Working It Out (A Romantic Comedy)

by Rachael Anderson

  “Listen, Seth, I think you’re a great guy, but you’ve got to stop doing this.”

  “Doing what?” He gave her a look of innocence, as though he really didn’t know.

  Grace resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Fine. If he wanted her to spell it out, she’d spell it out. “Asking me out, flirting, messing with me—you name it, you’ve got to stop. I. Don’t. Date. Patients. Okay?”

  “What about when I’m not your patient?”

  Grace felt like beating her head against the dashboard. If only he really were a door-to-door salesman so she could shut the door in his face and walk away. Couldn’t he see that this wasn’t a joke for her? That they were talking about her heart?

  Grace rested her head against the headrest and let out a frustrated sigh. “Why do I get the impression that you’re the type of guy who always gets what he wants?”

  “I wouldn’t say always,” Seth said. “But when I really want something”—He shot her a meaningful look—“I don’t give up easily.”

  Exactly what Grace was afraid of.

  SETH LEANED BACK in his rented wheelchair as Alec gave high fives to Garrett and Brandon. They’d just played a three-on-three game of basketball, and Alec, Garrett, and Brandon had pretty much slaughtered Seth, Owen, and their other friend, Ethan. Alec was good. Not only could he outmaneuver everyone, but ninety percent of his shots found their way into the net. For a guy who’d only played basketball for fun in high school, he definitely knew how to shoot—even after a ten-year hiatus. It was the reason everyone wanted him on their team.

  “Great game, guys,” Alec said to Garrett and Brandon. “You’re really getting the hang of those chairs.” Sweat dotted his forehead and soaked parts of his shirt, but he looked happy. If only Grace were here to see it. Much to Seth’s disappointment, she hadn’t shown up since that first game.

  Garrett stretched his legs out in front of him and rubbed his quads. He glanced at Alec. “I don’t know how you do it, sitting in that chair day after day. My abs are screaming and my legs are cramping.”

  “He doesn’t have a choice, idiot.” With his foot, Owen gave Garrett’s chair a playful push, twisting it to the side.

  Garrett shoved Owen’s foot away and twisted back around, glaring at his friend. “He knows I didn’t mean it like that. Right, Alec?” He suddenly didn’t look so sure of himself.

  “Yeah.” Alec leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “But Owen’s right, I don’t have a choice. Day after day, this is my life. I go out of my way to find wheelchair ramps, take up too much aisle space, and feel like a dwarf. Just leaving the house is a major production.” The feeling in the room thickened with discomfort. “But,” Alec added with a shrug. “I can kick everyone’s trash in a game of wheelchair ball, so it’s not without its perks.”

  The guys all chuckled, Seth included. In many ways, Alec reminded him of Grace. They had that same calm, almost stiff exterior that masked a dry sense of humor. When playing ball, Alec really let his guard down, and when he did, he fit right into the group. Seth couldn’t help but wonder what Grace would be like if she did the same. Something told him there would be no turning back for him if she did.

  Ethan stood to his full height of 6’6” and stretched his arms over his head. “I’ve got to get going. Thanks for putting this together, Seth. Want me to take the chair home again?”

  “If you’re planning to come Wednesday, then yeah, that’d be great.”

  Ethan made quick work of folding his chair before waving goodbye. The rest of the guys followed suit—with the exception of Alec, who wheeled himself to the opposite end of the gym and began shooting one ball after another, missing more than normal. Since Seth couldn’t lock up until Alec decided to leave, he folded his chair and left it by the door then walked across the gym to where Alec sat. The basketball hit the rim with a clang before slamming to the floor and bouncing toward Seth.

  He grabbed it and tossed it Alec’s way, standing near the basket to retrieve more balls.

  “It’s okay, I got them,” Alec said when Seth reached for another wayward ball.

  Seth tossed it back. “It’s no problem.”

  “Just like it’s not a problem for me to get it,” Alec said a little stiffly, as if offended. “It just takes me a little longer.”

  Seth stifled a smile. Yes, Alec was definitely Grace’s brother.

