Lance’s arrival seemed to be just one more blip in the long day, both his stamina and his patience put to the test as he waited at Hathaway House to be admitted. The chaos at the front reception desk did little to ease his own insecurity about his arrival here or his confidence in his decision. In the back of his mind he couldn’t help but remember that Iain was a joker of the highest order. What if he had been joking with all those emails back and forth, with the photos that had inspired a little flicker of hope in Lance’s seemingly hopeless situation?
Again he thought, Those pictures could have been easily altered by Photoshop. They could have been doctored enough to make it look like Iain was something he wasn’t anymore. Although that would have been a joke gone too far. Lance had even asked him outright, and Iain had tried to alleviate his fears, but it was hard. Miraculously Lance’s application had been accepted, and he was now committing to a massive change in his world, and it was all because of Iain. Lance knew Jaden was here too, and maybe that was a good thing.
Lance currently sat in a wheelchair, shaky from the long trip, parked off to the side of the reception area, a big man, an orderly, holding on to Lance’s chair.
Just then a whistle broke through, and a small woman stepped from her office off to the side, and, with a glare, said, “What is going on here?” The receptionist looked relieved as she stepped forward.
“Dani, we have a problem. Steven here is trying to leave, and Jonathan is here to check in. But Steven isn’t supposed to go until tomorrow, at least according to my records. Jonathan says he was supposed to be in today, but I’m not seeing it.”
Dani shook her head. “So, they’re assigned to the same room. Is that the idea?”
The receptionist nodded, blowing a strand of hair from her flushed face.
Dani looked at Steven and said, “Steven, we went over this. Today is Tuesday. Your bride is coming Wednesday.”
He frowned at her. “No, see? They told me Tuesday,” and he held up a cell phone.
She looked at the cell phone message. “Well, that may be, but you haven’t been signed out of here yet. The doctor only approved you to leave tomorrow. So, if you make changes to your arrangements,” she said, “you have to let us know.”
He looked at her, looked at his phone again, and said, “Oh. But this guy wants in today, so why can’t I just leave early?”
“I’m not saying you can’t,” she said, “but I have to get the doctor to sign off on this.” She turned to look at the new arrival. “And you must be Jonathan, correct?” She reached out a hand. He nodded and shook her hand. He was at least ambulatory from what Lance could see. She smiled and said, “So you’re a day early. How come?”
Jonathan shrugged and said, “I was supposed to spend the night in town, but the hotel didn’t have a room for me for some reason, so I took a shot and had a cab bring me straight here.”
“Figuring that we might have a room for you instead?” she said with a note of humor.
He had the grace to look ashamed. “I know I’m not expected until tomorrow.”
“No, you aren’t,” she said. “However, it’s not the end of the world. So why don’t you both go sit down and give us a chance to sort this out.” Then she turned and looked at Lance. She took several steps over, held out her hand, and said, “So, you’re a new arrival as well, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m Lance,” he said.
“Good,” she said. “You, I was expecting.” A note of humor was in her voice, and he was amazed that she had kept her cool as much as she could.
She said, “I’m Dani, and I run this place with my father,” she said, as she turned to the receptionist and said, “Melanie, Lance’s room should be ready.”
The receptionist quickly made several clicking motions on the keys, then looked up and nodded. “Yes, he’s in room 1214.”
“Good,” Dani said. Turning back to Lance, she smiled, motioned at the big man standing behind Lance, and said, “I’ll let Jim here take you to your room. I’ll be there in a few minutes with your introduction package, and we’ll go over everything you need to know. Is that okay?”
He nodded and smiled. “Of course. I’m assuming you’ll get this fixed first,” he said with a wave to the other two guys.
“Let’s hope,” she said, stepping out of the way with a smile. Jim, the big burly orderly behind Lance, immediately picked up Lance’s bags, tossed them over his shoulders, and pushed his wheelchair out and away from the reception area.
“Well, I’m glad I have a proper room at least,” he said.
Jim laughed. “It happens,” he said. “At every center everybody always wants to leave early, and we do get a few people who try to come in early, but it does mess up the count on the available beds. We’re always full up, so it’s not like we can just shuffle out a bed for an unexpected visitor.”
He wondered at that. “I guess there’s also all the cleaning and housekeeping that has to be done when a room changes over.”
“Top to bottom,” Jim said, a smile in his voice. He pushed Lance down a long hallway, with several short hallways leading off to the sides. They passed a large open game room, where several guys were playing pool, others reading, and a big screen TV played with a basketball game on.
“So, what’s this? A common room?”
“One of them,” he said, sounding cheerful as they passed another hallway.
