Oops, I Did It Again – Chapter 43
About 3:30 the doorbell rang and Constance answered it. It was Angela with bags of groceries. "Hello, Angela." Constance said as she helped Angela bring in the groceries. "What is all this for?" Constance asked as she knew Maura kept up on her grocery shopping.
"Hello, Constance. I am going to cook dinner tonight. Vince and Barry are coming over to visit with Jane and I didn't want Maura to have to worry about cooking dinner for everyone. Plus, I just love her kitchen with its Wolf appliances."
"Yes, when she upgraded this house, she spared no expense. She upgraded the kitchen and all the bathrooms. She put such a large tub in her bathroom. I swear it is almost big enough for three people to take a bath at the same time. I don't know why she needs a tub that big." Constance explained to Angela. "Can I assist you? It has been a while since I have cooked. We have had a chef for so long now, and I have actually missed cooking."
Angela immediately replied, "Of course, wash your hands and you can dive right in and help me wherever you feel comfortable." Constance washed her hands and Angela explained what she was cooking and they worked flawlessly preparing the meal. Constance hadn't even noticed that it had taken Maura almost three hours to come back downstairs with Jane. She was so wrapped up in helping Angela cook dinner.
About 4:30 there was another knock at the door. Maura answered it. It was a delivery man with Jane's motorized wheelchair. Once he unwrapped it, Jane maneuvered into it and he briefed her on how the controls worked. The look on Jane's face was priceless. If Maura thought Jane was happy about the chair on the staircase, this look far exceeded that one.
Jane was in heaven. She took off driving all over the house. She wanted to see how fast the thing could go and almost ran over Maura after she had escorted the delivery man to the door and tipped him generously. "Maur, climb into my lap, let's go for a spin." Maura cautiously climbed into Jane's lap and Jane took off. "This thing needs a horn, Maur."
Jane went into the kitchen and said, "Beep beep, coming through." Maura was thankful that their kitchen was wide enough for Jane to fit through in the wheelchair. She almost ran into both Angela and Constance. "Hey Ma and Constance, look what Maura got me."
They could hardly see it because Jane wouldn't slow down long enough for them to look at it. Jane made a second pass through the kitchen and Constance stepped in front of her. "Stop Jane. I want to see this contraption." Maura took that opportunity to get off of Jane's lap and asked Angela if she needed any assistance.
"No sweetie, your mother had been a huge help. We are almost ready to put dinner in the oven. Jane, sure is in a great mood." Angela stated.
Maura smiled, "Yes, she enjoyed her bath and now with the motorized wheelchair, she is in heaven. I'm having an elevator installed early next week. She will be in her casts for at least another five weeks while her bones heal."
"You sure are spoiling my daughter, Maura." Angela admitted.
"She deserves it, Angela. She works so hard and she will be off of work for a while. I want her to be happy." Maura's face turned a little sad and she continued, "We could have lost her in that accident. I just want to enjoy every possible moment with her. I want her to be as happy as she can be. I love her so much."
Angela stepped over and hugged Maura and kissed her on the forehead, "Thank you for loving my daughter. I never thought she would find someone that understood her and her love for her job, but you do. You two are so different but yet you complement each other so well. I know this accident has been hard on you and forced you to relive Mel's accident but Janie is alive and is so in love with you. I cannot wait until you two get married. I always wanted to have a doctor in the family."
Constance and Jane had ended their conversation and turned and heard that last comment. "Ma, Maura is a member of the family, so you already have a doctor in the family."
Jane pulled Maura down so she could give her a kiss. Maura kissed Jane back. "Alright you two, save that for later, you know like after I have gone home." Angela said. They turned and smiled at her.
"Ma, Frankie said you are looking for an apartment. Are you leaving Pop?" Jane asked.
"Janie, I didn't want to bring my mess up, but yes I am leaving your father and looking for a place to live." Angela announced.
"Angela, I have a two-bedroom guest house right out the back door. Jane and I have talked about it and if you want to live there you could." Maura offered and Jane nodded that 'yes,' she had agreed to that.
"Yeah Ma, you wouldn't have to pay rent and well with me being in this condition and Maura needing to go back to work soon, you could spend some time with me and help me out."
"I thought you have the guest house for when your parents visit." Angela stated.
"Angela, they have their own house and have let me know on several occasions that when they come to town they will stay at their own house." Maura remarked.
"I'm not going to twist your arm Ma, but please just think about it." Jane told her mother.
"I will think about it, thank you. Now, let's talk about something else. This subject is a little depressing." Angela said, hoping that everyone would take the hint and change the subject.
Before the subject could be changed the doorbell rang. Maura opened the door to find Korsak and Frost, each with a nice bottle of wine. Maura smiled as she let them in. Not just because they had nice bottles of wine in their hands, but because she had missed seeing them every day. They were like family and she sincerely missed them. They each gave her a hug as they passed her. They put the bottles of wine down on the kitchen counter and went out to the living room where they heard Jane talking to Constance.
Jane saw them and immediately sped over to them in her new motorized wheelchair. She was having too much fun with that. Maura thought she might have to disconnect the battery to get Jane to sit still. Jane was going to hit somebody with it if she wasn't careful.
