Where there's a will there's a way. Part 2.

‘When I was in Malaysia recently I saw people flocking to the scene of a horrible accident and was intrigued to see many of them looking carefully and writing something down!’

Vi and Lila stared at William waiting for the necessary explanation; Vi was frozen mid sip from her teacup and Lila with a forkful of carrot cake half way to her mouth.
Wil enjoyed their rapt attention and mischievously buttered his scone with an extra layer! ‘Many Malaysians believe that someone else’s bad luck is their good luck!’ he continued, ‘they crowd around and take down any numbers they can see, mostly number plates, and bet, using them.’

‘Whatever next!’ laughed the two women.
‘It’s like the time in our dorpie {small village) when someone said the drought was the curse brought on by the mini skirt!’ added Lila. ‘I moved out as soon as I could after that!’

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The three ‘survivors’ of the horrific PickACoach South Coast accident had due to the persistence of Vi (the 61 year old, fairly crippled, ex music teacher) been finally accomplished a month after it had happened.

William, shortened to Wil immediately, (you laugh too much for such a serious name) was still wearing a finger splint because of a repaired tendon. Lila was in her protective boot supporting her broken ankle. ‘Another 3 weeks and even then I have to see a specialist to make sure I don’t need a plate and a couple of screws!’ she sighed.

‘You could use a couple of the loose ones that you have floating around,’ chortled Wil. Lila swatted him good naturedly with her linen table napkin. ‘STOP it,’ she laughed, ‘you remind me of my dad with all your sayings. For instance he always said to me on a Monday morning, “you’re looking all ‘feak and weeble’……..the weekend too much for you hey? Spoonerisms were his favourite torture for me.’

They were celebrating their narrow escape from the accident in the coach in which they had been travelling, with ‘High tea’ on the terrace overlooking the sea of the Blue Whale hotel.

Violet, immediately shortened to Vi, ‘no shrinking or sweet smelling violet about you,’ Lila teased. ‘It seemed to me at the time that this was a crazy, cross old cripple who just wanted her bag!’

‘I could see Wil hanging upside down in his seat belt like a slaughtered sheep bleeding all over the place and I remembered the giant pair of scissors that I had in that RED bag that Margaret had loaned me and just had to find it! It was a gift for my niece, the scissors not the bag, who has an upholstery business.

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First class scissors I might add, cut that seat belt like a hot knife through butter.’ They both imitated the satisfying sound of the ripping seatbelt…..’crrrrrt!’

‘And there’s me with my ankle out at 90 degree angle trying to make this old biddy, the only one of us fit enough to move around easily, who was using a hefty walking stick at the time, DO something! You’ve come a long way Vi,’ she said admiringly to the well dressed and nicely made up changed woman in front of them.
‘AND so bossy too,’ broke in 65 year old Wil good naturedly…………

The 3 had spoken on the phone many times. They had got to know one another on face time that Lila insisted they use. ‘You two are dinosaurs……….come on now, catch up and enjoy modern technology.’

So today was a celebration of note.

The newspaper had got to hear of the reunion and was there to photograph Wil Lil and Vi, they dubbed the trio and the hotel insisted that the high tea was on the house.

It turned out that Wil was still working driving the coach part time to fund his hunger for travel………….’I even enjoy taking passengers to the airport and hearing their stories when they come back home’ he announced cheerfully,’ I got a special price in Malaysia through one passenger last year! The Outback in Oz is my next destination,’ he drawled in his best imitation of the Aaastraaliaan accent,’ at which they all laughed.

Vi, had been a music teacher of note, producing musicals at the high school at which she taught, with great success. It was when she fell down a step in the dark that severe sciatica was triggered in her back. She refused the surgery and became embittered with the constant pain and she was eventually boarded due to her injury. ‘I was a sour old cow with only my long suffering CrazeeCat for company when we had that crash. I’ve been to see a surgeon about the sacroiliac joint,’ she pronounced carefully ‘and he says it will be a straightforward op and I’ll be back dancing within 6 weeks! I was impressed as I was never much of a dancer to start with!’

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We all laughed with the joy of seeing the change in the old miserable lady who had crawled onto the coach with her walking stick.

They had found out that the boy who had crawled down the bank and peered in at them in the upside down coach was an orphan named Thomas. He had been responsible for getting the ambulance and the police to the scene. They had spoken to his foster parents and already arranged to pay for his uniform so he could be in the local soccer team. ‘When the season starts we’ll be there to cheer him on,’ they agreed.

‘The big question for me is, what attracts people to actually park their cars, or rubberneck and from their moving vehicles, causing a traffic jam so they can see the details of an accident,’ said Lil, forthwith shortened from Lila!

‘Too late to explore that in detail today,’ announced Wil,’ save it for two weeks’ time when we meet at my house,’ he said. As he stood up, ‘I drive this afternoon shift so I had best be on my way.
Wasn’t it the ringmaster in the Greatest Show on Earth who said, “people are fascinated by the macabre” ?
With that they hugged each other and agreed that 12 noon on Sunday the 15th was just perfect for their next meeting. ‘A braai with fat steaks,’ he promised them. ‘Cheers and drive safely!’ he added with an exaggerated wink at Lil and Vi who were ordering fresh cups of coffee from the waitress.

Read the next installment to get a recipe for a successful marinade and a more of their comments about what attracts people to accident scenes.