At times in Melissa’s life, she’d made rash decisions. Most of them had turned out okay. Sometimes not. Then sometimes she deliberated for so long that the opportunities passed her by.
She stared down at the crumpled letter in her lap. Not just crumpled but also tearstained. Her one and only friend had gone to the trouble to track her down, even after years of silence. Then Dani had known Melissa before her parents’ death. Afterward she’d moved into Dani’s place as a retreat. They’d finished school together. Then Melissa had entered the navy and what she had hoped would be a brand-new life.
And it had been, … until her accident.
Now she was at a crossroads yet again. And this time, once more, Dani offered a pathway open to Melissa. Back then Dani had pleaded with Melissa to continue staying with her and her father and to not go into service. She’d chosen the navy over her friend back then.
Now Melissa had a chance to choose Dani this time. She had spent many years building up a VA rehab center called Hathaway House—originally built to help her father regain a life after his own injuries had sidelined his military career. With the upstairs part of this center growing, Dani had quickly installed a veterinarian clinic down below. Then that was Dani; she couldn’t help herself from trying to save the world, one person, one animal at a time.
Just as she had tried to save Melissa back then, Dani was trying to save Melissa now.
She had refused back then, but now …
Looking around her four-person room, Melissa took in the apparatus attached to her bed, the wheelchair, and the crutches close by. The life she lived here, while recovering from her latest surgery, was filled with hopelessness at the thought of staying here. In reflection, going into the navy had felt like she was running away instead of running to a new future.
Now it felt the same again.
On impulse she picked up her phone and called Dani. When Melissa heard her friend’s voice, her throat closed.
“Hello? Hello?”
“Dani,” she finally got out.
Silence. Then Dani exploded, “Melissa?”
“Yeah,” she said, half in tears, half in laughter.
“Oh my, I’m so glad you called. I’d be even happier if you’ve filled out that application to come here.’
“No, I haven’t. At least not yet.”
“Please do it,” Dani pleaded. “We can help you here.”
“I don’t know if you can,” she whispered back. “I’m in pain all the time. The journey itself will be incredibly hard.”
“Yes, it could be,” Dani said quietly. “But, once here, we have specialists on staff who can help you.”
Melissa sniffled her tears back. She wanted to believe her friend. She really did. But hope was a little thin on the ground.
“Please,” Dani said into the phone. “Take a leap of faith. Let me help. Last time I pleaded with you to stay. This time I’m asking you to come. You needed someone back then and walked away. You need someone now. Please don’t walk away from me this time.”
Melissa took a deep breath and capitulated. “All right. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do,” Dani said. “Come. You won’t regret it.”