LOST - PART I
NEW LEAVES
CHAPTER 6
The sharp pain of his whole left leg cramping abruptly woke Adam around three o'clock in the morning. He sat up with a gasp and reached down to dig his fingers into the muscles and by the time the cramp had eased his forehead was damp with sweat from the effort.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he lay back down being careful to not move his leg. The muscles were still quivering and he was sure the cramp would bloom back to life if he didn't keep the leg still. He closed his eyes, hoping he would be able to go back to sleep, but at the same time knowing he wouldn't be able to. His body was weary, but his mind was wide-awake and he realized he was thinking clearly for the first time since he woke up in the morgue. So he decided he might as well take advantage of the quiet to do some serious thinking about his situation - some decisions needed to be made.
But first he found himself going over the events of that day. The memories of snapping at Abner and knocking the glass out of Glory's hand made him feel uncomfortable. Then he could feel his face turning red in embarrassment over losing his temper and smashing his fist into the cast the way he had. He mentally shook his head at his awful behavior and his difficult attitude. And yet, everything he had been throwing at these people had been taken with good grace. Never once had anyone treated him like the ungrateful bastard he had been.
Then he turned his thoughts to his situation. He had no name, no money, and no family. He was really completely alone even though Thea had taken him in and provided for his every need. Sighing, he finally understood that the anger he had been wallowing in was only a smoke screen for what he was really feeling - namely fear. Finally admitting this to himself was oddly having the affect of making him feel free. He didn't understand why, but dismissed that thought as being unimportant. The important thing was deciding what he was going to do with the rest of his life. He smiled when his mind flashed back to Thea asking him that same question.
Even though he really couldn't be sure, he somehow knew he had never met a woman like her before. He smiled again, remembering her grabbing his arm and ending up being flung almost into his lap. Then he remembered how her immediate concern had not been for herself, it had been for him only and he closed his eyes to feel her hands on his arm again. He couldn't explain it, but her touch right then had seemed familiar. Almost like something remembered and longed for again. And he had gotten much more when she had started massaging his leg later. His physical reaction had been instant and embarrassing.
He knew she had done that to him on purpose to pay him back for the smug look he had given her earlier and he couldn't help but admire her tactics. Laughing softly at the horror he had felt when she had asked Abner to turn him over, he admitted to himself that she had won on the field of battle that day, even though he had gotten what he wanted. She had walked away victorious by not arguing or wasting time bringing him to task for his outrageous behavior. Instead, she had assessed the situation intelligently, bowed to the inevitable, and enthusiastically participated in taking the casts off. Then she had fallen back to regroup and plan her revenge.
Laughing softly again, he realized he was intrigued - he had to get to know her better. No doubt he would get the chance because he knew she would be deeply involved in the next stage of his recovery, and for the first time he was looking forward to it.
In the mean time, he had to concentrate on getting back on his feet and recovering his strength. Then he would have to find work of some kind to not only support himself, but to also pay Thea back. He had just turned his thoughts to considering what kind of work when he heard an odd ticking sound coming down the hallway.
He turned his head and smiled when he saw a sheepdog-shaped shadow appear in the doorway. "Chester," he said softly, knowing the dog's name from having heard Thea calling him. The two usually played for a while in the garden every day and he remembered how frustrated he had felt every time he watched them.
The dog padded up to him when the man said his name and he stood there resting his chin on the bed. Suddenly feeling a pang of loneliness, Adam patted the mattress as he carefully slid to the other side. The bed creaked when the big dog jumped up, but held to support their combined weights. Chester stretched out next to him, put his head on Adam's right knee and heaved a deep sigh.
Adam chuckled as he reached down with both hands and started absently scratching the dog behind his ears.
"Well Chester, at least I haven't messed things up with you," he said quietly. "Well, not yet anyway."
He sighed then continued to think his situation through and by the time he fell asleep sometime later he was satisfied with what tentative plans he had been able to come up with. Both man and dog were still deeply asleep when Thea was the first to come in early that morning. Adam was lying on his right side, so was Chester, and the man had his left arm lying across the dog's middle.
Thea stood there for some time, staring at the two and thinking deeply, her expression unreadable and her greenish hazel eyes shining.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next time Adam opened his eyes it was to see Glory standing next to the bed. Chester was still sleeping next to him and she was grinning with amusement. He blinked a few times, coming fully awake, then grinned back at her.
