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“Yeah. I said you were annoying when you were right, and he said you were pretty, and that made up for it.”
My lips curve up, just a little. “Come on,” I say softly, “let’s get you in the car. Then maybe we’ll get a pizza. What do you think?”
“Aw, yeah.”
I don’t get takeaways very often. Money’s tight, even though my mother helps out where she can. I still have a good bit of Finn’s insurance payout, but I refuse to touch that for myself, and I only dip into it if I need to buy him a new uniform, or anything else for school. But tonight I’ll make an exception.
After he’s in, I lift the chair into the back, then get in the driver’s side.
“We’ll get a large one each,” I say as I start the engine, “and chicken wings, what do you reckon?”
“And onion rings?”
“Yeah, and all the dips, right?”
“I can’t wait. I’m starving.”
Smiling, I ease the car into the traffic.
I know I shouldn’t place too much importance on Alex’s comment, but my brain refuses to stop thinking about it.
He thinks I’m pretty. Well, that’s better than a kick in the teeth, anyway.
*
I don’t see him the next few sessions, and Juliette finally reveals he’s in Wellington, working with his friend, Damon. It’s July now, over six months since the accident. Finn is making good progress, she assures me. He’s regaining muscle movement and feeling, albeit slowly, and she says it’s a good sign. His strength and stamina are improving, and he can now get himself from his bed or a chair and into his wheelchair, and vice versa, which is something he couldn’t do before.
They teach him how to weight shift to change the pressure on different parts of his body, and encourage him to be more independent with his bathing and dressing. I gradually learn to step back, even if he’s getting frustrated, and only step in when he gets completely stuck.
The following Friday, I arrive a few minutes before four thirty, ready to pick Finn up, and walk into the treatment room to see Finn already in his wheelchair.
“All done?” I ask.
“Yes, it went well,” Juliette says. “And because of that, we’ve got a special surprise for him.”
I look at Finn, who shrugs but looks interested.
“Come on,” Juliette says, taking his chair and steering him to the door. “Follow me.”
She leads the way along the corridor toward Alex’s office. As we near, I can see him behind his desk, although he’s looking at something on the carpet behind him. I go ahead and knock on the door, and he looks up and gestures to come in, so I open the door, standing back to let Juliette and Finn go past me.
“Hello,” he says as I let the door swing shut.
“Hey. Juliette said you wanted to see us?”
“Yeah.” He looks at Finn and, to my surprise, gives him a mischievous smile. “Got a surprise for you.”
“Oh?” Finn looks puzzled.
Alex bends and picks something up, then gets to his feet and turns around. He’s holding the cutest Golden Retriever puppy in the world.
Finn inhales deeply and his jaw drops. “Oh my God.”
Alex walks around his desk to stand before us. He smiles at Finn, and then he holds the puppy out and puts her on Finn’s lap.
The pup is all elbows and feet, just like Finn. She clambers all over Finn, then puts her front paws on Finn’s chest and stretches up to lick his chin. Finn laughs, then squeals as the puppy nips his fingers. “Naughty girl!”
Alex picks up a canvas chew toy in the shape of a hedgehog and passes it to her, gently pushing the puppy away from Finn’s fingers. “No biting, Zelda!”
