The One After [SHAWN MENDES]

Chapter 131

I buckled myself into Shawn's Tesla while he queued up some music, and when the classic tune he selected started playing, he sang along loudly.

Do you remember
The 21st night of September?
Love was changin' the minds of pretenders
While chasin' the clouds away

"You've been waiting all morning to do this, haven't you?" I asked with a laugh.

"Actually, I knew I'd play this song the second you told me when your appointment was. Sing it with me, baby!"

I joined in and when the song ended, he put it on repeat so we could sing all the way to Dr. Morris's office. After he pulled the car into a parking spot, he took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "Are you nervous? This is a big day."

"Because we might get to have sex?"

"No! I mean...yeah, maybe that's a part of it...but I meant more that you could get the okay to do a lot of things like drive, travel, drink wine, exercise-"

"-and have sex."

"If she says you need more time, then we'll deal with it," he said.

Physical therapy was going really well. I used a cane when I was out in public because I felt unsteady when there were crowds and curbs or stairs. At home I could get around without any assistance at all. My grip issue was slowly improving, and no other problems had arisen.

"Hello, Lucy and Shawn!" Dr. Morris said brightly when she entered the exam room. "I'm going to connect with Dr. Nguyen on FaceTime so she can participate, too."

My other doctor's smiling face appeared on the propped-up iPad. "Hi! How is everyone today?"

I waved at her. "I feel great."

Dr. Morris sat on a stool in front of the exam table. "Your scan from last week was normal. No new aneurysms and the clips are in place, doing their job. Your skull looks fantastic, which proves that you're a fast healer!" She stood up and pushed my hair back to look at the scar. "This looks super, too. How do you feel? Are you keeping track of headaches?"

"I feel good, and in the last two weeks, I've only had one which I think was from stress."

"What kind of stress?" Dr. Nguyen asked.

"I told my bosses, who are my dad and uncles, that I was quitting. They understood, but the day leading up to that meeting I was a bundle of nerves."

"Did you take your blood pressure like I instructed you to do when a headache comes on?" Dr. Morris queried.

"Yes, and it was normal. I take it twice a day and it's always fine."

"That's excellent, and I see that the reading my nurse took was good," she said. "I'd like you to still watch your sodium. You don't have to eat salt-free, but don't add extra salt to anything and avoid eating too many high-sodium foods. Processed stuff is the worst."

Shawn spoke up. "We've been using this recovery period to become better cooks and we are hyper aware of reading labels."

Dr. Nguyen gave a thumbs up. "That's fantastic and will benefit both of you in the long run."