September

I was running around the kitchen, trying to get everything ready. I fed Ginger and let her out. I made Rose a cup of coffee and poured the rest of the batch into my travel mug. I let Ginger in. I craned my neck and saw that Rose was in the living room, sitting on the armchair, looking out the window. The caregiver was supposed to get here thirty minutes ago and when I tried calling her phone, there was no answer. I had conferences over conferences with the ADA all day so I couldn't take care of Rose properly before I left and I didn't want her to spend the entire day alone. I called the agency for them to tell me that Mrs. Thomas had called-in sick. At that moment, I didn't know if it was the stress or the urgency of the situation but I lost it.

"And you didn't think of informing me?!" I exclaimed, pissed off. "I didn't ask her to come in as an option, we really need someone to come by the house this morning to take –" I interrupted myself, trying to calm down. "Is there someone else than can cover for her?"

"No, I'm sorry, Sir. I'm afraid no one is available before 3pm."

I looked up to see Rose staring at me and I saw the guilt. I swallowed and exhaled loudly.

"Fine," I told the woman on the phone and hung up without waiting for an answer.

"I'll be fine," Rose said.

"What if something happens? I don't want you to fall. And there is nothing ready for lunch," I explained, barely breathing between my sentences. "What if you need to use the bathroom?"

"I will manage," she simply replied.

"Are you sure?" I asked and she nodded. "I will leave my phone on," I said and leaned down to kiss her. "Are you sure?" I repeated, uncertainty lingering in my voice.

"Yes, go," she shooed me away.

I took my bag and left the house in a hurry. I was running late. I climbed into my car and saw that Rose was looking at me from the window. She waved and I smiled, blowing her a kiss. It worried me to leave her alone for the entire day. Usually, I was at the clinic, ten streets away, and she could contact me at any minute of the day. I also came home for lunch to check in on her and we'd eat together.

I didn't have much time to spare to begin with and the traffic was ridiculous. I asked Siri to call Lauren on Bluetooth, hoping I'd catch her before she drove her kids to school.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, Lauren. What's up?"

"Nothing much. What can I do for you?" she asked and I felt ridiculous. "I know you're not calling me on my day off to ask how I am," she laughed.

"It's just… Rose's caregiver couldn't come in today and I have meetings with the ADA all day. She says she'll be fine but I'm worried. Do you think you could pop in around lunch and make sure that she's okay and that she eats?"

"Sure, no problem!" she replied.

"Use the back door, it will be easier for her to open it. Call me if there's anything. Thank you so much, you're a lifesaver."

I arrived with barely a few minutes to spare, breathless. I looked at my phone, no calls, no messages. I joined everybody in the conference room just in time for it to start.

Around noon, Lauren parked in front of Cal and Rose's then walked around the house to knock on the glass door. She scanned the kitchen when she saw that no one was coming to the door. She knocked again. She finally saw Rose coming from the other room, struggling with her chair. She saw Lauren's face and rolled her eyes. Lauren laughed, knowing it wasn't meant for her but for Cal. Rose motioned for her to come in, the door was unlocked.

"Hey," Lauren said, closing the door behind her.

"Hey!" she replied with a smile. "He sent you, didn't he?" Rose asked and Lauren nodded.

"I brought food, if you want," she announced, showing Rose a paper bag from TBSP.

"Thank you," she told her gratefully.

She had tried microwaving something earlier but couldn't manage to stand and hold the bowl of chicken fried rice at the same time. She was starving and was about to browse Uber Eats to get something delivered.

They sat together at the table and Lauren helped get Rose's sandwich and salad opened and ready to eat. She took her own lunch out and started eating. She had only seen Rose twice since she got out of the hospital, but she could see how far she had come.

"How are you?" Lauren asked.

"Good," Rose replied to her friend. "Better."

"How's the physical therapy going?"

"They say I am amazing but that's not how I feel," she chuckled sadly. "My speech is improving a lot faster than the rest of my body. I just want to get rid of that stupid chair. I am tired of it all."

