Chapter 12: A Charitable Option

On Tuesday morning Tony sat in Rebecca's wheelchair out in front of the school mentally shaking his head. The wheelchair had magically reappeared over the long weekend. There were a few modifications. The formerly drab blue chair was now a deep, automotive grade, glossy shade of midnight blue; metal flake midnight blue. Inset in the magnificent paint job were intricate hand-painted orange and yellow flames streaking back to the rear of the chair. The seat and seat back had been reupholstered in a lighter blue imitation leather fabric. The spoke wheels had been polished to the point that Tony initially thought they had been chromed. On the metal tube that rose up to the hand rest on the right front a large bulb horn, like on a kids bicycle, had been installed. Rising past the push handle on the left rear was a white plastic stick holding a bright orange triangular safety pennant five feet in the air. A round white placard hung from each armrest with a black numeral proclaiming Rebecca to be number 5. Speed Racer Tony thought amusedly. Even the tires had been treated with a tire-shine compound.

It was a great prank, except for the fact that the chair had actually been rented from a medical supply company. That didn't bother Tony; he'd just pay for it. He was the person who had abandoned it in place after all. The problem Tony had was that he actually had nothing to do with it. Just given the quality of the paintwork it could be narrowed down to the students that were involved in auto-shop but other than that, he didn't have a clue.

There was another item involving Rebecca in evidence. This one Tony did know something about. He had, in fact, been instrumental in having it built. On the right side of the stairs going up to the entrance, painted in the school's black and gold colors was a ten-foot long gently sloping ramp. Tony felt his practical surprise had been trumped by someone's more ostentatious one.

Tina caught Tony as he was heading down to his car in the student lot after school. They had agreed to take Rebecca home after a couple of stops and he was supposed to get the car and meet them at the front entrance. "Tony hold on," she cried from twenty feet or so behind him. Tony turned to find Tina wheeling Rebecca in his direction among the throngs of students heading for the exits.

"Hey girls, what's up?" he asked, bending down to quickly kiss Rebecca on the lips.

"Detour," Rebecca answered. "We need to find out about this chair."

"I'm not sure how," Tony answered, "I told you I really don't know who did it. I thought you liked it though."

"And I have decided to believe you didn't have anything to do with it for now. Though you did say you had nothing to do with the ramp this morning too."

"Ruh, roh," Tony muttered.

"Uhh-huhh," Rebecca continued. "Then we found out from one of the guys who actually built it that someone we know went to the wood shop teacher with all the measurements, had the wood delivered, and bought fifteen pizzas for the kids who built it. You bribed the wood-shop class to build the ramp you lug."

"Bribe is such a harsh word," Tony stammered. "I like to think of it as a, um, performance bonus."

Rebecca rolled her eyes at Tony then grabbed him by the shirt, pulled him down to her and kissed him hard on the lips. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you Tony."

"Umm, keep me?" he suggested.

"Don't worry about it Tony, none of the boys in the wood-shop class seemed to do anything for her," Tina interjected.

"What?"

Tina started giggling and Rebecca soon followed. Tony just stood there looking at them with a puzzled expression until Tina could speak. "We visited the wood-shop class after lunch. Rebecca wanted to thank them. She, she..." Tina again broke down laughing.

"Tina!" Rebecca scolded, though still laughing herself.

"Bah, like he's not going to find out anyway. She rolled up to every single boy in class and kissed them to say thank you, every one, then she kissed the teacher too."

Tony looked down at Rebecca sternly. "You didn't," he said, shaking his head.

Tina leapt to defend Rebecca. "Tony," she said, "it was all in good fun."

"Oh sure," Tony replied, "all in good fun. But if I had known she was going to do that I could have saved myself the cost of fifteen pizzas and they probably would have done it last week!"

The three teens entered the schools auto-shop to find it empty except for the shop teacher Mr. Foreman. He looked up when they walked in, saw the chair, and resignedly waved them to his desk in the corner. Tony introduced himself and shook the man's hand then introduced his sister and Rebecca.

"I don't guess I have to ask why you all are here do I?" he asked.

"I believe Rebecca is trying to locate the perpetrators of this most heinous act of vandalism on her least favorite mode of transportation," Tony said in a stodgy tone of voice, but smiling all the time.

"Tony!" Rebecca said, slapping him on his arm and giggling. "Hush, you don't even know why we're here."

"I don't?"

"Nope," she said and turned to the teacher. "I would like to thank whoever did this though. Tony seemed to think some of your students are the most likely to have done it. If they really don't want me to know who did it that's OK too. Just please thank them for me, it really was a nice thought, and it means a lot to me that they would go to the trouble."

"If, and I do mean, if I happen to locate one or more of the, ah, vandals, I'll pass on your message," replied Mr. Foreman. He smiled at Rebecca.

"What we really came here for," she continued, "is to find out how we can get a lot more made just like this."

"What?" Tony and Mr. Foreman said in unison. Apparently, Tina was already in on the scheme.

"Tony," Rebecca started, "what did my mom think when she saw this chair this morning?"

"She loved it," Tony said immediately. "I think she was more excited than you were. I'm not sure why though."

"Where does my mother work?"

"At the hospital," Tony said, the scheme just now coming into focus.

"Where at the hospital?"

"The pediatric wing," he said smiling down at her. "How many do you think we need?"

"I'm not sure, fifteen maybe."

Nothing was resolved with that meeting. The school just didn't have the resources and the students couldn't take class time for a project that big even if it did. Rebecca was discouraged but Tony wasn't about to give up on the idea just yet. Rebecca wanted it, Marj would love it, but the kids were the real goal.

The week would eventually gel into a new routine for all of them. It made little sense for Tony and Tina to pass within half a mile of Rebecca's house on the way to school each day and not just pick her up and save Marj a lot of trouble. Seven-hour school days were always awkward for her to match up to her eight-hour shifts at work. As a nurse, only working an eight hour shift was actually more of an exception than a rule in any case.

Rebecca's parents were even more completely trusting of Tony now, if that were possible. Rebecca's medical condition was not unique but it was unusual in the fact that she needed to rehabilitate two limbs at the same time. She was a prime candidate for aquatic therapy but her parents had assured the doctors that there was no chance of getting her in a pool no matter how hard they tried. The fact that she would go in with Tony, even if only with Tony, opened up treatment options they really would have preferred all along if Tony was willing. It wasn't even a legitimate question as far as he was concerned. He knew she wouldn't trust a stranger in the water for some time. He wouldn't trust a stranger in the water with her either. Armed with books and pamphlets from Dr. Marcus and Terry; Tony, Tina, and Rebecca began a crash course in exercises and techniques they would need to learn.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons were spent in normal physical therapy. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings were in the pool with Tony. It only occurred to Tony in the beginning that the pool sessions would come to an end shortly if nothing was done.

It was 'The Edge of Seventeen' that opened everyone's eyes, or ears as it were, first. Rebecca stayed with the band after her time in the pool. It was convenient as the days matched. She didn't play on the first Tuesday, but the following Thursday Tina sat her down and began working on a few songs with her and sent her home, this time not just with tapes, but with a lyric sheet as well.