  When the next ball hit the rim and bounced to the far left, Seth jogged to grab it before chucking it toward Alec. “It would be a lot easier if you’d just make a shot.”

  “Says the person who just got his tail kicked.”

  Seth grinned as he retrieved another ball. Only this time, instead of returning it to Alec, he tucked it under his arm. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

  “What’s up?”

  Seth walked toward Alec and dropped down beside him, tossing the ball back and forth between his palms before throwing it to Alec once again. “So a friend of mine runs this afterschool program for kids, and somehow I got roped into organizing a couple of soccer teams. The city-league program officially starts in two more weeks, which gives me just enough time to put a few teams together and hopefully get some practices in before the first scheduled game.” He paused, wondering how Alec would react. “So how about it? You interested in coaching?”

  Alec’s eyes widened in a you-did-not-just-ask-me-that sort of way. “Me—coach soccer? Are you serious?”

  “Yeah. Grace said you were one of the star players for your high school team, so why not?”

  Alec shot Seth a look of annoyance. “Because you need legs for soccer, Seth. How am I supposed to teach a bunch of kids how to play when I can’t move mine?” Without really aiming, Alec hurled the ball at the basket. It bounced off the backboard and careened the opposite way, filling the silence with a reverberating sound every time it hit the ground. Alec watched it go with a frustrated look on his face.

  Seth didn’t move to retrieve the ball this time. Instead, he studied Alec, wondering how they’d gone from joking around to this. For the first time since he’d met Alec, he felt like he was seeing the guy who’d walked out on Grace that day in her clinic.

  “What’s really eating at you?” Seth said.

  Alec threw up his hands as though Seth should already know. “I just hate being reminded of what I can’t do. I used to ski, play basketball, rock climb, run triathlons, and”—He shot Seth a look—“play soccer.” He shook his head in a gesture of frustration. “Now I can’t even coach a youth soccer league.”

  Wow, talk about pent-up frustration. Seth studied Alec for a moment, resting his elbow on his bent knee. “You know what amazes me?” he finally said.

  “What?”

  “That there really are no insurmountable challenges.”

  Alec rolled his eyes and groaned. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to give me a pep talk right now, because I get enough of that from Grace.”

  “Take Beethoven, for example,” Seth continued as if Alec hadn’t said anything. “He lost his hearing but ended up composing some of the most brilliant music in history. Claude Monet went blind in his old age but continued to paint. Then there’s Stevie Wonder, Michael J. Fox, Stephen Hawking—”

  “Don’t you dare say Christopher Reeve.”

  “And Christopher Reeve.” Seth grinned. “Not to mention all those athletes who compete in the Paralympics year after year or people who go on to live regular lives, filled with a good job and a family they love.”

  “Your point?” Alec said, probably ready for Seth to be done.

  Seth shrugged. “All I’m saying is that a whole lot of people have taken away your excuses to wallow. So stop it already.”

  “Excuse me?” The scathing look Alec directed at Seth had him worried he’d gone too far. But what Alec needed was a good kick in the butt, and Seth wasn’t about to back down.

  “C’mon, man, there’s no reason why you can’t do anything you want to do, including coaching a
youth soccer league or getting back into skiing or whatever it is you want to do with your life. You just have to be more creative. Thousands of people have done it.”

  For what seemed like forever, silence descended, making the enclosed gym feel claustrophobic. Alec sat in his chair with a half glare, half sullen look on his face. “Grace put you up to this, didn’t she?”

  “No, but I see the way she worries and stresses about you. I saw tears in her eyes the day you charged out of your workout with her, and I’ve seen how happy it’s made her that you started playing ball with us regularly.” Seth glanced at the ball resting on the floor at the other end of the gym and sighed. “It’s not all about you, you know. The way you choose to live your life affects those close to you as well.”

  Alec let out a breath and slouched against the back of his chair. When his eyes met Seth’s again, he looked resigned. “You’re right. Grace deserves better from me.”