Korsak and Frost sat down and Jane pulled over by them so they could catch up. They still were not supposed to talk about any case they were working on without her so they talked about the accident. Korsak said, "the guy that hit you is being charged for a major at-fault accident, because the accident involved two other cars with damages exceeding $5K. His insurance company will be paying BPD for all damages to your cruiser and all medical bills incurred by you, except for the room upgrade, they are only responsible to pay for the standard two-person room not your fancy VIP room that Mrs. Isles upgraded you to."
"Yes, that was a sweet upgrade. Constance that was so nice of you to do that for Jane. She really hates hospitals." Frost stated. They hadn't got to see the room but they had heard all about it from Frankie.
"Guys, Constance loves me so much, she made a deal with the hospital that if I was there as a patient again, I would be upgraded to VIP status. Of course, I'm hoping I never have to use that upgrade." Jane admitted.
"Yes, please Jane. We don't want to go through this again." Korsak stated and everyone in the room agreed.
"Just so you know though I didn't do this. I was doing everything correctly." Jane stated in her defense.
"We know Jane. We know that you are being careful and thinking before you act. Not that you didn't do that before but now you are engaged and getting ready to get married. You have a wonderful lady to come home to every night and we are so happy that you are still with us." Frost stated and then went over and gave Jane a hug.
"Thanks Frost. Is it time to eat yet? I'm hungry." Jane shared and everyone except Jane laughed. Jane was always hungry. Sometimes her stomach even let it be known.
Angela immediately spoke up and said, "Yes, Jane it is time to eat. Come sit down now."
"I'm already sitting down Ma." Jane declared.
"Jane, you know what I meant and let's not joke about that." Angela said as she frowned at her daughter. The thought that she could have lost her daughter that day still upset her. She wasn't sure how long it would take her to get over that, plus that she almost lost Maura joining their family. It was too much for Angela and she was doing her best to get through it. The promise of the upcoming wedding provided her with something positive to look forward to.
"Ah Ma, I wasn't joking about it. I was just saying I'm sitting all ready." Jane informed her mother.
"I know Janie, I'm sorry. I just am a little sensitive right now about the whole thing."
"Okay, Ma, sorry. Let's eat now." Jane announced.
"Yes, let's eat." Angela said.
Everyone gathered around the table. Maura set Jane's plate up on her left side so she could help Jane with her meal. Jane was going to have to learn how to do things with her right hand. Maura was trying to be as supportive as she could be.
Maura took two weeks off of work so she could be there for Jane. If she needed more time then she would take it. Jane was her priority and Jane appreciated what Maura was doing for her. She would much rather have Maura taking care of her than her Ma.
Angela had made lasagna and gnocchi with garlic bread. Constance was fascinated to watch and learn from Angela. She had learned how to make the gnocchi and couldn't believe how easy it was. They had planned to cook some more tomorrow at around 11 AM. With this next batch Constance would be taking the lead as Angela observed.
Maura had given them permission to use her kitchen as she thought they would be more comfortable at her house instead of at Angela's where Frank might be. Constance had no desire to ever see Frank again.
Angela asked if they could use the guest house tomorrow so that they would not disturb her and Jane. Constance was leaving Thursday evening and this would be her last chance to cook with Angela until the next time she came back.
They would have gone to her house but it had been closed up after she and Arthur went back to Paris and she didn't want to have it opened back up knowing that she would be staying with Maura.
During dinner Frost had asked, "So, Janie how are you going to get your motorized wheelchair upstairs? It won't fit on that staircase seat."
"Well smartass …"
Jane was interrupted by her Ma and Maura, "Language Jane."
Jane continued, "We have the other wheelchair upstairs now, so I will use the motorized one downstairs and I will use the seat to get upstairs and then I will climb into the regular wheelchair until the elevator is installed early next week."
"You guys seem to have this all figured out." Korsak stated as he looked at Jane and Maura.
"I'm sure there are some things we might have missed but we will figure them out." Jane advised.
"Yes, we will Jane." Maura said as she gave Jane a quick kiss and wiped some of the sauce off of her mouth. Jane was moving her head too much as she was trying to feed herself with her right hand and she had ended up getting sauce on her face. Jane wasn't as coordinated as she thought with her right hand. Maura cleaned up her mess for her by licking it off after she kissed her.
"Ah, get a room you two." Frost said as he made a goofy face at his partner. He missed Jane and would be so happy when she could return to work, even if it is desk duty. She could still review cases, just not go out to follow up leads.
They spent some time talking and then about 9 PM everybody went home and Constance retreated to the guest room. Jane and Maura stayed sitting on the couch until Jane started feeling tired. Her pain meds made her tired and she had skipped a dose so she could be coherent with everybody there. Now she was paying the price for that as she was in pain.
She took her pain meds and they started their trek upstairs. Maura made sure that the motorized wheelchair was plugged in and that all the doors were locked and lights turned out before she went upstairs. She arrived at the top of the stairs just in time to help Jane change into the regular wheelchair and then she wheeled Jane to the restroom and helped her use the restroom and get ready for bed.
Maura had set up a table in the bathroom with a bowl of water and an empty bowl for Jane to brush her teeth, as Jane couldn't reach the sink and she didn't want to stand up as that would be too much for her in her tired state. Maura helped Jane get into the bed when she was ready and then she turned out the light.
Jane was ready to go to sleep but she wanted her fiancée to snuggle up with her before she shut her eyes. Jane was asleep within five minutes of laying down in the bed. Maura just smiled at her. She was so happy that Jane was there with her. She would cherish their time together and tomorrow they would figure out what they were going to wear for their wedding on Friday.