Fix My Feet When They're Stumblin'

Chapter 58

    Early the next morning, Tana led her family through the mercifully empty hotel hallway toward the elevators. Ronnie followed along behind the rest of the group, bringing up the rear with Brandon.

    She stopped in front of the gleaming metal doors, regarding them anxiously. I hope this goes better than last night did. She had deliberately chosen a different lift than the one they had used last night, hoping it would be a smoother ride.

    "Hey, Tana?"

    She turned at Ronnie's soft voice, watching him stump slowly toward her family, trailing just behind Brandon. "Hey...maybe this is a dumb idea, but I was just thinking - what if we break up the ride? Like, if we only go down a few floors at a time? Maybe that would be easier?"

    She cocked her head, watching him for a moment and then turning her eyes to her husband, who stood motionless and steady, studying the carpet behind dark sunglasses. He's doing so good, for now, at least. I don't want to mess anything up for him. We can't have a repeat of last night, that looked awful.

    "It's...it's worth a try, I guess," she said slowly, trying to gather her thoughts. "It might help. Brandon, do you think it'll be alright if we go down just a couple of floors at a time?" He only shrugged at the floor, not looking up from his feet.

    "Okay, um...let's try it. We're on the thirteenth floor, so we'll just go down to eleven and stop for a bit, alright?"

    She hit the button to summon the lift and waited a few seconds, listening to the soft whirring of its machinery and the cheery ding that announced its arrival. She beckoned the children in first with the luggage cart, then allowed Brandon and Ronnie to enter, and finally squeezed inside herself beside Olivia.

    Just a few seconds passed before the doors opened again, and she exited the elevator and turned to watch Brandon follow her, still looking relatively sure-footed. "Was that better, honey?" she asked anxiously, wishing she could see his eyes through his dark lenses. He nodded silently, leaning against the wall to rest. Soon, he looked up at her again, gesturing toward the elevator.

    Descending two floors at a time, they made it to the fifth floor before Brandon began to look more wobbly, and this time when he left the elevator he made a shaky beeline for a nearby sofa, sinking into it gratefully and lowering his chin onto his fist, his elbow resting on his knee. Tana approached him on quiet feet and knelt before him, touching his shoulder gently.

    "Baby, are you okay?"

    He nodded, offering her a little smile and taking a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh. "Tired. Just...j-just gonna stay here f-for - for a bit. O-Okay?"

    She smiled brightly back at him, squeezing his shoulder and rising to her feet. "Of course! Just let us know when you're ready to go again - absolutely no rush, okay? We have all the time in the world, Brandon." He didn't reply, but she took the little droop of his shoulders as he relaxed into the sofa to be assent.

    Tana joined Olivia and Ronnie against the wall about twenty feet away, keeping an eye on her husband as he rested. Her boys had decided to race each other down the hall and back - Ammon was only jogging, allowing his younger brothers to beat him easily. Ronnie grinned at her, inviting her into his conversation with Olivia with a little wave of his hand against the grip of his crutch.

    "Livvie and I were just talking about how good it is that this - you know, this whole thing - happened in America and not Europe or England or Brazil or something. You know? We're decently big here, but we really don't have too many problems with recognition or being bothered or anything like that. We'd be fending off fans left and right in the hospital if the accident had been in England. There'd be no keeping it from the press, either."