AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We get a surprise the week after he leaves though that reminds me what a wonderful guy he is. There’s a knock on the door mid-morning, and I answer it to discover a guy standing there with a clipboard, his van parked out the front. He tells me he has a delivery from a mobility center in the town, and asks me to sign. Puzzled, I scribble my name, then stare with a slack jaw as he lowers the tailgate and brings out something we’d never have been able to afford—an electric wheelchair.
Oh my God. I know who’s organized this.
The guy runs through how to charge and operate it, and how to fold it down, and I listen as best as I can while my head spins. When he’s done, I bring the chair inside and take it into the living room. Mum looks up from her crochet and stares at it.
“It’s from Kip,” I say, my voice squeaky with emotion. We both know it’ll mean increased freedom for her around the house, and maybe even when we go out, if I can figure a way to get it in and out of the car.
“Oh my God,” she whispers. “Seriously?”
I feel such a surge of love for him that it makes my throat tighten. “Are you going to try it?”
She takes one look at my face and bursts into tears.
After we’ve both wiped our faces, I help her up and into it, and we spend the next hour going around the house and garden, reorganizing the furniture so she has space to reverse and turn. Eventually she returns to her armchair, worn out from the excitement, and settles down for a doze, and I go out into the garden and message Kip, asking him to call me when he’s free. He comes back within five minutes.
“Hey you,” I say, still feeling emotional. “Mum’s spent the previous hour zooming about the house in her chair.”
He chuckles. “Oh, it came? Is it okay? It’s not too big? I went for one of the slimmer ones.”
“It’s amazing, Kip. I don’t know what to say.”
“Next time I’m up, we’ll take a look at your car,” he says. “Luckily you’ve got an SUV. They told me you can get a bumper-mounted rack on the back and then you just hook the wheelchair onto it. Or we can get you a ramp. I don’t want you putting your back out trying to transport it, but I thought it would be nice for you both if she could use it while you go along the waterfront or around the gardens.”
Tears run down my face. “You shouldn’t have,” I whisper. “But I really appreciate that you did.”
“I’d do anything for you,” he says simply. “Silly girl.”
*
Mum and I soon slip back into our normal routine. Kip messages me all the time and calls me most evenings, and we spend hours on the phone, talking about our day, and what we’re going to do the next time we meet. He’s super busy, spending most of his days with Genica, working on MOTHER, as well as covering for Saxon, who’s working his socks off trying to get a lot of his work done before the babies come.
My work is busier than ever, which is good, because that takes my mind off him for a while. After my AMA on Reddit, I received an influx of requests from authors and publishers for interviews and reviews. Whereas I normally only do an interview once a week, I start doing them more frequently, and I up my social presence, too. My Kickstarter is going well, which means I should be able to refit the studio with a soundproof booth and buy some new quality equipment.
Kip comes up every other weekend in February and March and stays until Monday morning. Our feelings for each other show no signs of waning. He’s loving and affectionate, and we make love with the same ferocious intensity as always, enough to make me joke that I’m glad he only comes up every two weeks, because I need a fortnight to recover.
As April nears, I start getting excited, because Charlie’s coming home for Easter, and I’m going down to stay with Kip for a whole five days. Saxon and Catie’s twins are due any moment, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to see the babies, too.
I schedule a couple of interviews on YouTube for while I’m away, and do the same with TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, so I don’t have to worry about it while I’m with Kip. I also order a bunch of clothes online and do a little fashion show for Mum, choosing our favorites for my holiday.
On the evening of the Friday before Easter, Kip finally calls and says the big moment has arrived, and Catie has gone into labor. I’m relieved when he finally messages the next day to say she’s had the babies, two healthy boys they’ve called Aidan and Liam. I’m super excited at the thought of being able to hold them when I go to Wellington! Well, it’s not often you get a chance to get your hands on newborns.
Kip spends the day at the hospital with them, helping out where he can, and then I get an amusing drunk text from him in the evening—apparently Catie sent Saxon home with him to ‘wet the baby’s head’, which basically means knocking back a few whiskies and then passing out in front of the TV.
On the Thursday before Good Friday, Mum and I finally go to pick Charlie up from the airport, as she agreed to Kip’s offer of a flight this time. I’m spending the weekend with her and Mum, and then I’m flying to Wellington on Easter Monday to be with Kip.
I smile as she appears through the gate and walks toward me. Then my eyebrows lift in surprise. She’s lost weight since the last time I saw her, and normally at this time of year we’re both nut-brown after spending weeks in the sun, but she’s a pasty white, with dark shadows under her eyes.
“She doesn’t look well,” Mum says, concerned.
I don’t reply, frowning as she runs up and gives Mum a big hug. “Hey!” she says. “I’ve missed you both so much!”
Mum hugs her back, and then Charlie comes and hugs me.
“Hey, sweetie.” I step back and hold her arms as I look at her. “How are you doing?”
“I’m okay!” She pins a smile on her face.
“Did you enjoy the flight?” I ask as we make our way out of the airport, Mum driving herself in her new wheelchair, while I pull Charlie’s case for her.
