Page 28 of Digging Deeper

“My husband can’t get here to watch her sessions, so he gave Claudia a notebook. Every day when we get home, she writes down everything she did for that day. Anytime she can do even one thing more than she did the day before, she gets so excited to go home and write it down for him. He celebrates even one extra arm curl like it’s the ultimate victory.”

“It’s not possible for him to get here at all? Could you do her appointment at a different time?”

“He had to get a second job when I quit working to be with Claudia. Plus, we have two more at home that I never want to feel neglected. But he’s home between jobs for dinner every night to spend time with the kids and me. And he’ll take off one day, once she takes a step on her own to come celebrate with her. They both look forward to that.”

“It sounds hard.” I face the woman standing next to me. There’s no question in my mind where her daughter gets her strength and resilience. Claudia’s dad sounds awesome, and there are no visible signs of the stress Joan must be under. “But it’s incredible how your family is making it work.”

“You can’t triumph without first overcoming, right, Officer Weston?”

“Drix, please,” I say absently, her words blaring in my mind.

* * *

“Hey, Mr. Drix.”Today Claudia is wearing leggings with a long sweater with kittens on it. I wish Jameson was here. The cats are curled up on each other like a picture he’d sent me of Simba and Nala.

“Hey, Claudia.” I reach over and we fist bump. “How are you doing today? Ready to get to work?”

“Yep,” she says. “I’ll be walking soon, I just know it. Those stupid pains at night are happening more and more, so I know my legs are ready to do their thing.”

“What?” I ask, glancing up at her mom, who nods her head, confirming her daughter’s words.

“My legs. That’s how I knew when it was time to move my fingers, and then my arms, and to try sitting up by myself. It would be annoying, but Daddy says it’s just my body fighting to come back online. When it was my fingers, the doctor told me not to be disappointed since I’d always felt that weird not there pain. You ever have that?” She tilts her face up at mine, innocent and inquisitive.

“Yeah, the phantom pain is how I think of it.”

Claudia giggles. “Well, I don’t have a ghost trying to hurt me, Mr. Drix. You might have other problems.” She giggles again, covering her mouth with her hand. After she gets control of herself, she says, “It’s a different pain, though. It’s more like it’s running through me instead of just there.” She scrunches her nose. “Does that make sense?”

I nod slowly, blinking back the tears flooding my eyes. “Perfect sense, sweetheart.”

She nods her head, starting to wheel herself away when Sally calls her. “Hey, Mr. Drix?”

“Yeah?” I manage to say past the clog in my throat.

“Will you come watch my session sometimes after you go back to your own time next week? It’s fun getting to talk to you.”

“I wouldn’t miss it. I want to be here to meet your dad.”

“Oh, Daddy can’t come until I—” She cuts herself off as a big smile spreads across her face, so impossibly wide I’m surprised it fits. “Yep, you’ll meet my dad before you know it.” Then she’s off.

* * *

“It’sweird coming in the afternoon now,” I say to Gavin as he sets up his notes and gets organized. It’s only been one week since the first time I saw Claudia, but with where my head is at, it feels like a lifetime ago.

“Yeah, Sally told me you came and sat with Joan this morning during Claudia’s session.”

I chuckle quietly, shaking my head. “I didn’t want to be a pain. I really planned to wait at least a few days, but Claudia invited me to come back, and they’re such a nice family. I can’t wait for her to walk.”

Gavin stops and stares at me. “You think Claudia will walk again?”

“Of course, doesn’t everyone? That little girl will be president someday if she wants to. But, uh, I was wondering if I should talk to the doctor about this pain I’m getting? It’s, um, been different lately.”

Gavin’s face lights up, and that strange lust-inducing flush is back, but he keeps his tone casual. “I think any differences you notice, you should talk to the doctor. You never know what it means.”

He bites his lip to keep from smiling, but I can see it peeking through. He’s so much like Holds that I’m starting to be grateful that this person, this wonderful, selfless person, is the man my brother’s best friends with. Although, I hope he doesn’t think his sweet and innocent act means I don’t know what he’s been up to. “You know, I was out roaming the floor yesterday, saying hi, and getting to know some of the others.”

“That’s really good, Drix.”

Internally I roll my eyes at myself. The happy dance that goes on in my mind whenever Gav calls me Drix is ridiculous. However, there’s no longer a question of when he’s pissed at me. I one hundred percent become Hendrix; unfortunately, I’ve heard a whole lot more of that lately than the Drix. “It is. I’ve met some nice people. You know what I found out?”

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