"Good morning, Glory," he said and his grin widened as he looked down at the huge dog.
"Good morning," she answered cheerfully. "Looks like you've got a new best friend there and I have to say I'm surprised. Chester doesn't usually let anyone get near him except Thea."
"Maybe he feels sorry for me."
Glory laughed. "Maybe..." she said dubiously, and then turned toward the door when Thea and Abner walked in.
Thea came to stand next to Glory and reached down to pat the dog on the head. "Chester, come on boy, wake up."
The dog immediately opened his eyes and stood to jump down off the bed. Then he leaned into Thea while lifting his muzzle to look up at her.
"Did he disturb you?" she said to Adam as she crouched down to hug the huge dog around the neck.
"No," Adam said softly while watching her. Chester gave a small chuff of a bark and began to lick her face. Thea laughed and let him for a little while before pushing up with one hand on his broad back to stand up.
"I'll be right back," she said and snapped her fingers for the dog to follow as she left the room.
Glory started for the door too. "And I'll go see about making breakfast."
Abner smiled down at the man in the bed. "Why don't we get you up and dressed?" he said and went to get the wheelchair, while Adam smiled. Getting up and dressed had never sounded more appealing to him before.
He did everything he could to help Abner, and was almost limp with exhaustion by the time they were finished. But he recovered his smile when the black man wheeled him through the bedroom door and down the hallway toward the kitchen.
When they entered he could see a long kitchen table and Abner wheeled him up to the end then set the brake.
Adam watched the three of them move around the kitchen like a well-trained team, preparing the meal. Thea was at the stove doing the cooking while Abner quickly set the table with everything but the plates. In a few minutes, Thea began to fill the plates and Glory brought them to the table, serving Adam first, and then Abner. She set a plate down on the table for herself and the other woman while Thea brought the coffee pot and filled the cups.
Abner stood and held Glory's chair, and then came around the table to do the same for Thea. When he had returned to his own seat, Thea turned to Adam with a smile while the other two began eating.
"How are you feeling this morning?" she asked with her fork poised over her plate, as though she had forgotten what to do with it.
"Very, very tired," he answered with a smile. "But ready to get started," he hastily added when her eyes narrowed with concern.
"Are you sure you're up to it?" Thea surprised herself by asking.
"Very sure," Adam said as he picked his coffee up and took a deep swallow, glad to finally be out of bed.
She stared at him with that narrow gaze for a few moments more then smiled and began to eat.
They were silent for a little while until Thea spoke again. "Abner, have you finished memorizing the bones of the hand yet?"
"Yes ma'am," he answered.
"Good, then we can go over that this evening and move on."
"It's amazing how many there are," Glory offered while Abner nodded.
"Seems like it's taking forever to get the skeleton down," he said ruefully.
"Well, you need to get the anatomy firmly in your memory before we can do anything else," Thea said while giving the black man an encouraging smile. "I know it's tedious, but if you want to be a doctor you have to grin and bear it."
"Yes ma'am. And I really do appreciate your help. When I was working on this by myself it seemed like I wasn't getting anywhere."
"I know what you mean. I started assisting Doc in surgery when I was twelve, but he wouldn't let me do that until I had memorized everything. I swear I started dreaming about it after a while."
"You started assisting in surgery when you were twelve?" Adam gave her an incredulous look. She laughed at his expression.
"Yes I did. I've wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember and after the first few surgeries I knew I wanted to do that too."
"Was Doc your father?"
Thea's face tightened. "No, he was my guardian," she said and turned away as though she didn't want to discuss that subject again. She smiled at Glory.
"When is Nate coming back?" she asked and Adam was interested to see the older woman blush slightly.
"Next week," she said shyly as Thea laughed.
"I've missed him being underfoot all the time. And I'm sure he'll be glad to be back, I know he wasn't happy about traveling all that distance for his uncle's funeral since he never even met the man."
Glory just nodded, looking down at her now empty plate while Thea and Abner exchanged a knowing look. Adam continued to listen to the conversation with interest.
"He did it to please his mother," Abner offered as Thea stood to take the coffee pot around and refilled the cups.
