"Okay, I think everything is packed up," Jack stepped out of the shower area, zipping up the last of his toiletries. He glanced to Lisa who was dressed, but sitting in her bed and now leaning her head back and could be seen taking a long, deep breath. "Lise, you okay?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "It is quite a wonderful feeling to wear some of my own clothing finally. I mean," she waved her hand above her head, "it was one thing to have my own robe, and I really appreciate you bringing that, but you know what?" She pursed her lips and nodded, eyeing Jack.
"What's that?" Jack tilted his head, not sure where the conversation was going.
"You're right. I do want to burn that robe or at least never see it again. It definitely now triggers my hospital stay when I look at it. I saw you putting it the bag, and I shuddered slightly. As much as I once loved that robe," she grimaced and shook her head, "it's done."
Jack chuckled as he stepped up to the end of the bed where the suitcase was spread open and nodded, eyeing her again. "I hear you. I'll pack it to take back to the house in case you change your mind, but if you decide it needs to go, you certainly don't need permission. You can toss it then."
She rolled her head, "I'll be tossing it for sure. Looking forward to it, and I do appreciate you already have a new robe for me. That was very sweet." Jack gave her a small smile from where he stood organizing things in the suitcase, one she returned, maybe almost wanting to say something to him. Both heads turned to the door as it opened, and a nurse they hadn't met stepped in with a pile of paperwork. She said something, and Lisa made a face as she tried to listen. Jack had noticed she did that when she was concentrating on people speaking French. She knew a decent amount, but she didn't know medical terminology at all, not that she should, and finally, she just shook her head and accepted the paperwork. She glanced at it and gave a nod to the nurse who turned to leave.
"Ahh, this appears to be my discharge paperwork, not that I really want to try and read through French right now. She was less than helpful."
"Charming for sure she was," he raised his eyebrows in a chuckle. "I'll pack it here if you want," Jack reached to accept the packet, and Lisa gladly handed it over.
"You know," Lisa rolled her head to the side, still with it against the pillow, "I have to say, at least from my observation, although I know my brain has been clouded over the last few weeks, the nurses seem to be much kinder on the higher floors."
Jack chuckled as he finished playing Tetris with the suitcase, nodding as he looked over to Lisa, "You know, I think you're right. What was it-the lower the floor you are on, the closer you are to leaving, well, the ruder the nurses are too. Completely agree."
The two settled into a comfortable laugh over the comment and turned again when they heard someone clear their voice. "Mmm hmm."
"Ben," Lisa smiled fondly at her nephew and opened her arms to hug him. He smiled broadly and stepped to her.
"Hi, Lisa, wow, it's so good to see you," he said, holding tightly to her and then suddenly breaking away and looking terrified at her. "Oh, I'm not hurting you, am I?"
"Not at all," she said, reaching to squeeze his arm. "My broken arm is okay here," she nodded to the new sling they'd outfitted her with at 6 AM. The staff wasn't joking when they said they liked to discharge early; they'd had them up and going very early to have them now ready to go before 8AM. She looked him over adding, "I have to thank you for getting up here so early. I know you'd have had to have left the house around 5:30 this morning. And, my pelvis is still broken, yes, and hurts like you can't imagine, but no hug is going to hurt it, promise. It's really good to see you, Honey," she reached to hug him tightly again. Jack stood, smiling at their embrace, his hand on the packed suitcase on the bed.
Ben stepped back to study Lisa and give her a once-over, nodding, "Wow, Lisa, I know you've been here for over a month, but I can tell you've been through it. You still have some faint bruising, don't you?"
She scrunched up her face and nodded, "I do, and what you don't even realize is that I finally have on some makeup, so this is my good look," she gestured to herself and then groaned. "Sorry I look like a nightmare."
"I already told you, Lise, that you look beautiful," Jack called out from where he was still standing at the end of the bed, and both sets of eyes were turned toward him. "Ben, good to see you again," Jack stuck out his hand over the bag and over the bed to shake Ben's hand.
"Jack, sorry, I rushed right to Lisa. Glad to see you too, especially here taking care of Lisa, but I know you wouldn't leave her side." Jack caught Lisa biting her lip at that comment, and instead of making a scene or comment about how he'd definitely disappointed her over the years, he just looked back to Ben even though Ben was right; Jack did love her and didn't want to leave her ever again.
