After I put them back in the bathroom, I grabbed my bra off the side of the bed.
“What was your day like yesterday?” I asked, as I put it on.
As he explained what he and some of his buddies did yesterday, I started to get frustrated with my bra, but tried not to grunt or make any other noise so he wouldn’t wonder what I was doing again. Once I finally got it latched, I twisted it around correctly and put my arms through the straps. After pulling the towel out from under it, I readjusted it and made sure nothing was hanging out.
A few minutes later, after telling me about his day, Steve asked, “So, what are your plans for the day?”
“Nothing much. Why?” I replied.
“Can you meet me in the Circle Centre parking garage say 11:45?”
“Yeah sure. Why?” I asked again.
“Okay, great,” he said. “Call me when you're about to pull into the parking garage, okay? You have my number, right?”
“Yeah, my phone has caller ID.”
“Okay. So, I'll see and talk to you soon.”
“Wait! Wait!” I said, quickly, before he hung up.
“Yeah?”
“You haven't told me why you want me to meet you.”
“You'll just have to wait and see. It's a surprise.”
“Okay,” I answered, intrigued, but at the same time, a little bummed that he wouldn’t tell me anything.
“Okay, see ya in a little while.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.”
After we hung up, I took the Bluetooth off my ear and put it on the desk. I grabbed my undershirt and put it on. After making sure it was straight and where it was supposed to be, I headed to the dining room to eat breakfast.
Finishing breakfast, I went back to my room and got ready. After brushing my teeth and using mouthwash, I started drying my hair. Once it was dry, I put it up in a somewhat high ponytail so it would stay out of my way when I ate and if the wind blew. I made sure it was in the center of my head and there were no bumps before drying the front and back top part of my shirt with the hair dryer. I put my sweater on carefully, so not to mess up my hair, and made sure it was straight.
Putting away the hair dryer, I plugged in and turned on my biggest curling iron so it could heat up. While that heated up, I did my makeup. I put on my usual makeup; except I used my light pink gloss instead of my brown lipstick. I put the gloss in my purse in case I wanted to reapply it later. Once I finished putting the rest of my makeup back in the bag, I curled my hair. With the curling iron being so big, I knew the curls wouldn’t be too tight, but would still look nice. When I finished, I hair sprayed my ponytail so the curls wouldn’t come out, then grabbed my contacts and put them in. I went to the bathroom one more time before I put on my socks and tennis shoes that went with my sweater.
I grabbed my jacket and put it on, then picked up my phone, Bluetooth, and keys off my desk. I put my cell in my lap, the Bluetooth on my ear, my purse on my side, and my keys in my pocket. Before leaving, I took one more look at myself in the dresser mirror. After seeing that everything was okay, I turned off my bedroom light.
“Mom, Matt, I’m leaving, be back later,” I called over my shoulder, before shutting my bedroom door behind me and leaving the house.
When I was about to pull into the parking garage, I gave Steve a call.
“Hello?”
“I'm here. I'm just about to come in the parking garage,” I told him.
“Okay, great. I parked in P2 and I'm waiting in where the elevators are.”
“Why? Were you cold?” I asked, teasing a little.
“Heck yeah, I was cold,” he replied, quickly, and we both laughed a little.
“Well, I'm about ready to park so I'll see you in a few minutes.”
“Okay. I'll be here waiting.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.”
After parking, I took the Bluetooth off my ear and put it in the center, turned my phone on vibrate and put it in my purse. I took one more look at myself in the rearview mirror and got out. After I shut the door, I locked it and headed for the elevators.
When I got into the building, I looked down to put my keys in my pocket and I shivered.
I heard someone say slightly sarcastic, but teasing, “Are you cold?”
I looked up and saw Steve leaning on his shoulder against the wall between the two elevators, laughing.
“Okay, I guess I deserve that,” I replied, my lips turning up slightly.
He grinned and stood up, as I moved toward him. When I got in front of the elevators, I stopped, and he leaned down and kissed me. After we kissed, he hit the button for the elevator.
“So how was your drive?” he asked, while we waited for it.
“It wasn't too bad, actually,” I answered, holding my purse on my lap with one hand, and my other in my pocket trying to keep it warm.
“Really?” he replied, a little stunned.
“Yeah. I mean there were a couple times where it was a little slow, but all in all it wasn't too bad.”
“That's a little unusual, especially given the time.”
“Yeah, I know.”
A few seconds later, the right elevator opened and we got on.
When we got to the street level of the mall, we got off the elevator and went left. We went through the mall for about five minutes trying to find a store that had a door that went right to the street, instead of having to go down steps. Finally, we found one and went outside.
“Okay, now what are we doing?” I asked, once we were outside.
Steve just smiled. “Come on, you'll see.”
“Okay,” I replied, and we went down the sidewalk.
We walk for a few minutes until we were across the street from The Old Spaghetti Factory. We cross the street, and when we got to the building, he opened the door for me.
We went into the waiting room, and it was completely full. At that moment, I was really glad I was in a wheelchair because otherwise there would have been no place for me to sit.
