Zoe woke to an empty bed - again. She was a bit disoriented for a moment, the setting familiar but still not quite right. Remembering sleeping in the Gatehouse with Wade the night before, she looked around wondering where he went and why he'd left her to wake up alone. "Hasn't the past 6 weeks of waking up alone been enough?!" She said to herself, "where is he?"
Zoe climbed out of bed and padded over to the front door, slipping on her shoes. There, leaning against the railing that overlooked the pond, was Wade. Still as handsome as ever. She thought as she stood in the doorway, admiring her husband. He'd come so far in the past decade, she couldn't help but be proud of him. It's not that she'd wanted to 'change him' from the guy she'd met when she first came to Bluebell. Ok, maybe she had wanted to change some aspects of him - like his complete lack of drive in every aspect of his life save skirt chasing - but really he'd done all this growing on his own. He was a man she was proud to walk with, and the accident wasn't going to change that.
Plus he was still hot. She laughed at herself as she ogled him. His shoulders seemed broader than before the accident. He looked stronger too, firmer - everywhere. Her eyes moved down his muscled back to his legs...leg. It was startling, he looked so normal otherwise, exactly her Wade, except it was like someone took an eraser to his left leg, it just wasn't there. But it didn't seem to bother him as he stood against the railing. It was then that she really took in his clothes.
"What the hell are you wearing?" She asked in surprise.
Wade turned around with a smooth hopping motion, keeping his hands on the railing behind him for support. "I know, right? I look like a damn hoops player." He was dressed in a fitted t-shirt, loose track pants with the left leg hemmed up, and a crosstrainer shoe. Zoe couldn't remember ever seeing him dressed like this.
"Have you ever even played basketball?" Zoe asked incredulously.
"Not dressed like this. I haven't." He looked down at his outfit, "this was kind of the unofficial rehab uniform," he replied with a shrug.
Zoe came closer eyeing the slightly shiny material, "are those track pants?!"
"I don't think you get to make comments about pants right now Doc." He motioned to her bare legs.
"Shut-up!" She laughed. "I left my pants behind in an effort to get to you more quickly. It was a noble cause."
"Very noble." He pulled her into him, both of them leaning against the railing. "And a very nice behind as well." He grinned as he ran his hand over her backside.
"Wade!" She laughed again, delighted at his playfulness.
"Come on, we best be putting some pants on you before the neighbors spot you."
"Sadly both Lavon and Lemon have already seen me sans pants. More times than I'd like to admit actually."
"Well, then let's not add to the count." He reached over and slipped his arms in the cuffs of his sleek black forearm crutches. "Let's get you home." He took a few swinging steps to the old patio table where his backpack sat. Zoe watched him move. This was really the first time she'd seen him up and walking. He'd been in a wheelchair during her one and only trip up to Birmingham and not even out of bed when he was still in the hospital in Mobile.
"You're moving better than I expected you would."
"Didn't I ever tell you about breaking my ankle in the 6th grade?" He slipped the backpack over his shoulder and replaced his arm into the crutch. "I was the King of Crutches." With a mischievous grin he added, "That's when Ginny Lynn Bogart kissed me for the first time."
She gave a mock exasperated sigh, "not Ginny Lynn. I like her, I don't want to have to add her to the list of women that have made out with my husband. The list is already far too long."
"If it helps you're the only one on the list of woman I want to make out with."
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him, hard. "Yeah, that does actually help."
Zoe made him feel normal again. As they walked back to their house that's what he felt, normal. And considering the way he had felt last night, this was nigh on a miracle. Yes, he was on crutches, and yes he was still most decidedly down a limb, but when they were talking together, being together, he just felt like himself. It was nice.
Halfway there Zoe's phone pinged. "Lavon said he's taken the kids into town. We'll have the house to ourselves for a while." She smiled up at him.