From that area Lance heard the sounds of dishes clinking together. “So, somewhere down there is the cafeteria?”
“Exactly,” he said. “Once we get you settled in your room,” he said, “and depending on how you feel, I can either grab you a cup of coffee or whatever you want or maybe take you around for a little bit of a tour until Dani comes.”
“Not a bad idea, at that,” he said. “Any idea if Jaden is still here?”
“Jaden, Jaden, Jaden,” he muttered. “Hmm, I’m not sure I remember that one,” he said. “It’s a big place though, and we’re generally assigned to one area, so we all get to know each other better in our own sections.”
“That’s okay,” he said. “I’ll find out soon enough.”
“Friend of yours?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I was just hoping maybe I could see him before he leaves.”
“If he’s here, you sure will,” he said. “First things first, so let’s get you into your room.”
They kept moving down the hallway, and then he turned a corner and then another corner. “Wow, you’re right. This is a big place.”
“You have no idea,” he said. As they came to the end of the hallway, on the right-hand side was an open door. Jim wheeled him in and said, “This is your room. Got your own bathroom, and you look out over the horses,” he said. “Hopefully that’s not a hardship for you.”
“I still struggle with the fact that you have animals right here with you,” he said.
“Yeah, I know, but that’s one of the joys of the place.”
“I agree,” he said. “It’s pretty special.”
With Jim’s help, Lance made the couple steps from the wheelchair to the bed. When he sank down onto the bed, he shifted his weight backward and stretched out and groaned with relief.
“How about I help you raise the head of the bed a little bit,” he said, “and I’ll show you how the mechanics work.” Together they adjusted the bed so Lance was at a better angle and much more comfortable.
From there, he could even look out over the horses and the pastures. His gaze was drawn to the green grass, the white fences, and the animals free to move about. “It’s a beautiful view,” he said.
“It is. Almost everybody on this side gets a similar view,” Jim said. He dropped Lance’s bags over by a wall with built-in cupboards and said, “When you get rested up a bit and feeling better, you can unpack over here. If you need help, just let somebody know, and one of us will give you a hand.”
He nodded. “That sounds great,” he said. “It’s been a very long day.”
“That’s why I would offer you a cup of coffee or some water,” he said. “Something to hold you over until Dani gets here.”
“Do you think she’ll be all that long?”
“Nope,” Jim said. “Dani is really good at sorting out stuff like that.”
“Glad to hear it,” he said, laughing. “I don’t envy her that job.”
“It’s her place,” Jim said, “so, for her, it’s less about a job and more about a passion.”
“Oh, that’s right,” he said. “I did hear something about that.”
“She started the place for her father, and, once she got it going, a tsunami of others with like needs came here too,” Jim said, his tone respectful.
“That’s cool,” Lance said, feeling hopeful.
Jim headed for the door and said, “Coffee? Or something else?”
Lance leaned back, thought about it, and said, “How about a hot cup of tea instead?”
“You got it,” he said. “Milk? Sugar?”
“A little bit of milk would be great, thanks.” And, just like that, Jim left. Lance should get up and unpack. It was part of his motto for life to do what he needed to do today and to not push it off, but his body was just too sore and too tired to tackle it now. He thought, if he could curl up under a blanket, he’d sleep. But he lay on top of the blankets, and it was way too much of a headache to try to get under them. Besides, he didn’t want to be asleep when Dani arrived. He still had yet to be properly introduced to the place. He was sure he had a mess of paperwork to handle as well. Jim came back with the tea, just a few minutes later.
“Here you go. If you need anything else, you’ve got a buzzer right beside you,” he said. “Seriously, don’t hesitate if you need it for anything. Somebody will come to your aid.” And, with that, he took off.
Lance leaned back and sipped his tea, but, when he heard light footsteps coming down the hallway, he wasn’t surprised to see Dani walk in with a bright smile on her face. “Did you get the rooms all sorted out?”
“All sorted,” she said. “There aren’t all that many places like this where people are so eager to get into it, right?” she said with a laugh.
He smiled. “Well, it’s good advertisement if nothing else.”
She nodded. “And how are you doing after your trip?”
“Questioning my choice,” he said bluntly. “Double questioning actually.”
“I get it,” she said. “So, double question all you want, but you’re here, so make the best of it. An awful lot of good work is happening in Hathaway House.”
“I hope so,” he said, shifting in the bed.
“You look worn out,” she said. “Do you want to catch a nap before dinner?”
“I was thinking about it,” he said, “but I’m lying on the blankets, and that seems like way too much trouble to deal with.”