"Well, I have you to thank for even letting me know what was going on. I'm still mad at myself for not getting on the phone with your or your mom when you were calling, but," he clapped his hands together, "the past is the past. Lise has been doing so well here recovering. It was touch and go those first two weeks, but the last three weeks or I guess, a little more, she's really improved. Now, I wouldn't normally speak for her, but I can attest she's more than ready to get out of here."
"Oh, I absolutely am," she said with a faint smile to Ben. She reached over and patted his hand, "I'm so glad this worked out to see you while you are here, Honey."
"Me too," he smiled at Lisa. "So, what's the schedule?"
"She'd discharged," Jack gestured at Lisa, "just now."
"Or so we suspect with that paperwork Jack has," Lisa gestured.
"It's all here, oh, and Lise," he held up a computer printout, "glad I looked through these first papers. This is for your prescriptions. Well, I'll be," he tapped it with a smile at the two of them, "it's in English and French. You have several prescriptions to pick up."
She nodded, "Fine, but I'd love to do that back in Toulon." Lisa looked up at Ben again gesturing, "The language barrier here has been severe. While I know a lot of French, I know none related to medical terminology. Now, enough talk about that. With the prescription list, the other paperwork, let's please get out of here."
"Right, okay, well, I have the car parked a couple blocks over. Parking is tight, but there is a visitor lot there. I can get it and bring it to the door downstairs."
Jack nodded, looking to Lisa, and she grimaced, gesturing, "I'd really love it if we could all just get out of here together. I don't even mind waiting outside while Ben gets the car, please. I've been stuck in this building for over five weeks."
Jack gestured to Ben, "Okay with you? We just have this suitcase and two bags of things," he waved to the pile of things to be laundered. "Shouldn't be much trouble to get downstairs."
"No, no, that's great," he told them, but before they could start to get situated, the door opened, and Helene stepped in.
"Ahh, I'm so glad I caught you before you left," she smiled at them and then nodded toward Ben. "Bonjour."
"Hi," Ben returned the nod, and Jack jumped in.
"Ben, this is Helene, and she's been such a blessing to us here. She's one of the few who speaks English and is a trauma nurse. She has been kind enough each day to come up here and translate."
"The pleasure has been all mine, and I'm just glad I could help, even if I was off the day Lisa came in. I have to say you are looking much better."
"This is my nephew, Ben," Lisa smiled at him and squeezed his arm. "He's only visiting from Canada, but his visit came at the perfect time."
"You have a wonderful aunt," Helene told Ben and gave a nod to Jack, "and he's been so wonderful to her."
"That doesn't surprise me," Ben nodded to Jack. "These two are a special pair," he gestured to Jack and Lisa.
"Oh, Jack, my dad said to tell you he's out dealing with a death in a family and is so sorry he's not here-"
"Not to worry, Helene," Jack smiled softly. "Sorry to hear that, but Lisa and I will be back for some follow-up appointments and will catch up with him then." Jack waved his hand, speaking to Ben, "Helene's father is a local pastor who has also been wonderful while we have been here."
"Wow, sounds like you've met half the village, Jack," Ben chuckled.
"I have to get going, but do you have any questions?" Helene asked Lisa.
"Ahh, just, ahh," she frowned, "I got the packet of paperwork," and as she said that, Jack dug it out. Helene stepped over and nodded.
"That's your discharge packet, and there is a prescription sheet there you will need to have filled."
"Okay, good, yes, that's what we were able to figure out. Anything else I should know?"
"You have that cane," she gestured over to where it had been placed atop the wheelchair. "Jack, you took care of that downstairs, ordering all of the things for the house?"
"Yes, I did, paid for everything to be delivered today," he told her, "except for that cane, which as we can see, Lise is taking with her."
"Yes, just use the wheelchair to get downstairs, but everything is set."
"So, we don't have to wait on someone to tell us to go or take us downstairs?"
"Not here," she shook her head. "You are free to go, what a blessing."
They all smiled and took turns saying their goodbyes. Helene left again, leaving the three of them.
"Well," Ben clapped his hands, "Aunt Lisa, let's spring you from this place."
