The Aspiring Journalist Chapter 10
Two weeks late,r the Spring Semester started, Ezra was happy to getting back to teaching. Since the incident at New Year's with the fireworks, Ezra had been ok as long he wasn't around sounds that were similar to gunshots or explosions. He and Aria spent a lot of time before the semester started. Aria would continue on with graduate school and she was going to be doing academic research to get her stipend. Ezra also met his teaching assistant who was also friend of Aria's. The new teaching assistant was Lucas Gottesman. The first day of the semester, Ezra met with Aria at the Hollis Bar and Grille for lunch. She smiled at the table as he went up.
Ezra said, "Hey, how are doing?"
"The first day went good for me. The waitress will be here in a few minutes to take our orders. I think I'm going to get the barbecue chicken sandwich with curly fries." Aria said.
"I think I'll get the same. My first day is going ok. I think Lucas will be a good T.A." Ezra said.
"He is a good guy. We worked on projects together during undergrad. I had a brief meeting this morning with the department on the research I will be doing. They want to me to conduct some surveys on how people react to how war and other tragedies are covered. I was wondering if you could maybe help me, since you have experience." Aria asked.
Ezra got nervous and it took him a couple of minutes to say, "Sure. I'll help you."
He didn't want to help Aria and he didn't want to think about the war. But he knew he had to continue pretending to be ok.
The waitress came over and took their orders. Aria's phone rang and she answered the phone.
Ezra listened a bit as she spoke on the phone, he heard her say into the phone, "I can go into the store later today. I almost forget that it was time to get a replacement."
She hung up the phone and said to Ezra. "That was my home care store. The time has come for my insurance company to replace this wheelchair. It still works good, but insurance companies like replace them after several years. I might keep this one around to use at home. Would you like to come with me to the store?"
"Yeah, I can go. I used a wheelchair for awhile when I was in the hospital and in rehab, but it wasn't as nice as the ones you and other paraplegics use." Ezra.
"We use custom chairs that are set up to be based on our heights and other needs. While I'm at the store, I'll probably pick up some new wheelchair gloves and see if there is anything I need for my handcycle. I know it's still winter time, but I do a lot of handcycling in the warm seasons." Aria said.
"You do handcycling in addition to skiing. You are kicking my butt. I guess I need to get back into doing something similar, but I still worry about a lot of people seeing my prosthetic." Ezra said.
"I know you are still uncomfortable. I'll help you any way I can. About in a few months, you grab a bike and you come with Emily, Mona, and I on a short cycling trip. You can wear sweats or something, you wouldn't need to wear shorts if you don't want to."
Ezra responded, "I'll take you up on the deal and I'll wear shorts. I want to see how you use your handcycle. I have seen the pictures of you and online videos of people using them."
"They are a lot of fun. Mona and I have done some handcycling adventures. We did a charity ride a couple of years ago to help raise money for disabled people in need. " Aria said.
"Wow, that is very nice. I consider myself lucky to have had my medical needs take care of by insurance." Ezra said.
"I'm lucky too. I remember worrying about money when I was hurt. I was so scared that my parents were going to end up with money troubles because of me. But the insurance and a little help from others covered everything."
"I think I should give back somehow to others especially those in need." Ezra said.
"There are a lot of ways. I'll introduce you to some programs."
Ten minutes later, the waitress arrived with their meals and they ate lunch. After lunch, they both headed back to the campus. Aria went into the library to get ahead on her research work. She started off by reading the history of war journalism. Later on she and Ezra went to the home care store. Ezra watched as she looked at various chairs and talked with the salesman. She sat in some of the chairs and some measurements were taken. After Aria selected her chair and picked up other supplies, they headed to Ezra's apartment
A few hours later, Ezra and Aria were finishing up dinner.
"You should stay the night." Ezra said.
"I would like that. But I'm still not ready for sex."
"No pressure Aria."
The two spent the rest of evening reading and talking. Aria sent Emily a text saying she was spending the night at Ezra's.
It was around 10:30, when they got into bed.
Aria put her head on Ezra's chest and said, "I always feel so safe in your arms."
Ezra kissed her forehead and said, "I will always protect you."
In the morning, Aria left early to head home take a shower and get changed. Ezra hated that she had to go and he wished that they could have eaten breakfast together. He ended up eating a simple breakfast of toast and jelly and an apple. He showered and got ready. He heard a loud sound and started to shake and panic. Ezra was then glad that Aria had not been around to see him panicking. He headed to Hollis.
