Chapter 26: Hardships Unnumbered
The last stop was Salisbury to visit Lucy's parents. As Leo promised, the plan
was settled to take the trek over there to recuperate and meet my husband's side of the
family. The bus dropped us off
in the middle of nowhere. Deadsville came to mind. The hospital gave us a
wheel chair to give Don's arms a chance to relax. But guess who got to push
it? Lucy took turns but Don didn't seem to
mind doing it. England was known for it's many open spaces. And it's fancy
ways of traveling. A carriage came up the way, offering us a ride to our
destination. The way over was freezing for me
and Lucy. We were both still getting over the English flu bug. I lifted my
head to catch a quick breeze playing through what little strands of hair stuck out
of my hat. Hat? I had a snow hat on my
head covering just above my ear lobes. Looking down, my clothes had changed into a
billowy sweatshirt, dark slacks, a winter coat and my hands wore fuzzy mittens.
Looking up from my chair,
I caught a familiar face glancing left to right. Then, smiling down to me.
"Good morning, Jewel."
I returned the gesture. "Hi, Don."
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah. Still feel a little, you know, weird."
"The effect won't clear up for quite awhile."
That was the cue to enjoy the scenery. Beautiful houses were seen out in the
clearing. One of them had to belong Lucy's parents. She had to look up their
name in the phonebook to find the
address. It must have been a long time since she came to visit them.
"I left home when I was 19 years old." She told her listeners.
"I thought the states would have what I was looking for. Happiness.
A career. I ended up in Manhattan, a dead-end job and
my disability was made fun of every so often."
"Disability?" Raph looked to me.
"It's no biggy, Raph." Lucy assured him. "I have dyslexia. It usually prevents me from getting the jobs that I really wanted."
"Is that why you made me write out all those notes?" Don asked with a raised eyebrow.
"And have Don read the map?" Mike added.
"Dyslexia is where I have trouble writing sentences clearly. It's not like I can't read. Jeez, guys!"
"You transpose the letters around in words."
"Yes, Leo. That's right. I have trouble with letters and numbers and mix them up. See, he knows what it is."
Lucy could see Raph slowly calming down. The word 'disability' freaked him out.
I have a disability far worse than writing words with the letters in the wrong
places. I can't even hold a pencil!
If grammar was the least of Lucy's worries, I'd give anything to switch places with her
right now.
A tall, gorgeous estate came up the road. Each of us paused to stare at it's beauty. So, big. You could explore it for hours.
"Is that their house, Lucy?" Mike asked, sitting up from his seat.
"The address says so. Remember, I've never been here. They were still living in Canterbury when I moved out. This is all new to me."
"But they know you're coming?"
"Oh, yeah. Get ready to be bombarded with hugs, shouts, and terrible memory lane stories."
Tipping the carriage driver, Lucy hopped down and started to head down the long walk to
the large house with us in tow. Ravens cackled on the top ledges to the tiny group
below them. The doors
were taller than everybody. Using one of the large brass knockers caused a booming
noise to echo within the halls.
"What knockers!" Mike quoted from the movie, Young Frankenstein.
"Oh, sank you, doctor!" Lucy joined in to finish the line in her best Madeline Kahn impression.
A tall, old man in a formal suit opened the door and looked out to the group with a long face and sunken eyes. He was the butler, either ready for retirement, or, an early grave.
"Good afternoon."
"It's Jeeves!" Mike whispered to me. I had to bite the side of my lip, letting out small giggles.
"Good afternoon to you, sir. You're Jeffrey, aren't you?" Lucy shook his hand.
"Yes, madam."
"Darn!" Mike snapped his fingers. Close, but no cigar.
"Hi, I'm Lucy Meddleton. We spoke on the phone. I'm.....well, here!"
"So it appears. Your parents are anxious to see you." He turned to leave. "Walk this way, please." Oh, no. I knew what that meant.
"Follow, Lurch." Mike said and walked exactly the same stride as the butler.
"Leo....hit your brother. You're closer." I begged. Leo got to the front and whapped Mike's head.
The butler left us at the front of another set of two large doors.
"They are waiting in the study. Good afternoon, all."
"Likable chap, isn't he?" Mike thumbed to the back of Jeffrey walking away.
Lucy placed a hand on the handle. "Wait here while I prepare my parents for
your arrival." She sighed. "And also prepare myself for the
unbearable hugs, kisses, and oh yes, the tugging of the
cheek. Hated that one the most."
