A Love With Limits

Chapter 7: Seeing The World

Ever since waking up, Leonard had been desperate to get out of the hospital. At this point, he had almost forgotten what it was like to be outside. As a child, his time in the outdoors was limited by his mothers curfews, but now as an adult, he could go wherever he liked...with assistance. He didn't like the fact that he couldn't leave on his own, but he tried to ignore this - at least he could go out at all. It wasn't so bad having assistance anyway, because his assistant was Caroline, and he loved spending time with her, even if it was limited what they could do together. Dr. Vìzkovà had been filming him a lot on her old camera, filming him doing things that he hadn't been able to do for decades, and watching him with that characteristic smile on his face; it felt worth all the struggle. Shaving for the first time in his life, combing his hair, getting dressed; things normal human beings took for granted, he enjoyed thoroughly. Today he had put on his best outfit, a button up shirt with a brown coat, and a neatly tied bowtie around his neck. The outfit combination he had worn almost every day as a little boy, giving him comfort and familiarity.

"Are you ready to head out, Leonard?" Caroline asked him, standing by the hospitals main door. She, herself, had put on her best outfit, which included a nice black dress along with low black heels and her hair put up in a little bun. Just a tiny bit of makeup, not something she often wore, but it was an occasion. Today was all about enjoyment and freedom, as too much of Leonard's time had been spent in the depressing confines of an institution for the sick. Caroline herself was getting quite sick of seeing the same sights every day, and was happy to get out too - she had spent so much time at work, even sleeping in her office, that she felt like she was a patient too.

Leonard stared out the window, like a dog desperate to go out and play, and Dr. Vìzkovà thought he might not have heard her question, until he muttered "Yes, I am ready. Let's get outta here, Caroline!" He opened the door, and upon feeling the suns rays on his face, he laughed, looking over at Caroline. "It's... So beautiful, Dr. The sun. Trees. People." It was clear that he struggled with coherent sentences sometimes, but the joy in his voice was hard to miss. Leonard reached for Caroline's hand, and she froze into place, staring at his extended hand. She wanted to hold his hand, and she felt her heart flutter, but hadn't she promised herself to distance herself from her feelings? She hadn't even talked to him about what had happened the night they kissed, and how they couldn't keep going; but she couldn't lie to herself, and fending off her feelings for him was painful. She made a desicion - keep the relationship with him, whatever it was, and if it got out of hand, she would distance herself again. Smiling at him with uncertainty, she took his hand, and trying his best, he squeezed it ever so slightly. Together, hand in hand, they walked over to the doctors vehicle.

****

Driving through the Bronx, Leonard kept staring out the window, taking it all in, smiling all along. Driving past a tall, red colored building, his face dropped into a shocked expression - he pointed out, saying with a surprise in his voice: "Caroline, that's my school." Children were dashing around, playing with each other and some kids were getting picked up by their parents; they all looked so joyous. "Really?" she simply replied, while turning up the music on her car radio, which Leonard immediately reacted to. "Is this classical?" Leonard inquired, and with a smile, Caroline told him to change it to whatever he would like. She hadn't really thought about how music had changed since Leonard was a boy back in the 1930s, but when he changed the channels, he looked quizzical; he had changed the channel to rock'n'roll, a genre that had only really been popularized in the 1960's, the current decade. "What is this?" Leonard asked, with a childlike tone of voice. "Oh, this is rock'n'roll, Leonard, a new genre of music. Isn't it wonderful?" Caroline asked, and without noticing, Leonard's hand was on her thigh. "I like this." He said, blushing slightly. Unsure of what to reply, Caroline simply said "I like this too, Leonard."