Abbie Carmichael stood in her boss's office, going over some papers while she waited for his return. It was around noon, on one of those bright sunny spring days in New York City, and even a dedicated young Assistant District Attorney like Abbie was aching to just sit in the park and enjoy the sunshine. It was hard to concentrate on murder cases when the whole city felt as if it were just awakening from a long sleep.
Abbie had put down her papers and was gazing wistfully out the window when she heard a knock on the door.
"Hello?" A voice called. Abbie turned around and saw a young woman - maybe about her age, within a few years in either direction - sitting in a wheelchair. The wheelchair was one of the motorized kind, the kind with rubber wheels powered by a little joystick control. Abbie immediately chastised herself for noticing the chair before the person inside, and she forced herself to look the woman in the eye.
The woman was extremely thin. Her shoulder length brown hair was combed to fall in soft waves around her face. Her cheekbones stuck out a bit, but her features were so delicately beautiful that Abbie felt like a big moose all of a sudden. She was smiling brightly, though, and that put Abbie at ease.
"Hi." She said, and stepped forward to take the woman's outstretched hand.
"You must be Abbie." The woman said, and Abbie was a little surprised at this - how did this woman she'd never seen before know who she was?
"Is Jack around?" The woman continued.
"He... he just went to pick up something, he should be back any minute." Abbie stammered.
"Oh, all right. I've heard so much about you, Abbie." The woman said. Abbie was startled again. She went over to the couch in Jack's office and sat down, the better to look this stranger in the eye. The woman's wheelchair buzzed as she followed, and she positioned herself right across from Abbie.
"All good, I hope." Abbie said.
"Of course." She said. She looked at Abbie and smiled, "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Claire."
"Oh." This didn't clarify anything for Abbie.
"I take it Jack didn't tell you about me. That's not much of a surprise, but... I'm his wife."
This matter of fact disclosure hit Abbie with all the force of a strong wave. If she'd been standing, it would have knocked her off her feet. As it was, she had to sit back on the couch to regain her balance. The woman seemed to enjoy the effect she was having on Abbie, and she bit her lip to keep from laughing. This was the moment Jack picked to walk back into the office.
"Claire?" He said, sounding shocked. She whirled around with her chair and smiled widely at him.
"Surprise!" She said, happily.
"I'm surprised." Jack answered. He walked over to Claire and bent down to kiss her cheek.
"I think I surprised your assistant here, too." Claire said.
"She did." Abbie nodded. Jack smiled and turned back to Claire.
"So to what do I owe this honor?" He asked.
"It's such a nice day," She said, "I was wondering if you could spare an hour for lunch?"
"I can spare two." was Jack's response. Claire smiled.
"Are you sure? I know how busy you are."
"I think Abbie can handle it for a few hours without me." Jack looked over at Abbie for confirmation.
"Oh, sure." Abbie replied.
"Then I'll be back in a few hours." Jack said. He followed Claire out of the office. As they went down the hallway, Abbie saw Jack put his hand on her shoulder.
A few hours later - three, instead of the agreed upon two - Jack stuck his head into Abbie's office, humming. Abbie couldn't remember ever hearing Jack hum.
"Anything exciting happen without me?" He asked.
"No, nothing." Abbie said, and before she could open her mouth to continue, Jack was walking down the hall to his own office.
"Now just one second!" Abbie yelled. She leapt from her chair and followed Jack down the hall to his own office. As he went to his desk, she shut the door behind the two of them.
"You're married?" She asked. Jack nodded.
"How come you never said anything?"
"Claire didn't want me to." He said.
"You don't have any pictures of her, you never mentioned her..." Jack picked up the double photo frame that sat behind his desk. Abbie had never looked closely at it before, but sure enough, one of the photos was of the woman she'd met today. She looked at the photo. The woman was leaning on a motorcycle, wearing a leather jacket, hands in her pockets. Her head was cocked to the side and she was laughing. Yet in the photo, she was standing. Not a wheelchair in sight.
"This is her?" Abbie asked.
"That's Claire. And this photo has been here for years, you just never looked."
"But she's standing." She blurted. Jack sighed.
"Yes." He said. He looked down at the papers on his desk and began shuffling them. Abbie put her hand on the papers to make him look at her again.
