "How?"
Sandra gripped his shoulder. "Hang on tight." She lifted him into the fireman's lift, something she'd done for fellow officers if they got hurt. She held him easily. She walked towards the street. He was jostled lots in the process and yelped in pain each time. "Sorry hun, but it needs to be done." They were near the street. They heard sirens. Sandra looked around and saw a low stone wall. She set him down on it gently. "They're almost here." The ambulance pulled up next to them and put him on the gurney.
One paramedic looked at her. "Is your car near here?"
Sandra nodded.
"Take your car and follow is to Stafford Hospital."
"Got it." Sandra sprinted to her car, which was difficult in her flip flops. She found her car, pulled out her keys, unlocked the door and started the car. She sped around the corner to follow the ambulance.
Twenty tense minutes later, the two vehicles pulled in to the emergency room. Sandra parked and followed them in. The lead paramedic filled her in. "We put a splint on the ankle and we just need to put a cast on it here. He'll get some crutches, and we'll take x-rays to see how bad the break is."
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After the x-rays were taken, it was known that it was just a hairline fracture along the talus. All that needed to be done was immobilize the ankle for six weeks in a cast, and when said cast came off, Nicholas would need a few weeks of physical therapy. Otherwise, he was fine. They wheeled him out a half hour later, cast on, crutches and flip flops in hand. Sandra got him in the car, and before they left the hospital, Nicholas asked, "Can you drive us back to the beach?"
"Sure."
Twenty minutes later, they were back. The sunset was beautiful. Walking with crutches on sand was difficult, so Sandra let him lean on her as they walked towards the pier. Eventually, they made it. Nicholas set his crutches down next to him on the pier. They sat down and were silent for a few minutes.
Then Nicholas turned to her. "I've been happier these past few years than I've been my entire life. The moment I met you, I felt something different, something that I hadn't felt before. I didn't know it at the time, but now I do. I love you, Sandra. You inspire me. You are loyal, caring, passionate. You have many qualities that I wish I had, and you've constantly inspire me to better myself. So I have one question to ask. Will you marry me?"
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NOTE: Cute? I think yes.