Loving Edyth Swan
Chapter One

13/11/99

Quitting was something Jonathan Attwood knew all too well. He definitely was a quitter and a complete coward.

He was well aware of those facts about who he was and still, he decided for once in his life, to throw caution to the wind and do something he really wanted to do.

He had told the Squadron Leader he was finally taking his long awaited leave. The man only smiled sadly, choosing to say a few choice words to him in parting.

"Follow your heart, Jon. Do what's right for you, for once. You will be missed during your absence, Flight Lieutenant Attwood."

Jonathan knew that taking a leave of absence was perfectly allowed but he still felt like a complete quitter.

He knew as he packed his stuff up and got on that plane to finally fly home to Melbourne for the first time since leaving, that he was actually leaving behind another piece of himself.

The piece that felt a loyalty to the Royal Australian Air Force. He'd also felt a sense of belonging to them, even if he never returned.

His Squadron Leader was well aware that he may never come back and that would weigh heavily upon the both of them.

An asset to the RAAF was a big deal and Jonathan was hardly aware that he was even one of them until Lionel Peters had let it slip in a way only the both of them would understand.

It was almost unspoken that whatever Jonathan would find when arriving home, would determine the fate of his entire career and his life.

A lot of things were weighing on the state of Edyth Swan's life.

As soon as his flight had landed, Jonathan had taken a taxi to Rian William's address, feeling nerves erupt in the pit of his stomach.

He never knew he'd be back in this town but here he was.

He was mildly surprised with the differences of the streets and how much Melbourne had upgraded during his absence. As soon as his green eyes set themselves upon the massive house on Goldberg Lane, bile rose up in his pale, throat.

This was it.

His long, legs slowly walked up to the double, mahogany brown doors.

He had his duffel bag slung over his shoulder and he was dressed in camouflage pants and a plain, green singlet. He was wearing a green jacket unzipped on top, that held his achievements of the last five years on them.

A dog tag was hanging around his neck, that had his name etched into it. It felt oddly as if he was coming home from college and he almost didn't want to leave again.

Life looked scarier in the real world than the Royal Australian Air Force.

As his pale knuckles lightly knocked on the door, the door swung open instantly. He stepped back, feeling a little taken aback.

There stood a beautiful girl. She was of average height and had short, golden, blonde hair. Her blue eyes were calculatedly fixed on him. He instantly wanted to shrink back.

Rian Williams definitely looked pissed as she always seemed to whenever he was around.

'This was a mistake. What am I even doing here?'

"Oh," Rian said with surprise, "I didn't know you'd actually come or that you'd even gotten my letter."

She shuffled uncomfortably, feeling as if her choice of clothing was inappropriate for the present company.

She was wearing a red singlet with spaghetti straps and short, denim blue shorts. The weather was warm, but her blue eyes held a sense of coldness.

"I got it," he gruffly replied, attempting to look anywhere but at her exposed legs.

She may have been absolutely gorgeous, but she didn't compare to that of Edyth's beauty, at least to him.

Rian Williams had a lot of admirers and Jonathan was well aware of that. She could have any man in town, but she seemed content on being by herself.

Jonathan admired that independence in her.

Despite disliking her, he knew that she was a big part of Edyth's life and if it wasn't for her, he'd have no idea she was currently fighting for her life.

"I'm surprised you are home," he added, as an afterthought.

"Wouldn't you be with Edyth in the hospital?"
He asked, looking back up at her face.

There were light freckles that adorned her nose and cheeks, that only added to her lure. He had no idea how after all these years, she was still content on not being married.

She definitely would've been a catch, if he didn't hate her so much.

"I was there this morning," Rian replied, quietly, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I have to go to work now but here is the address to the hospital she's in," she added, holding out a piece of paper to him.

She had written the address in hopes he did in fact show up. She may have thought he was a jerk that runs away from people, just as he too believed that, but she still held out a tiny bit of hope that he'd show up anyway.

Relief settled over as he realised that despite their differences, she believed he really could be the answer to Edyth's condition.

Jonathan hoped he was too.

They may not be together, but he didn't wish death upon her, not in a million years.

"Uh, thanks," he said, taking the piece of paper from her, awkwardly.

"The reception there will tell you what room she's in," Rian said as she stepped outside of her house.

She locked the doors and promptly walked down the stairs.

Jonathan moved out of the way, allowing her to pass to get to her car. He rolled his eyes at the convertible, knowing that somethings never changed.

She was still daddy's little girl.

"Uh, hey," Jonathan said, trying to get her attention once more.

She turned around, her blonde hair waving in the wind.

"Can you... uh, tell me what happened?" He asked, feeling a sense of compassion.

They had ended five years ago but he still wondered why she'd be in hospital that entire time and he hadn't known a clue in the world about it.

"Car accident," Rian clipped back, fiddling with her fingers.

It was clear on her face that losing Edyth was hurting her in ways Jonathan could only imagine.

They had been best friends for a very long time.

Rian was losing her best friend and Jonathan Attwood was her last hope as pathetic as it made her feel about the circumstances.

Jonathan frowned back, remembering that Edyth Swan was an impeccable driver and he couldn't see how that could've happened.

Rian had been more of the reckless driver, in Jonathan's opinion, when they'd both gotten their licences at eighteen.

He vaguely wondered if she was still a terrible driver, after all this time.

Rian opened the door, "As much as I want to hate you, Edyth loved you until the day she took her last breath," she said coldly, looking at him for a moment before getting into the car.

She drove off in a completely safe manner that rubbed Jonathan the wrong way.

'Edyth used to love the way Rian drove. It was wild and a lot of fun,' he thought to himself, wishing with all his might that things could've been different.

That he could've been a different person, less of a coward perhaps. He wished he'd had regrets for the things he'd done instead of the things he should've done.

There were a lot of regrets about the things he should've done a lot differently.

As Jonathan watched on as Rian Williams drove off to her work, he couldn't help but think to himself, 'Some people surprise others in a weird twist of fate.'