Page 3 of Caleb's Cause
“Holy shit,” RJ said in shock, then whipped around to glare at her husband. “You didn’t tell me I’d be sleeping with The Terminator.” Her statement caused everyone to laugh, and she looked at the two men with a shake of her head. “Is this what the current technology is capable of?”
“Yes.” Caleb didn’t know how else to answer her, so he didn’t speak as he got out his supplies, slapping on a pair of glovesbefore he looked at Jake. “Don’t be offended, but I’m going to rub the stump with antibacterial ointment. I’m sure you took a shower this morning, but I’m also sure the cap of your leg caused it to sweat.”
“You would be correct.” Jake nodded and watched as he was completely professional, and when, if he hadn’t been watching it happen, he never would have known the new leg was on. He lifted it at Caleb’s instructions and when he was told to point his toes, he scowled at the other man. “You’re joking, right?” He shrugged and did it anyway, then looked between RJ and Caleb in shock. “Holy shit, I have a movable ankle.”
“You do,” Caleb took the clean pair of socks RJ handed him, then handed one of them to Jake. “Dress your foot.” Jake did, then looked at Caleb in shock yet again. “I have a movable knee?”
“Yep.” Caleb laughed and after the sock was on, he had Jake stand. Thankfully, when Jake had come upstairs, he’d removed his pants, socks, and shoes, and had put on a pair of board shorts. He now stood, and Caleb handed him a small pamphlet.
“What’s this?”
“The instructions. There are small buttons on the side that will lock the knee and ankle so they won’t move. They are currently in the unlock position, so you were able to dress your foot, and now, I’m going to need you to walk, with them unlocked. Be careful. I don’t know how long you’ve used the old one, but remember, that knee and ankle didn’t move, this one does. I’m not being mean, but this was designed to be exactly like the limb you lost. Movement in the knee and ankle, you’ll be using them, not the hip.”
Caleb stood after showing him where the buttons were, he looked at RJ and they stood on either side of him as he stood. “Easy, take your time,” Caleb said as Jake took a step, and afterthe third one, he stumbled, but was caught. Jake threw his head back and laughed.
“Holy shit, this is great.” It took thirty minutes walking around the bedroom before Caleb was comfortable enough to stand back and let him walk on his own.
“Normally, you would have been in a much larger area, but since I was coming here anyway, I asked to deliver it. Now,” he looked at Jake with an evil grin.
“Oh, god, what? I don’t like that expression.” He looked over at his wife, and saw nothing but confusion in her expression, so he turned back to Caleb with a raised brow.
“Now, we tackle the stairs.” He laughed at Jake’s shock, but went over and opened the door wider, they’d only left it halfway open in case any of the guests had walked by. Caleb had Jake turn the movement off and take the stairs, and nodded at how confident he was. At the bottom, he had him turn them back on and go up.
“I didn’t think your first time should be going down.”
“Thanks for that.” Jake shook his head and swore when he tripped going up the stairs. No one said anything, and let him deal with it himself. This time it took almost an hour before he didn’t trip going up or down.
“You’re good,” Caleb said as they went back to the bedroom, and he reached into the case the new leg had come in and withdrew a small, but thick envelope.
“What’s that?”
“The batteries.” He kneeled down in front of Jake, and had RJ join him as he showed both of them the flap that held them and how to change them. After they had both done it, he nodded to them. “In this box.” He’d retrieved it while they played with the batteries. “This is the charger. The batteries have roughly thirty-five hundred hours of use. We recommend that you charge them at three thousand hours. Also in this box arethree more sets of batteries, the instructions, and the name and number of where you can order more if you need them.” He looked up at Jake and shook his head. “I would recommend that if you’re sitting for long periods of time, and not doing a lot of walking, then just turn it off. You can still use it, it would be like your old one, without the batteries. If Ms. Riceman hires me, and if you have any questions, give me a call. I’ve included my card, but I don’t know whether I will have to change my phone number or not. I currently have one based out of Seattle.”
“Thank you,” Jake said as he stood, held out his hand, and when they shook, he brought him in for a hug. When they stepped back, he shook his head in awe. “I don’t normally hug another man, but I can’t thank you enough for delivering this to me.” He shook his head to stop what Caleb might have said. “I know you did it because you were coming here anyway, but thank you for doing this in the privacy of my home with my wife present.”
“You’re welcome, and I’m certified to work on it if you need any tweaks. This is all new, and there might be a few bugs along the way. If Erin hires me, then just give me a call. It’s just down the road, right?”
“About an hour.” Jake admitted and laughed at his expression. “Yeah, we’re not just around the corner here. It’ll take roughly an hour or more to get to anyplace from the Riceman property.”
“Oh, wow, okay, that’s good information to have.”
They concluded their business, and as he went to leave the two in the bedroom, he turned back with a smirk. “Can I walk to the town from here? Or do I have to drive? I want to get my bearings.”
“You can walk, it’s a couple of blocks, but you can walk it.”
“Thanks. Does supper come with the room?”
“Yes, we serve at seven.” RJ answered, and Caleb left the couple alone to go out and walk the town to get a feel for where he hoped his new life would start soon.
CHAPTER 2
The next day,Caleb left Gunny’s B&B with plenty of time to spare for his appointment with Erin Riceman. Before he left, he had handed over the background check information someone at his father’s work had done on him.
“Thank you,” Jake had said. “I’ll look this over and get with Manchester.”
“Who is that?”
“Duane Manchester, he is former FBI, and works as security for Erin. He’s only been there for a couple of months, but he’s good. We work on the checks together.”
