confusion, she clarified.
“Confession time. In my spare time I read the gossip mags. I’ve seen pictures of you two together ever since you were the ‘mystery girl’, right through to the pictures from your honeymoon. Sorry, I don’t know how that makes you feel… I never thought I’d meet anybody I read about.”
“OK, it’s a little weird to tell you the truth, but I read those magazines too. At least I used to. What are you getting at though?”
“It was just such a Cinderella story, but the photos were what always got me. The way you looked at him. The way he looked at you. If you tell me that those looks were just for the camera or something, I’m not sure if I could handle it. Us single women need those stories to be real once in a while, it’s the only thing stopping a riot.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Ellie, I’m in a pretty strange place right now.”
“Well, I know what to tell you. I’m telling you, give it a chance to be real or I’m going to break both of your legs,” she said with a smile.
“Haha, OK,” I laughed, but stopped when I saw Ellie’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Chapter 6
With my newfound hobby of walking without crutches, I gradually began exploring my neighborhood, getting to know all the side streets and what stores were where. Starting from my regular route to the supermarket and expanding from there, it wasn’t long before I felt reasonably well versed in the local geography and acquired some innate sense of direction.
On one such exploratory walk I was buying some fruit from a stall when I happened to glance across the street and saw a café. Above several outdoor tables on the side of the building was a sign that said ‘Holt’s’ and I thought about some of the things Doctor Jensen and Ellie had said to me.
After staring across the road for long enough that the man behind the fruit stall asked if I was OK, I reached into my pocket to find my phone. Now that I was properly on the mend with my own place (kind of) to retreat to and two working legs (mostly) I owed it to myself, or the Beatrice who had been in charge for the last eight years, to try to remember as much as I could.
I wrote a text to Jeremy that said ‘ Lunch at Holt’s? ’ and hesitated for a good solid minute, pressing a button every now and then to keep my phone from locking, before closing my eyes and pressing ‘send’. I had no idea what he was up to, he might even have been out of town on a business trip for all I knew, so I continued my little exploration up the street a little ways before I heard the beep and felt the vibration in my hand that meant a message had come through.
‘ I can be there in 15. That OK? ’
The clock on my phone said it was just after eleven in the morning, kind of an early lunch but I thought I might as well agree before I lost my nerve and changed my mind. Sending a text to that affect, I made myself busy trying to find something interesting to look at through store windows for ten minutes before I spotted Jeremy’s big black car slow to a stop in front of the café and him step out, looking from side to side expectantly.
Crossing the street carefully, I caught his eye and gave a wave, seeing his face light up as he returned it. He bent back into the car to say something to the driver, Stan I assumed but couldn’t quite see to confirm, before closing the door. The car pulled out and drove away as Jeremy stepped on to the sidewalk and waited for me.
My heart fluttered in my chest as I neared him. Ellie and Doctor Jensen were two people that I had only just met but in a way they were also my oldest friends. They both seemed to think it was important for me to give Jeremy a ch ance, to let down the walls I’d put up to keep myself safe. I didn’t know how exactly I was going to do that, but I was going to try.
“Wow, Bea, you look amazing! No crutches!”
“The new improved me,” I
“Confession time. In my spare time I read the gossip mags. I’ve seen pictures of you two together ever since you were the ‘mystery girl’, right through to the pictures from your honeymoon. Sorry, I don’t know how that makes you feel… I never thought I’d meet anybody I read about.”
“OK, it’s a little weird to tell you the truth, but I read those magazines too. At least I used to. What are you getting at though?”
“It was just such a Cinderella story, but the photos were what always got me. The way you looked at him. The way he looked at you. If you tell me that those looks were just for the camera or something, I’m not sure if I could handle it. Us single women need those stories to be real once in a while, it’s the only thing stopping a riot.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Ellie, I’m in a pretty strange place right now.”
“Well, I know what to tell you. I’m telling you, give it a chance to be real or I’m going to break both of your legs,” she said with a smile.
“Haha, OK,” I laughed, but stopped when I saw Ellie’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Chapter 6
With my newfound hobby of walking without crutches, I gradually began exploring my neighborhood, getting to know all the side streets and what stores were where. Starting from my regular route to the supermarket and expanding from there, it wasn’t long before I felt reasonably well versed in the local geography and acquired some innate sense of direction.
On one such exploratory walk I was buying some fruit from a stall when I happened to glance across the street and saw a café. Above several outdoor tables on the side of the building was a sign that said ‘Holt’s’ and I thought about some of the things Doctor Jensen and Ellie had said to me.
After staring across the road for long enough that the man behind the fruit stall asked if I was OK, I reached into my pocket to find my phone. Now that I was properly on the mend with my own place (kind of) to retreat to and two working legs (mostly) I owed it to myself, or the Beatrice who had been in charge for the last eight years, to try to remember as much as I could.
I wrote a text to Jeremy that said ‘ Lunch at Holt’s? ’ and hesitated for a good solid minute, pressing a button every now and then to keep my phone from locking, before closing my eyes and pressing ‘send’. I had no idea what he was up to, he might even have been out of town on a business trip for all I knew, so I continued my little exploration up the street a little ways before I heard the beep and felt the vibration in my hand that meant a message had come through.
‘ I can be there in 15. That OK? ’
The clock on my phone said it was just after eleven in the morning, kind of an early lunch but I thought I might as well agree before I lost my nerve and changed my mind. Sending a text to that affect, I made myself busy trying to find something interesting to look at through store windows for ten minutes before I spotted Jeremy’s big black car slow to a stop in front of the café and him step out, looking from side to side expectantly.
Crossing the street carefully, I caught his eye and gave a wave, seeing his face light up as he returned it. He bent back into the car to say something to the driver, Stan I assumed but couldn’t quite see to confirm, before closing the door. The car pulled out and drove away as Jeremy stepped on to the sidewalk and waited for me.
My heart fluttered in my chest as I neared him. Ellie and Doctor Jensen were two people that I had only just met but in a way they were also my oldest friends. They both seemed to think it was important for me to give Jeremy a ch ance, to let down the walls I’d put up to keep myself safe. I didn’t know how exactly I was going to do that, but I was going to try.
“Wow, Bea, you look amazing! No crutches!”
“The new improved me,” I
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