"He's a good man, and I really DO miss him," she said then sat down again, grinning as Glory's face turned a deeper pink.
Adam decided to get into the conversation. "Who is Nate?" he asked with an innocent look and Thea rewarded him with a big smile.
"He lives in the boarding house next door and he's Glory's beau."
Glory's head snapped up. "He is not! I'm old enough to be his mother!"
Abner snorted with laughter while Thea chuckled. "You are NOT old enough to be his mother, and he IS sweet on you," Thea teased her.
"Well, I'm at least old enough to be his aunt!" Glory protested and that set the other two off laughing again.
"Glory," Thea finally choked out, "there's nothing wrong with seeing a younger man. It's not like he's twenty and you're sixty, for goodness sake."
"I guess not, but he's still not my beau!" Glory insisted and the other two let the subject drop as Thea turned to Adam.
"Did you have enough to eat?" she asked with a wide smile and he found himself smiling back as he nodded.
"Yes ma'am," he echoed Abner's words and she gave a surprised laugh.
"Good, I think we should get started," she said. Everyone but Adam stood. Glory started the clearing up from breakfast while Abner came to unlatch the brake and started pushing the chair toward the back door.
"We're going outside?" he asked, hoping they were.
Thea hurried over to open the door. "Yes sir!" was all she said in answer and his heart lifted when Abner pushed him through the door, across the back porch, and down a short ramp that looked newly constructed.
Adam sat back and relaxed, just enjoying the garden, the fresh air, and the sunshine as Abner rolled the chair down a brick path and through a gap in a long line of tall hedges. On the other side was a long, narrow building with windows set high up in the walls. Another ramp had been built to cover the steps and Thea hurried ahead to unlock the door and open it.
Abner wheeled the chair up and through the door then stopped to let Adam take a good look at the huge room. There were mats on the hardwood floor and curious pieces of equipment scattered around. But the one thing that caught his eye was what looked like two rails set parallel to each other. He thought he knew what they were for.
Thea slid past them and came around to stand in front of his chair. "Welcome to the torture chamber, Adam," she said with a big grin. "You'll be spending a lot of time here."
NEW LEAVES
CHAPTER 6
The sharp pain of his whole left leg cramping abruptly woke Adam around three o'clock in the morning. He sat up with a gasp and reached down to dig his fingers into the muscles and by the time the cramp had eased his forehead was damp with sweat from the effort.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he lay back down being careful to not move his leg. The muscles were still quivering and he was sure the cramp would bloom back to life if he didn't keep the leg still. He closed his eyes, hoping he would be able to go back to sleep, but at the same time knowing he wouldn't be able to. His body was weary, but his mind was wide-awake and he realized he was thinking clearly for the first time since he woke up in the morgue. So he decided he might as well take advantage of the quiet to do some serious thinking about his situation - some decisions needed to be made.
But first he found himself going over the events of that day. The memories of snapping at Abner and knocking the glass out of Glory's hand made him feel uncomfortable. Then he could feel his face turning red in embarrassment over losing his temper and smashing his fist into the cast the way he had. He mentally shook his head at his awful behavior and his difficult attitude. And yet, everything he had been throwing at these people had been taken with good grace. Never once had anyone treated him like the ungrateful bastard he had been.
Then he turned his thoughts to his situation. He had no name, no money, and no family. He was really completely alone even though Thea had taken him in and provided for his every need. Sighing, he finally understood that the anger he had been wallowing in was only a smoke screen for what he was really feeling - namely fear. Finally admitting this to himself was oddly having the affect of making him feel free. He didn't understand why, but dismissed that thought as being unimportant. The important thing was deciding what he was going to do with the rest of his life. He smiled when his mind flashed back to Thea asking him that same question.
Even though he really couldn't be sure, he somehow knew he had never met a woman like her before. He smiled again, remembering her grabbing his arm and ending up being flung almost into his lap. Then he remembered how her immediate concern had not been for herself, it had been for him only and he closed his eyes to feel her hands on his arm again. He couldn't explain it, but her touch right then had seemed familiar. Almost like something remembered and longed for again. And he had gotten much more when she had started massaging his leg later. His physical reaction had been instant and embarrassing.