She walked over to the cupboard, pulled out another blanket, and, opening it up, she spread it across him. “More linens and such are always in the cupboard, and, if you find that you need something that’s not there, just let us know.” Then she said, “Now I have a packet for you.” She proceeded to go over the details on his own personal iPad, showing him how it worked. She went over his team, listing all the people who would come by to see him. Then she went to a general information tab, where information about meals could be found and about how the system here works. “Dinner will start in forty-five minutes, so, if you want to have a rest, go for it. You’ve got a two-hour window for eating dinner from the buffet line,” she said, “but, if you happen to sleep through a meal and wake up afterward, not to worry. Just go on to the cafeteria. There will always be food for you,” she said.
He nodded. “That’s good to hear.” He hesitated and then said, “I know Iain.”
“Yes. Iain recommended that you come here,” she said. “I also heard you know Jaden.”
“Yeah.” He hesitated. “Is Jaden still here?”
“He is, indeed,” she said. “He’ll be here for another month or two, and Iain comes back and forth. By the way, he’s partnered up with one of our vet techs down below, so the two of them are here on a regular basis.”
“Good,” he said. “I’d like to see him.”
“Just making sure the pictures he’s sending out aren’t altered by Photoshop?” she teased, with a big grin.
He took a deep breath and said, “Is that so wrong of me?”
“No, not at all,” she said, some of her laughter slipping away. “It’s normal,” she added. “You need to see the proof, and Iain is definitely walking proof.”
“It just seems so unbelievable,” he said. “Plus the guy I knew was this jokester.”
“Well, he presented that facade to everybody,” she said. “He’s a very different person now. He helps out on various carpentry jobs for the vet clinic.”
“That sounds like him. He always did have a dabbler’s hand at fixing things.”
“I’ll let him know you’ve arrived, if you like. And I’m on my way around, talking to a few other people, so I’ll stop in at Jaden’s and tell him that you’re here too.”
At that, Lance smiled. “I’d really appreciate it. Kind of makes the arrival less …” He let his voice trail off.
“It’s always nice to see a friendly face,” she said firmly. “But, before long, this place will be home to you anyway.”
He nodded and smiled. “If you say so.”
“I do,” she said with a laugh. “So, your intake nurse will be in soon. She’ll come in to check your blood pressure and to make sure the trip was not too arduous. She’ll go over your current medications and update your file. Her name is Jessica, so say hello and be nice because you’ll be seeing quite a bit of her, especially at first.”
“Sounds good,” he said, and, with that, Dani disappeared. On the heels of that visit, a woman with a shock of red hair stepped inside. She had freckles across both cheeks, and her eyes were bright green. He was mesmerized. “Wow,” he said, “that might be the reddest hair I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you. I think,” she said in a bright voice.
“No—I only meant—” Flustered, he continued, “Well, I like it.”
She giggled. “One can never tell. Some people like it. Others think I am cursed. As for me, it is what it is at this point.” Laughing, she walked over and said, “Hi, I’m Jessica. Let’s have a look at you.”
Jessica Marlow loved the teasing and the way that he interacted with her. She knew it was meant to distract from his pain, and, while he’d be the first to deny it, clearly the trip had been a lot for him. She quickly slipped the blood pressure cuff over his arm, pumped it up, and checked his reading. Frowning that it was high but not excessively so, she checked his temperature and then his pulse. When she was done, she went over his medications, bringing up the chart on her tablet so he could see them. Together, they confirmed everything. Then she went on.
“Now I’m sure Dani explained that everybody on your team will be coming in and out most of today because you’re a new arrival, and then, if anybody wants any testing done, that’ll start tomorrow.”
“Great. So I get to be a pincushion again.” He groaned.
“Sorry, it’s a stage of life.”
“Does that stage ever come to an end though?”
“It does,” she said. “I’m sort of new here myself, compared to some of the others. I’ve been here for ten months. I’ve seen several people leave in great shape.”
“Yeah, but were they in bad shape when they arrived? That is the real question.”
“Good point,” she said. “Have faith.” She nodded, giving him a perky smile. “I know everything will work out.”
“I do have faith,” he said, “otherwise I wouldn’t be here at all.”
“Tough trip?”
“Tougher than I expected,” he admitted.
She moved around his room with efficient movement. She didn’t make any extra steps or repeat any movements. She knew what she was doing. “You know what? I have a few extra minutes. Do you want me to help you unpack?”
“I can do it tomorrow,” he said, not wanting to impose on her.
She looked at him with one eyebrow raised and said, “Right now you have somebody here who’s available to help. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t feel like he’s actually settled in until he’s unpacked, let’s take care of it right now.”
