by Karen Pokras
“What?” Ben asked, looking at Marc then Holly. “What about my therapy?”
“It’s a waste of time. You said so yourself. In fact, you should probably just go home. There’s a waitlist here for rehab rooms, and they’re supposed to be filled by patients who will benefit from our services.”
“You’re not supposed to say that,” Ben told him, his tone straining with a level of fear and concern Holly had never heard in her husband’s voice before.
She wanted to tell Ben everything would be okay. That Marc was only kidding, that Marc was only saying these things because he was trying to get him to continue his therapy, but the truth was, she wasn’t a hundred percent sure that was correct. What if Marc, through his therapy sessions with her husband, had come to the conclusion that Ben really wasn’t ever going to be able to walk again?
“Who’s going to help me get my mobility back?” he continued, a gruff edge now adding in to the mix of his fear and concern.
“Well, nobody. But it’s okay because you’ve already decided you won’t be walking again. So here,” Marc pushed his wheelchair right next to the table where Ben sat, “good luck to you, pal. I’ll go get your discharge papers started.” He patted him on the shoulder and began to leave the room.
“Wait!” Ben called out.
Holly caught a glimpse of a fleeting smile cross Marc’s lips as he stopped at the doorway just before he turned back around with his previous stoic expression.
It was all a ploy. She let out a long, silent breath, realizing everything would be okay.
“Yes?” Marc asked.
“I need help getting back into my chair.”
Defeat swept over Holly. Was Ben really so stubborn that he’d rather be crippled? What about the promise he had made to her in front of Dr. Golden?
“You have two arms that work just fine,” he replied. “You’re going to have learn how to use them to get yourself in and out of that chair on your own if this is the life you’re choosing. There’s not always going to be someone around offering to help you, you know.”
Shaking his head, Ben’s scowl deepened. “Hol,” he said, his frustration growing. He held out his hand. “Do you mind? I just need to hold on to you for balance.”
She studied her husband as he sat there looking completely helpless. As much as it pained her, she looked straight back at him and said, “No.”
“Excuse me?” he asked. “Hol, I need help.”
“I know, that’s why we have Marc. To help you with the therapy you promised you would endure. Remember? For as long as it took, for as difficult as it would be, for not only you, but for us? For better or for worse. He’s here to help you.”
Ben put his head back down and sighed. “And you promised to support me when I needed help.”
“I’m trying to help you, babe,” she said, the all too familiar sting of tears starting to well in her eyes. “Can’t you see that? Twenty-four/seven since the accident, all I’ve done is try to help you.” She knew he was speaking out of frustration, but it didn’t make his words hurt any less.
“Forget it, I’ll do it myself.” Sliding his body sideways to line up perfectly next to the chair, he let out a loud grunt and struggled as he attempted to lift his body up and into the seat. Marc caught him before he fell to the floor and put him back on the table.
“Shit,” Ben whispered, a single tear now making its way down his cheek.
“It’s okay, babe.” Holly immediately ran to his side. “I’ll help you.”
“Here’s what I propose,” Marc said, looking Ben squarely in the eyes. “We’ll work on your arm strength and the proper way to get in and out of the chair. In exchange, you’ll keep your end of your promise to your wife and let me work on your legs. Deal?”
“I’m sorry.” Ben reached out to hold Holly’s hand. “Babe, I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean … you’ve been there for me every minute. You didn’t deserve … you don’t deserve—”
“I know. It’s okay,” she replied, resting her head on his shoulder.
“It’s easy to let your frustrations get the best of you,” Marc told him, “especially when you’ve been trying to work through this for as long as you have. But you need to trust me, Dr. Golden, your wife, and most of all yourself. They tell me you survived an accident you weren’t supposed to survive. That was the hard part. This part is easy, and like you said, I’m really the one doing all the work.”
Nodding, Ben squeezed Holly’s hand even tighter. “Okay.” He gave a determined nod. “You have a deal. Now let’s get to work.”
