Scorpio Love

by S. Tamanaha

  Next she placed a submersible treadmill into the pool. For the treadmill’s belt to work, Johnny had to be able to push off and walk. It was different than walking on the flat bottom of the pool so she started with only a few minutes. He remained in his harness and continued to watch the walking video and himself on the screen in front of him. After three weeks, he had worked himself up to fifteen minutes.

  Before she took the next step, she wanted him to get another MRI and CT scan. She made an appointment with the doctors who had infuriated her earlier with their premature assessment. She would have avoided seeing them at all but she needed to see what their machines would say about Johnny; she wanted to see whether those machines would confirm what she already knew in her heart and in her mind. The doctors took the tests, but even before they told her and Johnny the results, she knew. She could see it in their faces.

  “It’s remarkable,” one of the doctors, Dr. Shin, said. “Most of the damaged nerves seem to have regenerated and connected properly. Nerve regeneration has occurred in patients before but, as far as I’m aware, never this quickly or to this extent.”

  “How does the spine look?” she asked.

  “It’s straight ... aligned. The only evidence of trauma there are the implants but they seem to be absorbing as scheduled. I’d like to talk to you about the therapy methods that you’re using.”

  “Not yet,” Susan said. “You said most of the nerves have regenerated. When you see no damage in the area at all, I’ll gladly tell you everything.”

  As she pushed his chair back to the van, they were both quiet. Jackson was waiting to put Johnny on the lift and from the look on their faces, he at first thought that the news hadn’t been good news. When they reached the van, Susan put her arms around Johnny from behind and held him tightly.

  “It’s almost done, Johnny,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face. “We’re almost there.”

  Johnny pulled her around the chair and kissed her tenderly, lovingly. “I can hardly believe it,” he said.

  Jackson grinned. “You mean it’s good news? You guys gave me a scare.”

  “It’s great news,” Susan said, half-laughing and half-crying. “Now we have to get it perfect.”

  Since the doctor had confirmed the strength and alignment of his spine, she removed his harness and allowed him to hold the side rails of the treadmill while he walked under water.

  “Don’t go too fast or let go of the rails, Johnny,” she said, “or I’m putting the harness back on.”

  “Yes ma’am,” he said obediently.

  She smiled at him. “Oh, so you don’t think I’m bossy anymore?”

  “You’re still bossy,” he said, “but what the hell, I’m stuck with you so I might as well get used to it.”

  “That’s right,” she said. “You’re stuck with me. Forever.”

  He smiled. “I’d better be.”

  In another three weeks, he had worked himself up to twenty-five minutes on the treadmill. She made him walk slowly while they all watched the underwater video of his movements to make sure that his legs and feet were in the correct position when he walked so as not to threaten the alignment of his spine. By the end of the seventeenth month, almost full feeling had returned to his ankles, feet, and toes.

  Johnny had been working on his book whenever he had any free time. After their last visit to the doctors, he finally knew the ending to his story and he completed the manuscript and sent it to his agent. A publisher accepted it for publication almost immediately. While Johnny worked with the publisher on the editing of his manuscript, he continued with his routine. He exercised and used the treadmill in the pool, continued his acupuncture and qigong sessions, watched the walking videos, and engaged in activities that stimulated both sides of his brain. Susan had also obtained videos and slides of the body’s nervous system to help him visualize the final healing of his nerves.

  When he could easily complete a half an hour on the treadmill, she called in the pool service and had them lower the level of the water several more inches, just to his waistline. She wanted his body to get slowly used to the lack of buoyancy. She didn’t know if it was necessary but, as always, it just made sense to her. It was difficult not to rush the process—they both wanted to see the final results so badly—but she held fast.

  “We’ve been patient this long,” she said. “It’ll only be a while longer.”

  A couple more weeks passed during which time Johnny diligently kept up his routine. Finally, Susan asked Jackson to remove the treadmill from the water and bring it to the patio. Johnny would now try it on dry land. She pushed Johnny’s chair to the patio and put on the brakes. Although Johnny had been standing on his legs to do some of his out-of-pool exercises and to promote blood circulation in order to prevent pressure sores, she had never before allowed him to walk unless he was in the pool.

  “Now let’s see how your land legs are,” she said, pushing his leg supports out of the way. “Please go slow and be careful.”

  He pushed himself up from the chair just like any person would, using his arms and his legs. Jackson stayed by his side, just in case, but there was no need. Johnny walked the three feet or so to the treadmill slowly but easily. He stepped on the treadmill and started to walk, holding onto the rails for support. Susan and Jackson grinned. His gait was easy, relaxed, perfect.

  “We’ll spend some more time building up your land legs and your feet, ankles, and toes,” she said. “Then there’s just one more thing left to do.”

  They spent another four weeks doing just that and then she called the doctor to make an appointment for another MRI and CT scan. She insisted that Johnny remain in the wheelchair no matter what.

  “The last thing that I want happening is you tripping and falling,” she said.