"Best thing I have heard in weeks," she grinned.
It took a few minutes to get Lisa up and over to her wheelchair, Ben clearly surprised at how injured she was moving around with her broken arm and pelvis. He didn't say anything, but Jack could see the surprise on his face. Once she was seated, Ben and Jack finished collecting the things, Ben taking most of it so Jack could push Lisa.
"Don't you get any ideas of running me into walls," Lisa reached up and patted Jack's arm. He chuckled and shook his head.
"Never, not going to risk you getting any more injured. Ben, lead the way."
It took a moment to get all three of them into the elevator, but once they were on their way, Ben turned to speak to them.
"I'll get your car, Lisa, and then as you know, it's about 2.5 hours home. I'm so glad I had a short break from school and could come here. This is a lot to handle, just getting you out of here. I really appreciate you letting me stay in your guest room at the house. I won't be a bother at all, and I've already gotten some things at the store. I'll be more when we get home-"
"Ben," she chuckled, patting his arm, "breathe. We'll be okay. Anything is going to be Bette than staying here. I'm dying for a cup of good coffee," and as she said that, both Jack and Ben looked to her, horrified. Lisa realized her phrasing, and as she put up her hand in defense, she chuckled, "Okay, poor choice of words, but yes, I am very excited about a good cup of coffee. Jack has tried," she smiled sympathetically at him, and he too, raised his hands in defense.
"It's been hard for me to get a good cup of coffee, really strong here, and when I try ordering, I really have no idea what I'm ordering."
The elevator opened to the ground floor, and they all moved out of it, finally outside to the early morning spring air. Lisa took in a deep breath and smiled up at the two men, nodding.
"So glad to be here. Is it wrong, though, if I want a nap maybe on my back porch when we get home?"
"Not wrong at all," Ben chuckled and hooked his hand over his shoulder. "I'll go get the car."
Once he stepped away, Jack pursed his lips as he stood to Lisa's side, glancing down at her in the wheelchair. "You doing okay?"
"More than okay," she nodded softly. "I mean, yes, I could be much better, but it's really good to get outside."
"Say, Lise," he frowned, shaking his head. "I should have thought about this before now, but on the ride down, ahh, Ben mentioned your guest room. I am ashamed to say I haven't seen the new house, nor do I know much about it. That's on me. I didn't react well when you were buying that."
"Well," she sighed, glancing down as she nodded, "That entire situation was not one-sided. I put an offer on the house and listed my old one in a matter of hours without straightening out things with you. It was spiteful, but to be honest, I listed the house to see about any interest. I didn't think it would sell as quickly as it did, and when it did, it was a sign to buy that house, my house, that had dropped the price. I acted hastily and got mad when you didn't want to jump on it."
He nodded, "And, I tried to come up with an alternate location just as an alternate location. I had no reason to pick Arizona. It didn't have a meaning to us, just a location I picked that wasn't France. To be honest," he frowned at her, "didn't enjoy my stay there, but I know that would have been better with you. I did want to buy a vacation place with you, and I'm sorry that all was such a mess. I'm looking forward to seeing the house in Toulon."
"Thank you for saying that," she reached up and squeezed his hand which was resting on the handle of her chair. "It's all been a mess."
"Yes, it has, and I caused most of it. I don't want to cause more, which is why I am bringing up this now. Since I haven't asked you anything about this house and thus, no nothing about it, Ben mentioned the guest room. Is there just one? If so, I'll be happy to stay on the couch until he goes home. Then, I can move into his room."
"Oh," Lisa's surprised expression told Jack she hadn't thought about things either. "Ahh, I'm," she paused and nodded, "sorry about that, Jack. I haven't thought about being home, just getting home."
"I know, and I've not thought much either. I certainly want to offer whatever help and support you need, so I'll even sleep on your porch as you mentioned. It meant a lot to me you were home with me when I left the hospital-"
"It did?" Lisa's completely shocked expression took Jack by surprise as she looked up to him. "Jack, you made it very clear you didn't want me there."