Wade wasn't sure how he felt about this news. On one hand he was eager to see his kids, he missed Parker and Cora so much it hurt, but on the other hand he was relieved that he'd have the chance to clean up and get comfortable in the house again before they descended.
"I still can't believe you are wearing track pants and crosstrainers."
"Crosstrainer, Zo. Singular."
"That doesn't actually make it better."
"It makes it 50% better." He retorted.
"Yeah, NO." She giggled.
"Don't worry Doc. Getting back into my own boots is something I'm looking forward too. Right after showering in my own shower. Wearing my normal clothes, sleeping in my own bed, eating in my own kitchen. Kissing my own wife."
She shoved him lightly, luckily not hard enough to mess with his balance, "been kissing someone else's wife?" He just winked at her and grinned. "You're terrible you know that. If I wasn't so happy to have you back..." She mock threatened.
"I love you, Zo." The smile across his face radiated from his heart.
"I love you too, smartass."
By the time they reached the Carriage House Wade's arms were sore. It wasn't even that far a walk, he lamented, but it was still farther than he was used to walking in one stretch. The comfortable sofa in the living room called to him like a siren's song.
"Oh bless them!" Zoe had run up the front steps, giving him the time and space needed to carefully navigate the few steps up. "Lemon left us breakfast." She crowed as she triumphantly carried the familiar pink box into the kitchen. "I'll grab us plates."
Wade found himself standing at the threshold to his home again. This time determined to go through it. Afterall the house held Zoe, and the couch, and the pastries, he needed to get in there. But he still couldn't seem to cross the threshold.
"Wade?" Zoe called from inside. "In the mood for a cruller or a muffin?"
She has no idea I'm struggling here. The thought made him oddly proud, she hadn't noticed this weakness, and there was no reason to show her. He placed one crutch just inside the door, then the other, with the slight swinging/hopping motion that had replaced his swagger, he was in the house.
And he felt entirely the same. "Well, that was anticlimactic," he said out loud.
"Did you say something?"
"Uh, cruller would be perfect." He answered as he made his way to the sofa and sank down onto it. "Hello sofa, I've missed you." He stretched back and felt some of the tension he'd been trying to ignore all morning slip away. This was home.
After breakfast of coffee and crullers on the couch, Zoe suggested they head up stairs and clean up. "I hate to break it to you, but Wade Kensella, you kind of stink and those pants are stupid."
"Says the woman who still isn't wearing pants."
"At least I don't stink." She stood up and offered him her hand, "come on, up you go."
He stood carefully and followed her to the stairs. Looking up the steep wooden stairwell with the rickety banister he'd been meaning to replace for the past year, he sighed, "no good way for me to get up there."
Zoe looked stricken, "Oh Wade, I'm sorry, I don't know why I didn't think about this. Shoot, we don't have a shower on this floor."
He shook his head at her, "I'm not saying I can't get up there - just that it's not going to be pretty." He handed Zoe his crutches, "Just leave these up at the top of the stairs and I'll be up in a bit."
She did as he asked, waiting for him at the top as he sat down on the steps and scooted up each one, his arms lifting and his leg pushing him back to the next step. "I can feel you watching me." He growled up at her, "go on to the bedroom. I don't need your supervision. I got this."
He heard her start to say something but then change her mind and head down the hall. He was glad his back was to her, he didn't want her seeing the embarrassment across his face. "Nothing like draggin' your butt up a flight of stairs to make you feel manly," he grumbled to himself. But at least he could do it, and that was more than some of guys he met in Birmingham could say.
When he reached the top he stood up and slipped into the crutches Zoe had left for him.
This is my new normal.
Hi all. Sorry for the long delay between chapters. It's been a crazy week and I have to admit I struggled with this section. After so much drama and angst it was time for something a little different and it didn't flow quite as easily as previous chapters. Oh well. Back to the good stuff soon!
Thank you so much for all your kind comments. It seriously amazes me that anyone is interested in reading my story at all, and I appreciate all your feedback so much.
Have a great week!
-E