He knew she had done that to him on purpose to pay him back for the smug look he had given her earlier and he couldn't help but admire her tactics. Laughing softly at the horror he had felt when she had asked Abner to turn him over, he admitted to himself that she had won on the field of battle that day, even though he had gotten what he wanted. She had walked away victorious by not arguing or wasting time bringing him to task for his outrageous behavior. Instead, she had assessed the situation intelligently, bowed to the inevitable, and enthusiastically participated in taking the casts off. Then she had fallen back to regroup and plan her revenge.
Laughing softly again, he realized he was intrigued - he had to get to know her better. No doubt he would get the chance because he knew she would be deeply involved in the next stage of his recovery, and for the first time he was looking forward to it.
In the mean time, he had to concentrate on getting back on his feet and recovering his strength. Then he would have to find work of some kind to not only support himself, but to also pay Thea back. He had just turned his thoughts to considering what kind of work when he heard an odd ticking sound coming down the hallway.
He turned his head and smiled when he saw a sheepdog-shaped shadow appear in the doorway. "Chester," he said softly, knowing the dog's name from having heard Thea calling him. The two usually played for a while in the garden every day and he remembered how frustrated he had felt every time he watched them.
The dog padded up to him when the man said his name and he stood there resting his chin on the bed. Suddenly feeling a pang of loneliness, Adam patted the mattress as he carefully slid to the other side. The bed creaked when the big dog jumped up, but held to support their combined weights. Chester stretched out next to him, put his head on Adam's right knee and heaved a deep sigh.
Adam chuckled as he reached down with both hands and started absently scratching the dog behind his ears.
"Well Chester, at least I haven't messed things up with you," he said quietly. "Well, not yet anyway."
He sighed then continued to think his situation through and by the time he fell asleep sometime later he was satisfied with what tentative plans he had been able to come up with. Both man and dog were still deeply asleep when Thea was the first to come in early that morning. Adam was lying on his right side, so was Chester, and the man had his left arm lying across the dog's middle.
Thea stood there for some time, staring at the two and thinking deeply, her expression unreadable and her greenish hazel eyes shining.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next time Adam opened his eyes it was to see Glory standing next to the bed. Chester was still sleeping next to him and she was grinning with amusement. He blinked a few times, coming fully awake, then grinned back at her.
"Good morning, Glory," he said and his grin widened as he looked down at the huge dog.
"Good morning," she answered cheerfully. "Looks like you've got a new best friend there and I have to say I'm surprised. Chester doesn't usually let anyone get near him except Thea."
"Maybe he feels sorry for me."
Glory laughed. "Maybe..." she said dubiously, and then turned toward the door when Thea and Abner walked in.
Thea came to stand next to Glory and reached down to pat the dog on the head. "Chester, come on boy, wake up."
The dog immediately opened his eyes and stood to jump down off the bed. Then he leaned into Thea while lifting his muzzle to look up at her.
"Did he disturb you?" she said to Adam as she crouched down to hug the huge dog around the neck.
"No," Adam said softly while watching her. Chester gave a small chuff of a bark and began to lick her face. Thea laughed and let him for a little while before pushing up with one hand on his broad back to stand up.
"I'll be right back," she said and snapped her fingers for the dog to follow as she left the room.
Glory started for the door too. "And I'll go see about making breakfast."
Abner smiled down at the man in the bed. "Why don't we get you up and dressed?" he said and went to get the wheelchair, while Adam smiled. Getting up and dressed had never sounded more appealing to him before.
He did everything he could to help Abner, and was almost limp with exhaustion by the time they were finished. But he recovered his smile when the black man wheeled him through the bedroom door and down the hallway toward the kitchen.
When they entered he could see a long kitchen table and Abner wheeled him up to the end then set the brake.
Adam watched the three of them move around the kitchen like a well-trained team, preparing the meal. Thea was at the stove doing the cooking while Abner quickly set the table with everything but the plates. In a few minutes, Thea began to fill the plates and Glory brought them to the table, serving Adam first, and then Abner. She set a plate down on the table for herself and the other woman while Thea brought the coffee pot and filled the cups.
Abner stood and held Glory's chair, and then came around the table to do the same for Thea. When he had returned to his own seat, Thea turned to Adam with a smile while the other two began eating.
