The Life of Reba McEntire Blackstock

Part 12

Reba's P.O.V.

The nurse returned with a bulky black boot and crutches. I didn't even attempt to untangle myself from Narvel, I just had her put it on me while still in his lap. When it was slipped over my ankle, I winced and whimpered as even more tears filled in my eyes. Narvel kissed my temple and whispered, "It's ok babe. We'll make it through... together." He always made me feel better, even though I couldn't manage a smile. The nurse released us and I shifted myself to obtain my crutches. I hadn't used crutches since I hurt my knee in the skiing accident. I lifted myself up with them, but starting tilting because of my lack of balance. Narvel jumped up and sat me back down in the chair. He slipped the hole in the crutches onto his shoulders, as you would carry a purse, then picked me up bridal style. Being in his arms made me feel safe from everything, realizing that his statement was true. We would make it through, as long as we were together. We reached the car, paparazzi surrounding us. They were asking questions and taking pictures, interrupting my personal life. They didn't know of such a thing called personal space. One man in particular pushed his limits too far. He grabbed my leg, turning Narvel mad, like red turns a bull, then said, "I hope you have a good story this time. My company is lacking headliners. If your issue is only a broken ankle, I'm going to be pissed! Why can't you just catch the cancer bug already?" Narvel ripped the door open, then set me in as gentle as an enraged man can, closed the door, then returned to face the paparazzi. Narvel barely ever loses his cool, but I turn around quick enough to see Narvel beating the man who touched me. I tried to open my door to tell him to stop, but he had already accomplished what he wanted and returned to the front seat of the car. I sat there in awe for a second, then responded with, "What the hell was that for?" He turned to face me with a fierce mixture of love and anger glowing in his eyes. Through gritted teeth, he answered, "That man took things too far. First of all, he touched you. That should never happen. A man should have the decency to maintain personal space. Second of all, I figured it was better he learn his lesson sooner than later. When you tread so harshly on personal issues, such as cancer, you deserve to get a beating. Third of all," his face softened and his jaw became unclenched, "I love you way too much to let someone hurt your feelings that badly." I just stared into his eyes feeling the love flourish, then cupped his face with my hands and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. We pulled away from each other, but I still held his face in my hands. I stared lovingly into his eyes and whispered, "I love you."

Narvel's P.O.V.

Reba and I were still bundled together when the nurse came back in. She had a gawky black boot in one hand and crutches in the other. I believe the nurse wanted Reba to get off my lap so that she could get the boot on, but Red is very stubborn and refused to get off. The nurse started slipping the boot over her ankle, and Reba winced and whimpered a bit. I hated seeing her like this, in fact it broke my heart. I wrapped my arms around her even tighter, then leaned in, kissed her temple and whispered, "It's ok babe. We'll make it through... together." She automatically loosened up with the sound of my voice. The nurse had me sign a few release papers, then told us that we were free to go. Reba pushed off of my lap and onto her crutches, but soon started losing her balance. When I saw her start tilting, I jumped up and placed her down in the chair I was previously in. I took the crutches over my shoulder then picked her up in my arms. As we started walking, she snuggled in to my neck, and I thought to myself, "I'm not going to lose her. I will fight with everything I've got to keep her healthy. We're are going to make it through together." I continued walking, so lost in thought that I didn't even realize the crowd around my car. I pushed my way through, a normal thing for me nowadays. One particular man to my left reached for Reba and grabbed her leg. It was in that moment I decided that I needed to set those paparazzi straight. Nobody touched Reba without her consent. The man then took it a step further, saying, "I hope you have a good story this time. My company is lacking headliners. If your issue is only a broken ankle, I'm going to be pissed! Why can't you just catch the cancer bug already?" I opened the door quite aggressively, set Reba down as gently as I could, closed her door and then rushed to the back of the car where the man was. My adrenaline was pumping very quickly through my body, I didn't even think about what I was going to do. I lined myself up with the man, apparently showing much anger, as he slowly backed away. I lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. I straddled his midsection, then gave him one hard punch to the nose. His nose immediately started bleeding and the skin under his eyes started bruising. He wiggled his way out from under me and started running, just as all the other paparazzi had done seconds before. I removed myself from the ground and walked to my door of the car. I sat down and laid my head back on the headrest, closing my eyes and catching my breath. I could feel Reba's eyes resting on me, then heard her voice pierce through the silence, "What the hell was that for?" I turned to face her, my emotions flooding back into my body. I felt love for my gorgeous wife, anger towards that wretched man, protectiveness, and lastly, guilt for treating the paparazzi the way I did. I eventually answered her question. "That man took things too far. First of all, he touched you. That should never happen. A man should have the decency to maintain personal space. Second of all, I figured it was better he learn his lesson sooner than later. When you tread so harshly on personal issues, such as cancer, you deserve to get a beating. Third of all," I felt tears filling in my eyes, but held them back by unclenching my jaw, "I love you way too much to let someone hurt your feelings that badly." The tears started rolling down my face but Reba kept staring deeply into my eyes. She reached up to my face and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. She pulled away, but kept my face in her palms. She looked at me and said the phrase I needed to know that all was fine, "I love you."