He had a morning faculty meeting and then he taught an afternoon class. He and Lucas headed back to the office to discuss Ezra's classes and if anything should be changed early on in the semester. Later on, Lucas decided to ask Ezra about his past.
"Ezra, this might be a bit personal. But I know you spent time as an embedded journalist in Iraq. That type of journalism interests me. I was wondering, if you could, talk to me a bit about that." Lucas said.
"Well, being a journalist in a war zone can be eye opening. We are there seeing some of the action in present, rather than after the fact or taking accounts from soliders. I'll be honest Lucas, war reporting isn't a good thing and please avoid it at all costs." Ezra said.
Lucas was a bit surprised at Ezra's response and said, "Were there any positives?
"I got to meet soldiers from various backgrounds. I learned their different stories as to why they joined the military. I also got to see Iraqi culture and people up close. I met some nice Iraqi people."
"Thank you, Ezra for answering my questions. I know war journalism can be difficult. I just wanted to talk to someone who has experience."
"It's no problem Lucas. I'm here to guide you and other graduate and undergraduate students into journalism careers."
Lucas picked up his backpack and other items and said, "I'm going to head out."
Ezra told him bye. He was secretly uncomfortable at having to answer questions about his time in Iraq. But he knew he couldn't avoid it due to his job, Aria's academic research, and Lucas's interests in war journalism.
A month passed by, Aria was now fully engrained in the academic research she was doing. She occasionally asked Ezra's opinions on things. He did his best to answer them and he also concealed his post-traumatic stress disorder well from her. He had come to conclusion that he had that. The nightmares, the stressful reactions to loud sounds, and the sensitivity to the topic of war were all clear symptoms. But he still didn't want anyone to know.
Ezra continued on with his usual routine of going to work, teaching, and then spending time with Aria. He agreed to spend a weekend at Aria's when Emily was out of town. He knew that Aria sometimes felt unsafe being in a home by herself. The first night of his stay he was surprised when he and Aria ended up in bed having sex.
Aria had previously told him, that due to her paralysis, she wouldn't feel penetrations. Ezra was understanding. While he was inside of her, he did other things to pleasure her. He kissed and touched parts of her body she could feel. He sucked a bit on her breasts and she moaned in pleasure.
After it was done, Aria cried.
Ezra wiped her tears with his thumb and said, "Don't cry."
"I know I'm being too emotional, but I'm just happy and a bit sad that I couldn't feel a lot of it. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed what he did. But I still feel incomplete." Aria said.
Ezra took her into his arms and said, "It's ok I understand, but you aren't incomplete to me."
The next day, Aria's brother Mike came over to hang out with them. He brought over a small stack of DVDs, bagged popcorn, drinks, and his portable gaming system, a PS Vita. Aria wanted Mike and Ezra to become friends. She had invited Mike to spend the day with them.
They watched a a couple of movies. In the evening time, Aria ordered pizzas from a takeout place, a few miles away.
Ezra said, "Do you want me to pick up the pizzas?"
"No, I'll go." Aria said.
She wanted to give Ezra and Mike some alone time to help further build a friendship.
Aria put her purse over her lap and went out the door.
Ezra took some sips from his soda, while he was in the kitchen finishing up a salad to go along with the pizzas Aria was picking up.
He then heard the faint sound of gunfire. He started to shake a bit. He went into the living room and saw Mike playing a war shooting video game on his PS Vita. Ezra watched as Mike's handheld gaming console showed graphics of a rifle shooting people. He saw the animated video game characters being shot.
He then remembered Iraq. Despite, the various safety precautions to protect journalists, he ended up seeing gunfire and wounded people. He went back into the kitchen. He decided to make the salad bigger, in order to avoid being around Mike and the sounds and images of the war video game. He was angry at his past. As he was angrily cutting an extra bell pepper, he cut the inside of his hand.
He screamed in pain, "Damn it".
Ezra glanced at the cut. It was about two inches long. He had backed away from the kitchen island, as blood came out. He grabbed paper towels and wrapped them around his dad to put pressure in the room.
He then saw Mike in the kitchen.
"Are you ok Ezra?" Mike asked.
"I cut myself. I think I'm going to need stitches. Let's just wait for Aria to come home. I'll have her take me to the urgent care clinic." Ezra said.