He sighed and dropped his head, shaking it. Finally, he looked to her, locking eyes with her, "Look, I know my actions were terrible, and I did throw you out of the house, out of my life. That was a huge mistake. I was really glad you were there. I'd missed you, Lise, and even though I'd just gotten and read your letter the day of my heart attack, well, before I'd had my heart attack, you know I'd been on a ride on Paint. I was headed back to the house, intent on calling you. I was miserable and wanted to find a way back to each other, to bridge that gap as you had said. You were the bigger person then, reaching out, so when you rushed to the hospital to see me, yes, I was so glad you were home. I was so glad you didn't want to leave my side until," he paused and frowned. "Well, the truth is, at home, I started to feel smothered, not just by you, but by the entire family. I felt like I had no life left to live, and I'm sorry I took it out on you because I did. You took the brunt of it, but I was happy you were there, until we got into it about that hospital bed. I'd wanted to just recover in my own bed, with," he gave her a nod, "you there next to me just as that loving comfort I knew I needed. A hospital bed seemed so final, and I didn't want a final. I'd seen a final with Lyndy, and my mind went there, and then, it went to the idea of you just taking care of me, and," he shook his head and pursed his lips. "I didn't want that, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you, didn't ask you what you wanted and sent you away. I'm trying. I'm now trying, so I am here asking what you want because I'll do whatever it is. I'll pitch a tent in the yard, but I can't leave you, not this injured and not when I love you so much."
She wiped at her eye and nodded, "It took everything I had left to walk out of that house, to walk away from us. I still don't know how I got home, but I know I cried the entire way. It took the last bit out of me to pack up my things and get on a plane here. So, yes, it killed me inside, everything I had left. I was trying to do anything for you, and I'm sorry too. The hospital bed was too much, and I see that now. We both let our emotions control that. That's what I've been trying NOT to do now. I've tried to keep a level head dealing with you," she waved, "with us. I'm still not sure yet-"
Lisa stopped talking and shook her head. Jack nodded.
"You think about what you want, Lise," he reached to squeeze her shoulder. "I just hope you'll continue to accept my help."
The two dropped into silence, enjoying the quiet, cool morning air. Jack could hear Lisa take a few deep, ragged breaths, and he hated that he'd upset her. Things needed to be said. Things for the house needed to be sorted. Finally, after some silence, Jack cleared his throat.
"Ben should be pulling up. Let me step onto the street to see if he's heading this way."
"Jack," she reached for his arm, stilling his movement. He stopped and glanced at her, "I don't want a repeat of our fight at the ranch."
"I don't either," he said softly, clasping her hand and leaning down to kiss it.
"I, ahh," she met his gaze, "have a lot to work through in every sense," she gestured to herself. "I can't promise the outcome you want either."
"I know," he said quietly with a sad shrug. "This old man can hope."
She smiled sadly at him too, nodding, "I am not going to ask you to stay on the couch, nor on the porch, and as much as your stubborn self would pitch a tent in the yard, I'm not going to ask you to do that either. "I do still love you. That has never been an issue for me. My struggle has been anger, anger about being well," she frowned, "forgotten, not as important as other things in your life, an afterthought. I still have those concerns. You always come through in emergencies, and you have here. However, it brings me back to the age old question with us-'Where do we go from here?' I still don't know the answer to that, but you can stay with me. My room isn't big, but I missed you the night you were away at the bed and breakfast. I'm not sure that missing you is ever going to be enough to bridge a gap because we have a huge one, but I don't mind you staying with me and appreciate all of the care and concern you have shown me. So, can you be okay with that right now?"
"I can and will," he said with an appreciative nod. "I don't want to put you in more of an awkward position, so whatever you say goes. I also don't have the impression Ben knows everything that happened-"
She shook her head, "Beth does, but Ben does not, so he'd expect you to stay with me, but that's not why I'm suggesting it. It's not Ben. I'm not ready to deal with," she waved her hand and rolled her eyes, "whatever this is, but we certainly are used to waking up next to the other."
Jack felt himself tear up, until this moment wondering if he'd ever wake up next to Lisa again. While this was in no way a promise of a future, it wasn't the closing of a door either. He used his thumb to wipe at his face, spotting Ben pulling up out of the corner of his eye. Before Ben got out of the car, Jack, in his choked up voice, nodded, "It's more than okay, Lise. Thank you for that, for saying that, and I'll be on my best behavior waking up next to you."