“I'll be right back,” he said a few seconds later, and approached the hostess.
A minute later, I saw him waving me over so I started that way. When I reached him, another hostess grabbed two menus and said, “Please, follow me.” When she stopped at a table, she put the menus down and pulled out a chair for me.
“Thank you.”
“Someone will be with you shortly.”
Before he sat down, Steve helped me with my jacket.
“How did we get seated so quickly?” I asked as he sat down.
“I worked here during my undergrad and still do some on the weekends.”
A few minutes later, our waiter came and took our drink order.
When he left, I asked, “Why did you want to surprise me?”
He said, “You will probably be miserable for the next couple weeks and I want you to enjoy life as much as possible.”
That made me smile.
Our waiter returned with our drinks, and asked, “Are you ready to order?”
After we gave our orders, I asked, “How was your Christmas?”
As he told me, I couldn’t help but laugh because his family and their mishaps and troubles reminded me of my own. He told me everything from people fighting over the last piece of turkey to everyone making fun of his uncle because of his run in with the hair clippers.
“Apparently Uncle Danny messed his hair up real bad, so he went to see, his daughter, Nikki. She’s a hair stylist, and even she couldn’t salvage what he’d done!” He laughed and it made me grin. “She basically had to shave his head and now it looks like he’s wearing a permanent swim cap!”
It reminded me of my brother and I had to tell him. About that time, our waiter came back with our food.
Once we had our food, Steve asked, “How about you? How was Christmas with your family?”
Before I told him anything, I warned, �
�Well it wasn’t nearly as exciting as yours.” After taking a bite of my food and swallowing, I started telling him about my Christmas. Throughout lunch, I told him everything, but when I got to the part of Morgan coming out in a dress and platform shoes, Steve choked a little on his food, and had to take a drink of iced tea.
When we finished and our waiter returned, and asked, “Would you like any dessert?”
Steve and I looked at each other and shook our heads no, so he went to get the check. When he returned, I asked, “Where are the restrooms?”
He showed me, by pointing in the proper direction.
“Excuse me,” I said. When I got into the bathroom, I took my Listerine strips and my lip gloss out of my purse. After that, I looked in the mirror to see if there was any food on my teeth. I put a Listerine strip in my mouth to freshen my breath. Once it dissolved, I used one more, just to be sure. Finally, I put on some more lip gloss. After I put everything back in my purse, I looked at myself one more time and went back to the table.
When I returned, Steve stood up and asked me if I was ready to go, and helped me with my jacket. When we reached the front of the restaurant, he stopped and looked at me.
“There's one more surprise, but we have to leave your chair. My boss told me we could leave it here in the lobby and someone would watch it until we get back.”
“Okay,” I agreed, and backed my chair up against the wall, by the elevators, and turned it off.
After I unfastened everything, Steve squatted down on my left side, and I put both arms around his neck. He put an arm around the middle of my back and the other under my knees and picked me up. As he carried me outside, I looked up at him and I felt as though I could stay like that forever.
When we got outside, I happened to look in front of us and I noticed a horse drawn carriage. I immediately looked back at Steve curiously, yet excited, and he grinned. I pulled him toward me and kissed him. After kissing, we went over to the carriage. It was white, with a red velvet interior, and it seated up to four people. In front of it were two all-white horses. The coachman sat on a bench and wore a black trench coat, a matching top hat, and gloves.
Getting in the carriage, Steve gently sat me in the seat behind the coachman, took his arms out from under my knees and my back, and I got comfortable. Once I was settled, he sat down beside me. Before we started to go, he leaned down and grabbed the blanket off the floor and put it over us. Though it wasn’t as cold as usual, when the open air hit your body it felt colder. After he finished covering our legs with the blanket, I wrapped my arm around his and he looked down at me.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You're welcome.” He leaned in to kiss me.
As we started to kiss, as if on cue, the carriage began moving.
For the next hour and a half, or so, we sat snuggled together trying to keep each other warm, as we got a wonderful tour of the city. As we went past different places, buildings, and monuments, Steve told me a little bit about them. Some things I knew, but if I did, I didn’t say anything. Some things I didn’t know, and I found them to be very interesting. As we went past the ice rink, we saw adults and children skating, and we smiled. One of the last places on the tour was a park covered in lights. Although it wasn’t bright, because of the daylight, it was absolutely beautiful. Being in the park, just reminded me how beautiful Indianapolis was this time of year.
“Indy really is beautiful during the holidays,” I commented, enamored.
Although I’d done this tour many times and seen the lights much better, I never experienced it quite like that. It made a huge difference who you were with. I couldn’t explain it. Yes, it was better to go at night to see the lights, but it was nothing compared to being close to Steve. When I was with him, it was like nothing else in the world mattered and I saw things from a new perspective. I thought I enjoyed the experience before, but it was not until that day that I truly did enjoy it.
When we reached The Spaghetti Factory, the carriage stopped and we sat for a moment just enjoying each other. Finally, I sat up and Steve removed the blanket, folded it, and put it back on the floor. Before picking me up, he stood up and stretched. When he sat back down, I put my arms around his neck and he put his arms behind and under me and picked me up. After we got out of the carriage, before going inside, we turned around and thanked the coachman for the tour.