“Would you mind?” he said. “I’m not used to having other people do things for me.”
“In this place,” she said, “we all do for everybody, and there isn’t anybody who doesn’t get help when they need it.” At that, she quickly opened his duffel bag, organized the clothing, and put them away in drawers. “I’m glad to see you brought swim shorts,” she said. “The pool is a major part of your program here.”
“Pool?”
She turned in surprise. “I thought you knew.”
“You’d think I would know,” he said, “because I’m friends with a couple guys who have been here or still are, but I don’t think anybody mentioned the pool.”
“When we get around to giving you a full tour,” she said, “you’ll see. Make sure you talk to your physiotherapists about our water program, if you like. Otherwise they often wait a few weeks, if not longer, before letting people into the pool.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ll be right on his case.”
“Good,” she said. Once everything was put away, she folded up the duffel and tucked it in the bottom of the closet.
“Now,” she said, “is there anything else I can do for you?”
He immediately shook his head.
“What about dinner?” she asked, giving him a straightforward look. “Are you strong enough to get down there for dinner tonight?” She motioned at the wheelchair. “I saw you arrive and noticed Jim pushing you down the hallway. I can certainly take you to dinner, if you’re ready.”
He hated to even ask and shook his head, embarrassed.
“Remember,” she said. “There are no shoulda, coulda, wouldas at this place,” she said. “You’re either strong enough to make your way down there on your own—and I’ll show you where it is—or I’ll take you there.”
He stared at her wordlessly and collapsed against the bed. “I haven’t eaten all day,” he said, “so I should, but honestly, it seems like it’s an awfully long way to go.”
Frowning, she said, “It’s your first day, so, if you’d like me to pick up something, I can do that too.”
He really liked that option, but the thought of asking her to do even more went against the grain.
“The other option is,” she said, “I can take you down there, you can pick out something, and we can bring it back here for you.”
“Well, that’s a compromise,” he said. “Maybe that one?”
“Done,” she said. She brought the wheelchair to the head of the bed and then moved something forward from under the bed. A set of steps for him. “I presume you’ll need these for a few days.”
With a wince, he said, “Yeah, I think so.” He straightened up, gasping, as he worked muscles that hadn’t worked in a very long time. She immediately stepped up, moved the wheelchair into a better position, then reached out for his arm. He didn’t even think about it before grabbing hers for support. Very slowly, like a crippled old man, he made his way down the steps and into the wheelchair. He shook in place for a moment, while she grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around his legs.
“Come on. Let’s go pick you up some dinner. We’ll get you some hot tea, since yours is gone already. Then we’ll get you back to bed.”
He didn’t argue, since he knew he needed to eat. Left to his own devices, his stomach would set off a chain reaction that would keep him awake all night if he didn’t get a chance to eat. But, at the same time, it was hard and went against the grain to let other people do things for him. He’d been doing so much better at the last place, and now it’s like he’d taken a complete step back.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” she said. “This is temporary.”
He twisted ever-so-slightly. “What is temporary?”
“When most people arrive, they find that they’re set back a bit from their travels. They always assume it’ll be a quick and easy adjustment, but it’s actually worse than anything.”
“If you say so.”
“I do,” she said with a laugh.
He vaguely recognized some of the trip back to where he thought the cafeteria was.
“It’s a little bit early, so that’s good. Still the rush will be coming soon enough though.” At that, she pushed him forward and stopped at the edge of the counter, grabbing a tray for him. She placed it on his lap and said, “Okay, we can carry it back that way.” Then she picked it up and put it back on the counter and pushed it and him along the front of the buffet line, where a huge male oversaw the food. “Dennis, we have a new arrival.”
Dennis poked his head over the top, then grinned and said, “Hi, I’m Dennis. The kitchen is mine. What can I get you?”
Lance hated the shakiness he felt inside and said in the heartiest voice he could muster, “Something hot that will go down easy.”
“Well, I’ve got fish stew, fried chicken, and some skewers of meat and veggies here.”
“How about the stew?” he said. “Maybe with a slab of bread on the side.”
“You got it,” he said. “How big of a bowl do you want?”
Immediately Lance shook his head. “Not too much,” he said. “I haven’t eaten all day, and my stomach will revolt as it is.” At that, Dennis frowned but served up a medium-size bowl, added a couple thick slabs of French bread buttered on the side, and asked, “How about some food for your room? You want to take a muffin or a sandwich back, in case you need more later?”
“I don’t really want to,” he said, and then he started to shiver. Jessica immediately checked his temperature. “Let’s get you headed back to bed,” she said. “Dennis, maybe send somebody to check on him in a couple hours, just to make sure he doesn’t need more to eat? We’ll get this hot food down. I’ll just pick him up some hot tea and get him back to bed.”
