pointed at you while you’re having a seizure, I can promise you they’ll never do it again.”
“Dean…”
He tried to tone down the intensity in his voice. “You good otherwise after your shitty day? No seizures today?”
Adeline let out a large breath. “No. I’ve felt a bit off all afternoon, but no seizures.”
“Does stress bring them on?”
“Sometimes. I’ve noticed that alcohol can do it too. I’ve pretty much cut it out of my life except for the occasional glass of wine. I really miss being able to have a couple margaritas with my sister when we go out though.”
“Maybe getting a new job will help.”
“I’m hoping so, but not counting on it.”
“Have you decided to have the surgery then?”
“I just don’t know. It scares the crap out of me and I’m not ready yet.”
“Then wait until you are ready.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Why not?”
“Well, because.”
Crash laughed. “Now you sound like me. I was asked something today and that was the answer I gave. Adeline, give yourself a break. You know your body. Having the surgery isn’t an easy decision. I don’t think I’d be able to do it for all the reasons you mentioned yesterday. It’s simple for a doctor to tell you it’s what you should do, but it’s not his brain, or his life, that’ll be affected. Besides, even if you do go under the knife, there’s a chance the seizures won’t completely go away, right?”
“Right.”
“So there you go. You’ve got time to fully weigh the pros and cons. Cut yourself some slack.”
“You’re pretty smart, you know that?”
“Of course.”
They both laughed.
“Seriously, thanks for calling. I needed this.”
“Anytime. I mean that. I like talking to you, Adeline. You make me feel that there’s more to my life than jumping at the sounds of the tones and doing errands on my days off.”
“What do you do on your days off?”
“The same things you probably do on the weekends,” he told her easily. “Grocery shopping, clean the house, sit on my butt and watch football.”
“I don’t like football.”
“Be still my heart,” Crash teased. “Not like football?”
“Okay, I do like watching the guys’ butts in their uniforms. That better?”
“We won’t watch football,” he declared immediately.
Adeline giggled. “Why ‘Crash’?”
“What?”
“Why is your nickname Crash? Or is that a secret?”
“Nope. No secret. On my very first day on the job, we got nothing but call after call for car crashes. The others dubbed me that. It stuck.”
“I thought it might be because of your driving habits.”
“No way. I’m the safest driver out of everyone. I promise you’ll be safe with me.”
“I wasn’t—”
“I know you weren’t,” Crash interrupted, “but I felt it needed to be said anyway. You should know when you’re out with me, you’ll be safe. If Coco alerts, I’ll get you someplace clean and protected to have a seizure. If you’re in a car with me, I’ll never speed or be unsafe. If we’re walking somewhere, you and Coco will be away from the street. I take your safety seriously, beautiful. No matter where we are or what we’re doing.”
“Okay,” Adeline said in a whisper.
Crash took a deep breath. “On that note, I should probably let you go. I wasn’t aiming to freak you out, and you sound like I did anyway.”
“It’s not that, it’s just…I generally never feel safe. Anywhere.”
“You are when you’re with me. I know it’s not something I can just say and you’ll automatically feel it. I hope that you’ll come to know it as a fact over time. I’m sorry you had a bad day. I was serious earlier when I said you could always talk to me about it. Anytime you need to talk, just call. If I don’t answer, leave a message and I’ll call when I can. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Have a good night, beautiful. I’ll text tomorrow and let you know where to meet me Friday night.”
“Sounds good.”
“Good
“Dean…”
He tried to tone down the intensity in his voice. “You good otherwise after your shitty day? No seizures today?”
Adeline let out a large breath. “No. I’ve felt a bit off all afternoon, but no seizures.”
“Does stress bring them on?”
“Sometimes. I’ve noticed that alcohol can do it too. I’ve pretty much cut it out of my life except for the occasional glass of wine. I really miss being able to have a couple margaritas with my sister when we go out though.”
“Maybe getting a new job will help.”
“I’m hoping so, but not counting on it.”
“Have you decided to have the surgery then?”
“I just don’t know. It scares the crap out of me and I’m not ready yet.”
“Then wait until you are ready.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Why not?”
“Well, because.”
Crash laughed. “Now you sound like me. I was asked something today and that was the answer I gave. Adeline, give yourself a break. You know your body. Having the surgery isn’t an easy decision. I don’t think I’d be able to do it for all the reasons you mentioned yesterday. It’s simple for a doctor to tell you it’s what you should do, but it’s not his brain, or his life, that’ll be affected. Besides, even if you do go under the knife, there’s a chance the seizures won’t completely go away, right?”
“Right.”
“So there you go. You’ve got time to fully weigh the pros and cons. Cut yourself some slack.”
“You’re pretty smart, you know that?”
“Of course.”
They both laughed.
“Seriously, thanks for calling. I needed this.”
“Anytime. I mean that. I like talking to you, Adeline. You make me feel that there’s more to my life than jumping at the sounds of the tones and doing errands on my days off.”
“What do you do on your days off?”
“The same things you probably do on the weekends,” he told her easily. “Grocery shopping, clean the house, sit on my butt and watch football.”
“I don’t like football.”
“Be still my heart,” Crash teased. “Not like football?”
“Okay, I do like watching the guys’ butts in their uniforms. That better?”
“We won’t watch football,” he declared immediately.
Adeline giggled. “Why ‘Crash’?”
“What?”
“Why is your nickname Crash? Or is that a secret?”
“Nope. No secret. On my very first day on the job, we got nothing but call after call for car crashes. The others dubbed me that. It stuck.”
“I thought it might be because of your driving habits.”
“No way. I’m the safest driver out of everyone. I promise you’ll be safe with me.”
“I wasn’t—”
“I know you weren’t,” Crash interrupted, “but I felt it needed to be said anyway. You should know when you’re out with me, you’ll be safe. If Coco alerts, I’ll get you someplace clean and protected to have a seizure. If you’re in a car with me, I’ll never speed or be unsafe. If we’re walking somewhere, you and Coco will be away from the street. I take your safety seriously, beautiful. No matter where we are or what we’re doing.”
“Okay,” Adeline said in a whisper.
Crash took a deep breath. “On that note, I should probably let you go. I wasn’t aiming to freak you out, and you sound like I did anyway.”
“It’s not that, it’s just…I generally never feel safe. Anywhere.”
“You are when you’re with me. I know it’s not something I can just say and you’ll automatically feel it. I hope that you’ll come to know it as a fact over time. I’m sorry you had a bad day. I was serious earlier when I said you could always talk to me about it. Anytime you need to talk, just call. If I don’t answer, leave a message and I’ll call when I can. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Have a good night, beautiful. I’ll text tomorrow and let you know where to meet me Friday night.”
“Sounds good.”
“Good
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