Several minutes later, Aria came in through the door. Two pizza boxes were on her lap. Mike came out to the doorway and said, "Aria, Ezra cut his hand."
Aria panicked a bit and quickly wheeled herself into the kitchen. She saw Ezra putting pressure on the cut with fresh paper towels that were having new blood stains form on them. She noticed some blood on Ezra's light blue t-shirt.
"Are you ok Ezra? Does it hurt?" Aria said she wheeled close to a table. She put the pizzas on the table.
"It hurts quite a bit. I think I need stitches." He said.
"Ok, let's get you to the urgent care clinic." Aria said.
Ezra followed Aria out to her van. Mike opened the passenger door for Ezra to get in.
Aria got into the van through the ramp and she got into the driver's seat. They headed off and ten minutes later they were at the urgent care clinic.
Luckily, the clinic wasn't filled up with other people. A nurse saw Ezra's bleeding hand and immediately took him to one of the small exam rooms. One of the physicians on staff looked over Ezra's hand. He cleaned the wound up well and then prepped Ezra's hand for stitches, by injecting lidocaine to numb the hand, and the cut on Ezra's hand was closed up by three stitches.
The physician Dr. Wren Kingston then wrapped up Ezra's hand with roller bandages.
"Mr. Fitz, the cut should heal well. We will send you home with a box of bandages and some prescribed ointment. Change the bandages daily for the next week and put the ointment over the area before the bandages." Dr. Kingston said.
Ezra said, "I will do everything right. I'm impressed at how well you did the stitches. I've had some bad suture jobs in the past."
Dr Kingston said, "You have. I know that some of colleagues aren't great at suturing."
He finished up bandaging Ezra's hand. A nurse handed Ezra a bag of supplies he would need at home.
He went out in the waiting area and saw Aria reading a magazine. Ezra went up to the receptionist's desk and they went over the bill that was going to be sent to Ezra's insurance company. Ezra paid the co-pay.
Aria starred a bit at Ezra's bandaged hand as they went into the parking lot.
They headed back to her house. The first thing they did was go into Aria's bedroom, so Ezra could change out of his blood stained shirt. Aria helped him get a clean shirt on.
They went into the kitchen.
Mike said, "How did it go? I hope everything is ok."
"I had to get three stitches to close it up. I'll be ok." Ezra said.
Aria then took one pizza out of the box and cut slices. She put several slices on a plate and then warmed them up in the microwave.
Mike said, "I cleaned up in here. The salad was in the bowl is in the refrigerator."
Aria wheeled over and opened the door and got it out.
The timer on the microwave went off. Mike got out the warmed pizza slices. There were plates already set on the table. The three sat down to eat.
Ezra was still feeling a bit uneasy. He kept glancing down to his bandaged hand and realizing his emotions were part of the reason he injured his hand. He knew he had to continue his facade of being ok.
After dinner, Aria and Mike cleaned up in the kitchen and they watched a comedy movie before Mike headed out for the night. Aria and Ezra later got ready for bed.
Ezra climbed into bed. Aria was still in her wheelchair near her night stand. She took some sips from a glass of water and then took two pills.
Ezra said, "What are those pills for?"
"Muscle spasms. Sometimes my legs spasm. These medications help decrease the spasms. They still happen though."
Aria looked closely at Ezra's bandaged hand and said, "I hope you don't get any bad scars on your hand."
"Oh, I'll be ok. Aria, last night I felt a scar on the part of your lower back. That was from a surgery right?" He asked.
"Yeah, it was. I had to have surgery on my spine after the accident. They had to put a small rod in there. I know that scar is ugly."
"It's not ugly. It's a scar of survival." Ezra said.
"I guess it is. You have survival scars on leg stump. Those are true survival scars." Aria said.
Ezra was now a bit nervous.
He didn't respond to Aria's comment about his own scars.
He watched as she transferred out of her chair into the bed.
Aria leaned in and kissed him on the lips and said, "I'm so sorry you didn't have a good day today. It sucks having an injury and even when it is minor."
Ezra kissed her back and said, "It was just a silly little accident. I guess I should pay more attention when I'm cutting food."
Twenty minutes later, Aria was fast asleep.
Ezra watched as she slept. He was glad Aria and Mike didn't ask any other questions about how he cut his hand. He felt the somewhat itchy texture of the bandages. He hated himself for being weak earlier in the day. He kept blaming himself for not reacting better to the war video game Mike was playing. Two hours later, he finally fell asleep.