Owen Read online

  “When’s dinner, I wonder?”

  “It should be between five and seven,” she stated.

  Just then Dennis looked up, smiled at the pair. “How is it we’re blessed with your presence for two days in a row?”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re such a sweetheart. This guy here? His stomach is growling, and he needs some food.”

  Dennis looked over at Owen in surprise. “Glad to see you’re up again.”

  “I’m not exactly up.” He patted the wheelchair.

  “Nope, that’s up to me,” Dennis corrected. “Hungry tummies mean you probably didn’t have enough lunch, huh?”

  “I wasn’t exactly sure what was coming at me today,” he said. “So I kept my food to a fairly light amount.”

  “What would you like now?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not really sure what’s available.”

  “I’ve got leftovers from a hot lunch. I’ve got sandwiches. I’ve got treats,” he replied. “But, if you’re looking for something more substantial, you probably don’t want a lot of sugar.”

  “Right, more healthy food would be better,” he noted. “A sandwich would probably be good.”

  “Let me go take a look at what we’ve got made up.” He looked over at Penny. “What about you?”

  She shook her head. “I’m fine.”

  He snorted at that. “Did you eat lunch?”

  She lifted her gaze to him and smiled. “You’ve got enough people to feed here.”

  With a wave of his hand, he said, “Enough of that folderol. Go take a table.” He looked at Owen. “Coffee?”

  “Penny and I can handle that part.”

  Dennis headed to the kitchen, leaving them on their own.

  Owen said, “Let’s go see what there is at the coffee station.”

  Penny smiled and let him take the lead.

  Owen was delighted to see Penny again, and the invitation to come and even have coffee with her made him smile. She was a nice lady, and right now he could use a friend. This place operated differently than any VA he had been in, and it required adjustments that he hadn’t quite made yet, so a friendly face was very welcoming.

  “Were you okay yesterday?” she asked.

  “I was.” He nodded, as he reached for the coffeepot and poured a cup for him and her. “But I was so much better after Shane popped by and suggested the hot tub. That was dynamite. I knew of the pool. Had no idea about the hot tub.”

  “Good,” she said. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Do you help with things like that?”

  She looked at him, puzzled.

  He clarified, “Finances, funding big-ticket items here.”

  “Oh, well, they apply for grants, and, once it’s approved, then we help them complete whatever it is that’s needed to be done. I don’t remember if the hot tub was one of those items or not.” When he asked how she took her coffee, she reached for it as is. “Black, please.”

  He smiled. “You know that not too many people drink coffee black.”

  “I’ve been drinking it that way for a long time,” she said.

  “Me too.” Together they made their way over to one of the tables, and he stopped, pointed outside, and asked, “How about out there on the deck?”

  “That sounds great.” She nodded.

  The two of them made their way to one of the tables outside but in the shade of the overhang.

  “It’s lovely out here,” she said.

  “It’s beautiful.” He pushed himself up to the table, struggling to move a chair out of the way, so that the wheelchair would fit there instead.

  “I guess we all have things to adjust to everywhere, don’t we?” she asked. “But especially when encountering changes.”

  “Absolutely. Life is a constant adjustment. But accidents? Those are more so. And this wheelchair? Maneuvering it around tables in the dining room? That’s just one of the reasons why I prefer crutches.”

  “Do you think you’re viewed differently in the chair than with the crutches?”

  “I view myself differently,” he noted. “Whether that’s right or not, I don’t know. It’s hard to know anymore, isn’t it?”

  “It is, absolutely.”

  They sat here outside, talking about little issues, basically making small talk.

  But he appreciated just being with her. “I appreciate you spending the time with me,” he confessed. “Being a stranger, in a strange environment, while healing from trauma, isn’t the most comforting.”

  “I understand,” she said, with a slight nod. “But I’m not doing it as a favor. I’m always interested in people, and you strike me as somebody who’s particularly interesting.”

  He laughed at that. “I don’t know why because I’m just another one of the broken men here.”

  “A broken man?” she repeated, as she shook her head. “You’re a man on the road to his recovery.”

  “It’s all in your perspective.”

  She looked up and smiled, and Owen figured that Dennis was probably coming behind Owen.

  “You didn’t have to feed me, you know,” she scolded him.

  “Nope, I didn’t. These were left over from lunch. I just boosted them a bit.” He placed salads and sandwiches in front of them.

  “I won’t eat dinner at this rate.” Owen stared at the platter.

  “Yes, you will,” Dennis argued. “That’s three hours from now, and not a whole lot is here, except greens. Nutrition, remember?”

  “Right,” he replied, cringing.

  Dennis laughed. “I presume that means you have had one of Shane’s green shakes?”

  “Absolutely.” He puckered up his face. “They’re pretty hard to get down.”

  “They are, but they do the job.” Dennis turned and took off.

  “I think he only ever has one speed.” She laughed.

