Page 35 of Letters Book Two
My eyes scanned the room. I was having difficulty turning my head, so my sight lines were very limited. “Perry isn’t here, but don’t worry, I’ll text him immediately,” he stated matter-of-factly. He grabbed a wet cloth and wiped the corners of my mouth and eyes, and then gently wiped my face. “Silly, I know, but let’s spruce up a quick second.”
“Where did Jack go?” I asked, still wondering where I was and who he was.
“He’s lying low right now, Lucas. I’m glad you met him. You’re in the hospital, my friend. You won’t be needing Jack right now.”
“I’m alive?” My eyes darted around the room. Best to be sure. “You’re real? How do I know you? Your name sounds familiar, like I know you.” I stared into a face that I can only describe as angelic. “Are you an angel too?”
“Not yet.”
“You look like one,” I stated, continuing to stare into his beautiful face.
“So, that’s how you charmed our Mr. Jackson?” He reached for something, and I heard clicking sounds. “I expect we’ll be seeing that man in about two minutes after that text.”
“Perry... he’s coming? He knows where I’ve been?”
“Of course, he does. He’s missed you something terrible. So have I, and we’ve never even met.” He reached for my hand and lightly squeezed it. “Can you feel that, Lucas?” I attempted a nod. “Good. You and I are going to be great friends. I just know it.”
Perry burst into the room. “Is he ok?” he asked. “What’s happened, Chad? You said he needed me.” He hurried to the edge of my bed and stared at me like I wasn’t there and turned to the guy I’d just met. “His eyes are open. Can he see us?” Perry was obviously as confused as I was.
“Ask him yourself, Mr. Jackson,” Chad said.
Perry leaned over the bed and looked into my eyes. I felt an involuntary smile trying to manifest on my face. It hurt actually, but it was worth the results.
“You’re back, baby... it’s really you?” He began to sob as he held my hand.
I hoped this was real. I hoped he could hear me as I whispered, “I think so.”
Perry raised his eyes and looked across the bed at my new friend. “He is here. He isreallyhere.”
Chad smiled and reached his free hand to Perry. We were joined in a circle of love. “I know. Just as it should be,” my new friend said.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: Perry
It took another two weeks, but it wasn’t long before Lucas was able to get out of bed and walk around the hospital halls. He had a full battery of cognitive tests and another MRI to make sure his brain swelling had abated. The three cracked ribs were causing him the most pain. His beautiful face was re-emerging, and as the swelling and bruising disappeared, he looked perfect to me. Lucas, being Lucas, paid no mind to his appearance. He couldn’t be bothered with how his hair or bruising looked. Another reason that he drove me crazy with desire. He was all boy for sure.
Mrs. Howard had been overjoyed at the news of him waking up. She couldn’t have gotten here any faster if she’d used time travel. Because she reveled in her new role as a grandmother, she’d been here nonstop since, fussing over her grandson. “This hospital food is not healthy for my boy. You’d think they’d be concerned about nutrition around here.” She’d also adopted Clint since he’d had no family show up at the hospital exceptCrazy Rhonda. The two of them were eating like kings with the meals she prepared forher boys.
Sharing the news that Mr. Howard had passed was particularly hard to deliver to Lucas. We hesitated telling him for a few days, but he wouldn’t let it go that he hadn’t seen him since he woke. “I know you’re all hiding something. Grandpa would nevernotvisit me. “
The subsequent conversations did not go well. I knew that he would struggle with another loss of this magnitude, and he did. He was inconsolable for several days. He blamed himself. He cried about Mrs. Howard being alone. The idea that Mr. Howard lost his life trying to assist him was almost too much to bear. Chad made several attempts at consoling him by asking questions about the relationship between them. It helped Lucas to share his stories about hisgrandpa. I worried that the news would set him back on his recovery and begged him to do all he could do to get well. “Ed wouldn’t want you to feel guilty, baby. He’d want you to be the strong person you are. You know he would,” I said, wiping more tears from his eyes. It broke my heart to see him in so much emotional pain.
Mrs. Howard was the one who finally got through to him and helped him accept the loss with less hurt. “He cared so much about you, Lucas. Just know that having you around this past year was the single biggest joy for him. He’d want you to be strong, son. He admired your strength and perseverance so much.”
Lucas and she planned a simple memorial that they’d announce to his friends as soon as everyone was out of the hospital. Working with Mrs. Howard on the memorial helped them grieve together and cemented the shared love they had discovered between them. As much as I hoped to be all he’d ever need, I knew that the love of family was essential for a healthy relationship and a happy Lucas. He was finally given a chance at a family after all these years. He would miss Mr. Howard beyond measure, but I knew he had plans to honor Ed. He would be sharing the news soon.
Lucas and I spent our days rediscovering each other. He admitted his fears and worries about living in my world. I told him I understood now and that I was willing to not pressure him about the details. We could live anywhere, as long as it was together. We agreed that we would just let our love unfold naturally. We wouldn’t worry about the things that didn’t matter. We had each other now and that was everything we’d need to grow as a united couple. I was beginning to see how truly mature he was. He was only twenty, but those were twenty long and arduous years. He was independent, I knew that, but he still needed me to support and love him. I could do that.
Our two patients had physical therapy twice a day and that had been the beginning of budding friendships. I went to support my boy, and Chad went for Clint andfor Lucas. Chad and Lucas were becoming fast friends. I knew that would happen, and I wasn’t even the clairvoyant one in the group.
“I’ve never had a close friend. Can you believe that? You were right about Chad, he’s special, Perry. I hope he feels the same way about me,” he said one afternoon as we watched the developing bond of Chad and Clint from across the shared room.
Clint was not taking to the routines very willingly. He felt he didn’t need all thedumb therapy, as he called it. As usual, Chad and hisuniquestyle of persuasion had Clint back on track. I hadn’t quite figured out what sort of friendship he and Clint were growing, but Lucas certainly felt he did. “That’s a thing, Perry. You watch, they’re falling in love.”
“Wow! Look at you. You’re starting to sound like Chad, Mr. Matchmaker,” I said, gently lifting him out of a chair. His ribs were still quite sore, and he struggled anytime he had to twist or put strain on them. “Back to your stretches, come on.” He grimaced and gritted his teeth. “You can do it, baby boy. We got this.” He leaned into me and wrapped his arm around my neck as I lifted him up on the table.
“Crawl up here with me, Mr. Jackson. I’m horny,” he said, a bit too loud.
“Hey, you two. There are other people in this room,” Chad said, smacking Clint on the ass to get him moving. Clint’s right leg had suffered severe damage and he was struggling to support his own weight. Currently he was walking between the rails of some type of physical therapy apparatus. It looked like that thing male gymnasts perform on while competing. I believe they’re called parallel bars. At any rate, it helped support a clearly unenthused Clint.
