by Marla Monroe
“People can be so cruel when they don’t know what’s going on. You’re all going to have to deal with idiots like that at some point. The best thing you can do for yourself and them is to just laugh and smile and move away,” Ellie told them. “They don’t matter and aren’t worth the effort it would take to put a good beat down on them.”
Clark burst out laughing. “I told you I wasn’t really going to do it, honey.”
“Well Rex thought you were. He knew you better than I did at the time,” the pretty woman said.
“Heath, I gave Kermit the information in case I didn’t get to talk to you. I hope you’ll check into some of the programs open to you. If you haven’t made up your mind by the time I get back with mine, you can spend some time with me to see what it’s like,” Clark told him before shaking his hand. “There’s a lot more to life than hiding and trying not to think that everyone around you is the enemy. It wears you out and eventually will wear you down, man. Think about it.”
Abby watched as Clark and Ellie walked toward the waiting area with Max, the companion walking on the outside of them. If there was any way a dog could help Heath, she would support him in trying it out. She realized she had another thing to research now. Heath was important to her even without the attraction thing they were fighting.
“Ready to go?” Kermit asked before transferring from the bench to a wheelchair someone had pushed next to him.
“Whenever you are. Where’s your gear?” Heath asked.
“Sitting in the waiting area waiting on you,” he said. When he had the arm to the wheelchair back in place, Kermit looked up and froze.
“Hi Kermit. I’m not here to bother you. I’ve been helping Heath get your place ready. I wanted to see if there was something we needed to get or fix that we didn’t think of, that’s all.” She felt like she was trying to justify her presence and maybe she was, but she had a right to be there if only for Heath. He was afraid he hadn’t thought of everything and Abby was going to make sure Kermit knew just how hard the other man had struggled to get it perfect.
“Hi, Abby. No problem. I’m glad you could help Heath. I hate to think what I would be living in without you there to guide him,” he said in a joking manner.
“At least I had enough sense not to rent a two story place right away,” Heath threw back.
“So, let’s get out of here,” Kermit said, clapping his hands together. “I’m a little sick of this joint.”
“Does the wheelchair go with us?” Heath asked.
“Uh, yeah. I have a walker and a set of crutches waiting in there, too,” Kermit said with a sigh.
“No problem, just didn’t want to steal government property and get arrested. I just got out of this place myself, you know.” Heath made light of it and Kermit seemed to relax a bit. “I’m going to pull the truck around to the door so we can load your gear without having to drag it across the parking lot.”
Before Abby could say anything, Heath had jogged the rest of the way to the waiting area and disappeared inside. She turned and smiled at Kermit, hoping he wouldn’t tear her heart out while they were alone.
“You can push me so we can get out of here sooner,” Kermit said in a tight voice.
“Or, I can walk across to the waiting room and hold the door for you,” she pointed out without looking at him.
“Oh, so it’s torture the cripple now that I don’t want you anymore?” he bit out glaring at her.
“No. It’s make the man learn to be a man again and refuse to cater to him out of love and pity. I don’t do pity, Kermit. You should know that by now. And you made it clear that love has nothing to do with us now.”
It was the hardest things Abby had ever done, but she turned on her heel and walked off and left him sitting there all alone. Seconds later the sound of rubber wheels on polished linoleum followed behind the sound of her squeaking tennis shoes.
Chapter Twelve
“Well? What do you think?” Heath asked as Kermit used the walker to explore the house. He really wanted his friend to like it and feel comfortable there. If he didn’t feel safe and at home, he’d never finish healing.
“Looks really good, man. You did good.” Kermit eased down onto the couch and leaned back. “Why didn’t you take the master bedroom?”
Heath bit back the curse on the edge of his tongue. He knew the bastard would say something about it. Did it matter that much that he’d left it for him since it had more room? Friends looked out for each other.
“I’m not much of a black and white type guy. The softer yellows and greens in the other one are easier on the eye,” he said, forcing a relaxed grin. “Hey, if you want to share a bathroom with Abby, that’s fine with me. I’ll switch.”
“What?” Abby’s startled voice paired with Kermit’s panicked one made Heath wince.
“Well, you’ll be in and out over here all the time so you’ll have to share that one with me,” he said, trying to look serious.
“I won’t be over here that much,” she said.
“Why will she be over here at all?” Kermit asked, then ran a hand over his face. “I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. You’re welcome here, Abby. It’s Heath’s place as much as it is mine.”
Heath could see the pain flash in Abby’s eyes before she hid it. He wanted to knock some sense into his best friend, but decided to wait until they’d gotten settled first. Then the kid gloves were coming off. Kermit needed some introduction into dealing with the harsh realities of life. Bashing the people who love you isn’t how to deal with it.
“She’s going to do our housework for us and some light cooking that we can warm up later. Neither one of us likes to clean and I’m not in much better shape for some of it than you are,” he said with a strained chuckle. “And do you really want to eat my cooking?”