"What happened?" She asked. She really wanted to add "...and how come I don't know about it?" but that would have been presumptuous.
Jack walked across the room and sat on the couch. He folded his hands in his lap and sighed at Abbie, who sat down in a chair across from him.
"It was an accident," He said, "A car accident. Three years ago. A drunk driver plowed into her and Lennie while she was taking him home."
"Lennie?" Abbie asked. Jack looked up at her.
"Claire was my assistant then."
"One of the assistants?" Abbie asked, remembering all she'd heard about Jack's old reputation. Jack smiled and nodded.
"The assistant. The last one. Yes, we were having an affair. We'd kept it pretty quiet, but we were... well, it wasn't just an affair. Claire was... is special."
"So what happened?" Abbie asked. Her curiosity was getting the better of her sensitivity, but Jack wasn't surprised. Abbie wasn't exactly known for her tact. It was one of the reasons he liked her so much.
"She was in a coma. For eight months. The doctors couldn't say if she would wake up or not, but she finally did. When she woke up, however, she couldn't remember much of anything. It was hard - half the time she couldn't remember where she was, or who I was, or... anything, really. She was also paralyzed from the waist down from a spinal cord injury, and as her memory came back the realization that she may never walk again hit her hard."
Abbie started to feel bad she'd made Jack tell this story, because it was obviously painful. Still, he continued.
"For the first year and a half after... it was awful. Every day was a roller coaster, and I couldn't help but remember her the way she was... she was beautiful, energetic, smart - the best assistant I ever had, not even excluding present company." He smiled up at Abbie, who smiled back halfheartedly. She really wanted to cry, but this wasn't her story. It was Jack's.
He took a deep breath and continued. "She's still herself," He asserted to Abbie, "I knew that, but she didn't. She felt as if the world had ended. I got the brunt of it - she told me there was no reason for me to stick around with a cripple." He looked out the window.
"But you married her."
"I did. Two years ago." Jack said, "Because I wanted to. Because I love her. She didn't believe me. It took me months to convince her, and even then she wanted it to be a private ceremony. She didn't want me to tell anyone. She didn't want anyone to pity me, because I was shackled to a paraplegic. I didn't see it that way, but nothing I said could convince her."
"So you didn't tell anybody?" Abbie asked. Jack shook his head.
"Well, Jamie knew. She had to - I needed someone to cover for me those first two years. Adam, he knows too. He had to - you don't know how many days I had to rush home, or take time off. Every day was a new crisis, every day something would happen and she would need my help - especially when she first came home and we had to get things in shape for her. I had to move to another apartment, one that was accessible, to live with her, and Claire cried every time she looked around. Every little thing would get to her. She was virtually helpless, yet if I helped her with anything, she'd cry for days."
"For days?" Abbie asked.
"You don't know Claire. She was so independent, so strong. Having to admit to needing help from anyone, especially from me, was hard for her. There were whole days when she wouldn't get out of bed. Whole months where she wouldn't leave the apartment, not even to go to physical therapy. I think I tried everything."
"Yet she was here today." Abbie said. Jack's eyes lit up, and he smiled.
"She surprised me, Abbie. It's been ages since she showed an interest in anything. It's up and down, but today was perfect. I had her back - she was her old self. She did everything herself this morning - wasn't she beautiful?"
Abbie didn't think Jack expected an answer to that question, but she agreed, because it was true.
"She even talked about starting work again - helping people with disabilities, maybe. She told me she wants to start being more independent - more of a wife, less of a burden. She doesn't know - despite how many times I've told her - that she's never been a burden."
Abbie nodded, wiping away an escaped tear she'd tried to hide. Jack patted her knee.
"Abbie," he said, "This is good."
"I know," Abbie said, "I know."
"I think it might have been the weather." Jack said, rising from the couch and walking over to the window. The afternoon light was beginning to fade as Jack looked out at the street below.
"How could anyone stay depressed on a day like today?" He asked, "It feels like the whole city is starting to wake up."
Abbie nodded, even though Jack couldn't see her. He turned around and smiled at her.
"What do you think, Abbie? Don't you think today was a great day?"
