Chapter 29
The next morning...
Emily wakes up before her alarm goes off. She shuts it off so it doesn't go off while she's in the shower. She grabs some undergarments from her dresser and takes her robe from off the back of her door. She heads to the bathroom to take a shower. She washes her hair with her new shampoo and conditioner, washes her face, uses her body wash and then rinses off. She shuts the shower off and steps out as she grabs her towel off the towel rack next to the shower. She leans over and wraps her wet hair in the towel. She grabs her other towel and dries herself off. She slips on her undergarments and then her robe.
She heads to her bedroom to pick out the clothes she's wearing to church. She decides on her ankle length floral print dress and her denim jacket to wear over it. She takes out her white chunky heels and a pair of pantyhose. She puts it all on her bed as she grabs her blow dryer to dry her hair. She takes her hair out of the towel and shakes her head to loosen the wet strands. She starts blow drying her hair and before long it's dry as she runs a brush through it.
She gets dressed, pulls her hair up in a clip and curls it with her curling iron, she then puts her makeup on; remembering what her mother taught her about applying it so it looks natural, squirts on some body spray and then slips her heels on. She checks the clock and realizes she has about 20 minutes to spare so she takes the time to grab something quick for breakfast. By the time she finishes eating, brushing her teeth, and reapplying her lipstick; Jordan and his mother show up. She grabs her purse from off her chair and runs out the door and to the waiting car.
A short time later...
Jordan, his mom and Emily make it to the church as they pull into the parking lot. As Emily steps out of the car with Jordan's assistance she looks up at the church, fascinated. She had been seeing the progress of the church as she would ride by on her way to and from school every day but hadn't realized how beautiful the church really was.
Jordan notices Emily looking at the church building.
"So what do you think of it?" he asks.
She looks down at Jordan before answering him and then gives him a smile.
"It's beautiful. I love it."
Jordan grins; agreeing with her as he nods.
"Yes, it really is a beautiful church."
They follow Jordan's mother into the church as they walk hand in hand. Jordan looks handsome in his dress pants, dress shirt and tie. It's the first time she's seen him dressed up and she likes it. They continue to follow Jordan's mother as they make it to the sanctuary. Jordan starts introducing Emily to everyone as she shakes hands and smiles as she had been taught. They finally make it to their pew in the front of the church where there are already a few people seated. Jordan's mother begins talking to the girl seated in the pew as Emily just watches. Jordan finally introduces them.
"Emily, I would like you to meet my sister Megan. Megan, this is Emily."
Megan looks at Emily for a moment and then smiles as she extends her hand. Emily shakes Megan's hand and smiles back. She sees Megan's mouth full of braces but that still doesn't distract from the fact that she is very pretty. She has the same color eyes as Jordan.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Emily. I'm glad you could come today."
Emily nods as she replies with a smile.
"Yes, thank you. It's nice to meet you too, Megan."
Megan then goes back to talking to her mom. Emily turns her attention to the front of the church. She sees the pulpit where Jordan's dad will be standing during his sermon, and the chairs lined up behind it, and then off to the side she sees some instruments and microphones. This is just all so new and fascinating to her, it's so much to take in.
Emily is distracted when Jordan puts his arm around her to comfort her. She leans into him and then looks up when she sees something out of the corner of her eye. She sees a man approaching them carrying a little boy on his hip. When he reaches them, he sets the little boy down. The little boy heads right for Emily and climbs up in the pew next to her.
"Hi, I'm Elijah, are you Emily?" he asks.
Emily looks at the little boy and nods.
"Yes I am." She replies with a smile.
Jordan breaks the uncomfortableness as he speaks.
"Emily this is my little brother, Elijah."
"Nice to meet you, Elijah." she says as she tries to shake his hand.
He nods then shakes her hand quickly, then wipes his nose with the back of his hand.
Jordan scolds his little brother.
"Elijah use a tissue, that is so disgusting!"
The man that brought Elijah over overhears and looks down. He grabs a tissue out of his pocket and hands it to Elijah.
"Wipe your nose with the tissue Elijah; not your hand."
He nods.
"Okay daddy."
Elijah wipes his nose with the tissue as Jordan introduces Emily to his dad.