"My goodness! Lucy!"
"Great heavens! I never thought I'd see the day! My beautiful daughter!"
Lucy's eyes brightened as she was greeted with grins and wide arms to embrace her.
"Mum, Dad. I brought Edward's wife, Jewel, with me and there are some new people I'd like you to meet."
Their smiles turned to frowns as the four came in the room.
"Guys, this is my parents. Rebecca and Gerald." Lucy managed to keep smiling, not seeing her parent's expressions.
"Um, hello there, um....gentlemen." Rebecca stepped closer, sizing up Leo. "Would you like to remove your coats?"
"Later, perhaps." Leo looked to his brothers. "Um, Rebecca. It's nice to finally meet you. My name is Leonardo."
"How do you do?" Rebecca extended her hand and she saw his hand only had three fingers.
Leo backed away to allow his brothers to say their greetings. He moved over to Gerald.
"Gerald. It's nice to meet you."
"Yes, yes. Very good." He shook his hand. "My God, man! You've got three fingers." He then looked straight at him. "And your face is green!"
Lucy could see this reunion already going uphill.
"Jewel, is that you?" Rebecca gasped when she went to greet Don. I nodded to her wide eyes. "Well, goodness! What has happened to you?"
"Do you want the long story or the short one?" Raph asked.
Rebecca returned to Lucy, still wide-eyed. "Lucy, you didn't tell us about them. Who are these people?"
"Yes, Lucy dear." Gerald crossed the room, sizing each of them up. "What interesting friends you've brought here. I knew New York was strange but not the people as well."
"Hey, we think you English folk are pretty strange as it is!" Raph shot back.
"Now, see here!" Gerald threw his weight at him. "How dare you come into my house and start pestering me about our people being strange!!"
"Hey, you're the one that said it first, not me!"
"Enough! Gerald! Apologize to him!" Rebecca scolded.
"I beg your pardon, woman?"
"You heard me! They are our guests and we should treat them as guests!"
The room shook for a bit from the booming sound of the voices dying down. Don
paused to look upon my face. Something felt very, very wrong. Her father
continued to go on about
'God save the Queen' when Rebecca turned to see the uncomfortness washing over my face.
"I do apologize about my husband's behavior. Is everything alright, Jewel?"
"I'm not sure." I glanced around the room.
I must have had some feeling in my lower body because I did not feel right sitting
there. Don sighed heavily and tried to signal Lucy. What was going on?
Lucy waved to him and tried to get
away but her father was busy talking to her. Don looked to Rebecca and whispered
something confidential. Placing a hand to her lips, she gave me a look of pity.
"Right this way." Rebecca looked to the group before exiting out the door. Don snatched up Lucy's purse, signaling to her again. It was useless. They didn't even know we left.
Rebecca guided Don out into the hall. Around the staircase, down a hall way, she
led us to an exquisite bath hall with gorgeous marble tiling and a huge bath tub the size
of a miniature Jacuzzi.
The walls were decorated with beautiful paintings of interesting shapes and colors.
"This is one of the wash rooms for our guests. I hope you'll find it suitable to your liking."
Don went to speak but she turned and left, leaving us alone!
"Don, what is it? I, I can't seem to figure out, I mean, this is going to sound strange but...." I shook my head. "Nevermind."
Don closed the door and turned around, looking at me seriously.
"Perhaps the doctors were right that the paralysis wasn't totally over bearing.
Meaning, you're getting feeling back in your body but still are not strong enough
to...." He sighed again, pacing the
room slowly. "Jewel, I don't know why they didn't tell you, but, before we left
the hospital, they told Lucy about it and then she told me next. And also, they gave
her something....something,
for you to wear."
Oh, no. Don't tell me, please don't tell me. DO NOT tell me.
"Am I wearing a diaper?"
Don mumbled softly. "Um, depends."
"Depends on what?"
He laughed a little. "No, no. Depends. They put a pair of depends on you. Your body cannot control regular functions. It's like what old people wear when they're unable to....you know."
"What is it you're trying to say?" He just stared at me.
"Oh, no! No, no! Uh, uh! No way! Go get
somebody!" I paused, watching him stare. "I mean, no offense but,
ha, ha! You can't be
serious. You look serious. Don't look at me like that.....oh, he's serious!
Don!"
Don blinked and looked away. "Sorry, you seem to amuse me every so often." I wasn't trying to be funny!