  “And you deserve better from yourself.” Feeling like he’d said all that needed to be said on the subject, Seth hopped to his feet and jogged to retrieve the ball, tossing it once more toward Alec. “So how about a compromise? If you agree to coach from your wheelchair, I’ll do the same. We’ll make it a competition and see whose team has the most wins at the end of the season.”

  The corners of Alec’s mouth tugged into a slow smile, and something sparked in his eyes. “Haven’t you learned anything from playing basketball with me? You’d never win. So do your team a favor and even the playing field by standing on your own two feet. I’ll figure out a way to teach those kids soccer.” With that, Alec swished the basketball into the net.

  Seth grinned, feeling like the shot was a turning point—a good turning point. Maybe now Alec would stop looking at his disability as something that made him unequal to the rest of the world and start seeing it for what it really was: a chance to prove that he could still do everything he wanted to do.

  “You’re on,” Seth said. “And may the best coach win.”

  “Oh, I will.”

  MUSIC BLARED FROM an open window in Alec’s apartment, making Grace stop short. She glanced up in awe. All of the blinds and windows were wide open, letting in the fresh, damp air. It had been two weeks since she’d dropped by, and she suddenly wondered if she was at the right place. A quick glance at the numbers on the door assured her she was.

  The overcast sky suddenly seemed sunny and bright.

  With a smile, Grace balanced the bag of groceries on her hip as she shoved her spare key into the lock, knowing Alec would never hear her knock over the music. Besides, she’d sent him a text earlier letting him know she was coming. Ever since Alec had agreed to keep playing ball with Seth, Grace had taken a step back, hoping that Seth could work even more magic.

  Evidently he had.

  Inside, a wonderful smell filled the apartment, reminding Grace of the Sunday dinners her mom used to make. She walked across freshly vacuumed carpet to the kitchen where everything seemed to sparkle and shine, like a Mr. Clean commercial.

  Wow.

  “Hey, sis,” Alec said, wheeling himself down the hall toward her. His hair was freshly cut, his face shaved, and his clothes ironed. Actually, based off the tag hanging from his sleeve, they were new.

  “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” Grace tugged the tag free and glanced at it. A fifty dollar shirt from Nordstrom. Her eyes widened.

  “You can put those groceries away because I made dinner,” Alec said as he wheeled past her. “Baked ziti with extra cheese—your favorite.”

  Grace trailed behind, blinking as he pulled a small casserole dish from the oven, followed by a loaf of French bread wrapped in foil. Her heart constricted. “You went grocery shopping?”

  “I didn’t have much of a choice,” he answered, his tone teasing. “You let my cupboard get bare, and I was hungry.”

  “And your clothes.” She pointed. “They’re new. Did you order them online or . . .” She let the question die off, not daring to hope that he’d actually left his house to purchase clothes.

  “The salesperson I met at Nordstrom was really helpful. Do you like what she picked out?” He glanced down at his clothes. “Oh, and my socks are new too. I’d wiggle my toes to show them off if I could.”

  Sure enough, his socks looked new as well—and completely ridiculous with green and yellow stripes. Grace withheld the laughter bubbling up inside her. “Was the salesperson colorblind?”

  He frowned and looked at his feet. “Actually, I picked these out. You don’t like them?”

  “They’re just, uh . . . very colorful,” she finished lamely.

  Alec grinned. “They also smell way better than my other ones.” He slid his hands under one leg and lifted his foot. “Want to take a whiff?”

  Graced eyed him with a raised eyebrow. “You seriously want me to smell your socks?”

  “Sure, why not?” He grinned.

  “You’re mental.”

  Alec chuckled, and a wonderful happiness weaved its way into Grace’s heart, warming and swelling it. Grace suddenly felt like she’d been transported back in time—back to the day when Alec constantly smiled and teased and made everyone laugh. When he’d fill her locker with water balloons, laugh hysterically when they burst on the ground around her, and help her clean up the mess afterwards. When he’d pull out his guitar and change the lyrics of popular songs to something ridiculous. When he was—well, Alec.

  Grace didn’t realize how much she’d missed him until now.