"Dad, this is Emily Crane. The one I have been telling you about."
Jordan's dad smiles as he looks at Emily.
"It's nice to finally meet you Emily. I'm so glad you could come this morning."
Emily smiles as she shakes his hand.
"Thank you, sir. I'm glad to be here."
"Good, have a good time and we will talk more after the service okay?"
Emily nods; agreeing.
"Sure, that would be fine."
Jordan's dad turns his attention back to his family and before long; Jordan's mom takes Elijah to children's church as the service begins to start. Jordan's dad excuses himself as he steps up to the pulpit to begin his sermon.
They all stand and begin the service with a prayer, and then they sing some hymns that Emily struggles her way through, and then the sermon. When the service is finally over, one of the elders of the church welcomes Emily to the church and gives her a Bible of her very own. Jordan's family invites her to go to lunch with them before they go to the hospital to see her dad. During lunch it gives Emily a chance to get to know everyone in the family a bit better. It turns out that they are all really good people who are genuinely nice. She really likes all of them and can't wait to introduce them to her family. Elijah is just the cutest little boy she has ever met. Before long, lunch is over as they head to the hospital.
Meanwhile...
Niles is just finishing up his physical therapy. The doctors are all impressed on how well he's doing. He was one of the lucky ones, he little to no permanent brain damage. He can talk, his motor skills are just fine, his upper body strength is normal, and so far has no side effects from the surgery. The only problem is the weakness in his lower body. His legs aren't functioning quite right. He has feeling in them and can move them, but the muscles are very weak. A wheelchair is going to be his friend for a while until he gets the strength back in his legs. This physical therapy is going to be just the thing he needs to get back on his feet again and Niles is determined to make that happen. He has missed holding his wife in his arms and once he is better, he's going to show her just how much he loves her. He also can't wait to get back to work; he has missed his patients and his job.
The nurse wheels Niles back to his room and helps him back to bed. Niles keeps checking the clock because he's anxiously waiting for Emily to show up with her friend. Just when he thinks he's missed her, she shows up.
She stands in the doorway holding the hand of a boy he assumes is Jordan.
"Hi daddy." she says with a smile.
Niles smiles at his daughter.
"Hello Emily, I'm so glad you showed up. I am so happy to see you."
"I'm happy to see you too daddy."
Niles holds his arms out for a hug as Emily runs to him and hugs him. She leaves Jordan standing by himself but for only a few moments. She then pulls out of the hug and gestures to Jordan.
"Come here, Jordan. I want you to meet my daddy."
Jordan approaches Niles' bed and suddenly acts very shy. When he reaches Niles' bed he smiles and stands there with his hands in his pockets.
"Daddy this is Jordan, Jordan this is my daddy."
Niles holds out his hand for a handshake as Jordan finally takes it and shakes it.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Jordan."
"It's nice to meet you too, sir."
Jordan pulls his hand away and sticks it back in his pocket. He continues to stand there acting all nervous and uncomfortable.
Niles breaks the silence.
"So are you taking good care of my daughter? I know you two have only known each other a short time but, she's my little girl and I just want to make sure she's taken care of."
Jordan smiles and nods.
"Yes, sir. I really like Emily and I can promise you that I only have her best interests at heart. She's a special girl and I'm glad I met her."
Emily gets embarrassed hearing that.
"Well I'm glad to hear that and from what I've seen I like you too. I know I can trust you and I hope I will get to see more of you in the future."
"You can count on that sir and my family and I are praying for your speedy recovery."
Niles smiles.
"Well thank you. I appreciate that and I know I will be out of here and back with my family in no time."
Emily loves the sound of that.
"I'm so happy to hear that daddy!" she squeals.
She wraps her daddy in a hug and holds him for a few minutes.
Jordan finally interrupts them.
"Well Emily my family is in the car waiting so we should probably get going."
Emily looks over at Jordan.
"Well okay then. See you later, daddy. I promise to stay longer next time."
"Okay, see you later you two."
"Bye." they both say as they wave as they are leaving.
Niles continues to watch the door even after they are gone. He is so happy to see his daughter so happy. He can't wait for the day that he can get out of this bed and this hospital and back home where he belongs and he will do anything to make that happen.
To be continued...
