"You know, I'm not completely sure how I
feel about this," Kristina declared later that day as Amelia sat at the
breakfast counter across from where her life-long friend and roommate was
cooking some kind of stir fry with chopped pieces of meat, after bursting in
with armful of groceries, loudly declaring that she would be cooking dinner.
Amelia risked glancing out from the
paperwork she was filling out that she would have to return on Monday when she
went back to the Reserve. She was going back! She hardly could believe it. For
the first time she waking up in the hospital unable to feel her legs, something
good was finally happening.
"Then why are you cooking it?" Amelia
asked, skeptically eyeing the contents of the sizzling skillet she wasn't sure
about eating either.
"No, I mean you going back to work so
soon," Kristina exasperatedly flicked a piece of raw onion that had somehow
been spared the greasy death at Amelia, making her grin.
"It's been more than a year, almost two."
Amelia reminded with a shrug before flicking the onion back with less success.
"I know, but…it feels so soon," Kristy
shrugged, using the back of her hair to brush a strand of long auburn red hair
that had fallen in her face. "I mean, after everything you've been through…"
"I'm kind of excited about it," Amelia
declared, ignoring her friends hint that she should be slowing down after such
a traumatic event. "I've really missed it there. Nick even said that working
with animals could be good for me, like a service dog."
"But this isn't a service dog, Amelia. And
who cares what Nick said. What does he know?"
"Well, he is my physical
therapist…and now he's your boyfriend," Amelia reminded with a
suppressed grin. She had noticed about halfway through her therapy that her
friend had begun hanging around when she would drop Amelia off, more than was
warranted.
So when Amelia answered the door one day,
to find Nick on the porch, there to pick up Kristina for a dinner date, she
hadn't been all that surprised. There were very few people that Amelia felt
safe around anymore, but Nick had become one of them.
Kristy paused after Amelia made this
point, the spatula still in the air, lips puckered in thought. "Well…there is
that. But I still don't know about this. I mean, it's a lot of physical labor.
Are you sure your leg can handle it?"
"My brace arrives tomorrow, that'll make
it easier. But…I think I need this, Kristy," Amelia admitted with a hard
swallow. She didn't know how to explain to her friend that she couldn't let
this go, that she had to keep something from her old life, something that
hadn't been destroyed. Like her leg, her independence, and her trust.
Kristina studied her for a long moment
with sky-blue eyes that saw everything Amelia thought she could hide over the
counter until Amelia was forced to look away, fiddling with the pen she had
been using to fill the paperwork.
"Alright," Kristy heaved a sigh with a
nod. "Well, maybe your right."
"Well, thank you," Amelia smirked, sarcasm
dripping from her voice as she glanced up, "but I'm twenty-three, now. I don't
need permission from my mommy."
Kristy flicked the spatula at her in a
teasing manner, but all it did was send grease droplets flying, splattering
over her paperwork.
"Oh, come on, Kristy," Amelia tried wiping
the droplets away, but all it did was spread in streaks making her huff and
glare at her friend. Kristy grimaced deeply, blue gaze apologetic. Kristina was
one of those people that Amelia just couldn't stay mad at. Not after she spent
every day at the hospital with her, encouraged and refused to let Amelia give
up when she wanted to.
Kristy was more a sister than a biological
one could be. Not only had they grown up as neighbors from the time they were
two, wreaking all sorts of havoc in their neighborhood, but when Amelia's
parents had passed in a freak car accident when she was sixteen, Kristina's
family had taken her in. Not like she hadn't spent most of her time at their
house anyway.
They had even went to the same college
together. Then after Amelia's accident, Kristina had insisted that Amelia share
the two-room cottage that she had bought. Roommates once again. Amelia had been
in no state of mind, or position, to decline, and if she had, Kristina wouldn't
have accepted it. Kristy was a force of nature all her own.
"But you know, maybe this will be good for
you," Kristina broke into Amelia's jaunt down memory lane, stirring the
contents of the skillet with the spatula. "I mean, I know how much you love the
Reserve. That was always your favorite place to be, and you do love the
animals. Having something to look forward to is good."
"Does that mean I have my other
therapist's approval?" Amelia smirked as she took a long gulp from her glass of
water. Kristina narrowed her blue eyes, pointing the greasy spatula at her in a
warning.
Kristina couldn't turn off the therapist
in her and was convinced Amelia had PTSD. Amelia found it increasingly unfair
how her physical therapist, and best friend who had just earned her PHD, ganged
up on her in the most well-intention way, trying to help her recover both
physically and mentally. Amelia doubted either would be a full recovery.