  “I haven’t known him that long, but it’s always like he’s onto his next major venture.” He picked up half a sandwich, looking at the fillings. “If this as good as everything else I’ve eaten here, I’ll really enjoy this.” He bit down into the slightly toasted bread, filled with corned beef, a bit of mustard, onions, and he wasn’t sure what else. He tried to work out the flavors and then realized it was horseradish. “This is really good,” he said enthusiastically. He looked at hers, and hers was different. “No corned beef and horseradish for you?”

  She shook her head and grimaced. “Not a big fan of hot. Horseradish would kill me.” Hers appeared to be a ham and Swiss cheese. But she ate just as ravenously as him.

  “So how come you got sick?” he asked. “You mentioned it the other day. Or do you mind me asking?”

  “I’ve been sickly most of my life,” she said. “I’ve been a huge proponent of green shakes too, trying to get my fitness back up, but, anytime I get a cold, I usually drop into bed for days. In this case I got a heavy bout of flu, and it was kind of hard to recover from. Whenever that happens, I tend to drop a lot of weight. It takes me a month or two to get the weight back on again.”

  “A lot of people would not be very upset to have that problem.”

  “I know,” she agreed. “Yet a large section of us in the world have trouble keeping the weight on. We just often don’t hear about them.”

  “That’s a good point,” he said. “We certainly haven’t figured out everything about the human body, have we?” He took another bite, thoroughly enjoying the flavors in his sandwich as they blended together, pleasing his palate. It was gone way too quickly. Staring down at his half empty plate, he added, “Now that I’ve scoffed that down, I could have eaten two or three of them.”

  She burst out laughing. “I think that’s what Dennis meant about you’ll be ready for dinner.”

  “Maybe. That was a very fine sandwich.” He picked up his fork and tucked into the greens. “And I do like my veggies.”

  “Good, because that definitely is on your program, getting that nutrition back up to snuff,” she added.

/>   He nodded and motioned to hers. “How’s yours?”

  “Mine is excellent too.” She was almost done with her sandwich and about to tackle her salad.

  “How often do you come here?” he asked.

  She gave him a cheeky grin. “Why? You want to make this a standing date?”

  He burst out laughing, loving her humor. “You know what? It’d be lovely if you could stop by every day,” he said, “but that’s not likely to be an option.”

  “No,” she replied bluntly. “It won’t be. But I come a lot. Besides, even if I do come, there’s no guarantee that you’re scheduled for a coffee break.”

  He wrinkled his nose up at that. “Now that’s quite true. I’ve been working on the whole schedule thing, but we haven’t really started yet.”

  “You will,” she said, with a note of warning. “They’re nothing if not efficient here. But first they gather all the data and figure out just where to start with you.”

  “I get that.” He nodded. “I’m just hoping it will happen fast enough, so that I won’t feel like I’m wasting my time, and efficient enough that I can see progress.”

  “Progress will be on all different levels,” she replied quietly. “You’re the one who has to be easy on you.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “Why do you say that?”

  “Look at you. The first day you had a wheelchair available. You wanted to start out on crutches. You wanted to be viewed as somebody who was capable and didn’t need a wheelchair. You’ve at least acclimated to the reality that it’s easier on your body to use the wheelchair. Yet it was hard for you to make that mental adjustment, wasn’t it?”

  “It was.” He pushed away his empty plate. “And I would still much rather be on crutches.”

  “Sure, but we all make sacrifices for the greater good, even that.” She laughed. “That sounds trite, I know. However, in truth, a lot of reality is in that statement.”

  “I promise I’ll be open-minded about the changes,” he relented. “You might have to remind me every once in a while.”

  “Not a problem,” she agreed cheekily. “Any time you need a slap back down to reality, I’ll be there.”

  He burst out laughing at that. Then he looked at his watch, sighed. “I really need to get back. I’m supposed to meet with the shrink this afternoon.”

  “Which one?”

  He frowned. “I think Dr. Madison?”

  “The new guy,” she said, with a smile. “Let me know how it goes.” She held out her phone. “And speaking of which, what’s your phone number?”

  He gave her the number, and she added it to her Contacts, while he watched.

  “I’ll send you a text, so you’ve got mine.” Then she waved a hand and stood. “I got to run too.” And, with that, she dashed off.

  He watched her go, feeling as if something special had just walked out of his life.

  As it was, Dennis came up behind him. “She’s quite something, isn’t she?”

  Owen smiled and nodded. “She is. I don’t know why she’s taking an interest in me, but I’m grateful.” He shrugged. “It’s just nice to have another human being, who doesn’t see me as a broken piece of humanity, sporting a medical injury that needs to be fixed.”

  “Wow,” Dennis said. “I hadn’t considered it from that angle.”

  Owen looked up at him and nodded. “After so many surgeries, so many doctor’s visits, you just know you’re a piece of meat that they’re trying to fix, one way or another. It doesn’t necessarily mean in a way that works or in the way you want it to be but just so that you’re functional.” He pushed back his wheelchair, stopped, and added, “I really appreciate the extra food. Thank you. It was delicious.”

  Dennis nodded. “If you have any favorite foods, just let us know. We’re always looking for new menu ideas.”

  “Lasagna, fish and chips.” He then quickly added, “And I love paella.”

