Charlotte thought about her life as she lay in that hospital bed. Dan hadn't even brought their three children to visit her while she had been in recovery. She had to escape from him. This was domestic violence that she had been subjected to more and more. There was no easy way to take the children with her. Perhaps she could find a shelter for women and be safe there for a while, maybe get a restraining order out on Dan to prevent him from hurting her again.
She felt hungry and stood up to go to the hospital café. Charlotte had to dress carefully to cover up her bruises on her arms and on her legs. She wore a long shirt and long trousers, as well as applying make-up to cover the bruises on her face. As she walked along the corridor, leaving the hospital café, she bumped into Oliver!
"What are you doing here, Oliver?" she stuttered out.
"I'm here for my wife, Sue. You remember her from when you last met, don't you? Well, she is having our first child, a baby girl. I'm here to support her through the birth, along with the midwife."
"Wow! Congratulations, Oliver. You must be so happy."
"I'm a little anxious before the birth but hoping for the best. What about you, Charlotte? I heard that you already had a few children."
"Yes, that's right. I have three children."
"Are you still with Dan?"
"Um, yes I am," she replied in a sad voice.
"Are you ok?" he asked as he gently touched her arm. She winced and he looked down. Ever so slowly, he moved the long sleeve of her shirt up her arm and revealed the deep purple bruising.
"What is this?" Oliver asked in a slow voice, "How did this happen?"
Charlotte couldn't meet his eyes and looked at the floor, saying nothing. He stared at her for a long moment before he came to an understanding of the cause of those bruises.
"Did he hurt you? Did he do this to you? Those bruises look as if they have been repeatedly inflicted on you."
Charlotte started to cry softly and pulled her arm away. She walked away from Oliver. He followed her to her hospital room and then closed the door behind them. After some coaxing, she admitted to the abuse and how difficult she had found the past few years. They had gotten into a pattern of abuse and she found it difficult to leave to leave Dan.
Oliver took it all in and then offered to help. He looked up a local shelter and gave her the telephone number to contact.
"I need to go to my wife's birthing room now, as the baby is close to being born but I will come back and speak to you later. We need to get you to a safe place with your children." With that, he kissed her on the cheek and left the room quietly.
Charlotte sat on her bed and stared at the telephone number for the shelter. She picked up her mobile phone and dialled the number.