Chapter 14: The Good, The Bad, and The Unexpected

"I'm afraid the news isn't very good, Mr. Tyler," Dr. Demby began. "Most of the repair from your first accident has been undone by the second one. We are going to do our best to reconstruct the ligaments and tendons with some synthetic grafts, hoping that will give you some mobility in the knee. Luckily, there is no further sign of bone damage, so we won't need to do any knee replacement surgery yet. What we can't predict is how much mobility and flexibility you will retain. That will only come with rehabilitation and physical therapy."

"What do you think the end result will be?" I asked, wondering if I really wanted to know.

He sighed. "I suspect you will always have a limp and you will find it uncomfortable to walk for more than a few minutes. You can build up strength in those areas with careful exercise, but you will probably find there's a limit to how much you can tolerate."

"I've been exercising quite regularly to get fit. What will I still be able to do?"

"Non-impact exercises that work the cardio vascular system. Swimming is one of the best. You are in excellent condition currently. I'd certainly encourage you to keep at it," he smiled.

"When I walk, will I need a cane?"

"At first, yes, but unless you need to go some distance, I'd say you should be able to operate without one most of the time."

"I guess that's as good as I can expect. When do you plan on operating?"

"I'd like to schedule you for the day after tomorrow. That's Thursday."

"The sooner the better, I guess," I said, not feeling very enthusiastic about the future.

It was Wednesday afternoon, the day before my surgery, when I had an unexpected visitor.

"Hi, Norm."

"Andrea? This is a surprise. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I heard about your accident and I've been meaning to talk to you ... if you'll let me."

"I'm not going anywhere. Have a seat," I said, gesturing to the chairs against the wall.

"Thanks. Are you going to be all right? I mean, after the operation."

"Not sure. They think I might have a permanent limp and won't be doing any long distance hikes. They're going to be doing some tricky surgery and they aren't sure how it will turn out."

"I'm sorry to hear that. You've just got over that other accident and now this. It must be frustrating."

I shrugged. "I'll get by." I paused, looking carefully at my ex-wife. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Several things. I wanted you to know that I've been talking to Brandon each Sunday. He's doing well at college and I'm really happy for him. He stopped in to see me when he was home for Thanksgiving."

I nodded. "I knew he had."

"I wish I could say the same for Candy. She's still not talking to me. I feel very bad that I've let her down and I don't know what to do about it."

"I've tried to get her to give you a break," I said, "but I guess she isn't there yet. I'll keep trying, Andrea. I don't want her to cut you out of her life."

"Thank you, Norm. I really appreciate that."

We sat in silence for a few moments before Andrea spoke.

"I wanted to apologize once more for what I did to you and the family, Norm. I was selfish and stupid and I threw away something important for all the wrong reasons."

A quick thought invaded my head.

"Are you having second thoughts about marrying Kurt?"

She nodded. "Yes. I think I've made another mistake and I don't know what to do about it."

I could see the beginnings of tears. "Tell me about it."

"He treats me like a maid and a ... a ... whore. I'm there to cook, clean and give him sex. He doesn't respect me and likes to rub it in by talking about you."

"What about me?"

"He calls you a wimp and worthless in bed or I wouldn't have left you. He thinks of himself as a 'real man' and I should be on my knees thanking him every day for taking me away from you. I'm still trying to understand how I could have been attracted to him. I must have been out of my mind."

I sighed as I listened to her tale of woe. I wasn't surprised at Kurt Howell. After his little display at the awards banquet, Andrea's description of her life with him fit with my opinion of him. I felt sorry for her, but I couldn't see how I could help her. As far as our marriage went, it was over and done with. I was committed to Kim and nothing was going to change that.

"Is he hitting you?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"No ... no ... he hasn't done that. The abuse is mostly verbal."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want my old life back. I know that's impossible now, but I can't go on pretending that I'm happy or satisfied with how this has turned out. I'm probably going to have to leave him and file for divorce. Won't that be great? Two failed marriages in a year. What a mess I've made of things," she moaned, tears now evident.

I didn't know what to say about her situation. I did feel sorry for her up to a point, but the problems she was facing were all of her own making. No one forced her to cheat on me. No one held a gun to her head to make her marry Kurt. She just went from one bad decision to another without pausing to consider her actions.

