Sammy pulled another chair next to the bed. He unpacked the hamburgers and fries onto a wheeled table at his elbow. Teddy sat in bed, arms crossed, chin tucked to his chest.
“I suppose you’re here to cheer me up.”
Sammy smiled at the kid’s attitude. He recognized a bit of himself from his first days of therapy. “Nope.”
Teddy’s head snapped up. “What are you here for?”
“To eat a hamburger.” Sammy took a big bite of his Big Mac. “Want some ketchup for your fries?” he asked around the bite. He unearthed some ketchup packets from under the napkins in the take-out bag and squirted them onto a napkin. Keeping his eyes on his food, he kept eating.
A few bites later he saw Teddy’s fingers reach for a fry. Then another. Sammy had nearly finished his burger when he heard the crinkle of the other Big Mac being unwrapped. He popped a fry into his mouth and met Teddy’s eye.
“You have no idea what it’s like.” Teddy’s tough exterior was melting in front of Sammy’s eyes.
He shrugged. “You’re right. I don’t.”
The kid choked on his bite. Sammy handed him a cup of water. “Everyone is always trying to convince me that they know what I’m going through. They don’t.”
“But I do know what it’s like to do hard things. Look, I’m not here to tell you that things won’t be hard. But remember, when things get hard, you’ve got people to lean on. Your mom and dad, your medical team. And now you’ve got me.”
“What do you mean?”
Sammy found a pen and tore a scrap of paper off the McDonald’s bag. He scrawled on it. “There. That’s my cell number. You can call me anytime.” He handed the paper to Teddy. “I’ll give it to your mom too, and she can call if you don’t feel up to it.”
Teddy stared at the slip of paper. “Why are you giving this to me?”
“So you can call me when you need to rant, or a burger. So you’ve got someone in your corner. Because that’s how I made it through my therapy. That’s how I’m doing anything at all—the support I receive every day.”
“Thanks.”
Sammy stood. “I’m gonna head out. But you be sure to use that phone number.” Teddy nodded, his face bright.
Out in the hall, Sammy leaned against the wall for a breath.
Melissa came toward him. “Thanks again for coming. It means a lot to me.” She stood next to him. Her face had relaxed since Sammy walked in earlier. “I hope you don’t mind, but I eavesdropped a little.” She shrugged. “Overprotective, I guess.”
Sammy waved away her concern. “I get it. You don’t really know me.”Tell her. She deserves to know.The words moved through his mind, settled in his heart. He pushed off the wall. “Melissa, I need to tell you something.”
They walked the hallway as he explained about his head injury in the Army and the subsequent seizures. Then finally, he told her about what happened on the day of their accident. “If I’d taken my meds, I probably wouldn’t have had that blackout right before coming around the corner. I would have seen you sooner, braked quicker. I could’ve gotten you and Teddy to a safe place instead of nearly running you over.” He straightened his spine. Time to rip this Band-Aid all the way off. “It’s my fault that Teddy is lying in that hospital bed. I’m so sorry.”
Melissa folded her arms and looked steadily at him. A nurse brushed past them. Overhead, the PA called for Dr. Klein to report to the rehab room. Sammy forced himself to continue meeting Melissa’s gaze. She deserved that much.
“Sam. How could it have been your fault? I’m the one who hit that deer.” He started to break in, but she held up her hand to silence him. “No. I understand how you feel. I’ve blamed myself for this for so long too. But the truth is that the accident was just that—anaccident.” She leaned closer to him. “I’m sorry this has tormented you for so long. You were never to blame. In fact, you saved us that day. My son wouldn’t even be here if you hadn’t acted so quickly to get him out of the car.”
He rubbed his thumbs over his eyes. “I should have—”
“No. No more blaming yourself. You are forgiven by me, though I never blamed you, and by God, who knows your heart.” She began walking again, and he followed after her, ten thousand pounds lighter.
Their walk took them back to Teddy’s door. “I guess it’s time for me to head back home,” he said.
Melissa laid her hand on his arm, halting him. “I appreciated what you said to Teddy in there. You’re really good with kids.”
Her words penetrated through to his heart.
Yes. Yes, he was.
And just like that, his life seemed to snap into place.
sixteen
