Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 86706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
I listened to it over and again. I found the song and sent it to Katy with a voice message, hoping she was still awake and would hear what I did.
This is my song to you, sweetheart. It says what I can’t. Please come back.
I waited for over an hour before she replied. Her words soothed me as only she could.
Our story isn’t over, Richard. But I love the words and the thought.
The best gift of all was a picture I had found on my phone. It was a simple snap of the four of us together. We were out by the pool. My back rested against a tree, and Katy and my girls were wrapped in my arms. The happiness on her face said it all as she had lifted her arm out and snapped the picture. I had it printed and framed and sent it with a heartfelt note I composed.
My darling Katy,
This picture symbolizes everything that is good and real in my life. My family. The sweetest little girls ever to exist on this earth and the most wonderful wife a man could ask for. My children are blessed to have you as their mother, and one day I hope to be the man deserving of you again. My biggest regret isn’t losing the use of my legs—it’s the harsh words that sent you away from me, when I should have been honest and told you my fears.
Come back to me, Katy. Believe in me again.
I’ll make it up. I promise.
Always—Richard.
Every gift was acknowledged. Each one allowed me to hear her voice, listen to her soft sigh of pleasure as she described her reaction. The taste of the meal she ate, wishing I were there to eat it with her. The scent of the lotion she rubbed into her skin, knowing how much I would have liked to do it for her. The fragrance of the flowers that perfumed the air and made her think of me.
I was as wooed by her words as she was by my offerings.
The last gift was met with silence. I waited all day for the phone to ring, yet it remained quiet. Late that night, my phone buzzed with a message, and I scanned it, the short message meaning more than any thank you could come close to.
I love us. I’m not giving up. I believe. I will always believe in you.
I love you.
Katy.
I slept better that night than I had in days.
Aiden wheeled me over to a set of parallel bars that hadn’t been in the room the day before. Equipment arrived all the time, and other pieces disappeared as Aiden changed his plan or Colin suggested something new to try.
He locked the brakes and stood in front of me. Colin walked over and stood beside me.
“Today, you stand.”
I eyed the bars. “I don’t think—”
“We don’t say that here,” Aiden interrupted me. “We try. With everything we have. Get your ass out of that chair and stand.”
I studied the bars with trepidation.
Aiden grunted impatiently. “Richard, you’ve made great progress. Your muscles are getting strong, the feeling is coming back, you can wiggle your toes on your own. Trust me on this. You can do it.”
I looked at his serious face, then at Colin. He nodded in encouragement.
“I’m not sure I can pull myself up to the bars,” I admitted.
“Okay,” Colin agreed. “Baby steps.”
He took one arm, and Aiden took the other. The feeling of being lifted to my feet was odd. I knew my legs were there, I could feel the pressure, yet I was like a newborn, unsteady and off-balance. I grasped the bars, holding with all my strength.
Pain hit me, a burning fist of pressure in my lower back. I gripped the bars harder, sweat breaking out on my forehead.
Colin and Aiden exchanged a look.
“Breathe through it, Richard,” Aiden said. “It will go away.”
I shut my eyes and concentrated. My pulse rate returned to normal, and my body eased as the pain lessened.
“Let go,” I huffed out.
They released me, and I stayed up. Shaking and unsure, but I was up. On my own two feet.
“I want to walk.”
“Then walk,” Aiden said in a calm voice.
I concentrated, pushing with all my might. My leg slid forward, not more than a few inches, and I managed to drag the other one behind it. Sweat poured down my neck, my arms shaking, my body firing all sort of nerves and reactions at the effort. The pain fisted me again, and I grunted.
“One more,” Colin encouraged. “You can do one more.”
I pushed and tried, yet nothing happened. Deflated, I faltered, Aiden and Colin moving quickly to grab me before I fell. They eased me back into my wheelchair.
Aiden crouched down. “Do not get fucking discouraged. That was amazing. You took a step, Richard. Tomorrow, you’ll take another. The light, dude. You’re seeing the light.”