The Time When He Got in a Motorcycle Crash

I got the call around midnight on Oct. 1, 2007.

The man on the line said, "Is this Kate? There's been an accident."

He said he was on the side of the road with my boyfriend, who had asked him to call me. He said he had crashed his motorcycle and was in bad shape. I asked if he was kidding, and he said he couldn't be more serious. The ambulance hadn't even gotten there yet. The man promised to call me back with details.

I sat on the stairs, shaking and crying. I'd only been dating him for 3 months. I'd finally met the man of my dreams, and now I might lose him??

Just my luck.

A police officer called and told me he had broken a lot of bones but was stable and being flown to the hospital. I rushed to be by his bedside. The doctor discussed the injuries--two broken arms, compound fracture in the leg, plates would be needed, broken fingers. I passed out. Literally. The descriptions of the injuries, the stress, the whole scene made me woozy. We laughed because I was put in a bed right next to him with my legs elevated.

I took a week off of work to stay by his side. He had multiple surgeries. I was there. He was in pain. I was there. He needed to be fed. I was there.

I didn't even think twice. That's what you do when you love someone and he almost dies.

You're probably wondering how he crashed. He said he was riding home on the Beltway and it was a dark area and all of a sudden there were cars stopped on the middle of the highway. He crashed into the back of a minivan and flew completely over it.

How he lived was mind-boggling. So lucky! And thank God he made it...right?

You'll Never Guess what Happened Next

His hospital stay was winding down. The nurses all loved us, thought we were the cutest couple ever.

I remember sitting by his bed and we were talking about how lucky he was, that he really could've died. He looked at me and asked if I'd run back home to get something for him and bring it back. He said he had something for me. He said it was a small box and told me exactly where it was located in his closet.

It's probably not hard to guess that the little box was one in which jewelry comes. My mind was reeling. I thought, "Maybe it's earrings? A pretty birthstone ring to match the bracelet he gave me?"

When I got back, he told me to sit on the edge of his bed and open the box. It's probably not hard to guess that a diamond engagement ring sat in that little box. Two-carat solitaire. He said he loved me. He said he had been planning to ask when we went on our vacation to Mexico...but that he knew he wanted to ask right away. He had cheated death. I was there for him, at his side the whole time. He said he knew I was a keeper.

He asked me to marry him. I said yes.

I'd known him for 3 months.

Reflection

I know what you're thinking. "Girl, you only knew him for 3 months! Slow it down! What's the rush?" and so on.

All I can say is that I was on board the fast moving train. Full throttle. I thought it was romantic. I thought he must love me very much and not want to let me slip away somehow. I felt the same way about him. I figured, hey, we're not getting any younger, we are on the same page and know what we want...and quite simply, I was smitten.

More on the rushed relationship later. :)

Back to the accident: The entire situation felt...chaotic. I have a very strong hunch about that accident, one that I'll share in the book. After the trial. For now, I will say that from all the reading I've done about sociopaths, they thrive on risk-taking and chaos.

Being the trustful and caring person I am, I clung to the happiness that he lived, not noticing the subtle manipulation that was happening at that very moment...


Love and Support for Kate Ranta and Family