  Doctor Shin ordered the tests. “It’s pretty incredible,” he said after looking at the results. “There’s no evidence of nerve damage or trauma at all. The only things slightly visible are the bio-absorbable implants but they’re nearly gone as well. How is your walking? Can you show me?”

  Johnny got up from the chair and walked across the room and back. Dr. Shin was amazed. Johnny’s walk was balanced and easy. Perfectly normal.

  When they returned to the van where Jackson was waiting, they were both beaming and Jackson realized, happily, that his job was at an end. The van ride home was the last time that Johnny would ever have to sit in a wheelchair. When they arrived at the house, Angel ran out to greet them. Susan scooped the little dog up in her arms and hugged her then opened the back patio doors and let her out to play. Jackson disappeared upstairs. Johnny walked over to her as she caressed the two crystal globes sitting beside each other on the kitchen counter.

  “Eagles,” she said, smiling. “I knew that we were Eagles.”

  He pulled her to him and they held each other tightly.

  Jackson came down the stairs carrying his bags, which he had packed the night before in anticipation of the results. He had already rented an apartment a month earlier because he knew that his time with Susan and Johnny was coming to an end.

  “You don’t have to leave right now, Jackson,” Susan said. “I thought that we could all celebrate.”

  He smiled. “You two have had me underfoot for months. Now it’s alone time.”

  She tiptoed and gave him a kiss. “We couldn’t have done it without you,” she said.

  Johnny shook his hand. “That’s for sure. What are you planning on doing now? Still interested in getting re-certified and helping people like me?”

  “Absolutely. After this experience, I know it’s what I want to do. I know that not everyone’s going to recover like you but still ... just to be able to help them do the best they can, yeah, it’s what I want to do.”

  “Good,” Johnny said, “because we can’t think of anyone who should be doing this more than you so we’d like to help. Susan and I talked it over and once you get your certification, we’re going to have a realtor find you a p
lace where you can set up a rehab clinic.”

  “No, that’s kind of you, but I can’t afford—”

  “We’re going to pay the rent and other expenses and your salary for a year,” Johnny continued.

  “And you already have a lot of the equipment you’ll need,” Susan added. “We have no more use for it. Including the van with the lift.” She handed him the keys. “The ownership papers are signed and in the glove compartment.”

  Jackson was stunned. “Are you serious?”

  “Very serious. Of course, it’s up to you to get your certification and have that place profitable after a year,” Johnny said.

  “I wouldn’t know how to go about getting clients,” Jackson said.

  “Well, we kind of took care of that too,” Susan said. “Dr. Shin, one of the doctors at the hospital, is very interested in the methods that we used. He has patients who he feels might benefit from the treatment. We gave him your name. Who better to explain it all to him?”

  “I don’t know what to say,” Jackson said, obviously moved by their generosity. “Except ... thank you. Thank you so much. I never expected anything like this.”

  “You’re a good man, Jackson. And you have a dream. Johnny and I, we believe that good people should get their dreams.”

  Jackson leaned down and kissed her on the cheek and shook Johnny’s hand again. “I’ll get that certification and that clinic will be up and running in no time,” he promised.

  “We’ll work out all the details later. We just have one request for now,” Johnny said. “We’d like you to keep my recovery under wraps for a few more weeks. We don’t want any publicity just yet, okay?”

  “I won’t mention anything to anyone,” Jackson promised.

  After Jackson left, Susan walked back to the patio and called Angel in, giving her a little treat to munch on. Then she just stood there, staring at the pool. Johnny came up behind her and put his arms around her.

  “Did you know that Scorpio is a water sign?” she asked softly as she leaned back against him.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Well, it refers to our emotions and traits but it also means that we are drawn to water ... connected to it. We both love to watch the ocean and you swam competitively in college and moved to Venice when you first went to California. When I was building this place, I knew that I wanted two things—the Universe in my bedroom and a pool in my backyard. Some people found it strange because I was never an avid swimmer, but I insisted on having this pool. Even if it pushed my mortgage payments higher than what I felt was comfortable, even when they told me that it was a bad investment and wouldn’t add to the resale value of the property if I ever decided to sell, I had to have it. And now I think, Johnny, that I built this pool for you. Even though I didn’t know that you existed, I think I built it because somehow I knew that one day you would need it. Does that sound crazy?”

  “You had dreams that saved my life, you came into my life and loved me and saved my soul, you refused to leave me or believe the doctors when they said I would never fully recover, and then you brought me here and worked a miracle. Nothing you could ever say or feel can seem crazy to me.”

  “We worked a miracle, Johnny. You and I together. Two Scorpions—two Eagles—in our element of water. We didn’t listen to the world. We listened to our hearts and trusted our souls and each other and we did it.”

  He turned her around then and kissed her, lovingly, deeply, passionately. She was crying and he wiped away her tears gently.

