CHAPTER TWO: ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
Perry Mason awoke to hearing his name called. He looked up to see hazel eyes looking at him. "You stayed all night?"
"Of course," he explained, "I told you I would be here any time you woke up."
"Perry, it is after nine you need to go home and get ready for the office."
"That is all taken care of I told Gertie to close up for the week. All that matters is that I take care of you."
Before they could say anything more the doctor walked through the door and asked, "how is my patient doing today?"
"I've been better," she admitted.
"I better take a look at that arm and see where we are with the swelling."
She unwrapped Della's arm and looked it over closely, "it looks like the swelling has gone down but I think we need to give it one more day before I able to put a cast on it. Wiggle your fingers for me if you can."
Perry saw her trying to wiggle her fingers, but he also saw the pain on her faced as she tried to do so.
The doctor said, "that's enough for today I'm going to keep you on some medication but not as strong as what I had you on yesterday. I think by tomorrow morning we can put something on that hand and wrist and then if you're still feeling OK, we'll let you go home."
"How long am I going to have to have a cast on?'' She asked.
Dr. Simpson thought for a moment and replied, "at least six weeks."
The first words out of her mouth were, "I have an office to run so that's not going to be very convenient for me."
"My dear Mrs. Mason I believe that your husband will be able to make other arrangements to keep his business running. You have to be the first consideration here and you're going to have therapy afterwards.".
Once the doctor left, she looked at her husband and asked, "what are we going to do? This isn't going to be very convenient for any of us?"
Trying not to smile because he knew that would just irritate her, he finally said, "My dear wife if you will remember when I had to have surgery on my shoulder, I had to stay off work too. You were right there making sure that I did everything I was supposed to do."
"But Perry, I was able to take over and do everything at the office while you were sick. Who's going to take over for me? I don't want some stranger going through my office."
"Della it's all taken care of I talked with Gertie and she's going to take over the management of the office the way you trained her to do when we're not there and you had the flu. I have Sharon taking over her reception duties and doing typing. We will be able to manage for a few weeks."
He saw tears in her eyes, and he kissed her quickly. "Baby, it will be fine."
"I feel helpless,"
He said sympathetically, "I know how that feels."
Perry thought she would not want to be reminded this is exactly how she had reacted when he had complained about being laid up.
She laid back and closed her eyes and he suggested she try to rest. Before he knew it, she was sleeping again.
The afternoon went quickly with Andrea, Paul, and Gertie visiting. They had brought flowers knowing how much she loved them.
After Gertie left, he asked, "do you feel better now?"
"I guess,"
"Honey I am not going anywhere. Andrea is bringing you some clothes to go home and a change of clothes for me. I need a shower and shave."
She smiled at him and said, "you do look a little scruffy."
"Maybe I'll grow a beard," he suggested.
"You are too young maybe when you are older, besides I want to be able to see those dimples."
He laughed. "So, tell me what happened to you."
Della thought for a few minutes before answering. "I remember going down to the beach before Andrea arrived. I stayed down there longer than I thought and was hurrying up the stairs and felt dizzy. My sandal broke and I remember trying to break my fall. I hit my head and the next thing I knew Andrea was shaking me."
"Thank goodness you were going out with her. You might have lain there a long time," he observed.
"She is such a good friend. We really owe her this time."
Perry grinned, "she told me you would do the same for her. That you had been through a lot and made it through together."
"That is for sure," Della smiled remembering some of the scrapes they had gotten into years before.
Her husband looked at her and asked, "would you like to share?"
She laughed, "I do need my secrets."
"So, what is so funny?" Andrea asked as she carried in a small suitcase and clothing bag.
"Perry is trying to figure out my deep dark secrets."
Andrea looked at the lawyer. "Your wife was not always the efficient, hard working person you know now."
"Oh, now I really would like to hear some of these stories," he said.
"We were just young, and you do those crazy things then," Andrea explained.
Motioning to a chair the attorney remarked, "sit down and let's hear some of your stories."
"Oh no you don't. Andrea remember he is one of the best cross examiners in the country."
"Gotta go, Paul is waiting for me in the parking lot," she said hurriedly.
Della laughed as she told him, "foiled again."
"Your desire to keep me in the dark makes me want to know even more."