Dennis watched them with a frown on his face.
She gave him a reassuring smile and said, “He should be fine, once he gets rested up.”
“I’m counting on you to make sure he is,” Dennis said. “I haven’t lost one yet.”
She chuckled at that. “It’s okay, Lance. We’re heading back to your room now,” she said. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t realized you were feeling that bad.”
“I don’t know if it’s that bad or not,” he said. “All of a sudden I just felt pretty shaky.” They were back in his room within minutes. He looked at his bed with relief, as she picked up the tray, put it on a small table, backed the wheelchair up, and put down the locks to help him to his feet.
“Bathroom first?”
He groaned and said, “Yeah.”
She walked over and asked, “Can you use crutches?”
“Yeah, I can probably make those few steps,” he said, and, using the crutches, she watched as he made his way to the bathroom. When the door closed, she stood and waited.
It took a few minutes for him to come back out. Sweat was on his forehead, and he looked even worse. She immediately walked over, gave him a shoulder for support, then helped him into bed. “Do you have pajamas?”
“Yeah, we put them away,” he gasped out.
She came back with a folded pair of blue checked pajamas, and, before he realized it, she already had his shirt off, the pajama top on, his socks and jeans off, and had him into the pajama bottoms. Before he could even say anything, she had him tucked under and relaxed in the bed with the blanket up around him. She quickly folded up his clothes and put them in the laundry bin, then moved the table over. “There. How’s the angle for eating?”
“I need to be a little straighter,” he said.
She handed him a remote. “Try this.”
Ever-so-slowly, he managed to get it to work. He sighed. “I’m so tired,” he said, “but I need food.” He picked up a spoon, took a bite, and then sank back against the bed. “Wow,” he said. “This is really good.”
“It is,” she said, “and you need to take full advantage of it. I’ll go get you some hot tea and some water and will be right back.” With that, she bolted again to the kitchen. She didn’t want him to know how worried she was about him. She hadn’t seen anybody arrive with the shakes like that. As soon as she got him some drinks, she would talk to the doctor and make sure somebody came and checked up on him tonight.
Dennis saw her as she came back in. “Is he okay?”
She shook her head. “Exhausted, shaky, and maybe in a little bit of shock,” she said. “I’m not exactly sure what’s going on, but I’ll mention it to his doctor.” She picked up tea and a bottle of water and a bottle of juice. “I’m not sure if he has any blood sugar issues either,” she says, “but I’ll take him a juice just in case.” She flashed Dennis a smile and sped back out again and headed for Lance’s room. When she got there, his bowl of stew was almost empty, and he had some color in his face. She put the drinks down for him. “You’re looking better already.”
“Yeah, I think it was just the whole travel-and-arrival thing,” he said, leaning back. “I really want another bowl of stew, but I don’t think I can get any more down.”
“How about another bowl in an hour or so?”
“How does that work?” he said with a laugh. “I’m sure they have better things to do than cater to me.”
“Look. Like I said earlier, I haven’t been here that long myself, but one thing was made very clear to me when I started work here,” she said with quiet emphasis. “Nobody has anything better to do than to look after you and the other patients here. Obviously taking you down there and back wasn’t the best decision. I should have realized how tired you were and should have just gone and collected you some food.”
“But you probably wouldn’t have chosen stew for me,” he said, a smile at the corner of his lips. He looked down at the empty bowl and said, “I think I would like a second bowl. But I feel guilty.”
“Don’t,” she said, as she snagged up the bowl. “I brought you tea, juice, and water. Is there anything else you would like?”
He shook his head. “Maybe just seconds on stew.” There was such a hopeful look on his face that she had to laugh.
“I don’t have a problem doing that,” she said. “So hang on. I’ll be right back.” She headed down the hallway with the empty dish. When she walked back into the cafeteria, she showed it to Dennis, and a big smile broke out across his face.
“Now that I like to see,” he said.
“Even better,” she said, “please, sir, he’d like some more.”
He chuckled at the Oliver Twist reference and took the dirty bowl from her and filled up a clean one. “Here. Take this one to him.”
Rather than carry it on a tray, she grabbed the bowl and another spoon. “Thank you, Dennis. I’ll be back in a bit for my own dinner.”
“Yeah, and maybe get somebody to check on that guy,” he said. “Hate to see anybody suffer.”
“I think he’s done a lot of suffering and for a long time,” she said.
“That was before,” Dennis said. “Now he’s here, and it’s a whole different story.”