--"Andrea, you have to do what you think is right. I'm sure you've learned a lot about yourself in the last couple of years. Find yourself a job and become independent once more. You can do it. You're smart enough."

--Again, looking down she nodded, not saying anything.

--"If I hear of something I'll let you know," I said, wondering if I would.

--"You would. You'd do that for me?"

--"Yes. I won't leave you out of our children's lives and I want you to be able to take care of yourself. A job would give you some purpose in your life."

--"Thank you, Norman. You're a good man. I just wish I'd remembered that sooner," she said sadly, rising to leave. "I hope your operation goes well. Good luck ... and thanks for listening to me."

--"Good luck to you, Andrea."

--It was barely fifteen minutes later that I had another visitor, this one a pleasant surprise.

--"Hello, Walter, how are you?" I greeted my mentor.

--"I'm well, Norm. I wish I could say the same for you. I understand you're in for some more surgery."

--"Yeah, I'm afraid so. It just had to be the same knee that got hammered. Lucky me, huh."

--"You'll be fine, Norm. The surgeons in this hospital are the best. Doctor Demby replaced my hip a couple of years ago. The new one works like a dream."

--"Good to hear it. Demby is my surgeon too. I'm scheduled for tomorrow, so I won't have long to wait. I'm dreading having to go through the physical therapy all over again."

--"Yes, I can imagine you are. However, you're young yet and in good condition. You should come out of this in pretty good shape."

--"I don't know whether I told you or not, but I'm getting married in February."

--"Really! Congratulations. Do I know the lady?"

--"I doubt it. Her name is Kim Penny. She's a widow and I've just hired her to work at Highland. She's going to be on outside sales to contractors and developers. She's already got an order for a townhouse development."

--"I'd like to meet her when the opportunity arises. She sounds impressive."

--"When you see her you'll know just how impressive," I grinned. "We'll be having our usual pre-Christmas party at the store on the afternoon of the 24^th, so please drop by. I know a lot of your old friends will be there and they'd love to see you."

--"I'll do that."

--We chatted about business and our families for a few minutes before Walter had to leave. It was a real pleasure to see him and it reminded me how lucky I was to have him as my backer and friend.

--One hour later, Kim arrived fresh from her day at the office. She had been filling in during my absence. After the usual kiss and pleasantries, I decided to broach what might be a touchy subject.

--"Kim, I have a hypothetical question for you.

--She looked at me quizzically. "Go ahead."

"What would you think if I hired my ex-wife to work at the store?"

"Oh. That's a surprise. Are you asking me if you think it would change our relationship?"

"No ... I'm asking you if you would be upset with her working there. She used to work on the counter when I first joined Highland. That's how I met her. She's already regretting her marriage and is thinking of getting out. I guess Kurt isn't the handsome prince she was expecting."

"Looks like you had him pegged right from the start," she frowned.

"Maybe. Anyway, do you have any problem with my offering her a job?"

"Is it a real job? Do we really need someone?"

"We will. Carolyn is pregnant and may not come back after her maternity leave. We can always use a responsible person on the counter."

"It's your business, Norm. You have to do what you think is best for it."

"That's all fine and dandy, but hiring Andrea is a different issue. I need you to understand that it won't change anything between you and me. And just to correct you, it's our business. We're in this together, remember."

She smiled. "It feels good to pull your chain once in a while. You were really worried about how I would react, weren't you?"

"So, it's okay with you?"

"Of course it is. I think I know you well enough to feel secure about us. If it's something you want to do, then do it."

I reached for her hand and pulled her to me.

"Thank you."

I'd only been awake for an hour when I had my first visitor.

"How do you feel?" Kim said, smiling at me.

"Goofy. I guess the anesthetic hasn't worn off yet."

"The doctor said everything went as well as they had hoped."

"I wonder what that means."

"Don't worry, love. I'll be right there with you for your physical therapy."

"God, I'm glad you're with me. It would be so easy to get depressed and lose confidence that I'm going to be better some day."

"I hope you feel that way when you're doing your exercises. I'm going to be with you to make sure you don't take any short cuts."