"Um, maybe I don't even have to go after all. Ha, ha, yeah. It was probably just a false alarm. A feeling I couldn't actually feel." Uh, that didn't sound right.
"Jewel, that would be the uncomfortable feeling you mentioned. You may have gone without even knowing it and you'll have to be changed by someone who should check you on a regular basis."
Like a baby. God, I knew this was going to get worse. First he had to dress
me at the lab. Now he has to undress and change me! Don stood quietly,
eventually resting up against the wall.
I, on the other hand, wanted to sink through the tile floor. Wither away and die.
"I'm a little shy about this. I mean, dressing me was one thing but this is totally exposing myself. Not to mention degrading on my part."
"Do you want me to get Lucy? Cuz she offered to do this for you. I don't mind doing it but if you're truly uncomfortable with me, I'll go get her right now."
"Whether it's you or Lucy, I'd still feel like my privacy is being invaded. So, it doesn't matter."
"Well, I won't do it unless you say so. I can go right now and ask Lucy to
come here and help you. Or, I can be your right-hand turtle to take care of your
needs. One of us is going to have to
do it eventually. You can't just sit there....in it."
Why did there have to be choices for this? The others were going to start to
wonder what happened to us. I was praying that Lucy's parents would take the guys on
a tour of the place and Lucy
would come looking for us. To rescue me. I looked down to my hands, wishing
they'd move on their own. This was going to be the worst vacation ever. If I
could even call it that.
"And, this was bought down at the auction house in the very heart of London. I do say this fine piece of art does shine out than the others, does it not?"
"Mmm hmm." The three turtles nodded. Mike wanted to smash his head into the wall, Leo followed along to be polite and Raph felt like strangling Gerald.
"Well then, shall we move on to the next room?"
Lucy bit her lip as she watched the Turtle's reactions. Now, Raph looked like he wanted to strangle himself. She smiled to her mother.
"Does Father always show his guests every painting he ever bought?"
"That and then some." Rebecca replied. The two ladies remained in the study, sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea in hand. It was near tea time.
"So, where's Emma?"
"Oh, she should be arriving soon. School is out now, but she likes to go be with friends at her local hang out places. You'll see her later on and you can introduce her to your friends."
"I should have been specific on the Tele, Mum. The reactions they get from
people can become very irritable but expected after awhile. I'm glad Daddy didn't
hit Raph with that priceless
vase. He would have been making a terrible mistake."
"Because the vase is a one of a kind?"
"Because Raph would have thrown him into tomorrow."
"These men, or whatever they are, are they, um, dangerous?"
"They can be. They're ninjas."
"Ninjas? As in-" her voice dropped down lower.
"assassins?" Lucy nodded. Rebecca stood and rounded on her.
"I can't have that in my house. What if I wake up to find my husband
with a sword sticking out of his back?! Or, or, Emma accidentally runs into one and
they try to hurt her?"
"Mother, please." Lucy pushed her back down. "Please, please
listen to me. These guys are good. Very good. Not at just what they do
but who they are. When you think of ninjas, you
think of evil men hired to hurt innocent people, right?" Rebecca nodded.
"That's not how they were trained, Mum. Their master knew because of the
way they looked, society would
treat them as outcasts. Their master started them at in early age the many practices
of the martial arts and more specifically, ninjitsu. Mother, I've been with these
guys for quite a while
now. Jewel has been with them longer. I won't lie to you. Yes, they are
very dangerous. But I swear it on my life, you are not in danger in your own
house."
Rebecca stared at her daughter. Her face was so serious.
"I believe you, Lucy. I just worry about your safety."
"I know, Mum." Lucy reached over to hug her tightly. "Come on, let's go see if Dad killed them with boredom yet."
Don and I were still in the 'guest' bathroom. I haven't made up my mind yet.
Please, please, please. Someone, anyone, come quickly. Much as this guy
means well, I would prefer to have someone
else doing this line of work. He was a ninja, not a nurse. He may have certain
ways of handling things and might be very rough accidentally. Or are ninjas
meticulous people? At that moment, I started
to question how an assassin would deal with something like this. A ninja may have a
husband or wife with disability. It was possible. But of course, they'd hire a
home nurse instead. And then, they'd-
"Jewel?" Oh, no! "I do believe we've spent a rather long time in here."
"How do you figure?"
"I've counted every tile square on the floor."
"Don, you're a ninja. A totally different profession from the medical department." He gave me a look to that comment. "That is, you're inexperienced."
Suddenly, there was a light tapping sound.
