Chapter 8

Today was a 'visit the doctor' day. Orthopedist, to be exact. Time to get a tuneup on my broken leg. The day started with Ronni getting out of bed, going to the bathroom, and then coming back to check on me. She bent over and kissed me a few times, bringing me from drifting along in that sweet spot between sleep and wake to fully awake. She led me to the bathroom for my early morning ritual, and then helped me to my chair in the living room.

She went in the kitchen to start a pot coffee. While she was in there I heard her on the phone.

"Hi, mom!," She said. "Yeah, we're up. I was just checking to see if you're making breakfast. Otherwise, I'm fixing him a bowl of Cheerios." She giggled. "No, Mom. THAT'S not the reason." She paused. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm sure a bowl of Cheerios won't kill 'im."

So I got to eat a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast. She sat in the chair near me, sharing the TV tray. We turned on the news and let it play in the background. Finishing the Cheerios, Ronni collected the bowls and took them into the kitchen, returning with two cups of coffee.

She turned the TV off. "Do we really need this noise? she asked. "I mean, it's just so serene this time of the morning. I don't know how much of this we'll get to enjoy. Usually there's something going on."

"Yeah," I said. "I'd normally be at work by now." That was the truth. On a normal day, I got up at six, out the door at 6: 30 and in my office at seven. But for the past few weeks, life was anything but normal.

A little later in the morning, Ronni help me get dressed for my upcoming doctor's appointment. Putting a shirt on me wasn't a problem anymore since the bandages were off my arm. Pants, though were another problem entirely. The cast was too bulky to pull pants up over.

"Tell you what," I told Ronni. "Look up on the top shelf inside my closet. There's some old medical scrubs that I use for knocking around the house."

"Yeah, I remember seeing you wear those."

"Uh-huh," I said, "that cotton is comfortable in the summertime. Let's sacrifice a pair those trousers."

She came back with a pair. "I think they're the rattiest looking pair you had," she said. "Let's get these pajamas off of you," she smiled, kneeling in front of me. As she unsnapped my pajamas, she started giggling. "Oops," she tittered, "forgot you don't have underwear on."

I laughed. "Yeah, okay 'forgot'. I haven't had underwear on for four weeks, and YOU'RE the one that has dressed me."

She looked around quickly, then her head bobbed downward, her mouth opened, and she sucked my semi-erect dick into her mouth. "Mmmmm," she purred.

I expelled a breath. "Baby," I said, "don't tease me."

Her eyes laughed as she released me from her mouth. "'S not teasing, love. It's just a sample." She started pulling the scrub trousers up over my legs. When she got as high as she could over the cast, she stopped. She looked at me. "Scissors?"

"Yep! Snip 'em right up the seam so you can pull the pants all the way up."

She complied. The result was something that wouldn't win fashion shows but met the requirements of modesty. I wasn't going to a four-star restaurant, I was going to a doctor's office. After she finished with the pants thing, she put a sock and shoe on my left foot. Then she giggled. "If I was really dressing you up," she laughed, "I think I'd paint your toenails."

"Be careful, little one," I said. "You will be a hopeless cripple forever."

About 20 minutes after that, we heard a knock on the door. I looked at Ronni. "Baby, can you get that?" I said, sarcastically.

And she bounced up, turned, sticking her tongue at me. Opening the door, she said, "Hi, Dad! He's ready."

The two of them loaded me into the wheelchair, wheeled me out to the car, and seated me in the front passenger seat. Ronni crawled in the back seat behind me after she buckled my seat belt. Alex loaded the wheelchair in the back of the SUV, then drove us to the doctor's office where they unstrapped me and rolled me into the waiting room.

It wasn't long before my name was called and I was wheeled back into the bowels of the office. I was laid on the table, the old cast removed, a set of x-rays taken, and a new shorter, lighter cast was applied.

"Okay, Mister Dave," the doctor said. "You're coming along quite nicely. You can start hobbling around a little bit with this cast. You can put a little weight on the leg. Try using it a little bit to keep the muscles from atrophying. Use crutches if you wanna move around any real distance."

"How much longer am I going to have a cast?" I asked.