  “Don’t cry yet,” he said. “It’s not time yet.” He closed the sliding screen door and then he took her by the hand and led her to the bed that she had been sleeping in alone for so many months. He kissed her lovingly while he undressed her slowly, as she did the same for him. They lay together on the bed and he kissed her again, tenderly first then more passionately.

  “I’ve been dreaming of this for months,” he said, his hands caressing her body. “Dreaming of showing my love for you the way that I used to.”

  She returned his kisses and then whispered in his ear in that soft, sultry voice that he loved so much, “Show me, Johnny. Show me.”

  He did. Not with the fierce unbridled passion that one would expect from someone who had waited so long but with loving tenderness. He made it last as long as he could, just enjoying the feel of her body, her kisses and caresses, her soft moans and gasps, the way that she whispered his name. Finally, they came together, once again experiencing that union of souls, and he held her as she cried.

  “Nothing can stop us, can it?” he asked, his voice filled with emotion.

  “Nothing,” she said.

  Then they lay together as they used to, bodies entwined, their souls peaceful and calm and wonderfully happy.

  “Remember when I came here on that vacation and I threw you into that pool to try to get you to relax?” Johnny asked.

  She smiled. “I’ll never forget. I was having a hard time relaxing, though, being so close to you.”

  “I wanted to kiss you then, but I wasn’t sure yet whether you felt that way about me. I thought you did, but my senses weren’t as keen as yours and you were very good at hiding what you felt.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t let me keep on hiding. If you hadn’t made that first move, we would never have happened.”

  He held her closer. “Best move I ever made. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without you. Maybe that’s why even after everything that’s happened and all that you’ve done, I still worry sometimes about losing you. I mean I know that you love me and I know how much—you’ve shown that to me in so many ways—but I also know that the only thing that keeps you with me is that love, and sometimes I worry that the feeling inside of you might just disappear one day ... that the bond will be broken somehow.”

  She pressed closer to him. “I have something to tell you,” she said softly. “Ever since I was a child, the name Johnny has always been my favorite name. I don’t know why. There’s no reason for it. It just always has been. That’s why it came out of me so easily that first time when you were visiting. It felt so natural. And men with deep voices would always catch my attention. I never knew why. But I would always turn if I heard such a voice as though I was expecting to see someone I knew. Then, when I had those dreams, when your face became clearer in those dreams, I didn’t know who you were but I looked into your eyes in those dreams and I felt as though I knew you. Inside of me, there was a feeling of recognition. Not of your face but of your soul. Then I found out that you were real and we met and everything came together—the name that always appealed to me, the voice that always made me turn around, what I saw in your eyes. It was as though I had been looking for you all my life and I had finally I found you.”

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me this?” Johnny asked quietly.

  “Well, in the very beginning, I didn’t want you to know that I felt anything for you at all except friendship. Then later, I was afraid that you’d think that I really was a little crazy. And after I moved to L.A., there were so many women saying that they adored you and that you were their dream man, I thought maybe you’d think that I was like one of them. That I looked at you as some sort of fantasy lover and didn’t really love you.”

  “But if you felt that strongly from the beginning, why did you just walk away that first time and then try so hard to keep this just a friendship afterwards?”

  “Because when I found out who you were—the career you had, all the adoring women—I never thought that we could have this kind of a relationship. I was just happy that I had found you and that I had been able to protect you. And when you called, even when you came over, I was willing to be just a friend because that’s what you seemed to need. I could tell how that life, that environment, was getting to you. Then we made love that night and I knew. I knew that everything that I had been feeling was true and that you were what I felt was missing inside of me since I was a child. I don’t know if we’re twin souls or soul mates.
It doesn’t matter what this is called. All I know is that my heart and soul knew who you were and looked for you and loved you before we even met. And that’s why that bond that you’re talking about—it can never be broken. I always say to you that you’re my soul and I mean that. That’s how I feel ... as though our souls have bonded now and we’ve found each other again.”

  He lifted her face then and their eyes met and he knew it was true. “I felt it too,” he said. “From that first night we met, something in your eyes touched something in me. I didn’t know what it was, but that’s what kept you on my mind all the time, kept drawing me to you and made me start calling you. And then, when we talked, it’s like I told you before—I had all these feelings but I kept telling myself that it wasn’t rational. I was almost compelled to come here for that vacation. I had to know if the feelings inside of me were real, whether you were real. And from that very first day, I knew. The things that you sensed about me, the things you said to Jesse, and then, that night. I have a confession to make, baby. I saw you in the pool playing with Angel that night; playing that little catch me if you can game. I saw you talking to her and laughing and gazing at the sky and I knew that you were real—that there was nothing fake about you—and that everything that I had been feeling was real. Then when we made love, I felt the same way you did—as though I’d found whatever it was that had been missing inside of me. I think that’s why I always feel that I want to be a part of you when we make love. Because having our bodies joined and our souls touching makes me feel ... complete.”

  He pulled her closer and kissed her lovingly. “That means this really is forever, isn’t it? Even after this lifetime. We’ll always somehow find each other.”