wanting to see us, but I don’t know how he’ll react to having two extra people hanging around for two days.”
Callie snorted. “If he’s been honest this whole time, he’s going to be ecstatic. Today is what, the seventeenth?” They all nodded, and Callie continued, “So you’re leaving a week from today?”
“Yeah. This is our last weekend before I’ll see him.” Tara laughed nervously.
“Well,” Rebecca said, “Let’s get our Twilight fix and make it a memorable one.”
They raised their glasses and Tara turned the movie back on.
Chapter 9
The next week dragged by. Michael called her on Wednesday, but their conversation was a short one. Two more letters arrived, both telling her about his therapy. The prosthesis was causing some pain, but he was dealing with it. He was apparently still struggling through his psychiatric sessions. Tara noticed the tone of these letters was slightly more upbeat, though, so she was hopeful that he would be pleasantly surprised by their visit. She had everything packed on Thursday. Each day she got a little more nervous and apprehensive. By Saturday morning, when it was time to leave, she was a wreck. The drive was fairly short, less than four hours, and she was grateful for the directions Callie had given her. Callie had gone to see her fiancé when he was there, and Tara was glad she had first-hand directions to follow.
Assuming traffic was reasonable, she should arrive at the hospital sometime before noon. Dr. Walters had cleared Michael for visitors and had put Tara’s name on the list so she could get on the compound. She’d told Tara that Michael didn’t have any sessions until Tuesday, so he was basically on his own for the weekend.
The drive wasn’t too bad since Madelynn spent the bulk of it watching a princess movie with her pink monkey, Ted. Why she’d named the monkey Ted, Tara would never know, but Ted’s safety was important to Maddie, so he was belted into the vacant seat beside her. Shortly before they arrived, Madelynn’s curiosity kicked in.
“Mommy, what’s your friend’s name?”
Tara glanced at Madelynn in the rearview mirror, surprised that she’d forgotten to tell her. “His name is Michael.”
“Do you think he’ll like Ted?” Madelynn asked, eyeing her monkey worriedly.
Tara smiled. “I think he’ll like Ted just fine. Are you excited to visit Michael and have Christmas with him?”
Madelynn frowned and looked down. “I wish Michael could come have Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa like us.” She looked up at Tara as inspiration struck. “Mommy, because he’s sick, we’ll go see him, but maybe next Christmas he can be better and come see us!”
Tara smiled, proud that she’d raised such a compassionate little girl. “I think that’s a good idea, honey. Maybe we’ll ask him when we see him.”
* * * *
Mike struggled down the hallway to his room. He’d been trying to walk more and more each day, and the trek to the cafeteria on the first floor proved to be good exercise for it. But after a week of making the walk to and from the cafeteria three times a day, he was sore. He was in a foul mood because of it too. How was he going to manage to hold down a job if he couldn’t walk or stay on his feet? Who the hell was even going to hire him? Dr. Walters had said to expect good things during the holidays, but even that had pissed him off. What the hell could he expect? A special meal in the cafeteria that was just a different kind of disgusting than the rest of the year?
He hated to be the bearer of bad news for them, but calling it turkey or cranberry salad didn’t make it taste any better. He thought frequently that he’d give his good leg for a large pizza with everything on it. Lt. Paulson had promised him a plethora of junk food, but he wasn’t coming to visit until after the New Year.
Mike tried to be optimistic. Madelynn would open his presents to her in a couple of days, and he’d told Tara he would
Callie snorted. “If he’s been honest this whole time, he’s going to be ecstatic. Today is what, the seventeenth?” They all nodded, and Callie continued, “So you’re leaving a week from today?”
“Yeah. This is our last weekend before I’ll see him.” Tara laughed nervously.
“Well,” Rebecca said, “Let’s get our Twilight fix and make it a memorable one.”
They raised their glasses and Tara turned the movie back on.
Chapter 9
The next week dragged by. Michael called her on Wednesday, but their conversation was a short one. Two more letters arrived, both telling her about his therapy. The prosthesis was causing some pain, but he was dealing with it. He was apparently still struggling through his psychiatric sessions. Tara noticed the tone of these letters was slightly more upbeat, though, so she was hopeful that he would be pleasantly surprised by their visit. She had everything packed on Thursday. Each day she got a little more nervous and apprehensive. By Saturday morning, when it was time to leave, she was a wreck. The drive was fairly short, less than four hours, and she was grateful for the directions Callie had given her. Callie had gone to see her fiancé when he was there, and Tara was glad she had first-hand directions to follow.
Assuming traffic was reasonable, she should arrive at the hospital sometime before noon. Dr. Walters had cleared Michael for visitors and had put Tara’s name on the list so she could get on the compound. She’d told Tara that Michael didn’t have any sessions until Tuesday, so he was basically on his own for the weekend.
The drive wasn’t too bad since Madelynn spent the bulk of it watching a princess movie with her pink monkey, Ted. Why she’d named the monkey Ted, Tara would never know, but Ted’s safety was important to Maddie, so he was belted into the vacant seat beside her. Shortly before they arrived, Madelynn’s curiosity kicked in.
“Mommy, what’s your friend’s name?”
Tara glanced at Madelynn in the rearview mirror, surprised that she’d forgotten to tell her. “His name is Michael.”
“Do you think he’ll like Ted?” Madelynn asked, eyeing her monkey worriedly.
Tara smiled. “I think he’ll like Ted just fine. Are you excited to visit Michael and have Christmas with him?”
Madelynn frowned and looked down. “I wish Michael could come have Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa like us.” She looked up at Tara as inspiration struck. “Mommy, because he’s sick, we’ll go see him, but maybe next Christmas he can be better and come see us!”
Tara smiled, proud that she’d raised such a compassionate little girl. “I think that’s a good idea, honey. Maybe we’ll ask him when we see him.”
* * * *
Mike struggled down the hallway to his room. He’d been trying to walk more and more each day, and the trek to the cafeteria on the first floor proved to be good exercise for it. But after a week of making the walk to and from the cafeteria three times a day, he was sore. He was in a foul mood because of it too. How was he going to manage to hold down a job if he couldn’t walk or stay on his feet? Who the hell was even going to hire him? Dr. Walters had said to expect good things during the holidays, but even that had pissed him off. What the hell could he expect? A special meal in the cafeteria that was just a different kind of disgusting than the rest of the year?
He hated to be the bearer of bad news for them, but calling it turkey or cranberry salad didn’t make it taste any better. He thought frequently that he’d give his good leg for a large pizza with everything on it. Lt. Paulson had promised him a plethora of junk food, but he wasn’t coming to visit until after the New Year.
Mike tried to be optimistic. Madelynn would open his presents to her in a couple of days, and he’d told Tara he would
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