Once inside, we headed straight for my chair. Steve gently put me back in, and said, “I’ll be right back, I need to use the bathroom.”
While he was in the bathroom, I readjusted myself and fastened everything back in.
He came back and asked, “Ready to go?”
“Yes,” I answered and we started toward the door. Before we left, though, we thanked his boss and buddy for keeping an eye on my chair.
When we got to my truck in the parking garage, he took my keys, unlocked my door, and started the truck so it could get warm, then shut the door.
“Thanks.”
“It's no problem. I didn't want you getting into a cold truck,” he said, as he leaned against the driver's side door.
“No,” I clarified, smiling and moving toward him, “I mean for everything today.”
“Oh, you're welcome,” he answered, squatting down to my level. “I'm glad you enjoyed it.”
When he squatted down, I moved my footrests to either side so I could give him a hug. “I did very much. It was great to be able to not think about anything else, but being with you,” I said, still hugging him. “I don't know what I'm going to do without you the rest of the day,” I added, leaning back to look at him.
“I don't know either,” he replied, then kissed me.
A few minutes later, he helped me into the truck, kissed me goodbye, and said, “I will call you later. Have a safe drive home.”
I watched him walk to his truck and get in before waving goodbye. After he pulled out, I took my phone out of my purse and turned it off vibrate. I put the Bluetooth on my ear and look to see if anyone was behind me or coming. I backed up and headed home.
Chapter 10
A couple days later, I woke up at seven and went to the kitchen. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and poured myself some orange juice. I didn’t usually drink orange juice in the morning anymore, but because I was having surgery that day I had to, to help with my hypoglycemia.
After putting my glass in the sink, I returned to my room to get ready. Before getting my clothes out, I went in and turned the shower on to get warm. I sat and thought for a moment before deciding on what clothes to wear because I knew I didn’t want any blood to get on my good clothes.
I got out some comfy clothes and laid them on the end of the bed before going into the bathroom and brushing my teeth. While I continued to wait on the water, I grabbed my phone off my desk and checked to see if I had any messages or voicemails. I saw that I didn’t have any, so I put my phone back on my desk and went to the bathroom.
I got into the shower, washed my hair, my face, and the rest of my body, and then sat and relaxed in the shower for a few minutes. By the time I got out, got dressed, dried my hair, and put on a touch of makeup, I had about fifteen or twenty minutes to kill. Although my surgery wasn’t until ten, the doctor wanted me there by 9:30 and it took between a half-hour and an hour to get there depending on traffic.
A few minutes later, while I sat at the computer surfing the internet trying to stay awake, my phone rang. I saw that it was Steve and answered it.
“Hi,” I answered, in a somewhat surprisingly awake tone.
“Hi,” he said, somewhat surprised.
“How are you this morning?”
“I'm okay, but I have to say I'm a little surprised.”
“You are? Why?”
“Because you're more awake than I thought you would be… or at least more than I would be.” He laughed.
“Oh, well, actually I'm not. I just sound like it.”
“Oh, okay. I wish I could be
there or, at least, take you there,” he said, after a few seconds.
“I know, me too, but as soon as I’m awake, I'll call you, I promise.”
“No, you'll need to rest. Besides, you probably won't be able to talk for a while because of the gauze in your mouth, not to mention, the soreness and being doped up.”
“Good point,” I agreed, laughing lightly.
“I thought it was. Hey, I’ve gotta go, but I'll call you tomorrow when you're a little more conscious.”
“Okay.”
“Until then, hang in there, okay?”
“Okay, I will.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
When my parents and I got to the doctor's office, Matt dropped Mom and me off in the front so he could park the truck. After signing in, we only had to wait about ten minutes before they called me back. Before laying me in the dentist office type chair, Matt pulled up the right sleeve of my shirt. A nurse put the IV in my arm, and I was grateful they were putting me to sleep for the procedure. I didn’t think I could deal with being awake.
A few minutes later, the doctor came in and asked, “How are you doing?”
I managed to tell him, “I’m okay.” By that time, the medicine was starting to take effect. The last thing I remembered was him starting to explain how everything was going to go, then nothing.
On the ride home, I streamed in and out of consciousness. Once at home, I laid in the recliner and slept until the anesthesia wore off. Every few hours, my parents had to change my gauze. When they changed it, it made me gag because they had to put it so far back. It also hurt because I had to open my mouth really wide and both sides were stiff, especially the left, from not being able to talk, so not to tear the stitches. Luckily, I had dissolvable ones so I wouldn’t have to go back to get them taken out.
Once my gums stopped bleeding, I was able to try to eat something. I was only allowed to eat soft foods such as Jell-O, soup, and mashed potatoes. Eating was more painful than I expected and had to stop before I got halfway through. Mom gave me some pain medication. It was somewhat difficult to take it because I wasn’t allowed to use a straw for a couple of days. Within a few minutes, the medication started to make me sleepy and I fell back asleep.
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