Chapter 35 – Tessa
Tessa paced nervously backstage as people raced around her: actors, hair, makeup, costumes, sets, sound, lighting. Every last detail had its own person on his or her own mission. It was a controlled chaos, but chaos nonetheless.
“Sweetheart,” Nicholas said, guiding her to the back room they’d set up as a post-production lounge, “everything is going to be perfect tonight. The cast is more than prepared, as is the crew. You’ve got a sellout crowd. There’s nothing left for you to do but shine. You, my love, have worked harder than anyone I know to get to where you are today. I couldn’t be prouder. Tonight is going to be a night to remember, with much to celebrate.”
“He’s right,” Ava said, already in the room, waiting to give her sister a hug. “I know you need to get back out there, but I asked Nicholas to steal you away for a few minutes so I could see you. Here, these are for you.”
The bouquet of roses her older sister thrust toward her were bigger than the size of her own head. “Av,” she said, trying to wrap her arms around all of the stems, “thank you. But you’re supposed to wait until after the show to give flowers. It’s one of those weird superstitious theater things.”
“Like break a leg? By the way, Tessa, I don’t think we should be saying that in front of Holly and Ben.”
“Ah, good point,” she agreed. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Speaking of,” Nicholas said, “I’m going to make sure Ben is set up okay. We have a spot cleared in the front row for his wheelchair. I’m so sorry Max couldn’t come tonight, Ava.”
“I am, too,” she said, mustering a smile. “Unfortunately, one of the other pilots called out sick at the last minute, so he had to fill in.”
“Well, no worries. We hired an amazing videographer, so he’ll get to see the show when he gets back in town.”
“Thanks, Nicholas. I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.”
“Darling, I’ll be right back. Try to relax, okay?” He kissed the only spot on Tessa’s face not blocked by the roses and headed out the door.
“These are beautiful, Ava,” she said, inhaling deeply, “thank you again.”
“You’re welcome, and I wanted you to have them now. You should be celebrating all night. Not just after the show. Nicholas isn’t the only one who’s proud of you. I am, too.”
Tessa carefully placed the flowers on a side table and hugged her sister. All these years she’d waited for Ava to say those words. Her oldest sister, the woman she idolized, the woman she could never live up to, the woman she loved so deeply … she was proud of her. Whatever else happened that night, Ava’s words would be a highlight of her evening.
“Hey, can I get in on this love fest? I hope you don’t mind, but Nicholas told me where you all were hiding.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” Tessa moved over to let Holly in to their now group hug.
“I feel like rock stars,” she said, as they broke apart slightly but still had their arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders.
“What are you talking about, Hol?”
“You know, like in all those concert documentaries we used to watch. The band always had a group huddle before they went on stage. Then someone said something inspirational, they thanked God, ran on stage, and rocked the house. Go ahead, Ava. You’ve always been good with that sort of thing. Plus, you’re sort of our leader.”
“Except, we’re not all goi
ng out on stage,” Ava reminded them.
“Thank goodness,” Tessa snickered.
“Hey, Tessa.” A woman wearing a headpiece popped her head into the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“No problem, Kay, what’s up.”
“I just wanted to let you know, everything is good to go. Oh, and the crew wanted me to tell you to break a—”
Tessa broke out into a loud fake coughing fit to stop her before she could finish her sentence. Looking confused, and rightly so, Kay shook her head and walked off.
“You okay?” Holly asked. “There are some bottles of water over there if you need it.”
“No, no,” Tessa said, giving one last robust cough for good measure. “I’m just fine. The theater is so dusty.” She spread her arms back out so they could get back into their group hug. “So something inspirational, right? I’ll go. Since this is sort of my gig. Thank you, to my fabulous sisters, for your unending support. I know I’ve asked a lot of favors from you both over the years.”
