Oh, it felt good to be alone in her own home. Technically, she wasn't alone, but Rusty was sleeping, and that was good enough for Sharon. It was quiet, and she was alone. It felt glorious. She almost hated thinking that, admitting that, when she had spent so many years of her adult life alone, but she wanted to cherish these minutes. Andy had been wonderful; he was wonderful, but the two had been together almost every single minute since she'd come home from the hospital, and she just needed some alone time. It had almost been a blessing Emily had forgotten her heavy coat at the condo. She'd called early this morning, frantic, on her way to the airport with Jack, realizing the coat was at the condo, still hanging on the coat rack by the door. No one had noticed it, and when Andy had taken her back to Jack's place last evening, Sharon and Emily had been so emotional with her leaving she had just forgotten it. Now, it was early, and Emily needed the coat before she flew home. There wasn't time in the tight schedule to swing by the condo, so Andy had offered to meet Emily at the airport with the coat. It was perfect, just enough time for Sharon to enjoy the quiet moments. Sometime, she would thank Emily for this great gift.
Andy hadn't done anything wrong; Sharon just wanted time to herself. She hated the burden she felt like she was becoming, even if she knew she couldn't do everything on her own. It was ridiculous she had to use the cane, had to accept help to do basic things, and she was determined to regain some of that independence soon. She had been biting her tongue, not wanting to lash out at Andy, Emily, or Rusty for the care they were giving her. All three of them had been so sweet, so attentive. She knew they all meant well, but enough was enough. Andy was going to get the brunt of her frustration simply because he was right there from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning until he finally kissed her goodnight and drifted off to sleep. Yes, she needed some help, but right now, she needed a second to regain her sanity.
As she sat on her couch, her cup of tea in hand, she put her head back and thought about her visit with Emily. That brought a smile to her face. Emily was delighted to hear about the engagement. Much to Jack's credit, he didn't spill the news, and in fact, when Andy and Emily returned with lunch, he graciously left them alone. He stood, greeted everyone, leaned in and kissed Sharon's cheek, squeezed her hand, and he said he'd speak to her soon. It had been so unlike Jack, at least the Jack of recent. It had reminded her of the Jack she'd dated, the somewhat sweet and caring human being he could be at times. She'd been prepared for him to go off on Andy, to blurt out the news, but he simply nodded to them, hugged Emily, and left, telling Emily he'd be home when she finished at the condo. As Sharon smiled at the memory, she let out an audible chuckle and covered her mouth. Emily had been thrilled to learn of the engagement. Because of the way things had gone, Sharon waited until the Jack had closed the door before she looked to Emily, who was now at the dining room table setting up lunch.
"I'm engaged," she blurted out, catching Andy and Emily off guard. Andy later told her if he hadn't proposed himself, he would have almost not believed the announcement.
"Wait, what?" Emily stopped moving and turned quickly to Sharon. " Wait, engaged? Dad, no, wait," she spun toward Andy, the news just taking a few moments to sink in with her. "When did that happen? Dad was just here."
"Last night," Andy smiled brightly at her as he walked to Emily and put his arm around her shoulder, looking at her. "If you can handle me being around here all the time, I'm planning to marry your mom."
"Oh, this is wonderful!" Emily squealed, throwing her arms around Andy to hug him because he was next to her. Sharon used the furniture, not her cane, to move slowly toward them, smiling at the sight. Emily caught Sharon moving out of the corner of her eye and moved to her, somewhat to stop her from walking without her cane. "Mom, I'm so happy for you. I can't believe you didn't tell me before now!"
Sharon and Emily embraced in a hug, and Sharon spoke into her ear, "I wanted to tell you in person, and this is the first I've been able to do so. Obviously, I'm excited too and couldn't wait to tell you. You're the first to know."
Now, as she sat on the couch she held up her ring to look at it again. It sparkled in the early morning sunlight at just the right angle. It was a beautiful ring. Emily had loved it. Rusty had too when he'd finally come home later that evening, even though, he really didn't understand the different cuts and colors of rings. It had been a good afternoon. Sharon and Emily had talked about the wedding, about the different possibilities. Sharon and Andy had finally called the other kids, with the exception of Rusty, who found out when he came home that night. While it had been well received, it hadn't exactly been a shock. It was good news, and today, she was just settling into the realization she had a fiancé and a wedding to plan. It was almost overwhelming, but she knew like other things in life, she had to take one day at a time.
Sharon glanced at her watch. Andy was probably just about at the airport, and by her calculations, he would be home in another hour or so, depending on traffic. She was looking forward to his being home this week even if she was silently delighted with her alone time right now. Both had a string of doctor's appointments, and she had plenty of physical therapy sessions, but yes, their time together this week was exactly what she wanted, what they both needed. It would be good to just have time to be together, even if currently, she just wanted to be alone. It was an odd feeling, looking forward to being together while wanting to be alone, but she also knew that was part of being in a relationship-enjoying time together while cherishing the rare moments alone.
With her cup of tea empty, Sharon stood, deciding she was going to make a second cup. She often didn't have that luxury with having to rush off to work. Today, she was going to enjoy a second cup of tea. One thing she was realizing after her accident was how important it was to enjoy every moment-whether that meant seizing the day or relaxing and doing absolutely nothing. Right now, she wanted to walk to the kitchen and make a second cup of tea. That was something she could do.