"Don, Jewel? It's me, Lucy. Are you okay?" Oh, thank God! Don opened the door to her. "I was getting worried about you guys. Everything alright? You know...." She gestured.
"We're fine. Thanks for your concern. Here's your purse."
Don walked by her and Lucy came in, staring at me in my wheelchair.
"Did he-"
"He did nothing, Lucy. I wouldn't let him. Either I want you to do it or get a nurse. I can't let him go on like this. It isn't right."
I sat with Rebecca in the study as the others got to have their fun tour.
Anything was more fun if it involved actually moving around. I had to tell her
what happened with me and Don in the
restroom. That's just it. Nothing happened. I chickened out. I had
to talk to someone or be doomed to be changed by either my sister-in-law or worse yet, a
mutant ninja turtle. For him
to offer to change me like that was something Rebecca would never imagine in her wildest
dreams.
"Now, that's unconditional love, Jewel."
"But I refused him. I'm so embarrassed. I've only known him for a short time and to do something like that, you need to know the person for several years."
"Jewel, he was only trying to help you." Rebecca quickly realized she
just defended a ninja. "Um, tell you what I could do. If you plan to stay
with us for awhile, I'll hire a 24 hour nurse
to the house. She will take care of all your necessities. We had to do this
for my mother, Lord rest her soul. Until you get well, that's all I can think of
right now."
That's pretty much all I can do. Back in the states, I have no apartment, my
husband might be dead, and the thought never crossed my mind to inconvenience Hannah and
her family. The Turtles
would be returning home soon to their master to get on with their lives. I happened
to hear Leo discussing this.
"I may never see them again. I've grown so attached lately."
"Then, maybe you should say something. They'll be leaving in a few days
after Lucy gives them a small tour. They were going to leave sooner but she insisted
they deserve a little taste of our
country. Since, they might never come back here."
Then, I definitely wouldn't see them again! I'd heal within the weeks, return to New York and rebuild my life. I'd also see if I still have a job and if Edward is still breathing.
"I need to talk to Don. Not now, you know, after the little event today, I can't even look him in the face." Rebecca smiled with a nod. "Um, but before they leave, I want to tell him how I feel."
"Well then, Jewel, if you know what's best, then you should do what you think is right."
A few hours passed on. Only Don, Lucy and Rebecca knew about my little toiletry
needs. I figured the others would be dumb not to know about it. A person with
paralysis had to 'depend' on the
use of adult sized 'diapers.' The thought of even wearing one was emotionally
devastating for me. If I wanted to move around instead of being confined to a bed, I
had to wear them or risk having an
accident. So, it was true. There were always choices in this matter.
Ones I didn't like but couldn't stand to take the alternatives.
We were busy enjoying the beauty of the gardens behind the house when 'Jeeves' came out to greet us.
"Hey, Jeeves, my man!" Mike said happily.
"It's Jeffrey, Mike." I whispered, biting my lip again.
"Mrs. Meddleton, you have a phone call awaiting you."
Rebecca looked to everyone with a small laugh. "Would you excuse me? I'll be right back."
Jeffrey looked to us before leaving. "Dinner will be at six." He bowed with a turn and waddled away. Rebecca smiled to us.
"Don't mind him. He feels that he has to tell us the exact time for dinner. He's getting on in years as you can tell."
Dinner was promptly at six as was spoken earlier. Now, came the fun part. I
couldn't even pick up my fork let alone hold my water glass to eat and drink my dinner.
One of the maids had to
help me on the side because I refused to let anyone who wasn't working give me some
assistance. Don offered but I barked at him to go eat his food in the peace that he
so richly deserved.
Yes, it was getting hard. Did I say getting hard? It was hard.
Later on, there was small talk around a fire place and more touring of the large house. Lucy pushed me around this time to allow Don to take a short walk with his brothers after the heavy meal.
"They would be talking about guy stuff anyway. You wouldn't be interested." She informed me.
"Lucy, your mom and I were talking and I happened to mention about the little
incident earlier with debating whether or not Don should change my diaper." I
dreaded the horrible thought of that
ever happening. "I appreciate you doing it but we both came to a decision of
hiring a nurse."
"You know, I've been thinking the same thing myself. In fact, the hospital
gave me a small list of phone numbers for nurses in the Salisbury area since I told them
that's where we'd be headed."
Why didn't she inform me of this sooner or better yet, tell me right when we left the
hospital? Oh, wait, I was asleep. But still! I nodded as she continued.
