by Jessa Chase
“This cuff is going to help keep the socket in place. If you find this doesn’t work, we have other options, but this is the one most people go with around here so I wanted to give it a try with you. Did you bring the other shoe with you?”
“Yep,” Daniel said as he motioned to his backpack. Doug grabbed the twin tennis shoe to the one he was wearing on his right foot. He’d bought the pair and set them aside for when he’d be up on two feet again.
Doug tied Daniel’s shoelaces for him and finished with a paternal pat on the mannequin foot.
“How’s it feeling?”
“It feels....good. Weird, but good.” Daniel was amazed at how easily the process of getting the prosthetic on was, and how damn good it felt to have a weight pulling on his thigh again.
Doug chuckled. “Glad to hear it. Not going to lie, there will be times when you’re out and about and you’ll be swearing a blue streak with my name front and center. I’m not going to promise you that any of this will be easy or pain-free, just that it will be doable.”
“I’ll take doable. I’ve never been all that good with easy and pain-free anyway.”
“Good attitude. Okay, let’s get you up.”
Doug motioned to the bars on either side of Daniel’s chair. They extended behind him and in front of him and looked a lot like the ballet Barres in Claire’s studio. Doug provided pressure under Daniel’s armpits, but let him do most of the heavy lifting himself.
Daniel was glad to have the upper body strength to pull himself up, and as he did, Doug was deftly removing the chair from under him. In one smooth movement, Daniel was up. He was standing, without the aid of his knee walker.
He was standing.
“Holy shit,” Daniel exclaimed in a fast whoosh of breath.
“Good ‘holy shit’ or bad ‘holy shit’?”
“Good. Oh, my God, so good.” He winced then as the full pressure of his body pressed down on the prosthetic. “It’s a different feeling than the walker.”
“Yep, that’s totally expected. I’m actually glad to hear you were using the walker as much as you did because you helped toughen up the stump for this stage. You’d be amazed to hear how many people sit on their ass and skip out on their PT time. Makes everything ten times harder when they get to this stage.”
“I had a pretty strong motivator at home.” Daniel said. “She had me up and moving a lot more than I probably would have been if I’d been left to my own devices.”
“Yeah? Smart woman. Is she pretty too?”
He laughed. “The prettiest.”
“Then why are you talking about her in the past tense?”
Daniel sighed. “I was a tool.”
“How are you going to make it up to her?”
“Did your prosthetics license come with a counseling certificate too?”
Doug chuckled. “Hey, in case you hadn’t noticed, we take a whole-body approach to medicine around here. So take a step already, smart-ass, and tell me more about your girl.”
Daniel shifted his weight to his right foot and made the motion to move his left thigh forward. It felt all kinds of weird when he felt the prosthetic moving with him. He dragged the toe along the ground with his first step, but overall it was a successful motion.
“Almost perfect. A lot of this stuff will become more natural, and if you still struggle with the toe drop at your next appointment, we can fit you with a stiffer ankle joint. But damned if that didn’t look like you’ve been doing this all your life.”
“Thank you,” Daniel said, a fresh wave of tears sitting on the edge of his eyelashes and threatening to fall. “You have no idea how much being able to do this means to me.”
“I have some idea. Now take another step, and let’s brainstorm how you can convince that woman of yours that you aren’t always such a tool.”
CLAIRE
It was with a heavy heart that Claire met up with the mayor of Madelia. When she entered her office, Stacy popped up out of her chair and shook her hand, which only managed to make Claire feel worse than she already had.
She’d spent the last two nights fretting and crying and worrying herself sick, feeling guilty that she hadn’t stuck it out until the float project had been completed, but not seeing any way around it.
Not with Daniel acting like a jackass, telling her their night together had meant nothing. Had been a mistake.
“It’s good to see you, Claire!” Stacy said with a grin.
“I wish it was for a good reason.” Claire fidgeted with the bottom button of her blouse.
“Sit, sit.”
“I...well I am sorry to say that the float I’ve been working on with the Marmot Scout isn’t going to be done in time for the Lavender Parade.” Claire said it all in one rush of breath, as if afraid she wouldn’t be able to get it out any other way.
Stacy tilted her head, a look of confusion passing over her face that Claire took to mean the woman couldn’t understand why she would volunteer for something and then not complete it.
“It’s awful and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I wish there was a way to fix it, but I just...I’ve been thinking it through all night and I just don’t know.”
“I don’t understand, Claire.”
Before she could give any further apologies, Stacy cut her off and continued.
“The float is done. I went by the barn earlier this morning, in fact. Daniel showed it to me. It looks fantastic, I’m amazed at the teamwork, and the design is adorable. You guys really pulled it together.”
Claire was dumbstruck. Had Daniel continued on without her, after saying such awful things to her the night before?
Why would he do that, if he held such negative feelings toward her?
“I wasn’t aware,” Claire said after a moment of reflection. “I’m glad it’s done.”
Stacy studied the younger woman. “You should go by there, take a look for yourself. It’s pretty spectacular.”
