Angie sighed pushing her wheels up the ramp that led to the room. “Thanks,” she said trying to hide her distress from a few minutes earlier.
“You don’t remember me do you?” The woman asked as Angie rolled onto the rustic looking wooden floor. “I’m Del, I remember you from a few years ago when I came to visit and some strong truths you laid on me.” The pretty woman leaned down, rapping her knuckles on her lower leg, creating a hollow metallic sound. “You reminded me that I wasn’t my handicap.”
“That seems like a lifetime ago,” Angie rolled to a stop looking around her at the odd room she had entered. Two large massage chairs were pressed against a wall and the sound of soft music filled the space.
“Come on through,” Del said. “What are you looking for today anyway?” The other woman stepped through a wide door stretching her hand to indicate the three large copper tubs sitting against the back wall, white enameled knobs contrasting with their shimmering sides. “You can have a soak in the whirlpool, hang out in the sauna, or get a message. Did you bring your bathing suit?”
Angie blushed, she hadn’t even thought about what the spa would provide. “I guess I didn’t think this through,” she admitted. “I’ll just go.”
“Come into my office,” Del suggested. “We’ll do an assessment and then you can find a few minutes to relax.” The other woman’s voice was warm and welcoming, a soothing balm to Angie’s jangled nerves.
Angie eyed the large tubs with the high back but nodded. A long hot soak in a whirlpool tub might ease the tension in her shoulders, or just a message might do the trick. “I think a massage would work then I can book time in one of the tubs later.”
Del scanned the calendar on her tiny desk and nodded. “I can squeeze you in right now.” Her bright smile was encouraging and Angie returned it. “Do you have much pain?” Del nodded toward Angie’s chair.
Angie lowered a leg from the footrest on her chair and scooted forward. “I get some muscle spasms in my back,” she finally said. “I have spina bifida and the curve of my spine is so severe that I can’t stand for more than a few seconds at a time. Will that be a problem?”
“Not for me,” Del walked back around the desk and pulled back a curtain to reveal a massage table and a window high up on the side of the building. “Do you need help getting on the table?”
“No, just give me a few minutes to get comfortable, I’ll be alright.”
Angie wheeled up to the table looking around the small room. A cupboard with a tiny counter space held a lamp that glowed softly, the soothing scent of lavender oozing from the clay pot that sat over the flame. Behind her, the curtain closed again and Angie shimmied out of her boots, disrobing and pulling herself onto the table. The smooth linen was warm against her skin, and as soon as she dropped her face into the cut out of at the front, she could feel some of the tension ease. Reaching behind her, she pulled another sheet over her back and closed her eyes. This was just what she needed to get herself back together. The sound of the curtain opening again told her that Del had returned and Angie let her mind slip far away, as strong hands began to work knots out of overused shoulders and arms.
As the tension eased from her body, Angie felt her embarrassment grow. She had completely freaked out over getting on a horse. If she didn’t get herself under control, she would need to reevaluate what she planned to do with the rest of her life.
“You were carrying a lot of stress in your shoulders,” Del commented as she kneaded the sore spots along Angie’s spine. “You need to let go of some of that.”
Angie could hear the smile in the other woman’s voice and sighed. “I know,” she admitted. “Sometimes I feel like I have to do everything on my own, and I start getting overwhelmed.”
“You need to turn it over to God.”
Angie was quiet for a long time letting the words sift through her mind. It was true, but some days He seemed so far away and she felt alone. “That’s not always as easy as it sounds.”
Above her, Angie could hear the other woman let out a breath, and she knew that it was because she hadn’t questioned the comment about God. Some people would have been offended by the reference but not Angie.
“No, it truly isn’t always that easy. I’ve found that there are things in all of our lives that seem to be hard to turn over. For a while, I was so angry I didn’t want anything to do with God. I felt betrayed and fostered the anger I held. I didn’t realize that all I was doing was destroying myself and my chance of happiness. I met a teenage girl right here on the ranch who reminded me that I was more than one part of myself.”
Angie smiled. She remembered the conversation she had all those years ago with the army veteran who had come to the ranch with her mother. “I get your point,” she huffed. It was never fun being reminded of your shortcomings. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me right now, but I’m scared of my own shadow. I’ll work on it though.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Del said. “You have a lot of life ahead of you to figure things out. Maybe you’re here on the Broken J to deal with just one.” Her hands stilled and she stepped back. “I’ll let you get dressed, but holler if you need anything.”
Angie grinned. It was nice that the message therapist understood her need for independence. “I’ll be fine,” she smiled. “Thanks, I feel much better.”
A