  She wanted to throw her arms around her brother and shout, “Welcome back!” She wanted to call her parents to share the good news. And she wanted to call Seth to tell him thank you, thank you, thank you.

  Looking back, Grace couldn’t believe how much she’d misjudged Seth. He was like a tree feller, crashing through the forest with a machete and slicing down trees. At first she’d considered it a massive disturbance and catastrophe, but not anymore. Now it felt like he’d had a purpose all along. Like he’d been clearing dead wood to make a path to a beautiful new place—a place she never wanted to leave.

  Grace turned away and blinked tears from her eyes as she took her time emptying the bag of groceries. By the time she’d finished, she had her emotions in check and could sit across the table from Alec without letting him know how affected she really was.

  “So I’ve been thinking about giving skiing another try,” Alec said as they ate.

  All happy thoughts left Grace’s mind as her eyes flew to her brother. “What did you say?”

  Even though it had been ten years, the image was still there, clear and crisp as ever. Alec’s broken and bruised body bent in a way a body shouldn’t bend. Two strangers lifting him onto an ugly orange sled so a snow machine could carry him down the mountain to a waiting ambulance. A doctor who didn’t know Alec or understand how much he needed his legs pronouncing him a paraplegic.

  And now Alec wanted to give skiing another try.

  “Seth was telling me about his heli-skiing trip and how they’ve taken up paraplegics with sit skis. I guess they had a bunch of pictures of one guy doing it. Anyway, it got me thinking, you know? Seth even did some research and found a company not far away that could fit me to one.” Alec looked so excited, so animated. His face was practically glowing. “I know the season’s pretty much over, but I was hoping you wouldn’t mind giving me another try at working out so I could be ready for next season. I could really use your help getting my lazy butt back in shape.”

  The warm bite of French bread turned to pasty sawdust in Grace’s mouth. She swallowed, forcing it down then quickly chasing it down with some large gulps of water. How long had she ached to hear her brother say he wanted to get his body back in shape? But not so he could go skiing again—especially not heli-skiing. What had Seth been thinking to suggest that? He’d just torn his ACL, for crying out loud, and now he wanted her brother to give it a try?

  This was all so wrong. So completely wrong. Evidently Seth wasn’t
content to leave her beautiful, new, and happy place alone. He had to take his machete to it once more and ruin everything.

  Once a wreaker of chaos, always a wreaker of chaos.

  “Seth was also telling me about these wheelchair mountain bikes they make,” Alec continued as if Grace’s world wasn’t caving in around her. “They have four wheels so you have to find wide trails to take them on, but they’re made specifically for paraplegics.”

  Enough! she wanted to scream. I don’t want to hear anymore. What was Alec saying? Why would he want to risk becoming a quadriplegic—or worse, die? Wasn’t paraplegia bad enough?

  Grace suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

  “So,” Alec prompted. “If I promise to be a better patient, will you work out with me?”

  Grace glanced at him, wanting to tell him that yes, she would, but not so he could further injure himself. How could he expect her to agree to that? But it had been too long since she’d seen the excitement in his eyes, the happiness, the will to do something with his life. She refused to be the one to crush it.

  No, she’d leave that honor to the machete-carting Seth.

  “Of course,” she said.

  Cold and wet, Grace fisted her hand and pounded on the door, wanting to knock it down, as well as the man on the inside of the beautiful Craftsman style home. Darkness had fallen, and the pouring rain had not only made it difficult to find his house, but had given her anger more time to grow. Over and over, she banged, letting all of her frustration and fear unload on the pristine, white wooden door.

  The door flew open, revealing Seth’s surprised face. He wore a snug-fitting t-shirt and jeans with bare feet sticking out beneath the hems.

  “Grace? What are you doing here?” he said. “Not that I’m not happy to see you or anything—just totally surprised.”

  Both of her hands clenched at her sides. “How could you!” she said. “How could you bring my brother back from the dead only to send him to an earlier burial! How could you!”

  Seth’s hands rose slowly, as if to ward off her anger. “Whoa, calm down, Grace. What are you talking about?”