Unsuspecting Blessing.

viii

Part Two: Progression.

viii

Little time passed from her decision to accept Brian Peterson as a temporary part of her life, but the little that had accumulated and accented their time together was enough to let the release of Julia from the hospital to be encroaching. In the moment, Julia felt uncertain about her ultimate, no-looking-back choice, but as the days filled in and Brian's raw responsibility in the situation showed, she knew that her settlement became the best outcome. Her insurance, which was covered by the government, amounted to nearly nothing. Julia could barely ensure the much needed physical therapist she would be consulting about recovery in due time, let alone get anything from the hospital itself. Thankfully, and quite admirably, Doctor Foster checked in on Julia regularly without expectations of payment towards the hospital; she did so on her breaks or before her shift.

Julia had been in the hospital for four days, with three to go until her departure. Only a week in care, but despite the fact that she would have chosen to leave the facility early anyhow, her insurance became the subsequent decider of fates.

Brian had been going to school in the meantime still, getting assignments as requested by Julia, and completing his work. He had not seen his Mother, he had told Julia, since the first day when he went back home to grab clothes, and other hygienic items, so he could stay at the hospital full-time until Julia's release. She felt grateful of him being there to aid her, mostly because the costs of a nurse doing it would slam her with debts unimaginable, but also because the kindness in his patience with an injured, complaining, college girl was immaculate. Every day, he had brought her out to the pond to see the wildlife and trees, and to feel the cool air in her lungs. He had become quite efficient at getting her in and out of her wheelchair too, she thought, most often avoiding grabbing her accidentally in uncomfortable places.

Julia had learned, through her somewhat comforting conversations with Brian, that he was going to school to work in human services. That explained most of his apparent goodwill, when she found out, and put her mind at ease from possible malicious intent or complete cynicism—like he would have maybe been using her to gain good karma to balance out secret terrors in the night. Julia just felt glad to have support that did not expect payment, and that frankly was not a murderer or psychopath that only occupied the hospital room with her to take unconscious erotic photos of her.

At the time of her aimless ruminating, she felt a throbbing ache in her uninjured leg that reminded her of not stretching before running. But she could not stretch it even if she tried, because completing college assignments was hard enough without stoking the fires in her broken leg, let alone forcing more pain upon herself. She sat in a wheelchair, but not the same one as previous, a different one lent to her by the hospital due to the fact that the chairs were used and swapped so frequently, doing her assignments for her History class which taught her nothing more than interesting information. Outside the window, which she faced because of the small table area which sat in front of the glass, she looked upon the pond and longed for the familiar feeling of her own apartment which for sure gave off the neutral smell of dying and dead plants from her absence. The thought comforted her, but wounded her nearly as deep as the car that broke her leg. Julia missed her apartment, but the steady breeze of the slightly ajar window gave an almost picture perfect feeling of being by the pond, even though the feeling had been manufactured by her senses' memory.

She longed for her apartment, and just as equally longed for Brian to return from class so she could take a trip down to the pond. Julia knew her assignment would be done by the time he came back. She could go to the pond alone, since she already sat in the chair, but nothing had been quite as enjoyable alone since the constant company she received.

"This is stupid." Julia said aloud to herself, "What happened to the loner girl that never was afraid to take a stroll in nature by herself?" She sighed, and the paper below her which held all of the study material for her History midterm. "Instead I am waiting here like a dog waiting for their owner, when I could be going out to feel the freshness of the—" she stopped talking to herself, and felt self-conscious of the fact. Julia shook her head, and grabbed the wheels of the chair, and rolled herself to the door of the hospital room. There was a lip that the door would usually firmly close on, and she tried to force the chair over the peaked metal sill. The strength in her arms had dissipated since the accident, not because she lacked physical therapy momentarily, but because Julia had experienced no movement at all besides the usual picking up of a pencil or pen.

She tried again, and gave the wheels a good rip with her hands. She had no luck. She tried once more, and laughed to herself, both out of pity and anger. Just like the goddamn wolf, she thought, trying to blow down a brick house with a single breath of air. Julia let out a sigh that cracked like a cry trying to crawl up the throat, and rolled backwards until the chair bumped against the hospital bed. Rage welled up in her stomach, and she decided that being stuck in the room alone without giving it the old 'third time's the charm' try would be worse than viewing the pond alone. So she gripped the wheels, even though her hands felt like they needed to go on a walk themselves, and shoved them downwards. The chair thrust forward! Like a gas-guzzler, she burst out the hospital room with a whoosh of wind behind her and a skidding of the plastic wheels on the tiled floor.

To the side of her as she volleyed herself out of the threshold, she caught Brian walking down the hall. After the wheelchair had skidded, she turned her head, Brian had dropped all that he was holding and came running towards her.

"Julia! Julia! Are you okay!?" He came to a stomping stop as he reached her. He knelt down in a falling, out-of-breath motion. "What the hell—" he stopped and coughed hard into his elbow to catch his breath.

"I wanted to go outside," she said, "is there something wrong with that?" Her tone was neutral, and uncaring.

"No, no," Brian returned, "I just thought something had happened like a fire or...well I'm not really sure what I thought, but just something."

"No fires," she grinned, "what were you carrying and why are you back so early?"

"Shit!" He shouted, and a couple of nurses down the hall turned their heads. "One second," he said, and got up to grab what he had dropped. There were two bags, both white and plastic, and when he picked them up they sounded like a handful of keys clashing around with even more plastic. "I am—" he paused, "What did you ask again, sorry I am being absent minded."

"Why are you back so early? It's not even been an hour since you left."

"I got an email this morning, saying class was canceled—professor had some sort of emergency—so I decided I would get some food for us to have."

"What did you get?" Julia asked, intrigued, and forgetting about wanting to go to the pond alone.

"I just got some Chinese food from the place you told me about...that obscure sounding place, you know?"

"Peking Duck?" She asked, lighting up, her cheeks flushed. "That's like thirty minutes out!"

"Yeah I hope the food isn't cold by now. I keep the car chilly."

"Brian why did you go all that way?"

"It wasn't that far, and besides, you've had a hard time lately—"

Julia couldn't wait for him to finish talking to thank him, she interrupted. "Thank you this was so thoughtful of you," her voice light and soft like whipped cream.

"Let's get back into the room, so we're not standing out in the middle of the hallway, okay?"

Julia nodded, and Brian turned her around and pushed her back into the hospital room. She did not mind the reversing of her progress as she got pushed back into the room. Though, one thing did stick to her mind. Why had Brian acted so calmly, like accepting her compliments and thanks was below him? Well, Julia thought, whatever the reason, she had Peking Ducks Chinese food now, and did not want the answer to her question to ruin the taste of the food.