“I get your point.” Kermit looked over at Abby, making full eye contact for the first time since they’d arrived. “Do you have the time to help that much? Heath had said you were working all the time now.”
“Yeah, I have the time. My hours got cut last week. With summer winding down into fall, there isn’t as much need for my time right now. So, I could really use the money, too.” Heath had to hide his grin when she gave Kermit a devious look. “You didn’t think I was going to do it out of the goodness of my heart did you?”
“Uh, maybe?”
Heath had to turn away to keep from laughing at his friend’s mistake. He could already imagine the steam pouring out of Abby’s ears right about then. Kermit had torn her apart when he’d said he didn’t love her and hadn’t for a while. He’d crushed her and hadn’t thought about what that meant really. All he felt was the pain from the loss of his legs. He hadn’t really felt the loss of her yet. It would come though.
“Not even hell no, Kermit. I’ve got to be able to pay my bills. I can’t afford to do anything for free anymore. Hopefully you’ll both be able to take it back over soon because I’m going to be looking for another job.” She walked out of the little living room into the kitchen, leaving them staring after her.
“Why didn’t she just go back home to Florida like I told her to? She’d have had her apartment and probably her old job, too.”
“You’re really clueless aren’t you? When she found out where you would be taken for recovery and therapy, she gave it all up to move her so she could be with you. She was in it for the long haul, Kermit. She knew it would be at least three months before you’d be able to start the intensive therapy you would need. That’s going to take at least another six to nine months as well. She never once thought you’d tell her to hit the road, man. She gave it all up for you. Her home is gone and her dream job, too.” Heath watched Kermit’s face as the consequences of his decision to end his engagement with Abby finally hit home.
“I, um, I never realized she’d done that. I mean, Mom and Dad…” he started then stopped.
“They are your parents so they got leave from work to come see about you. Plus they own the
ir home so it didn’t hurt to leave it for a few weeks at a time. While they were in Germany with you, Abby took care of their place for them since they wouldn’t let her go to see you.” Heath kept his voice low. He really didn’t want Abby to know he was telling Kermit all of this.
“Where is she living now?” Kermit finally asked.
“She’s got a shit of an apartment over near the airport. It’s not the safest place either, but it’s all she could afford. The job she found was great. She was hoping to move to a better place next month, but last week they told her that with the fall and winter months coming, they would be cutting her hours starting with the next schedule that came out. They didn’t tell her when she took the job it was basically seasonal.”
“I’m a jackass.” Kermit threw his head back on the sofa and sighed.
“Well, that’s a nice way of putting it,” Heath told him without giving him an inch.
“Damn.” Kermit looked over to where Abby had disappeared moments before. “Have you thought of anyone to be our third in this triathlon Rex has planned? They need to be able to run.”
“I’ve got the bike part covered. I was wondering if Huck would be interested. He can run with or without his prostheses. Do you think he’d be willing?” Heath asked.
“Don’t know. He’s been really standoffish since I’ve been working in the gym,” Kermit told him.
“Um, I think that pretty much describes you as well, man. The only time I’ve seen you talking to anyone outside of calling your male therapist Satan incarnate was when Rex or Clark was there.”
“That’s not true. I talked to the other guys some.” He seemed to think about it for a few seconds then frowned. “I know I did.”
“Like you talked to me in the beginning. Talk to Huck tomorrow and see if you can get him to agree. Otherwise, we’re not going to get anywhere close to winning. You won’t be ready to run by then and I’m a terrible runner even without a fucked up shoulder. Balance is just as important as speed with running.” Heath wondered if Huck’s balance was still stable or if he was still struggling with counteracting the loss of his lower arms.
“Hell. It doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t give a rat’s ass about going to some beach resort one way or another, but Rex thinks it will help garner support for The Wounded Warrior Project and some of the other organizations for veterans like that Battle Buddy thing with the dogs,” Kermit said.
“What did you think about that?” Heath asked. “Do you think there’s any truth in what Clark was saying? Do you think a dog could help me cope with these damn episodes?”
“Don’t know, man, but it’s worth a look. It can’t be easy dealing with them and trying to work, too.”
“If it helped, I might be able to get a better job, too.” He winced. “I guess that will depend on if they allow a service dog at work with me, though.”
“Unless it’s a matter of health risks, they can’t say no to him or refuse to hire you because you have one. I think you should look into it. The paperwork is on the table,” Kermit said, nodding his head in the general direction of the kitchen.
“Abby already said she’d research it for me and give me what she came up with. She sure knows her way around the Internet. When she finally got the full scoop on your injuries, she spent hours on the computer locating everything you might need, all the organizations who could help you, and what she needed to learn in order to take care of you,” Heath said. “Hell, she even took a three week course and got a certificate on safety with wheelchair and bedbound patients. I was beginning to wonder if she was going to go to therapy school and be your private therapist there for a while.”
Kermit stiffened but didn’t respond. Heath figured he’d said enough for one day and stood up to stretch. “I’m going to see if Abby needs any help with dinner.”
* * * *
“What are you two talking about in there?” Abby asked when Heath walked into the kitchen.