“A lot,” Holly said under a muffled cough, jumping to the side just as Tessa threw her elbow out toward her ribcage. “You’re right. It is dusty in here,” she teased.
“Mmm hmm,” Tessa responded. “I know I probably don’t tell you both enough how much I love, admire, and appreciate you, but I do. I wouldn’t be here tonight, if it weren’t for you both.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Ava said.
“Yeah,” Holly agreed. “As much as we’d love to take the credit here, you worked your ass off.”
“Mommy!”
“Sophie,” Tessa exclaimed happily, breaking away from the huddle. “What are you doing back here? Where are Grandma and Grandpa?”
“They’re still sitting out there with Jenna, Logan, and Ryan,” Sophie replied. “Nicholas said I could come back here to see you. I wanted to say good luck.”
“Thank you, sweetie.” Tessa knelt down to give her daughter a hug.
“You know, Sophie,” Holly told her, “in the theater, it’s bad luck to say good luck. You’re supposed to say break a leg.”
Ava and Tessa looked at each other with wide eyes and cracked up laughing.
“Did I miss something?” Holly asked.
“No,” Tessa said. “But thank you. I’ll take whatever well wishes I can get.”
Peeking his head back in the door, Nicholas called into the room, “We’re ready, everyone. Time to head to your seats.”
Chapter 36 - Tessa
Tessa beamed as she stepped into the lounge, now filled with vases of roses and a bottle of champagne. The cast and crew, high on adrenaline, crowded around her—barely giving her room to breathe as they waited for her to speak.
“You all were amazing!” Tessa said, popping the bottle open and purposely spraying the contents over those who had helped make the night a huge success. “I knew you would be spectacular, but what I witnessed out there tonight was … I don’t even know. What do you call something that’s better than spectacular?”
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?” Sophie asked, coming into the room on Nicholas’ shoulders.
“Yes,” Tessa laughed. “That’s exactly what tonight’s performance was. It was super … um, cali – fragil—”
“… isticexpialidocious,” Sophie said, finishing. “Mommy, can Logan, Jenna, Ryan, and I go collect all the flowers that were thrown on the stage?”
“Yes,” Tessa replied, “thank you.”
“Anyway,” she continued, watching her daughter leave the room, “I would like to extend my extreme gratitude to all of you. For as hard as I’ve worked, I know you’ve all worked ten times harder. That’s why my amazing husband arranged for us to have our cast party at Rocco’s tonight. We’ve got the entire place to ourselves. You all can head over, they’re expecting us with as much pizza and beer as you want.”
The cast and crew cheered as they high-fived and headed toward the door.
“But not too much on the beer side!” Tessa yelled over the roar of the crowd. “We’ve got another show tomorrow night, folks! Do you hear me? Hello?”
It was a pointless endeavor. By the time she finished talking, she was alone in the room with Nicholas.
“We’re going to have to go over there to babysit them, you know,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I think they’ll be okay for a little bit,” he said. “Besides, I kind of like having you here all to myself.”
“I do, too. But where is the rest of my family?” she asked, looking around.
“Your parents and Ava are with the kids on the stage, and Holly’s with Ben still out in the audience. I asked them to give us a few minutes to ourselves. I have something I need to talk to you about.”
“Okay,” she said. “You sound serious. It’s not bad news, is it? This night is too amazing to muddle it up with bad news.”
“No, my love, it’s just the opposite.”
Nicholas pulled a document out of his pocket and handed it to Tessa. After studying it for a moment, she looked at her husband with a huge smile across her lips.
“Is this what I think it is? How? When?”
“Remember when I followed Scott out to the parking lot last time he was here?” Nicholas asked.
“Yes,” Tessa said. “Yes, you said you went out there to give him a piece of your mind, and that you decided not to prosecute, out of respect for Sophie.”
“That’s right. When I first told him I knew what he did with the money, he denied it, of course,” Nicholas explained. “Then I showed him the pictures and the receipt for the television … and I mentioned that I’d spoken with his boss. The same boss he’s had all these years.”