Abbie watched as Jack turned back to the window and smiled out at the sky. She could see a light in his eyes that hadn't been there that morning. He looked ten years younger, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"Yes, Jack," she said, "I think today was a perfect day."
Abbie had put down her papers and was gazing wistfully out the window when she heard a knock on the door.
"Hello?" A voice called. Abbie turned around and saw a young woman - maybe about her age, within a few years in either direction - sitting in a wheelchair. The wheelchair was one of the motorized kind, the kind with rubber wheels powered by a little joystick control. Abbie immediately chastised herself for noticing the chair before the person inside, and she forced herself to look the woman in the eye.
The woman was extremely thin. Her shoulder length brown hair was combed to fall in soft waves around her face. Her cheekbones stuck out a bit, but her features were so delicately beautiful that Abbie felt like a big moose all of a sudden. She was smiling brightly, though, and that put Abbie at ease.
"Hi." She said, and stepped forward to take the woman's outstretched hand.
"You must be Abbie." The woman said, and Abbie was a little surprised at this - how did this woman she'd never seen before know who she was?
"Is Jack around?" The woman continued.
"He... he just went to pick up something, he should be back any minute." Abbie stammered.
"Oh, all right. I've heard so much about you, Abbie." The woman said. Abbie was startled again. She went over to the couch in Jack's office and sat down, the better to look this stranger in the eye. The woman's wheelchair buzzed as she followed, and she positioned herself right across from Abbie.
"All good, I hope." Abbie said.
"Of course." She said. She looked at Abbie and smiled, "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Claire."
"Oh." This didn't clarify anything for Abbie.
"I take it Jack didn't tell you about me. That's not much of a surprise, but... I'm his wife."
This matter of fact disclosure hit Abbie with all the force of a strong wave. If she'd been standing, it would have knocked her off her feet. As it was, she had to sit back on the couch to regain her balance. The woman seemed to enjoy the effect she was having on Abbie, and she bit her lip to keep from laughing. This was the moment Jack picked to walk back into the office.
"Claire?" He said, sounding shocked. She whirled around with her chair and smiled widely at him.
"Surprise!" She said, happily.
"I'm surprised." Jack answered. He walked over to Claire and bent down to kiss her cheek.
"I think I surprised your assistant here, too." Claire said.
"She did." Abbie nodded. Jack smiled and turned back to Claire.
"So to what do I owe this honor?" He asked.
"It's such a nice day," She said, "I was wondering if you could spare an hour for lunch?"
"I can spare two." was Jack's response. Claire smiled.
"Are you sure? I know how busy you are."
"I think Abbie can handle it for a few hours without me." Jack looked over at Abbie for confirmation.
"Oh, sure." Abbie replied.
"Then I'll be back in a few hours." Jack said. He followed Claire out of the office. As they went down the hallway, Abbie saw Jack put his hand on her shoulder.
A few hours later - three, instead of the agreed upon two - Jack stuck his head into Abbie's office, humming. Abbie couldn't remember ever hearing Jack hum.
"Anything exciting happen without me?" He asked.
"No, nothing." Abbie said, and before she could open her mouth to continue, Jack was walking down the hall to his own office.
"Now just one second!" Abbie yelled. She leapt from her chair and followed Jack down the hall to his own office. As he went to his desk, she shut the door behind the two of them.
"You're married?" She asked. Jack nodded.
"How come you never said anything?"
"Claire didn't want me to." He said.
"You don't have any pictures of her, you never mentioned her..." Jack picked up the double photo frame that sat behind his desk. Abbie had never looked closely at it before, but sure enough, one of the photos was of the woman she'd met today. She looked at the photo. The woman was leaning on a motorcycle, wearing a leather jacket, hands in her pockets. Her head was cocked to the side and she was laughing. Yet in the photo, she was standing. Not a wheelchair in sight.
"This is her?" Abbie asked.
"That's Claire. And this photo has been here for years, you just never looked."
"But she's standing." She blurted. Jack sighed.
"Yes." He said. He looked down at the papers on his desk and began shuffling them. Abbie put her hand on the papers to make him look at her again.
"What happened?" She asked. She really wanted to add "...and how come I don't know about it?" but that would have been presumptuous.