“Talking about the Triathlon and who we could ask to be the third man on our team. Looks like we’ll ask Huck. He lost both lower arms when an IED exploded in a doll he picked up to carry back to the kids we’d seen sitting outside a tent half a mile back. His friends said they should have thought about it, but a doll. Why would they risk a child seeing it and picking it up like that? It would have killed the child.” Heath shook his head.
“That’s unbelievable,” she said then shook her head and closed her eyes. “It’s all unbelievable though. War, death. Why can’t we all just get along? Why do we have to fight over every little thing?”
Heath pulled her into his arms and gave her a quick, hard hug before releasing her and reaching up to grab three plates from the upper shelves. “We’re an arrogant, aggressive people for the most part. Maybe we needed that in the early days to survive, but now we need compassion and caring more. We just don’t know how to change who we are in order to preserve what we have and protect what is at risk of being lost.”
“Well someone needs to figure it out and fast. There are thousands of men out there like Huck and Kermit and you who gave everything and now that you’re no longer useful to them, you’re on your own. What’s the difference between our military men and women and a horse or cow that’s gotten old and unable to continue producing as it had? Are they just going to send them to slaughter and the glue factory? Are they just put out to pasture to fend for themselves? I feel like that is what is being done to our wounded soldiers once they return stateside.”
She had to stop and take a deep breath to clear the tears from her throat so she wouldn’t break down and cry. Every time she thought about some of the things she’d read, Abby felt like marching on Capitol Hill and giving them her opinion in person. How dare they use these men and women then drop them like yesterday’s dirty socks. If it wasn’t for the organizations she’d been researching and working with these last few months, more and more veterans would be hopeless and eventually either end up out on the streets or kill themselves.
“Heath, did you know that at least twenty-two veterans commit suicide every day? Did you know that there are over forty-nine thousand homeless vets sleeping in abandoned buildings or under bridges when the shelters are full? One in every four homeless persons out there is a veteran. Why? Why are the most loyal and brave of our people sleeping on the street like the homeless pets we see running around looking for food? I can’t sleep at night sometimes thinking about that. What if it was you or Kermit out there?” she asked with a hiccup in her voice.
“Shh, Abby. You’ll just make yourself crazy worrying about it.” He started to go on but Abby stopped him.
“Someone needs to! Nothing is getting done. They’re doing all these studies as to why and how and not doing anything constructive like at least giving the men blankets or food,” she said. “I talked to a lady one day when I was sitting out in the waiting room hoping Kermit would change his mind and let me in. Her husband was having surgery that day to remove an infected toe from living on the streets. He wouldn’t go home because he was afraid the enemy would follow him there and hurt his family. No one had been able to help him see that they were safe there. He didn’t think they were and didn’t believe he could protect them on his own. Can you imagine what that woman felt like?”
Heath just shook his head and finished setting the table. Abby knew she was pushing this too much, but it was this or face the fact that the man in the other room still didn’t want to have anything to do with her. If she didn’t think about something else, she’d go crazy thinking about how Kermit hadn’t even wanted to accidently touch her so he’d maneuvered Heath into being the one to help her up into the backseat of the truck. If she had to face the reality that her fiancé was no longer hers, Abby was afraid she’d start crying and never stop.
“Something smells good in here.” Kermit’s voice jarred her out of her pity party and she started stirring the neglected pot of spaghetti sauce.
“It’s just about ready. The noodles have another two minutes
to boil. Why don’t you guys go wash up? I’ll have it on the table in five.”
Once everyone had gotten seated and the food passed around, Abby finally allowed her mind to relax again. No longer where there worries about her future, their future, or what would become of all the veterans when all the troops returned from overseas plaguing her every thought.
“Good Lord this is good, Abby.” Kermit moaned around a forkful.
“Probably because I let the sauce simmer some more while you got unloaded and explored the house. I’m glad you like the house, Kermit. Heath worked really hard to find the perfect place for the two of you.” Abby wanted to be sure that he knew how much Heath had worried over his decision.
“It really is perfect. I can’t believe the rent is so cheap,” Kermit said.
The two men chatted easily back and forth about the house and then the triathlon as they ate. Abby finished first since she wasn’t talking and began gathering up the dishes. She put away the leftovers and loaded the dishwasher. It would have felt like old times except for the tension that hung in the air between her and Kermit. She was aware of his every move and felt it each time his eyes strayed toward her.
“Hey, Abby. I’ll finish up. Why don’t you go relax and we’ll watch a movie together,” Heath suggested. “Something appropriately fun to celebrate the new place and Kermit busting loose from the VA big house.”
“I’ll finish up in here and then I probably should be going. I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about without me around to be in the way,” she said.
“You’re not in the way,” both men said at the same time.
Abby’s head jerked toward where Kermit still sat at the table. He looked almost as surprised at his words as she was that he’d said it.
“I mean if you need to go, fine, but you’re not in the way,” he said looking down at where he had his hands clasped on the table in front of him.