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Phone Call One
Jeremy finishes another lap in the Aston, feeling triumphant, only to be beckoned over and out of the car by one of the producers holding out a mobile phone.
“Hello?“ Jeremy asks.
“Jezza, it’s Andy. Listen, there’s been an accident with the Vampire”
An iron band tightens around Jeremy’s chest. He thinks about saying goodbye to Richard the day before when the younger man had merrily quipped “I’ll probably be killed.”
“Is Richard…?” For a man who made his living from words, they failed him at the worst possible moments.
“He was awake and talking after the crash. He wouldn’t follow any of the instructions given by paramedics but would if they were repeated by one of our lot and kept saying he needed to do a piece to camera. I don’t know how bad it is, but is sounds like we’ve had a near miss.” Andy explained
“Thank God!” Jeremy felt the pressure around his chest ease for a moment. A beeping sound came through.
“That will be Mindy, when I called her before I got the Au Pair. I need to go now but I’m headed straight to Leeds General Infirmary after this call. I’ll update you about the situation when I get there.” Andy said, sounding stressed.
“Okay, take care.” Jeremy replied, and the line went dead. Jeremy put his game face back on and strode back out to finish filming the Aston review. Maybe hurtling around the track at 175mph was just what he needed to work the stress out of his system.
Phone Call Two
When Jeremy’s phone rang in the classy restaurant, he excused himself to take the call. It was an important business dinner, but he was expecting a call from Andy to update him about Richard.
“Andy, hello, how is he?” Jeremy said by way of greeting as soon as he got outside the restaurant, taking the opportunity to light a cigarette as he did so.
“Jeremy.”
Andy’s voice sounded thick, as if he’d been crying. He took another breath and started again.
“Jeremy I’m at the hospital in Leeds, and I’ve just spoken to Richard’s doctors, it’s worse than it sounded on the phone, mate.” Andy managed.
The iron band that had briefly compromised Jeremy’s breathing earlier that day returned with a vengeance.
“How bad?” Jeremy croaked.
“Richard’s fallen into a coma, and they don’t know…”
Andy’s voice trailed off again as he choked and then said the second half of the sentence very quickly indeed. “The doctors don’t know if he will still be alive in the morning.”
Silence endured for a good half a minute.
“Jeremy, are you still there?” Andy asked.
“Yes.” Jeremy drew in a ragged breath to centre himself, “Mindy! Does Mindy know?” Jeremy asked.
“She doesn’t know how bad it is, she’s driving here now, she should be here in less than an hour. The doctors will speak to her then. I’m going to call her in a minute, guide her in, the paparazzi are everywhere.” Andy’s voice was sounding calmer by the minute.
“Okay. I’m on my way now. I’m going to get in my car and drive straight up so I can support you and just in case…” Jeremy started. It seemed to be the day of unfinished sentences.
“Thank you.” Andy said.
“Take a moment to calm back down before you call Mindy, if she can hear you’ve been crying she might panic and then we’ll have two Hammonds in hospital.” Jeremy was focusing on the practical, on the facts, because if he allowed what Andy had told him to sink in there was no way he would be able to hold it together long enough to drive home.
“I will do.” Andy’s voice was almost back to normal now.
“Have you called James?“ was Jeremy’s final question.
“I left him a message earlier before we knew how bad it was but he didn’t pick up.” Andy explained.
“Call him now, it’s nearly 10, he will definitely have finished his voiceover job by now. He’d want to be there for Richard, especially if… well he’d want to be there.”
“I’ll call him next, before speaking to Mindy. Drive safe.” Andy replied.
“Will do.” Jeremy responded, and ended the call. He took a last drag of his cigarette and then returned inside to bid goodbye to his dinner companions and break the news to his wife that she would be getting a taxi back tonight.
Phone Call Three
James was very glad his current press car had a fairly functional hands free system when a phone call finally came through from Andy.
“James, it’s Andy, did you get my message earlier by any chance?”
“No.” James responded.
“Look, the jet car crashed and Richard is in hospital in Leeds. It looks pretty bad mate, I think you should get here.” Andy sounded wrecked. James felt bad. He should have called him earlier, the miscommunication wasn’t one sided.
“I’m just north of Sheffield actually. I should be with you in about 40 minutes.” James said, a little sheepishly.
Andy stopped still for a moment.
“How… ?”
“I heard about it on the news, on the radio, and then the telly. They said he was in critical condition. So I just got in my car and drove.” James explained quickly.
“I’m so sorry mate, I should have tried harder to get through. I phoned Mindy, and Jeremy, and you but you never answered and then I was driving. You should never have had to find out on the news.” Andy sounded devastated.
“God, he isn’t…?” James swallowed hard. “He isn’t dying is he?”
“God, I hope not.” Andy said.
“But he still might.” James had read in Andy’s tone of voice what wasn’t in the words he spoke.
“Yes, he still might. But he’s Richard, he’s got a beautiful wife and two gorgeous girls, he’s got us, he’s got Top Gear, he has so much to live for and he’s a fighter. He won’t give up.” Andy sounded fierce now.
Pragmatism and pessimism often overlap. James hoped so very sincerely that Richard would live. But he was a biker. And he knew full well that sometimes if an injury was bad enough it didn’t matter how hard a person fought, it just wasn’t a battle they could win.
“He won’t give up.” James repeated, aiming for confidence but the words just sounded hollow to him.
“Look, I need to call Mindy, but give me a ring when you’re about ten minutes out. There’s paparazzi everywhere and that’s the last thing you need right now. We’ll guide you in round the back way.” Andy was back to being businesslike and professional. The man probably had a million and one things to do and was just as devastated as the rest of them. At least he didn’t seem like he was about to fall apart.
“Okay, will do, see you shortly.” James said. Andy said his goodbyes and hung up, and James did his best not to let his imagination fill in the gaps of the state Hammond could be in after driving a 300mph jet car.