MARIAN KEYES - Chapter One - Lizzie Has Just Died

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by moss~

Second Open Door series chapter one from Marian Keyes’ novel begins with Lizzie dying in a sudden cycling accident on the Ranelagh road, immediately followed by shocked self-assessment of her body. She notices she seems uninjured, fakes laughter to calm the driver, then cycles away while leaving her “bloody” body behind. The narration contrasts her relief and confusion with what others might have seen, including the shame of wearing humiliating knickers, and moves into her regular frantic rides.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages90

Reading Time2 h 19 min

AccessFree to download

Chapter One

Lizzie’s accident and immediate shock

Testing her body and speaking to the driver

Leaving the scene and hiding her embarrassment

How the ride continues despite what happened

# M A R I A N K E Y E S l0 n o d r e s S r e h e a r s a l eracy yes ne w.is I a n d 0 pend o o No DRESS REHEARSALFirst published 2000by New Island2 BrooksideDundrum RoadDublin 14 www.newisland.ie Copyright ◎2000 Marian Keyes The right of Marian Keyes to be identified as the author of this work hasbeen asserted by her in accordance wich the Copyright,Designs andPatents Act,1988 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British LibraryISBN 1902602323 New Island reccives financial asistance fromThe Arts Council(An Chomhairle Ealaion),Dublin,Ireland. garts Council chomhairle ealaion This book is sold subject to the condition chat it shall not,by way oftrade or otherwise,be lent,resold,hired out,or otherwise circulated inany form of binding or cover other than that in which it is publishedand without a similar condition,including this condition,being imposedon the subsequent purchaser Typeset by New Island Printed in Ireland by ColourBooksCover design by Artmark 3542 Distributed By:Grass Roots PressToll Free:1-888-303-3213Fax:(780)413-6582Web Site:www.grassrootsbooks.net Dear Reader, On behalf of myself and the othercontributing authors,I would liketo welcome you to the secondOpen Door series.We hope thatyou enjoy the books and that reading becomes a lasting pleasurein your life. Warmest wishes, Pica Sc Patricia ScanlanSeries Editor THE OPEN DoOR SERIES IS DEVELOPEDWITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE CITY OFDUBLIN VoCATIONAL EDUCATIONCoMMITTEE. Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2019 with funding fromKahle/Austin Foundation CHAPTER ONE Lizzie has just died.She simply hasn'trealised it yet. You'd be amazed at how often thiskind of thing happens.Usually topeople who were never very popular inthe first place.When everyone startscompletely ignoring them,they justaccept it.Like they'd always thought itmight happen,anyway.Sooner or later. This wasn't the case with Lizzie,though.She was a popular girl.Shejust happened to have a lot on hermind on the afternoon in question. 1 MARIAN KEYES Anyway,what happened was Lizziewas cycling home from work.Weavingher way through the cars.Most of thetime,going faster than them.On theRanelagh road she got caught by trafficlights.“Come on,”she muttered.“Change!” As soon as the lights changed togreen she took off like a hare out of atrap.She cycled out into the clear road,heading for home.Next thing,her bikeslid on a patch of oil.In slow motionshe saw herself flying straight into thepath of an oncoming Volvo.Shewatched the wheels speed towards her.Far,far too close to her head.This isn'thappening,she thought. A film-reel of pictures raced behindher eyes.All of them about her.Agedfour,falling out of a tree.The dog she'dhad when she was seven.The coolestpair of cowboy boots she'd got when she was twelve.Her first romantic kiss.Her last day at school.Meeting Neil forthe first time.Moving in with him.Going to work this morning.Leavingwork this evening.. And then everything stopped.Nomore pictures.For a few shockedseconds she lay on the greasy road.Hercheek was pressed against the tarmac.So close that she could see hundreds ofpieces of tar-coated gravel.They'dbeen smoothed by a million car tyresSo many little stones,she thought.Then,I wonder if I’m badly injured? Slowly,carefully,she told her leg tomove.It did so without sending hotagony shooting through her.This couldonly be good.She tried her other leg.No pain there,either. Testing each limb,she gingerlyclimbed to her feet.All the while,sheexpected some body-part to object. MARIAN KEYES But to her relief it looked like she hadno bones broken.In fact,as shechecked herself,it seemed that shewasn't even cut.How lucky was that! It was then she saw that the driver ofthe car had got out.He came towardsher.His face was twisted into a mask ofhorror. "It's okay,"she said,shakily."I seemto be in one piece.Luckily!" To make him feel better she faked alaugh.But h

FAQs

What happens to Lizzie on her way home from work?

Lizzie cycles home and gets caught by traffic lights, then speeds off and slides on oil, flying into the path of an oncoming Volvo.

Does Lizzie realize she is truly hurt?

She initially believes she should be badly injured, but she carefully tests her limbs and finds she has no bones broken and seems even uncut.

Why is Lizzie embarrassed after cycling away?

She recognizes she was wearing her worst knickers, which would make her feel ashamed if people had seen her on the road.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by moss~