She raised her arched eyebrows as she asked, "Does that mean I also get to know your deep dark secrets?"
"WELL…"
As she moved her arm she winced.
"Are you okay sweetheart?"
"Could you see if I can have something for pain? I….."
He was halfway out the door before she finished her sentence. He came back with a nurse who told her they would be with her in a few minutes, but she needed to rest too.
The rest of the day was spent with Della resting and nurses coming in and out to check on her hand and wrist to see if the swelling was going down. The night nurse told Perry Mason if the swelling continued to improve his wife could possibly have it cast and go home the next day.
The lawyer called the housekeeper who cleaned their city apartment to come in the next morning and clean and stock the kitchen with essentials that they would be staying there for a number of weeks.
Della was still asleep when Perry got up in the morning and showered, shaved, and dressed. As he was coming out of the bathroom the doctor was coming in from the hall.
"Good morning Mr. Mason. The nurses tell me your wife's arm is ready to be cast. They will be coming in as soon as I look at her to bring her to the casting room. If everything goes well, you could take her home this afternoon."
"That is good news Doctor she is getting restless."
As the doctor examined her arm Della awoke.
She smiled at her and said, "well Mrs. Mason this wrist and hand looks much better. We will be able to fit you for a cast today and if goes well we can send you home this afternoon."
"I'm still a little groggy doctor did I hear you right I can go home?"
She grinned, "If you do everything you are supposed to, I think we can release into your husband's care."
"Let's go doctor I feel a lot better."
The medic replied, "The nurse will be in and get you ready. I'll see you a little later."
After she left Della turned excitedly to Perry. "Did you hear her I can go home."
"Calm down she also said if you did everything you are told. It will take a while for that wrist and hand to heal and then you have physical therapy."
"Perry I can't be away from the office that long. It is not my right hand I can still do some things."
"We'll talk about it later. For now, I want you home. In fact, I am going to go out get something special for us for your homecoming What would you like?"
She motioned for him to come closer and when he did, she touched his face and asked for a kiss. When he let him go, she said, softly, "Surprise me."
The nurse standing in the door said with a smile, "I hated to interrupt but we need to get you ready."
"I was just getting ready to leave for a while," Perry explained. "Just take good care of her."
Assured they would, he told Della he would be back in plenty of time to take her home.
Later that evening he was busy getting her settled on the big sofa where she had taken care of him so many times.
"Now you just sit and relax and I'm going to go out and fix our dinner."
"You are so good to me and it feels so good to be home."
He crouched down beside the sofa and took her in his arms holding her tight. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "I am so glad you are alright. I was so scared when Paul told me they were taking you to the hospital.
Pulling back slightly she smiled at him. "Now you know how I felt every time some has happened to you."
Perry acknowledged she was right just before he kissed her lips. What had started out tenderly quickly became passionate. Breathlessly he said, "If you weren't just out of the hospital, we would be having a very late supper."
"I plan to use the Perry Mason method of healing and will be up before you know it."
Taking her right hand, he commented, "I know if anyone can do it you can. Now I need to get started on dinner, you rest."
An hour later he was waking her up and helping her to sit up. Once she was comfortable, he brought in a glass of cold water and shrimp cocktail but there could be no liquor with her medications. He pulled up the coffee table and sitting beside her made sure she was having no trouble eating.
Della asked him if he would go out to the beach house the next day and get her sleeveless dresses and blouses, she had plenty of other things right there. "It will be easier to dress not that it won't taking some getting used to though."
He grinned, "now you will know how I felt when you were helping me dress."
"I don't remember any complaining on your part."
"I'm losing this argument the rest of supper should be ready."
She had not expected steak which Perry had cut up for her, lyonnaise potatoes and garlic bread but it was all her favourites. They even had crepes for dessert which he fed her.
All she could think was, "oh this blasted hand and wrist." The only thing she wanted to do with this wonderful man right then was make love.
He must have thought the same because after he cleaned up, he started a fire and cuddled up on her good side.
As he was kissing her hair, she felt herself drifting off into sleep. When she awoke in the middle of the night needing pain medicine, he had her all tucked in on the sofa and he was asleep in a chair at her side. As irascible as some people thought he could be she knew what a wonderful caring man he was and how lucky she was that he loved her.