“You didn’t tell me that part. I wish I could have been there to see the expression on his face. I miss all of the fun!”
“It was pretty fun. Especially when he started blubbering. Right there in the parking lot, and admitted everything, begging me to forgive him. I have to tell you, Tess. He’s not an attractive man when his eyes and mouth scrunch all together. I really think you made a better choice with me.”
“For so many reasons,” she replied, laughing. “So what did he say exactly?”
“Well, that he only contacted you because he saw that you’d come into money. Then I asked him if he’d ever had any intention of being Sophie’s father.”
“And?” she asked, raising her brows.
“He said he didn’t even know you’d had a girl until he saw her in the wedding picture.”
Tessa nodded. All these years and he’d never even cared enough to find out. “So I’m guessing you told him that if he signed the papers you wouldn’t prosecute.”
“No. It was never my intention to prosecute, and I didn’t want him to think I was blackmailing him. I was going to suggest he pay the money back directly to Sophie into a trust account we set up on her behalf. However, before I could get two words out, he said he was in no position to support her, and he could see she was happy having me around. He then said he wanted for me to adopt her, and was willing to relinquish all legal rights.”
“Just like that?”
“I was skeptical as well,” Nicholas said. “So I told him I’d have my lawyers draw up the papers and overnight them to him. He had them signed, notarized, and returned to me within the week.”
“And you never discussed prosecution?” Tessa asked.
“That’s the crazy part,” Nicholas said. “We never actually did.”
“So if he tries to contact Sophie again, we have that in our back pocket.”
“Exactly,” Nicholas said, “but I wouldn’t worry about him coming back again. He knows the evidence against him is stacked pretty high. Once the adoption goes through, I’d really like to just forget Scott Warren ever existed. I was dying to tell you, but I didn’t want to distract you until after opening night. My lawyer is drawing up the official adoption papers as we speak. That is, if it’s okay with you and Sophie.”
“Are you kiddin
g?” she asked, jumping into Nicholas’ arms. “Of course it’s okay. It’s what I’ve wanted all along, and I happen to know for a fact that Sophie will be thrilled.”
“About what?” Sophie asked, coming into the room with an armful of flowers in every color possible. “Mommy, aren’t they beautiful? Do we get to keep them?”
“Well,” Tessa said, pulling out a pink daisy, tearing off most of the stem, and tucking it behind her daughter’s ear, “we have to share them with everyone who worked on the play. But, you and Jenna, and the boys if they want, can pick out a few to keep.”
“Okay. They’re still collecting flowers on the stage. Aunt Ava said we weren’t allowed to come back here yet, but I snuck away to show you these. I’m not in trouble, am I?”
“Of course not, honey.” Taking the flowers from her daughter and putting them on the floor, Tessa knelt down with Nicholas next to her. “Actually, Nicholas and I need to talk to you. Do you remember what you said to me a while back … the last time Scott was here, right after he left? The part about who you wished your father was?”
Sophie looked a Nicholas and smiled before looking down at her fidgeting feet.
“It’s okay, honey. You don’t have to be embarrassed,” Tessa said, taking her hand. “We just want to be sure it’s what you really want.”
“You mean it can happen?” she asked, sounding confused. “You can make Nicholas be my real daddy?”
“If that’s what you want, then yes, we can,” she said, looking to her husband. “Is it?”
“Oh, yes!” she cried, throwing her arms around Nicholas’ neck. “That’s exactly what I want.”
Nicholas stood up and swung her around. “It’s exactly what I want, too, Sophie.”
Tessa wrapped her arms around her family. “It’s what I want as well. In fact, I think it’s the most supercalifragilisticexpialidocious idea ever!”
“Daddy?” Sophie asked, looking up at Nicholas.
“Yes, daughter?” he replied, his voice full of love and compassion.
“Do you think we can still get a puppy?” she asked sweetly.