"How are you feeling this morning?" she asked with her fork poised over her plate, as though she had forgotten what to do with it.
"Very, very tired," he answered with a smile. "But ready to get started," he hastily added when her eyes narrowed with concern.
"Are you sure you're up to it?" Thea surprised herself by asking.
"Very sure," Adam said as he picked his coffee up and took a deep swallow, glad to finally be out of bed.
She stared at him with that narrow gaze for a few moments more then smiled and began to eat.
They were silent for a little while until Thea spoke again. "Abner, have you finished memorizing the bones of the hand yet?"
"Yes ma'am," he answered.
"Good, then we can go over that this evening and move on."
"It's amazing how many there are," Glory offered while Abner nodded.
"Seems like it's taking forever to get the skeleton down," he said ruefully.
"Well, you need to get the anatomy firmly in your memory before we can do anything else," Thea said while giving the black man an encouraging smile. "I know it's tedious, but if you want to be a doctor you have to grin and bear it."
"Yes ma'am. And I really do appreciate your help. When I was working on this by myself it seemed like I wasn't getting anywhere."
"I know what you mean. I started assisting Doc in surgery when I was twelve, but he wouldn't let me do that until I had memorized everything. I swear I started dreaming about it after a while."
"You started assisting in surgery when you were twelve?" Adam gave her an incredulous look. She laughed at his expression.
"Yes I did. I've wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember and after the first few surgeries I knew I wanted to do that too."
"Was Doc your father?"
Thea's face tightened. "No, he was my guardian," she said and turned away as though she didn't want to discuss that subject again. She smiled at Glory.
"When is Nate coming back?" she asked and Adam was interested to see the older woman blush slightly.
"Next week," she said shyly as Thea laughed.
"I've missed him being underfoot all the time. And I'm sure he'll be glad to be back, I know he wasn't happy about traveling all that distance for his uncle's funeral since he never even met the man."
Glory just nodded, looking down at her now empty plate while Thea and Abner exchanged a knowing look. Adam continued to listen to the conversation with interest.
"He did it to please his mother," Abner offered as Thea stood to take the coffee pot around and refilled the cups.
"He's a good man, and I really DO miss him," she said then sat down again, grinning as Glory's face turned a deeper pink.
Adam decided to get into the conversation. "Who is Nate?" he asked with an innocent look and Thea rewarded him with a big smile.
"He lives in the boarding house next door and he's Glory's beau."
Glory's head snapped up. "He is not! I'm old enough to be his mother!"
Abner snorted with laughter while Thea chuckled. "You are NOT old enough to be his mother, and he IS sweet on you," Thea teased her.
"Well, I'm at least old enough to be his aunt!" Glory protested and that set the other two off laughing again.
"Glory," Thea finally choked out, "there's nothing wrong with seeing a younger man. It's not like he's twenty and you're sixty, for goodness sake."
"I guess not, but he's still not my beau!" Glory insisted and the other two let the subject drop as Thea turned to Adam.
"Did you have enough to eat?" she asked with a wide smile and he found himself smiling back as he nodded.
"Yes ma'am," he echoed Abner's words and she gave a surprised laugh.
"Good, I think we should get started," she said. Everyone but Adam stood. Glory started the clearing up from breakfast while Abner came to unlatch the brake and started pushing the chair toward the back door.
"We're going outside?" he asked, hoping they were.
Thea hurried over to open the door. "Yes sir!" was all she said in answer and his heart lifted when Abner pushed him through the door, across the back porch, and down a short ramp that looked newly constructed.
Adam sat back and relaxed, just enjoying the garden, the fresh air, and the sunshine as Abner rolled the chair down a brick path and through a gap in a long line of tall hedges. On the other side was a long, narrow building with windows set high up in the walls. Another ramp had been built to cover the steps and Thea hurried ahead to unlock the door and open it.
Abner wheeled the chair up and through the door then stopped to let Adam take a good look at the huge room. There were mats on the hardwood floor and curious pieces of equipment scattered around. But the one thing that caught his eye was what looked like two rails set parallel to each other. He thought he knew what they were for.
Thea slid past them and came around to stand in front of his chair. "Welcome to the torture chamber, Adam," she said with a big grin. "You'll be spending a lot of time here."