“So it will pretty much be the same as it is now. I’ll just have to visit in the evenings instead of during the day.” Jana tried to smile, but Bryan could tell it was forced. She sniffled and tried to avoid eye contact with him.

“Jana, look at me.” She continued to glance around the room. “Jana, why won’t you look at me?”

She finally conceded and Bryan could see how red her eyes were from fighting back the tears.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?”

Jana wiped under her eyes with a fingertip. “I don’t know why I’m being such a baby. I’m just…really going to miss you!” Jana threw herself across Bryan and wrapped her arms around him. How he missed being able to hold her back and stroke her soft hair.

“What do you mean, you’re going to miss me?” he chuckled. “I’m not going anywhere. And it’s just like you said, we’ll still see each other practically every day.” As the words fell out of his mouth, Bryan knew they weren’t true. With school starting again tomorrow, a lot was going to change. Jana talked about seeing him every night, but Bryan knew between homework and activities, he’d be lucky to see her a couple times a week.

“Well, I gotta go. I have to be up early tomorrow.” Jana stuck out her tongue, making a face. “I’ll come see you right after school.”

“I can’t wait.” Bryan smiled.

“Love you,” she said. She bent down and kissed him good night. “Oh, hey Nedra,” she said, passing the nurse as she came in. “Take good care of him for me.”

“I will,” Nedra responded. “Good night.” She knelt down beside Bryan’s bed and emptied his leg bag into a large plastic container, which she then carried carefully into the bathroom and poured down the toilet. “These are things she is going to have to learn how to do. She knows that, right?” Nedra said, holding up the now empty container.

“Yes. She is very aware that any future we have together is not going to be exactly like the one we had planned. She said she’s ready to learn.”

“All righty,” Nedra said with a smile. “We’ll put the girl to work then.” She turned on the radio and began preparing Bryan for bed. “Do you mind the music?”

“Mind? Of course not! I love Kansas!” he said, referring to the song blaring through the speakers.

“Oh, me too,” Nedra agreed.

Bryan closed his eyes and let the music flow through him while Nedra filled a small, plastic tub with warm water and began washing him with a sponge.

“I miss this,” Bryan commented.

“Getting a sponge bath by a beautiful woman?”

Bryan laughed. “That part’s nice too, but no. I meant the music. I love music! Anytime I was in the shop, or in my car, or even just hanging out at home, I always had music playing. I usually had it so loud, I could feel the bass vibrating in my teeth. My mom didn’t care for it that much, but I loved to feel the music through my whole body. Now that I’m here, I can’t turn the music on, and whenever a nurse does, I don’t get a say in what we listen to.”

“I’m sorry. That’s rough,” Nedra said. She pulled off his compression socks to carefully clean his feet and in between his toes. “I’m the same way. I love, love music. I promise anytime I’m in here with you, I’ll make sure the radio is on. I’ll even let you pick the station once in awhile. Deal?”

“Deal!” Bryan said excitedly.

Nedra finished cleaning his body and moved up to his face. “Do you want a shave tonight?”

“Yes, please,” Bryan said. “But keep the mustache. I kinda like it.”

“Really?” Nedra asked, crinkling her nose. “I think they’re gross.”

“What? No way! Burt Reynolds? Billy Dee Williams? Those dudes rock the ‘stache!”

“Just because a handful of men can pull off the mustache look doesn’t mean all men should try.”

“Well, I want you to keep it anyway.”

“All right, it’s your face. But I can’t guarantee I won’t slip and accidentally shave there.”

Bryan gave her a dirty look and they both laughed. “So what kind of music do you like?” Bryan asked.

“Styx, Kansas, Moody Blues, you know, the good stuff.”

Bryan’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow,” he said. “I’m impressed. You actually have really good taste.”

“Don’t sound so surprised! I may be ten years older than you, but it’s not like I’m ancient. Now stop talking or I’ll cut you.”

Bryan held perfectly still while Nedra used the small tub to rinse off the razor after each stroke. “Babe” by Styx came on the radio and Nedra began to sing along quietly while she worked. She rinsed Bryan’s face and patted it dry, and then held up a small mirror for him to see.

“It looks great. Thank you,” he said before adding, “You have a really nice voice.”

Nedra smiled. “Thank you. I love to sing!”

“You should do it more often around here. It would probably really cheer up your patients.”

“Well, maybe I will. Now open.” Nedra held up his toothbrush and began brushing his teeth. “There, all ready for bed.” She bent down and kissed him good night. “Sweet dreams,” she said as she moved on to her next patient.

Bryan closed his eyes and let the music carry his thoughts to dreamland. He wished he could fall asleep to music every night. It was so much nicer than listening to snores from other patients or the constant beeping of machines.

The next morning, Carol Jean came into Bryan’s room while a nurse fed him breakfast.

“Hey, Mom, I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“Well, I just dropped off all your sisters at school and figured I would swing by and say hi before I need to get back to work.”

“How did drop off go?”

Carol Jean reached for the bowl of cereal from the nurse and took over feeding him. “Oh, just great,” she said, spooning a big, gooey blob into his mouth. “Becky is a senior, so she is so totally over this whole school thing. And of course Brenda has always hated school and can’t wait to be done. Glenda didn’t say two words to me all morning—she just glared. And Jenny was excited to see all her friends again from last year.”

Bryan smiled. He couldn’t believe how much he missed the normal, mundane, little daily parts of living at home. “Shouldn’t you be at the school, preparing lunch for 3,500 screaming, starving elementary school kids?”