Lauren nodded, showing support. She couldn't imagine what it was like for Rose to be nailed to that chair all day long. She used to be very active and now she was prisoner of her own body. Cal and Rose used to hike a lot and jog together a few times a week. Who knew if Rose would ever be able to do that again.

"And I feel like I'm holding him back," she admitted, relieved to finally talk to somebody else than her husband.

"You're not," Lauren assured her but she only saw the sorrow in her friend's eyes. "There is not a day since he met you that passes without him mentioning you at least ten times a day to me," she said and Rose giggled. "You're the apple of his eye."

"I feel the same about him. That's why it's so hard for me to accept everything he is doing for me. He put his life and dreams on hold because of all of this."

"And he does it because he wants to."

At that same instant, Rose heard her cellphone ring from the living room. Lauren got up and ran to the next room, bringing the phone back with her.

"Speaking of the devil," she said, giving Rose her phone.

When I arrived home around five, Rose was reading, curled up on the sofa with Ginger. She smiled up softly at me and I leaned down to kiss her, my hand stroking her cheek.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Endless," I sighed. "I have a few things to clear up for the clinic and enroll the assistants for new training. And I realized I might have to find another dentist since the patient list is expanding considerably."

"Sounds like a lot of work," she said.

"It's not as bad as it sounds. Did Lauren stay for long?"

"She left at two o'clock. She had to get the kids from school… Cal?"

"What?"

"Thanks for calling her. I was getting lonely," she admitted and I smiled.

"No worries. Do you want to go out for dinner?" I suggested.

She shook her head and mentioned she'd prefer staying in if I didn't mind. We chose to order sushi and watch the new Pixar movie. After taking a bath together in the candlelight, I carried Rose over my shoulder to the living room, sending her into fits of laughter. The sound was music to my ears. We ordered dinner and I prepared the TV so it would be ready when the sushi arrived.

We both fell asleep halfway through the movie, exhausted. I woke up in the middle of the night, realizing where I was and that the TV was still on. Rose was lying next to me, her head on my lap. I got up quietly, making sure I didn't wake her up, then picked her up in my arms and carried her to bed. She stirred when I set her down on the mattress but went straight back to sleep.

Two weeks later.

I was standing not too far away, looking at Adam and his intern, Gabriella, helping Rose put her feet firmly on the ground. She held herself onto the horizontal pole then, with the therapist's aid, put a foot in front of the other. Again. And again. I looked at her, her smile big and sincere, and I couldn't have been prouder. Only two months ago, I wasn't sure I would ever see her walk again. And now she was.

"Can I do it again?" she asked Adam and he laughed.

"Of course. Don't let go of the pole and don't run yourself ragged," Adam said, staying close enough to hold her up if she falls.

She turned around, still holding the pole firmly, and made a few steps. By the end, I could see her legs shaking slightly but I waited before saying anything.

"I'm afraid I can't do more," she admitted, and I heard myself breathe out in relief.

"Okay," Adam replied, helping her sit on the bench. "Hey, you did amazing."

"I did, didn't I?" she laughed and met my eye. I grinned back.

"We're just going to do some stretching so you don't get too sore and then you can go home. If you keep improving like that, you might leave your next week's appointment with a cane." Adam said as he lifted Rose's left knee.

I helped Rose into her wheelchair at the end of the therapy and thanked both Adam and Gabriella. Adam nodded and we shared a look of satisfaction. She did it. She stood and walked proudly. And she would only improve from now on, I knew it.

We spent the rest of the day shopping for clothes, swiping the credit card one store after another.

Rose didn't go back to work yet and Dr. Matthews had suggested she waited at least a year before going back. I knew she would most likely not be able to wait that long but I also knew she was not ready to go back right now. She had spoken with the rest of the partners and they seemed supportive. Hopefully, it would remain that way. Rose loved her job, she loved helping people more than anything else. And I knew that to stop practicing would devastate her.

Especially now that the life plan we had prepared took an unexpected turn.