"Another two or three weeks," he said. He looked at Ronni, then back at me. "You know," he said, "I can set you up with a plastic surgeon if you want to see if you can do something about that scar on your head. Hair'll cover up most of it, but they can probably make it a little less obtrusive."

"Ronni? You think I'll try and get it fixed so I can pursue a career as a male model?"

Ronni giggled. "That's up to you, babe," she said. "We can talk about that later, but I don't think it's a problem."

I looked at the doctor. "She gets to say," I said. "She's the future Mrs. Johnson," I told him. "Our wedding day is set for the day after I get my cast off, so that's why I'm asking."

He looked at the two of us and said, "You don't have to wait till the stupid cast comes off. I know I wouldn't." He smiled.

We had a little talk about painkillers and about do's and don'ts and then I slid back into my wheelchair and out the door we went, the proud possessor of a fine a new pair of crutches. Thirty minutes later we were home. When we came in the driveway, Alex and Ronni came around with the wheelchair.

"No," I said, "let me try the crutches. It's about time I was able to get around on my own." Gingerly I eased out of the seat of the SUV, carefully positioning the crutches, tripodding myself on my good leg and the two crutches. I eased my left leg down. "There!" I said, "I'm standing all by myself."

Ronni giggled. She knew I was trying to be funny. "Wow! Just like a big boy!"

"You sure you're okay, Dave?" Alex asked.

"No," I said. "Your daughter shows horrible disrespect for her future husband."

He laughed. "Gets it from her mom..."

I took a first tentative step, then another, and then confident of my new success, I proceeded to my own front door with Ronni hovering nervously beside me.

"Ron, give 'im a little room!" Alex said. "He needs to be able to do that on his own."

"Why? I'm gonna take care of 'im anyway, crippled or not. He's my husband." She smiled at her dad, then pulled the keys out of her purse and opened the front door so I could go in.

Alex walked in behind us, checking on things around the house for me. "It's time to cut your yard again," he said. "I can do it."

"Nope," I said. "Get the kid up the street. He does a good job and he'll appreciate the money, and you an' me can sit on the front porch an' drink beer and watch 'im."

"Yep, if you wanna be one of those guys that just sits on his front porch an' watches other people do their yard work." Ronni said. She looked at her dad with an exaggerated frown.

"See," Alex laughed. "She's already denying you your simple pleasures." He sighed. "You gonna call that kid to cut your grass?"

"Yeah," I said. "His number's next to the phone." I lowered myself to the sofa. It was the first time I did that without assistance since the accident. I felt a sense of accomplishment.

"I'll call him," Ronni said.

"Well, if you two are gonna be okay, I'm gonna go see what Rena's doing. We need to get something for lunch anyhow," he said.

"Look," I said, "why don't you let me foot the bill for pizza for supper?" I said. "Savin' her the trouble of cooking dinner."

"Well, if she's already got it on the stove, then we wait'll tomorrow for the pizza thing?"

"Well, see what she's got going. It's always an option."

"Okay," Alex said. "I'll see you two later."

"We'll be okay, Dad," Ronni said. She watched her dad disappear across the yard, then turned to me, smiling. "Babe, you can walk now."

"And that means exactly what?" I asked.

"It means that just maybe you don't need to have me around here 24 hours a day."

"Are you out of your ever-lovin' mind?" I blurted. "If I have any choice about it, I'll never be without you around for the rest of my life." I looked at her. "Besides, hobbling around on crutches, I mean, that's a step, but I'm hardly a hundred percent."

She looked at me, smiling. "Dave, I don't WANT to go. But I've been here every night for the last four weeks, almost around the clock. You're not, like, that tired of me?"

"Not likely, sweet one," I sighed. "Didn't I say I loved you?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Don't make me chase you. C'mere, sweetie."

She came closer. I took her hand. "Sit in my lap. I think I need to get my arms around you."

She complied, settling in gently. She looked at me with those big brown eyes. "Dave? Are you sure?"

"Are YOU sure? Baby, I love you. But I don't want to force you into anything. That includes you staying here, and that includes you marrying me."

"UH, Dave, that's not what I'm saying. I just thought..."