“The bread is rising, the stew is simmering, the cakes are frosted, and the other ladies have everything under control. Besides, I wanted to come see my son. I feel like the last couple weeks with school and work starting again, I haven’t been here as much as I wanted to.”

“Well, it’s good to see you.”

“Tell me how things are going with physical therapy?”

“Really well. Slower than I’d like, but Dr. Estrada said we’re right on track.”

“Honey, everything in your entire life has been slower than you’d like.”

“Well, that’s true. Anyway, someone will be here to get me in just a few minutes if you want to come and watch.”

Carol Jean glanced down at her watch. “I can spare a few minutes.”

When Bryan finished eating, she set the bowl and spoon on his tray and dabbed his mouth and chin with a napkin. As if on cue, Ricardo entered Bryan’s room, pushing an empty black wheelchair.

“Have no fear, your ride is here,” he said, holding his hands out in front of the chair. “Good morning, Mrs. Carroll. How are you doing today?”

“I’m well, thank you,” she responded. “And please, call me Carol Jean.”

Ricardo grunted slightly as he hoisted Bryan into the chair. “Are you coming downstairs with us, Carol Jean?”

“Yes, I think I might.”

“So how is Bryan’s physical therapy going?” she asked the doctor once they arrived downstairs.

“Great! He’s made a lot of progress in the last few weeks since we began. He’s sitting up and keeping his head up without any problems, and he’s starting to gain some muscle back in his arms.”

“How are you doing that?” Carol Jean asked.

“Well, let me show you. We were going to start with arms today anyway.” Dr. Estrada picked up an ankle weight, eager to demonstrate Bryan’s progress. He placed it in Bryan’s curled hands, tying the straps around his wrist so they wouldn’t drop. He slowly assisted Bryan in moving the weights up and down. Having his fingers curled definitely helped with gripping the weights, since he couldn’t actually hold them on his own.

Carol Jean smiled as she watched the progress her son was making. “Well, I better get going,” she said. “Keep working hard!”

***

Several days later, Bryan bubbled with excitement to be going home for the first time. The nurse couldn’t feed him breakfast fast enough. The moment Glenn walked into the room, Bryan announced he was done eating.

“We’ll see you back here tonight. Have a fun day with your family, Bryan!” The chipper young nurse spoke enthusiastically, motioning with her hands.

“Does he need to be back by a certain time?” Glenn asked.

“Around 9:00 p.m. works well, so the night nurse can help get him ready for bed and everything, but there is no set time. After all, he is your son.”

Bryan and Glenn both thanked her as Glenn grasped the black handles of the wheelchair and pushed Bryan out of his hospital room.

“Wait, Dad, let me do it,” Bryan said. He placed his hands on the wheels and inched forward, all the way to the elevators.

“Bryan, that’s amazing!” Glenn said excitedly.

“I’ve been working really hard in physical therapy to move my own chair,” Bryan said.

Glenn resumed pushing once they reached the parking lot. Bryan was completely out of breath.

“Does it feel weird to be coming home for the day?” Glenn asked.

“A little,” Bryan admitted. “I’m so used to nurses checking on me every hour. It will be weird to be on my own today. I think the strangest part is that I’m only visiting. It seems weird to visit my own house, and then have to return to the hospital.”

“That part does feel a little strange. It’s also really smart, too. It will give you a chance to glimpse what life will be like when you do finally come home, and it will give your mom and I a chance to practice caring for you.”

The drive home was quiet and peaceful. Bryan watched out his window as all the familiar roads and houses flew past. Everything seemed so different now. Summer faded into fall, but life continued on as normal for most people, while he had been in the hospital for the last three months.

When Glenn pulled into the driveway, Bryan smiled at the sight of Grandpa Carroll standing on the porch. He leaned heavily on his canes, but straightened up quickly when he saw them arrive. Once Glenn parked, he removed Bryan’s wheelchair from the trunk and carefully transferred Bryan from the car to the chair.

“What took you so long?” Grandpa teased.

“Hey, Dad!” Glenn waved. “He’s all yours.”

Bryan looked from his dad to his grandpa, who winked in response to Bryan’s confused expression.

Once Glenn got both Bryan and Grandpa situated in the living room, he disappeared to work on the yard. Grandpa removed a catalog from inside his jacket and placed it on Bryan’s lap. Bryan looked down and his confused expression transformed into a smile.

“What’s this for?” he asked.

“Well,” Grandpa began, “after you placed fifth in that troubleshooting contest at school, they sent this catalog over for a discount on tools.”

“I remember,” Bryan said thoughtfully.

“Then you got in that accident so we never had a chance to order any car tools yet. I figured we better do that before that discount expires.”

Bryan’s eyes lit up, and then he paused. “I don’t really have money for tools right now, Grandpa. Besides,” he said, looking at his coned hands. “We don’t even know if I’ll be able to use them again.”

“Just in case, I’m buying.” Grandpa winked.

Bryan’s jaw dropped briefly. He hungrily eyed all the tools as Grandpa flipped through the pages. Grandpa dog-eared several pages until they had created quite a long wish list.

“You have $500 to spend,” Grandpa said, after they began combing the pages for a second time.

Bryan’s jaw dropped, but this time he didn’t recover as quickly. “Are you serious? Grandpa, that’s very generous of you, but that’s a lot of money.”

“I wouldn’t offer it if I didn’t have it,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Now go ahead and pick out your tools.”