"It's just that, even now, I can see a
change in you. Just knowing you're going back; you actually have a gleam in
your eyes again. I haven't seen that in a really long time. Maybe Nick is
right. This will be good for you both physically and mentally, and
emotionally."
"Are you saying that because you truly
believe it, or because you and Nick have a date tomorrow night, and you don't
want to be angry with him?"
Kristy feigned an innocent look. "Can't it
be both?"
***
Amelia arrived at the Reserve Monday
morning right on time. She couldn't have asked the weather to be more perfect
for her first day back, the sun spilling out from over the tops of the trees
that surrounded the Reserve, casting everything in a beautiful morning glow
that eased the tension knotting up in her shoulders, not a cloud in sight, the
mountains reflecting the sunrise.
Her crutch creaked as she approached the
office, her paperwork tucked safely into her leather bag that hung from her
shoulder with a single strap. It felt good to wear her Reserve uniform again.
She hadn't realized how much confidence it gave her until she had pulled it on
that morning.
Though she had to admit, that confidence
wavered a bit when she glanced down at her useless leg dragging on the
pavement. Could she really do this?
There was only one way for her to find
out.
As she stepped in through the open door of
the office, the smell of fresh coffee hit her first. Nothing like the smell of
good coffee mixed with the morning dew.
"Amelia," Danielle's voice made her look
across the office to the corner door that led to the back room of files. "Good
morning. You're right on time."
"I figured I'd better be after being so
late last time."
"Don't worry about that. I try not to
judge anyone on their first impression. How about you take a seat? Would you
like some coffee?"
Amelia held up the to-go cup she held in
her free hand as she limped over to the chair opposite Danielle who sat behind
the desk. "Got some. Never leave home without it."
"Ah, a fellow coffee addict," Danielle
chuckled as she relaxed into her desk chair, picking up a black coffee mug from
her desk, "we may be able to become friends after all. Did you bring the
paperwork?"
"Oh, yes," Amelia set her to-go cup down
after resting the crutch against the side of the chair and went about pulling
out the paperwork from her bag. "It um…got splattered with grease from my
roommate. And please, don't judge me on my handwriting either."
Danielle merely grinned as she accepted
the papers that Amelia handed her. "If I judged people on their handwriting, my
brother wouldn't working here. His handwriting is like chicken scratch."
"Oh, good, I'm not the only one." Amelia
smiled, relieved by the woman's friendly demeanor and relaxed manner. She
hadn't known what to think of Danielle at first, but she seemed nice.
"By far," Danielle reassured then glanced
around before lowering her voice behind her hand, "I'm just as bad."
Amelia grinned, feeling her tension easing
away as Danielle flipped through the paperwork, nodding ever so often.
"Well, everything looks good to me. Now,
let's talk about your schedule. What do you think you can manage? I did
call you physical therapist like you recommended. He seems to think you should
be able to handle this just fine, but I also don't want to set back your
recovery any. Should we go three days a week for a while and see how that works
for you?"
Amelia was relieved she hadn't been forced
to answer, because if she was honest, Amelia wasn't sure what she could
handle. Having a starting point was a relief, and she nodded eagerly in
agreement.
"Yes, three days a week a sounds just fine
to me."
"Okay, then," Danielle nodded once before
writing something down on Amelia's paperwork. "Well, let's do that for a while
and then if you think you can handle more, or less, we can definitely adjust to
that. You used to work here, so I figure you still know your way around and
know where everything is. We haven't really changed anything. However, Grant
does see to the day-to-day operations, so if you have any questions, or need to
report anything, you can go to him directly. Unless of course he's doing
something stupid, then you can come straight to me, and I'll kick his butt."
Amelia wasn't sure how she felt about
having to answer to Grant, but she knew that would just have to be the way it
was. For all she knew, Grant could be a great guy, and their last interaction
had been pleasant, but any man she didn't know made her want to run the other
way. It had taken what had felt like forever to trust Nick, and that was more
because she didn't have much of a choice.
"Is that alright with you?" Danielle's
question brought Amelia from her thoughts to find that the woman was watching
her with a soft, understanding gaze. How much did Danielle know about Amelia's
accident?
"Uh, y-yeah," Amelia cleared her throat
and nodded more confidently. "That's fine."
"Alright." Danielle nodded, appearing to not fully believe her. It disappeared into a friendly smile. "Well,
welcome back aboard, Amelia."