The Smile Always Fades

22. New York Boys...Erhh, City

"But we've got to hurry, because the party starts in four hours," Cassy said hurriedly. Mr. Stevens had given them each $500 to blow on whatever they wanted, which made Anna's mouth drop, but she pleasantly accepted the offer. Cassy didn't even have to ask--Anna took the liberty of being her chauffeur and pushing her wheelchair around, she knew it'd probably be hard work, but Cassy actually had to live with this every day of her life and it wasn't going to go away, so it was the least Anna could do.

Thankfully, the elevator was big enough for Cassy's wheelchair to fit in, and Anna had no problem pushing her, because she hardly weighed anything over 110 pounds. Hailing a cab was a bit harder. Cassy tried to explain to Anna what to do, but she failed miserably. "I've never had to do this, Cassy," she told her when she saw Cassy getting a little exasperated. She knew Cassy was probably dieing to get the feeling back into her arm just so she could hold it up to her lips and whistle for a taxi to pull over.

"Just wave your hand," Cassy finally told her. "Do it the easy way." The moment Anna did a bright yellow taxi pulled up. Anna gave Cassy a flat stare. She could have told her how to do it the easy way in the first place.

It wasn't as hard as Anna had thought it'd be--getting Cassy into the taxi cab. She'd probably done it quite a bit though and knew how to help the person who was helping her in the backseat. Cassy told Anna how to do everything: lift her upper half up so that she was in a standing position, push her arm up against the hood of the cab, turn her body around so that she could fall in backwards, and there you had it. Anna folded up the wheelchair and threw it into the trunk of the taxi while Cassy told the driver where they were headed.

"So I don't understand Cassy," Anna said a bit interested. "I thought you were completely paralyzed. You can't feel anything from your shoulders down, right?"

"Pretty much," Cassy explained. "You're right, I can't feel anything, but once I've got my arm steadied or my hand in a gripping position, I can actually keep it that way. It's almost like I can subtly feel the inner core of my joints or nerves working. I don't know if I actually can or not, but I like to think so. Physical therapy has been helping some too, I think." It's like she could say it so matter of factly, like she'd been telling people these things about herself for her whole life, when in reality it hadn't even been a whole year. "So once I've got my arm or hand or leg in a certain spot or position I can usually figure the rest out on my own."

"Well that's nice," Anna said. "At least your body isn't in a total dark state, physically speaking."

Cassy agreed by nodding her head, but wasn't able to get any words out before the taxi came to a stop by the sidewalk. Anna took out the needed cash to pay the cab fare and then ambled out of her side of the car to grab Cassy's wheelchair. She unfolded it and made sure it was set into staying that way, then reached into the backseat and grabbed Cassy's hands, pulling her forward by the arms and helping her stand tall before collapsing into the seat of the wheelchair. "Thanks," Cassy had said. "I hope you don't mind all of this."

"Not at all," Anna replied with a smile on her face. It was funny, the first sight of Cassy was an overwhelming shock, but once she got past that initial emotion, she could see that it was still Cassy, and she had hardly changed at all, especially personality-wise. There was nothing for Anna to be anxious of. She was ecstatic to finally be spending time with her friend again.

"Okay," Cassy said excitedly. "You see that store over there with the four reddish pink awnings above the doors?"

Anna looked forward and straight ahead. She nodded.

"That's Bloomingdale's. Our destination."

Anna was a bit intimidated walking up to those glass doors in her clothes. She seemed to remember that guy Steven telling her that all Oregonians dress alike. Could the women walking in to and out of this store tell that she wore clothes from Oregon too? She hunched her shoulders subconsciously and pushed Cassy a little slower, trying to stall getting any closer.