“I don’t know,” Claire said quickly. She couldn’t imagine coming face-to-face with Daniel again so soon. She couldn’t imagine a scenario where that ended well.
“I happen to know that Daniel and Logan are spending most of today working in Mrs. Shuster’s diner kitchen, fixing up a few of her appliances.” She paused, gave a very telling look to Claire. “If you wanted a chance to look at the float without being bothered.”
Claire thought about it and nodded, then stood to leave the mayor’s office.
“Thank you,” she murmured as she left.
CLAIRE
She opened the barn door with hesitation, listening for any sign that Daniel might be inside. Even though she saw Logan’s truck was absent from the driveway, giving credence to the mayor’s claim that the boys were working at a job site today, she hesitated.
She hesitated and she hated herself for it. So what if the man had been cold and cruel to her the last time they’d spoken? This was her project after all. She had a right to check in on it whenever she wanted.
The barn door opened with an eerie creak, ending with a slap against the far wall. Claire stepped inside, noting the dust being stirred up in the air by the sudden influx of cool spring breeze.
She gasped when she saw the finished float sitting in the center of the barn. Daniel had done quite a bit since they’d had their argument. He must have spent the majority of the last two days in the barn, finishing it up.
Claire approached the float, her eyes trailing across the sturdy bones, alighting with joy on the decorations her little Marmot Scout had designed and helped cut out.
It looked wonderful. Any anger she’d had broiling inside of her in regards to Daniel evaporated, replaced with the satisfaction of seeing a completed project.
Surely it meant something, didn’t it, that he stayed behind and finished it? Even if he’d been intolerably rude to her, he completed the project that he knew meant so much to her.
Claire rounded the back-end of the float, examining the flat area where she and the children would b
e standing. A white piece of paper flapped gently in the breeze that continued to flow in through the open barn door.
It looked so out of place on the float that at first Claire couldn’t really process what she was seeing. She reached out a hand and plucked the paper from its perch, unfolding it along the crease.
It was a handwritten note, with her name at the top and Daniel’s at the bottom.
Claire:
I want to apologize to you in person for the way I treated you. I let the sour words of two old biddies who know your mother get to me, and I acted like an ass.
If you can see it in your heart to forgive me, I promise you that I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.
I’ll meet you where the parade route starts. Show me that beautiful smile if you aren’t too mad at me.
Love,
Daniel
P.S. I have flowers. My wise older brother told me you deserve them for putting up with me, and who am I to argue?
Chapter 11
CLAIRE
She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the bright morning sun, and scanned the faces in the growing crowd, looking for Daniel.
Claire had begun her morning with so much more hope and excitement than she’d felt since their argument, but the nervousness was now starting to overtake the happiness she’d been feeling.
A tight ball of nerves sat like a heavy lump in her stomach, taunting her with questions about the validity of his note.
What if he’d changed his mind since he wrote it? What if his remorse had been a fleeting thing, and he’d thought better in the interim? What if her mother had done something worse, something that threatened Daniel more than she already had? What if he decided she just wasn’t worth the headache?
She couldn’t let go of that niggling doubt, and so she stood, scanning the crowd. Anxious to find him, but also a little afraid of finding him and not liking what he might have to say.
“Everybody ready to go?” Stacy said as she headed Claire’s way. She was wearing a floral wrap dress that did slimming wonders on the middle-aged mayor. Between that and the fresh haircut she’d gotten especially for the parade, she was looking at least five years younger.
“I think we’re just about ready to go,” Claire said, a slight hitch in her voice. “Another minute, please.”
Stacy searched the younger woman’s face for a moment, before turning to look at the crowd.
“Okay, we can do that. Another minute, maybe two. The bagpipers up there aren’t all the way moved anyway, so you are good.”
Claire nodded, turning her attention toward the starting direction of the parade. Half a dozen of the older men of Madelia had formed a group a few years back, mostly with the intention of spending a few hours a week in rotating garages, drinking beer and avoiding their wives. From that had grown a fairly impressive bag-piping group, to the surprise of pretty much everyone.
They were dressed today in matching lilac-colored vests and smart black slacks, and their bagpipes could probably be heard at least two towns over.
Claire’s troop was scheduled to follow the bagpipers, with enough distance between them that she didn’t have to outfit her kids with hearing protection. As the music continued to drift further away from them, even she had to admit that it was probably past time for the float to get moving.
“Okay everybody,” she said as she pulled her Marmot Scout closer. “Is everyone ready to get on the float?”
Abigail spoke up then. “Can I stand up in front so I can see everybody?”
“Well, no. We have a special spot in the back of the float, where it’s flat and easy to stand. But I promise you’ll be able to see everybody from up there.”
“Does we all have to stand there?” Tommy asked with a sorrowful face.
“Yes, everyone has to stand where it’s safe, sweetie.”
He didn’t look terribly excited by the prospect of safety, but he didn’t argue any further either. Together with Claire, the troop toddled up the stairs hooked onto the float, and found their own spots to stand.