  “Wow, that was fast.” Dennis laughed. “How about Greek?”

  “I love all ethnic foods, at least those that I ever tried.”

  “We have Mexican for dinner.”

  “Perfect,” he said. “I’ll try to get back in time.”

  “Have a good afternoon,” Dennis called out after him.

  Owen lifted a hand, as he wheeled through the door, not wanting to be late for his first appointment, yet he knew he would be.

  Chapter 5

  Two days later she was happy to get a text from Owen.

  Hey, haven’t seen you in two days.

  She sent back a quick answer. Won’t be back today either. How’d the testing go?

  Decent. I’ve got a full schedule.

  Give yourself a break these first few days.

  I’m in bed already, and it’s only four o’clock.

  No dinner?

  That’s not for another hour, so hoping for a nap.

  Shane?

  Shane and …

  She laughed and sent him a happy emoji and a thumbs-up. At that, she pocketed her phone and headed into her kitchen.

  That was what she really liked about being at Hathaway, their food. Here at home she had to make her own, and, although that was something she often enjoyed doing, it was lonely to cook for one. Plus recipes didn’t cater to the solo eater either. And, with her sensitivities, she couldn’t cook much for herself, whereas Dennis always presented many selections to choose from. Definitely a lot to be said about having a decent supply of food.

  But Penny had to work with what she had and based on the current state of her tummy. She pulled out eggs and made herself a big omelet. It was hardly as substantial as what Dennis would have made, but her stomach hadn’t been very solid all day.

  As she sat back down again, she got a phone call. “Hey, Dani. What’s up?”

  “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  “I’m having an omelet,” she replied. “I got hungry, and I missed lunch.”

  Dani gave a heavy sigh. “You know that you’ve got to stop doing that.”

  “I was busy and in town.”

  “Stomach still touchy?”

  “Very. Wasn’t sure if this omelet would go down or not.”

  “Give it a good try,” she suggested. “You really can’t afford to lose any more weight.”

  And just enough worry was in her voice to put a smile on Penny’s face. “Thanks for caring,” she said. “Did you have a reason for calling?”

  “I always have a reason for calling,” she replied.

  “What’s up?”

  “Nothing. I’m just checking up on you.”

  “Really?” She was inordinately pleased to hear that.

  “It’s not always that we need something.” Dani laughed.

  “Nope it isn’t,” she agreed. “I don’t want you to think I do that either.”

  “It’s just, you know, you scare me when you’re looking as peaked as you were.”

  “And I’ve been trying to take it that much easier these last few days too,” she said.

  “Maybe you need to take it that much easier yet again.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I’ll work it out.”

  “How’s the family?” she asked.

  “As always,” she replied in exasperation, “fighting me tooth and nail.”

  “I hear you,” she said. “If you ever need any help …”

  “Thanks,” she replied.

  “Please, at least take care of yourself.”

  And, by the time the two women hung up, Penny stared down at her cooling omelet and wished she did have something a whole lot more substantial. But this was here in front of her, so she quickly ate that and then got up to put on some toast. If nothing else she needed a bit more food.

  She needed more care. She knew that.

  Both from herself and her blood relatives. Self-care and caring feelings from her family instead of the constant criticism. She hated that, but it was what it was. Penny appreciated the friends she had made in h
er life, but her family battles made Penny’s life and her work harder on her, all because she had that intense desire to help those who had it worse than her.

  She had lived a life of privilege, and she, for one, appreciated that it had been so easy on her, but, at the same time, she didn’t want to maintain the status quo, especially if she couldn’t help other people. Her family didn’t really understand, and they more or less tolerated her, with a certain amount of amusement and love. And, because of that, Penny was forever fighting for more money. They had buckets of it, and she understood that need to preserve it and to be smart with it, but she also didn’t understand why she had to fight so hard to get what she did.

  Just then her mother called.

  Penny looked at her phone, groaned, and said, “Hello, Mom.”

  “You know that it would be much better if I didn’t hear the testiness in your voice when you answer,” she replied, and yet, this time, a rare fatigue was in her own voice.

  “I’m just tired of fighting,” Penny said. “That meeting today was brutal.”

  “You were asking for another million dollars,” her mother replied in exasperation. “What did you expect?”

  “Cooperation,” she stated. “You just finished telling us about the profit margin being over 128 million, so what’s another million to you guys?”

  “We go through this every time,” she complained.

  “Then give me more without me having to ask for it,” she replied. “You know that I’ll be sensible. We’ll set it up as a trust. It’ll be the money, the interest money, that is handed out. I won’t be touching the principal. We’ll do it all correctly.”

  “I know that’s how you feel, but it seems like you never stopped asking.”

  “So then give me enough that I won’t ask for more,” she said in exasperation.

  “You have all these pet projects. I doubt that, if we give you enough money, you’ll ever have an end to them.”

  “Helping veterans who have been seriously injured through their war service to get back on their feet is hardly a pet project,” she stated very quietly. She could feel the same burning anger inside, which she felt time and time again. Her mother had no real answer for it. Her parents had no real understanding of how to get past this, but their lack of wanting to help burned constantly.