"Since we got here the same day
we left the hospital, I was going to wait until we settled in with my parents and then
call for a nurse. Um, but of course, when you gotta go, you gotta go."
"Yeah, I kinda knew I did go but wasn't sure. Don wouldn't change me unless I gave the okay. I can't believe he would if I even asked him to."
"I'd say that's unconditional love right there, Jewel."
I smirked to that. "You sound like your mother. She said the same thing to me in the study."
"Well, she's right. They all care about you, but Don especially out of all of them would do what he could in any way to help you. That's just the way he is."
"I know. And it pains me to think he'll be leaving and I won't be able to hug him goodbye." Let alone do anything else that requires other parts of the body. Did I mention this was hard?
Leo was circling the outside gardens in the front to make sure none of us were being
followed by anyone back at the lab. He was stripped of his clothing and wore his
full battle attire,
complete with his set of deadly katana blades. Those things scared Lucy's mother, so
he had to keep them well-hidden when not in use. It was 11pm and very pitch
black outside with
a few lights radiating from the house. He sniffed the air. Windy, cold,
slightly damp. A storm was coming. He started to turn down into the topiary
maze when a car pulled up to the house.
He ducked low behind some hedges to see who it was that arrived unexpectedly. Loud
music was playing out of the speakers of a small Diesel car. A young girl, looking
like in her late
teens, stepped out of the vehicle. Her hair was like mine but a was a honey blonde
instead of dirty blonde. It was very long but she liked to keep it pinned up in
braids and bun hair-styles.
She stared to the dark house in front of her.
"I'm late again." She sighed. As she headed for the house, a guy came from out of the car, wrapping his arms around her. "Hey, Billy, not tonight okay? I'm very tired."
"What? No goodnight kiss?"
"Say it a little louder why don't ya! My parents might hear you!"
Leo frowned as he watched the scene. The girl elbowed Billy in the stomach,
swinging her backpack behind her.
"Go home, Billy! You've had too much to drink. Why don't you go sleep it
off?"
"Nothing would give me great pleasure to sleep with you!"
Billy charged at her again, throwing her onto the hard gravel. The girl's keys went flying from her hands into one of the bushes. Grunts and groans were heard as they rolled on the ground.
"Let me go! Ouch! Help!"
"Now will you do it?"
"Oh, go soak your head, you bastard!"
"Great idea. Ladies first...."
"Wha-"
The two ended up rolling over toward a fountain where he tried to throw her in.
Why? Because he was a jerk. He dunked her head in first as if pretending
to drown her all the while just
playing around. She wasn't playing. She kept screaming and gurgling to make
him stop. Soon, two hands grabbed Billy and threw him across the lawn. The
girl whapped the hair from
her face to see what happened. Billy got up only to be kicked down again.
Rolling away, he stood up with fists in hand.
"Who the hell are you?" Forget the question. Leo side-kicked him
back down. The girl watched in silence as Leo lifted him and threw him back in his
car. Startled, he finally got somewhat
of a better look. "What the hell are you, man?" The sound of a sword
unsheathing ringed in his ears. The pointed end was thrust up against his throat.
"I'm your worst nightmare."
Good enough answer. Billy threw the clutch in drive and sped away, forgetting to
close his car door. Leo stood up straight and re-sheathed his sword. He turned
to the girl; her hair drenched
and hanging down and around her face. It was in a circular braid, but now, it looked
like a wet mop. She stared with such fear and confusion, he was afraid if he
blinked, she'd faint. The
loose strands of his bandana suddenly rose up around his face. The wind was picking
up harder. The girl twitched with a quick shiver from having a wet head. Out
of concern, Leo made
the mistake of approaching her. She only backed away further.
"No, stop." Her hands flew up in defense. "Don't hurt me."
Leo paused in his tracks. Eyes that showed anger and rage during his short battle were now soft and gentle.
"Hurt you? My dear, I just saved your life. The last thing I would do is ever hurt you. You have my solemn word on that."
She frowned to him. He was so serious, so calm, so, different.
"Just who are you, anyway?" Other than a worst nightmare like to Billy, he suddenly became very polite. Scare the enemies, be kind to the damsels.
"My name is Leonardo. I'm a friend of your sister, Lucy. You must be Emma."
"Yes." She glanced a worried look to the house. A hand shake was
not in order. "I didn't think anyone would be out here. Please, Leonardo.