Jack walked across the room and sat on the couch. He folded his hands in his lap and sighed at Abbie, who sat down in a chair across from him.
"It was an accident," He said, "A car accident. Three years ago. A drunk driver plowed into her and Lennie while she was taking him home."
"Lennie?" Abbie asked. Jack looked up at her.
"Claire was my assistant then."
"One of the assistants?" Abbie asked, remembering all she'd heard about Jack's old reputation. Jack smiled and nodded.
"The assistant. The last one. Yes, we were having an affair. We'd kept it pretty quiet, but we were... well, it wasn't just an affair. Claire was... is special."
"So what happened?" Abbie asked. Her curiosity was getting the better of her sensitivity, but Jack wasn't surprised. Abbie wasn't exactly known for her tact. It was one of the reasons he liked her so much.
"She was in a coma. For eight months. The doctors couldn't say if she would wake up or not, but she finally did. When she woke up, however, she couldn't remember much of anything. It was hard - half the time she couldn't remember where she was, or who I was, or... anything, really. She was also paralyzed from the waist down from a spinal cord injury, and as her memory came back the realization that she may never walk again hit her hard."
Abbie started to feel bad she'd made Jack tell this story, because it was obviously painful. Still, he continued.
"For the first year and a half after... it was awful. Every day was a roller coaster, and I couldn't help but remember her the way she was... she was beautiful, energetic, smart - the best assistant I ever had, not even excluding present company." He smiled up at Abbie, who smiled back halfheartedly. She really wanted to cry, but this wasn't her story. It was Jack's.
He took a deep breath and continued. "She's still herself," He asserted to Abbie, "I knew that, but she didn't. She felt as if the world had ended. I got the brunt of it - she told me there was no reason for me to stick around with a cripple." He looked out the window.
"But you married her."
"I did. Two years ago." Jack said, "Because I wanted to. Because I love her. She didn't believe me. It took me months to convince her, and even then she wanted it to be a private ceremony. She didn't want me to tell anyone. She didn't want anyone to pity me, because I was shackled to a paraplegic. I didn't see it that way, but nothing I said could convince her."
"So you didn't tell anybody?" Abbie asked. Jack shook his head.
"Well, Jamie knew. She had to - I needed someone to cover for me those first two years. Adam, he knows too. He had to - you don't know how many days I had to rush home, or take time off. Every day was a new crisis, every day something would happen and she would need my help - especially when she first came home and we had to get things in shape for her. I had to move to another apartment, one that was accessible, to live with her, and Claire cried every time she looked around. Every little thing would get to her. She was virtually helpless, yet if I helped her with anything, she'd cry for days."
"For days?" Abbie asked.
"You don't know Claire. She was so independent, so strong. Having to admit to needing help from anyone, especially from me, was hard for her. There were whole days when she wouldn't get out of bed. Whole months where she wouldn't leave the apartment, not even to go to physical therapy. I think I tried everything."
"Yet she was here today." Abbie said. Jack's eyes lit up, and he smiled.
"She surprised me, Abbie. It's been ages since she showed an interest in anything. It's up and down, but today was perfect. I had her back - she was her old self. She did everything herself this morning - wasn't she beautiful?"
Abbie didn't think Jack expected an answer to that question, but she agreed, because it was true.
"She even talked about starting work again - helping people with disabilities, maybe. She told me she wants to start being more independent - more of a wife, less of a burden. She doesn't know - despite how many times I've told her - that she's never been a burden."
Abbie nodded, wiping away an escaped tear she'd tried to hide. Jack patted her knee.
"Abbie," he said, "This is good."
"I know," Abbie said, "I know."
"I think it might have been the weather." Jack said, rising from the couch and walking over to the window. The afternoon light was beginning to fade as Jack looked out at the street below.
"How could anyone stay depressed on a day like today?" He asked, "It feels like the whole city is starting to wake up."
Abbie nodded, even though Jack couldn't see her. He turned around and smiled at her.
"What do you think, Abbie? Don't you think today was a great day?"
Abbie watched as Jack turned back to the window and smiled out at the sky. She could see a light in his eyes that hadn't been there that morning. He looked ten years younger, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"Yes, Jack," she said, "I think today was a perfect day."