"If you thought I needed private time, sweetie, there may be a day where that crosses my mind. But I just can't see it. Not from here anyway." I kissed her.

She circled me with her arms and buried her face in my neck. I stroked her soft brown hair, and let my hand stroke her back, savoring her curves. "Baby, I want you to stay. Forever."

"Okay, baby," she whispered. "I was just trying to give you a little space."

"Sweetie," I said, "maybe when we're older, uh, when YOU'RE older, we may enjoy little bit of space but right now I just find myself very happy to have you around."

"You sure, Dave," she said. "Not just 'cuz I was, like, helpful?"

"Little girl," I said, "you were exactly as useful as I ever imagined you would be, being helpful at a time when I absolutely needed it. But that's not what we said to each other. It's one thing to lend a helping hand, even several. But you said you love me and when you said it, it was the most wonderful thing I ever heard. Because I love you. Ron, I want to MARRY you. I even asked your mom and dad. And you and I told the neighbors. Is that something that I would've done just to stay on your good side? Because you feed me? Take care of me?"

She looked at me from a very close distance. "Uh, Dave, I, uh, WE did a whole lot more."

"Silly, silly little girl! That's what I mean. We did stuff that I would NOT've done with you if I didn't love you. I wouldn't let you do things if I didn't think you loved me. We talked. Neither one of us was into any kind of casual sex thing. Love. Had to be." I stroked her face, willing my fingers to transmit my feelings directly to her.

"I'm sorry, baby," she said. "I guess sometimes, it just hits me. Dave, you gotta know how many nights I laid in bed thinking to myself how much I wanted to be with you. Married. I don't know why. But I do."

"Then don't get all flaky on me, cutie," I chided. "You an' me're gonna be together for a long, long time. We'll have plenty of time to get on each other's nerves an' get all aggravated an' have good days and bad days together. Okay?"

She answered with kisses.

We stayed that way for a while, me leaning back into the sofa, Ronni cuddled in my lap, her arms around my neck.

Finally, she got up. "Doctor said three weeks, an' you're out of your cast. D'ya wanna talk about the wedding?"

"If you still want to marry me," I said. "You sure?"

"Sorry, babe," Ronni said. "I know what's happenin'. I think I'm startin' my period. I get, I dunno, maybe just a little bit, you know, emotional?"

"So that's it? A period?"

She nodded, her brown eyes soft, a little sheepish expression on her mouth. "I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

"Of course I forgive you. Even though you haven't done anything wrong. I mean, everybody's got MOODS. As long as you still love me."

"Only on days that end with 'Y'," she giggled. "Now, about that wedding..."

"What about it?"

"Dave, you get a say-so in this thing."

"No," I said, "I get a Ronni. It's, like, the BEST thing in the world."

"But baby," she said, "how do you want to do it?"

"Sweetie," I said, "I thought we had that all figured out. You. Me. Your mom and dad. My sister and her family. And past that, we send out invitations. We already invited George and Martha. And anybody else in the neighborhood that might be interested. I'll invite some people from work. You might want a few people from school. What else?"

"Like who's gonna do the ceremony?"

"Didn't we say the pastor of your church?" I thought for a second. "Why don't you see if your mom can come over? I mean, if you want her to. She might have some ideas, but at least she needs to hear what we're talking about."

"That sounds like a good idea." She picked up the phone and dialed her house. "Hi, Mom! Are you busy?" Pause. "Yeah, if you can. Me an' Dave want to talk to you." Pause. "Okay! Just walk on in. The door's unlocked." Pause. "Okay! See you in a minute. Love you, Mom!"

Ronni turned to me. "An' now we give you a few kisses. I owe you."

"Owe me?"

"For gettin' all stupid and everything." Before I could reply, she was kneeling beside me on the sofa, her arms around me, little kisses preventing me from speaking. She stopped when she heard her mom's footsteps on the porch.

Rena knocked. Ronni went to the door and opened it. "Mom! I SAID it was unlocked!"

Rena laughed. "Then how come you bounced off the sofa when you heard my steps on the porch?"

"'Cuz I didn't want you walking in on me, kissing him."