Swear that you won't tell anyone about what
you just saw. Please." The girl was pleading to him. She knew about
him other than his name and yet, her fear was starting to relax as she realized she wasn't
in danger any longer.
"Very well, Emma. I swear it."
Without a thank you, goodnight, or drop dead, Emma went to retrieve her lost keys and
headed up to the house. Leo watched her move, every so often pausing to wring out
her wet hair
which dribbled over the ground and on her clothes. He'd see her later. Much of
her later.
Days passed quickly. A full week had gone by since we've been at the house.
My time was growing shorter with the guys. I barely got to see them and when
I did it was an occasional hello,
goodbye and at meal times. Rebecca convinced me to stay more in bed than wonder
around in a wheelchair. That meant a nurse was hired to the house where she took
care of all my needs.
I was becoming very depressed.
Lucy took them everywhere. Emma wanted to join her but school called her away in
the day time. She immediately fell in love with them, calling them 'lively chaps.'
She particularly grew
attached to Leo, calling him her hero other than a lively chap like the others. Mike
was the one who came to my bedside the most, telling me his adventures of England and the
interest in
Emma. He also complained she gave more attention to Leo than to him but couldn't
understand why.
"Is it because I'm not cute? Look at me, do you think I'm cute? Chicks always dig the cute ones. Does she not think I'm cute? What do you think?"
"I think you used the word cute too much. You're over-cute. You're beyond cute. If I could get up, I would be dancing to the cute scoot."
"Cute scoot?"
"I had to think of something. You can't force Emma to like you more. It's impossible. She's got friends; maybe she'll hook you up with one of them. That is, if you don't mind the English folk."
"Well, Raph seems to be hanging in there. Have you seen the way that guy
stares at Lucy? Man, I knew a long time ago he was falling for her. Right when
we first met her. On our way to
find you, they had petty arguments but he was like....I dunno. Falling in love with
her."
"That's great, Mike. I'm very happy for her. Lucy has been lonely for far too long and if she decides to go with Raph, I wish her the best of happiness. It's a lot better than loneliness."
"You know, we're leaving for New York tomorrow." I nodded.
Please, don't remind me! "And we barely got to hang out with you."
Aww, he's sweet. "So, I was thinking maybe you'd
like to join us on our last days before we return to New York." A shapely woman
entered the room, holding a basin and towels. Mike grinned as he stared at her.
"Who's that?"
"That's Susan, the nurse. She's here to give me my bath." Mike
looked skyward, like 'ohhhh!' "I really appreciate you coming to see me.
You more than your brothers have been stopping
by to say hi and share with me your many adventures. Not to mention your woes with
girls." I made him grin. "I miss you guys. Lucy's having all
the fun and I'm stuck here."
Mike stepped away as the woman came over to me. I grinned embarrassingly.
"Uh, take a rain check on our date, Jewel?"
"Yes. I'd really like to do that."
"Okay. Catch ya later, love!" He kissed my forehead before leaving. Now, he was going to make me cry! Oh, dear! Susan smiled and prepared the basin. Here we go again!
Lucy took the Turtles to London that day. I was stuck in bed to sleep, eat, and
worst of all, cry. Susan was my entertainment for the day by means of feeding,
changing, and washing me. I wanted
to make small talk but she was not one for doing conversations just her job. I
wanted to go with them so badly, but my condition prevented me from joining them. I
was fighting it now to get my
strength back. Today proved to be a big progress.
"Jewel, love, you must eat your soup before it gets cold." She held the spoon to my lips.
"I'm eating. Just have a lot on my mind."
Out in the hall, Gerald dropped something rather large, making an enormous crashing
sound. Susan jolted and dropped a fairly large portion of lentil beans on my hand.
She screamed from the
surprise and I screamed from getting burned. We both paused and looked to each
other.
"My dear! Your finger! It moved!"
I looked down to my fingers. I could make them twitch a little. My fingers
could move! I tried to lift my hand but it felt heavy and unmovable. Well, one
thing at a time. I watched with
tears in my eyes my index finger flexing on the bed spread. The pinkies were the
hardest but I could move them.
"Oh, it's happening, Susan. It's really happening! Where's Lucy? Are they home yet?"
"No, she's not back yet. She went to London with your funny-looking friends. They won't be back till this evening."
Drat. It's like when a baby takes his first step. For me, it was the first
sign that I my body was slowly healing. Pretty soon, I could kick the chair to the
curb and wrap my arms around the
one I truly love since I met him. If only he knew what I felt for him.