Chapter 82

On the way to physical therapy the next day, Nick and I talk about Eva and Brian. He says, “Have you heard from Eva at all?”

I say, “No, and I’m ashamed to say I haven’t even thought to call her. You’re such a distraction, Mr. Carter.”

He chuckles and says, “Well, she’s been in your back pocket for the last few weeks. I think you both needed a break.”

I say, “I want to do something special for her, AJ, Jax, Brian, all of them. I don’t think you realize just how difficult I made their lives.”

After he parks the car, he says, “Elaine, I’m sorry I had to leave.”

I say, “Nick, stop. It was necessary. If I could have, I’d have been with you. It wasn’t just missing you. I was crabby because I couldn’t do anything. Re-doing AJ’s house was a lifesaver. It kept me focused on something else for a couple of weeks.”

He gets the wheelchair out and lifts me from the car. When he sets me down, he says, “What did you have in mind to do for them?”

I sigh and say, “I don’t know. Something fun, something happy.”

Nick smiles at me and says, “We’ll think of something. Right now, you need to get to work.”

He wheels me inside and I fill out all my paperwork. The therapist looks at Nick and says, “She’ll be done in an hour.”

He kisses me and says, “I’ll be back. I have an idea for your surprise. I’ll tell you about it when I get back. I love you.”

I smile and say, “I love you too.” As he starts to leave, I say, “Nick wait.” He comes back to me and I say, “Keep this for me. I don’t want to lose it,” and I slip off my ring and give it to him.

He kisses me and says, “I’ll take care of it. I love you Lady.”

I smile as he leaves and the therapist starts pushing me through the hallways. She says, “You have a handsome fiancé. He looks familiar.”

I smile and say, “I hear that a lot.”

The first thing they do is put me in a whirlpool and have me move my arm and leg around. I ask the therapist how long I’ll have to have therapy. She says, “We’d like to have you do four weeks, but it will all depend on your progress. We’re lucky it’s not joints we’re working with, we just need to build your muscles back up where you haven’t used them.”

I say, “How long will it be before I can try to walk?”

She laughs and says, “I expected that question first. We’ll see how you do with a cane, but you still need the chair the majority of the time. If you over do it, you’ll set yourself back in your recovery.”

I agree to do what she says and for the last 10 minutes of therapy she works with me on walking with a cane. It’s harder than I thought it would be. After walking about 10 feet, I have to sit down. She smiles at me and says, “I can see you’re very determined, but remember, this has to be done gradually. If you feel like trying to walk at home, make sure someone is with you and only do a few steps at a time, ok?”

I look up at her and say, “Don’t worry. I’ve got plenty of babysitters to keep me in line.”

She laughs and says, “We’ll do therapy every day for the rest of this week, then starting next week, we’ll do Monday, Wednesday and Friday.” She describes some exercises she wants me to do at home and hands me a paper describing what I can and cannot do. Finally, she says, “If you have a pool at home, try to swim. Make sure someone is with you and be very careful not to overdo it with your arm. Take it easy and work gradually, ok?”

I say, “OK, I won’t overdo it. But, can Nick come in? I want to try to walk for him?”

She smiles and says, “Of course he can. But only a few steps, ok?”

I smile and nod and she goes out and gets Nick. When he comes in, he says, “Everything ok?”

I say, “Yeah, watch this.” The therapist helps me stand and I take a few steps towards Nick. He smiles and applauds. I can’t stop smiling and I say, “Isn’t it great?”

The therapist pulls my wheelchair over to me and helps me sit and says, “Remember, don’t overdo it. Just a few steps at a time.” Looking up at Nick, she says, “She still needs to be in the wheelchair. Don’t let her overdo it.”

He smiles and says, “Don’t worry. She’ll behave while I’m around.”

I giggle and say, “Only because I want you to stick around for a while.”

He comes back over and slides my ring back on my finger and says, “You ready?”

I look up at the therapist and she says, “Yes, you can go. Just do your exercises this evening and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I smile and say, “Thanks, I’ll see you then.”

As Nick pushes me out to the car, he says, “You look like you had a good hour.”

I say, “Yeah, I was surprised when she said I could walk a little.”

He says, “You can’t overdo it Elaine.”

I say, “I know Nick, believe me. It was great to walk, but I know I’m not ready for it yet. It was hard.”

Once I’m settled in the car, he turns toward me and leans in close to me. I meet him half way and he kisses me. He runs his hand around my neck as his tongue licks at my lips. Every kiss with him just gets better and better. When he pulls away, he says, “I’m proud of you Elaine. It was so great seeing you walking, even if it was only a few steps.”

He leans back into his seat and starts the car as I reach for my seatbelt. I say, “It felt good, but boy, I can tell my muscles are shot. I have to build them back up again. I have some exercises to do, if you wouldn’t mind helping me.”

He chuckles as he pulls away from the building and he says, “Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it. We have to get you better because I think I figured out your surprise for everyone.”

I’m practically bouncing in the seat with excitement as I say, “What? What did you figure out?”

He says, “Well, there’s a small little town near the coast that has this huge carnival every year. Draws in tons of people. It’s in 3 weeks. I was thinking maybe we get one of our tour buses or a big limo and take everyone to the carnival on Saturday, then maybe have dinner and a party on the beach. I’ll get hotel rooms for us all and we can come back on Sunday.”

I can’t stop smiling and I say, “Oh Nick, that sounds PERFECT! How did you come up with that?”

He says, “Well, when we were on the road, whenever we hit a town having a carnival or a fair, we always went and had fun. It’s the kind of thing we never really did as kids because we were always working. You said you wanted fun and happy, that’s it. And who doesn’t love a beach party? Then, maybe, if you can keep a secret for a few weeks, we can announce our engagement at dinner.”

I’m still smiling as he parks his car at his house and I say, “Nick, that’s perfect. I can definitely keep a secret. But that means, when we’re with everyone else, I can’t wear my ring. Will that bother you?”

He gets out of the car and comes around and lifts me out. Holding me tightly, he says, “You already said yes, and I’m holding you to that, so no, it won’t bother me. It’s going to be a great surprise.”

I lean close to him and kiss his cheek as he walks into the house. I say, “Nick, I love you so much. You can’t even begin to know how much.”

He sits me on the sofa and leans over me, kissing me sensually. He says, “I’m going to get your stuff out of the car, then if you want to show me how much, I’ll be all yours.”

When he walks away, I can’t help but giggle. I start unbuttoning my shirt, but look up startled, when I hear AJ say, “Umm, did Nick forget to tell you I was here?”