Sharon glared at her cane and shook her head. One of these days, she was going to throw it off the balcony, that or make Andy and Rusty use it all day. Then, they would understand. She was beginning to understand Andy's moodiness when he'd been injured after his 'dust up' last year. That had been trying, but they'd gotten through it, even as they were really still in the early dating stages, well, she rolled her eyes, as she believed. They would get through this too. She loved Andy, but she was going to have to make sure they had more moments like this where she had some alone time.
With her cup in hand, she gingerly made her way to the kitchen, proud that she hadn't needed the cane. It wouldn't be long before she was moving around easily. She knew it. She was determined. It was a good thing no one was watching her because she didn't want to admit that she was very glad to see her dining room chair within reach. That short walk unassisted had been plenty. Her hand was shaking, and her shoulder, from the gunshot, was throbbing. Sharon reached out to grip the dining room chair, and somehow, she missed and found herself on the floor, the cup flying from her hand and breaking as it hit the floor. The noise from the fall was worse than the actual fall; the echo of the cup resonated throughout the room. She sighed and started to pull herself up there at the chair. She'd just lost her strength there with the chair and had lost her grip on the mug as she'd fallen down on her knees. Her arm had given out as it gripped the chair. That was her injured shoulder, and it wasn't strong enough yet to carry her weight. It was a simple thing, and she was fine. She wasn't going to improve unless she challenged herself, and she'd just done that.
"Sharon! Crap, Sharon are you okay?" Rusty ran toward her, sounding frantic. "Where's Andy. Are you hurt? Did you break something?" Rusty wouldn't stop talking, and she just wanted to get back up and on her feet. He was trying to have her sit, and finally, she put her hand out and patted his hand.
"Rusty, I'm fine," she said, exasperated as she sighed. "Honestly, it was a simple thing. I just lost my grip on the chair. The cup made it sound worse than it really was."
"Sharon, you could be hurt. Should we get you to the hospital? Did you break anything?" Rusty started to repeat himself. "When Andy feel, he bled everywhere. Are you bleeding?"
"Rusty!" Sharon finally yelled, and Rusty paused to look at her. "I'm fine. I'm not bleeding. Nothing is broken. I've only injured my pride." Sharon pushed away his hand and stood on her own, still gripping the chair. "I just lost my grip. That's all. I'm as good as new," she said as she brushed her hair from her face. "You don't have to worry. I'm going to clean up the mess I made and make a new cup of tea."
"Where did Andy go? He left you here?" Rusty looked to her, now horrified. "Just last night he was saying he wanted to be by your side forever, and where is he now?"
"Rusty," Sharon sighed loudly and looked at him. He was now standing next to her, and it felt good to Sharon to just stand and steady her legs. She gave Rusty a small smile, "Andy did not abandon me. I'm still an adult, your mother to be exact," she shook her head. "Emily forgot her coat. He is meeting her at the airport. You are here, and I'm capable of being on my own."
"You're clearly not!" Rusty exclaimed. "You just fell. If I hadn't been here-" he stopped when she raised a hand to stop him.
"I would have done what I did. I would have gotten up and moved on, as I'm trying to do. Honey, I appreciate the help, but I need to do some of this on my own. I want to get better. I want my independence. I love you, Andy, Emily, but the three of you have been hovering. I know I needed help, but I'm getting better," she told him.
"You fell, and you broke your favorite mug, Sharon," he frowned. "I wish you would have asked for help. I would have gotten you more tea. I didn't know Andy left. I've been through this too, Sharon. I watched Andy almost die on the floor. It scared me then, just as seeing you on the floor now scared me again."
"Rusty that was different," she tried and finally pursed her lips, looking at him. "Look," she shook her head, "we are all adjusting to the new normal here, and I mean that in many ways. I've been injured, which we all know. Andy has some dietary changes with his heart attack. Andy even being here all the time is an adjustment because that was just happening when I was shot. It's a lot. We're going to be okay, but right now, I just need to do this on my own, please."
Rusty looked over at the broken mug and then back to Sharon. He frowned, "I'll clean up the mug-no argument about it, and for now," he nodded to her, "I won't tell Andy you fell. That's the deal. If you fall again, I'm going to come clean with him like a suspect under interrogation. Deal?"
Sharon sighed and shook her head, and then, she started to chuckle, "You really are my son."
"Oh," Rusty said, smirking at her as he walked over to the couch, "you're going to use this cane today-part of the deal. I'll clean up, and you can take your cane and do whatever. Have your alone time. Like I said, you go back on your end of the deal, and I'm out. Look, I get that you want to be back to normal. We all want that, but," he paused and shrugged.
Sharon just nodded slightly and met his gaze, "Thank you. I just want some alone time."
"Fine, I will clean this while you do anything. Oh," he grimaced and looked to her with a horrified expression, "just don't like take a shower or a bath right now. I really don't want you to fall doing that while Andy's not here because Sharon, really, I've about had enough with the adults in the house falling in the bathroom. I don't need you doing the same without him here. I've already seen more than I ever want with you two, and yeah," he paused. "It was enough dealing with Andy in the bathroom. I don't need you too."
Sharon just started to laugh and opened her arms to hug him, "I'll accept the terms of your deal."