“We ready to roll?” Logan shouted from the front of the float. He’d met her at the start of the parade route, the float rigged onto the back of his truck. She’d anticipated seeing Daniel then, but had tried so hard to keep hope in her heart that she hadn’t mentioned it.
“I think so,” Claire said as she crouched on the float, nearly eye-to-eye with Logan as he stood on the sidewalk. “Yes. We’re ready.”
“Are you ready?” Logan lowered his voice, his words meant only for her. Before she could answer, he spoke again. “Did Daniel find you? Did he get a chance to talk to you?”
Claire shook her head. “I haven’t seen him, not since-”
“Since he lost his mind and acted like an ass?”
She laughed shakily. “Well, yes. He left me a note.” She handed it to Logan to read. She was a pretty private person when it came to relationships, but she also trusted Logan implicitly and knew he had a soft spot for her and Daniel’s relationship.
He sped through the words on the page before looking back up to Claire.
“He means every word of this. He’ll be here. If I have to drag his hide to the finish line myself, he’ll be here.”
Claire reached out and patted Logan’s shoulder. “Thank you for the sentiment. You’re a good guy, Logan.”
She could tell she’d flustered him with the compliment. He wasn’t a man overly used to people complimenting him, even though as far as Claire was concerned, he deserved it and so much more.
“Let’s get this show on the road then, alright?” he said with a little shake in his voice. Claire smiled and nodded her head as he turned and headed for the cab of the truck.
Claire stood and headed back to her troop, preparing them for the sudden movement of the float.
“Don’t forget to toss your candy out to everybody on the sides of the road. Don’t throw too hard, and try to aim by people’s feet. And, Jenny, please don’t eat anymore. It’s for throwing, not for eating! I promise you’ll each get a special surprise at the end of the parade.”
The children cheered, then shrieked as the float scooted forward along the parade route.
DANIEL
“Shit,” Daniel exclaimed as the black elastic sleeve slipped between his fingers and down to the floor for the third time. He wanted to swear more, hell he wanted to scream and shout and throw a hissy fit, but he knew it wouldn’t do him any good.
For once, he was trying to keep a level head about his situation, instead of making everything worse.
For once, he was trying so hard to be good, but what good was it doing him? What good was it doing anyone?
He was running late for the parade. He was anxious about the whole thing anyway, and being late was making it worse, which was making his fingers fumble more, which made him swear more.
Daniel bent down for the sleeve, grasped it tight in his fingers, took a deep breath and tried again. He held his breath as he pulled it up along the prosthetic, up over his knee, until it was snuggled tight against his leg. It did a good job of keeping his prosthetic secure, and overall it made him feel more secure. It was just a pain in the ass to put on.
It was the last in a series of steps he had to take anytime he got ready to walk. Even with practice, it took time, and the frantic beating of his heart was telling him he didn’t have any time left. Daniel scooted to the edge of the bed, flattened his shoes to the ground, and took another deep breath.
“I can do this,” he whispered to himself. “I can do this, because the alternative is bullshit, and I’m sick of bullshit.”
He pushed off of the mattress with the palms of his hands, wobbled for one panic-inducing moment before he regained his balance.
Chapter 12
CLAIRE
The parade finally hit the mid-point where they had scheduled a pause in the parade festivities, so that Claire’s Marmot Scout troop could get down and perform the dance they had been practicing s
pecifically for this event. The truck shuddered to a stop in the middle of the street. Ahead of them, the bagpiper group had moved far enough ahead that there would not be any competing music, and as they were the last group to go in the parade, there was no one behind them to hold up or annoy. It was spectacularly well planned, Claire mused to herself. So unusual for her funny little town.
“Okay, everybody, down the steps. And please be careful.” Claire stood at the rear of the group, and smiled when she saw Logan had hopped out of the truck and was leading the children to the front of the float. “Remember, everybody is here to see you and cheer you on. Don’t be nervous, just do like we practiced and it will be awesome. And don’t forget, I have a surprise for everyone after we’ve finished.”
“Is it ice cream?” Mason piped up.
Claire laughed. “It’s not ice cream, but I bet if you ask your momma she’d treat you to some at the diner after the parade is over.”
“Can we have ice cream too?” Abigail spoke then.
“Okay, ice cream for everybody will be on me at the diner after the parade. Let’s just get out there and dance your butts off, and worry about ice cream later, okay?”
When everyone was finally in position, she motioned to Logan, who started up the music to play out of the truck stereo. They were dancing to a much more modern song than she may have preferred, but Claire loved the lyrics and the beat fit the dance they’d learned flawlessly.
The children rose into their positions, and Claire was on cloud nine watching them as they performed. They weren’t perfect, but they all did extremely well.
Claire glanced at the crowd, her eyes again searching for Daniel. Talking with Logan had renewed her hope that he really would show. Maybe he was just running late. She was making a conscious effort to squash down the anxiety and insecurity that had plagued her for so long. She wanted to give Daniel a chance to prove her wrong.
