“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,”
