Five
‡
“M ikey said I could come stay with him when the rodeo’s in Boulder, and I told him I would. That’s all right, isn’t it?”
Molly split her attention between the snowy road and the excited boy next to her. Driving back to Boulder anytime in the next forty years was not high on her wish list. But she was so full of nervous excitement about having Josh back that she was willing to be a horrible parent and give him anything he asked for. Taking him to visit his new best friend, a boy he’d met at the physical therapy clinic, might mean a very long drive, but she would do it in a heartbeat. “Sure. I think. I mean, I’ll have to check my calendar. When is it?”
He told her and chatted nonstop for several minutes about Mikey and the rodeo. She tried to keep her focus on him, but it was tough when so many problems nagged at her.
She’d worried about the steps on the whole drive to Boulder and ended up calling a guy she worked with to ask if he would meet them at the house today. Blake taught fifth grade and was the school’s head of P.E., so he was one of the most athletic people she knew.
Except Gabriel.
Yeah, but she couldn’t exactly call Gabriel and ask him to drive down the mountain to lift her son up three stairs. Crumb, he didn’t have a phone, so she couldn’t call him period.
As soon as she turned onto their street, she saw Blake’s truck parked in her driveway. He’d parked closest to the front door, leaving a space for her to park to the left of him, which irked her a little. Couldn’t he have figured out that parking there wouldn’t give her enough room to set up Josh’s wheelchair and help him out of the truck? There would barely be enough space to even open the passenger door.
She parked on the street and slid down from the truck. Blake wandered over and gave her a friendly smile. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she said, closing her door. “Thanks for coming. I didn’t really know what to do. This is all stuff I’ll have to figure out, but on his first day home I wanted everything to go smoothly.”
“Yeah, no problem. What do you need me to do?”
“Help me get him into the house.” She walked to the bed of the truck and opened the tailgate. She’d collapsed the oversized wheelchair and strapped it down before covering it with a tarp so it wouldn’t get damaged by any rain or snow they encountered on the journey. She uncovered the chair, unhooked the bungee cords and pulled it out the back.
She hated this chair. Not only was it difficult for Josh to maneuver, but it swallowed him up so the first thing anyone noticed would be the chair, not his beautiful, bright eyes or friendly smile. Just the chair. Her heart filled with sadness that she couldn’t get him something better, a child-sized chair she could adapt as he grew. But they were expensive, and her first priority was to make sure he had a roof and heating.
She set it up, slammed the tailgate and rolled it around to Josh’s door. He’d opened it and unbuckled his seatbelt, waiting for her to get there. “Hi, Mr. Margate.”
“Hey, buddy. How’s it going?”
“Good. Long drive but I’m glad to be back.”
Molly blinked at her son. What a… grownup-sounding thing to say.
“We’re all glad you’re back too. Need help down?”
“I can do that,” Molly said. Getting him down wasn’t much of a problem, though the truck was pretty high. She’d learned from the rehab clinic that two-door cars were easier for wheelchair-bound people to get themselves into and out of, since the doors were bigger than those on four-door cars, and they were closer to the ground than trucks. She might have to trade her truck in and get a car.
With what money?
She lowered Josh carefully into the chair, just like she’d practiced over and over at his rehab clinic. Resisting the urge to push the chair for him, she let him power himself to the driveway.
“Could you help me get him up the stairs?” she asked Blake.
“Sure.
‡
“M ikey said I could come stay with him when the rodeo’s in Boulder, and I told him I would. That’s all right, isn’t it?”
Molly split her attention between the snowy road and the excited boy next to her. Driving back to Boulder anytime in the next forty years was not high on her wish list. But she was so full of nervous excitement about having Josh back that she was willing to be a horrible parent and give him anything he asked for. Taking him to visit his new best friend, a boy he’d met at the physical therapy clinic, might mean a very long drive, but she would do it in a heartbeat. “Sure. I think. I mean, I’ll have to check my calendar. When is it?”
He told her and chatted nonstop for several minutes about Mikey and the rodeo. She tried to keep her focus on him, but it was tough when so many problems nagged at her.
She’d worried about the steps on the whole drive to Boulder and ended up calling a guy she worked with to ask if he would meet them at the house today. Blake taught fifth grade and was the school’s head of P.E., so he was one of the most athletic people she knew.
Except Gabriel.
Yeah, but she couldn’t exactly call Gabriel and ask him to drive down the mountain to lift her son up three stairs. Crumb, he didn’t have a phone, so she couldn’t call him period.
As soon as she turned onto their street, she saw Blake’s truck parked in her driveway. He’d parked closest to the front door, leaving a space for her to park to the left of him, which irked her a little. Couldn’t he have figured out that parking there wouldn’t give her enough room to set up Josh’s wheelchair and help him out of the truck? There would barely be enough space to even open the passenger door.
She parked on the street and slid down from the truck. Blake wandered over and gave her a friendly smile. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she said, closing her door. “Thanks for coming. I didn’t really know what to do. This is all stuff I’ll have to figure out, but on his first day home I wanted everything to go smoothly.”
“Yeah, no problem. What do you need me to do?”
“Help me get him into the house.” She walked to the bed of the truck and opened the tailgate. She’d collapsed the oversized wheelchair and strapped it down before covering it with a tarp so it wouldn’t get damaged by any rain or snow they encountered on the journey. She uncovered the chair, unhooked the bungee cords and pulled it out the back.
She hated this chair. Not only was it difficult for Josh to maneuver, but it swallowed him up so the first thing anyone noticed would be the chair, not his beautiful, bright eyes or friendly smile. Just the chair. Her heart filled with sadness that she couldn’t get him something better, a child-sized chair she could adapt as he grew. But they were expensive, and her first priority was to make sure he had a roof and heating.
She set it up, slammed the tailgate and rolled it around to Josh’s door. He’d opened it and unbuckled his seatbelt, waiting for her to get there. “Hi, Mr. Margate.”
“Hey, buddy. How’s it going?”
“Good. Long drive but I’m glad to be back.”
Molly blinked at her son. What a… grownup-sounding thing to say.
“We’re all glad you’re back too. Need help down?”
“I can do that,” Molly said. Getting him down wasn’t much of a problem, though the truck was pretty high. She’d learned from the rehab clinic that two-door cars were easier for wheelchair-bound people to get themselves into and out of, since the doors were bigger than those on four-door cars, and they were closer to the ground than trucks. She might have to trade her truck in and get a car.
With what money?
She lowered Josh carefully into the chair, just like she’d practiced over and over at his rehab clinic. Resisting the urge to push the chair for him, she let him power himself to the driveway.
“Could you help me get him up the stairs?” she asked Blake.
“Sure.
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