Life Interrupted

Chapter 3

The next week passed so slowly. Thank goodness Mike was able to take the first week off. Aside from sleeping (which Deanna seemed to be doing an awful lot of), they spent time catching up on their favorite TV series, reading the newspaper (which was a rare treat these days) and at everyone's insistence, she picked up a new hobby; writing.

Deanna wrote and wrote, and wrote some more. It became a practice of putting her feelings into words. Expressing them so she could understand. Finally though, it became such a stress reliever that she decided to share her thoughts and stories with the world.

By the end of the first week, Deanna had an appointment with her doctor and she hoped that her good behavior of staying on bed rest and keeping her leg elevated would allow him to put her in a hard cast.

"You ready for this?" Mike asked lightly as he reached for Deanna's hand. Deanna met her husband's eyes and took a deep breath. "I think so. I mean, it's the next step to getting this healed." Deanna shut her eyes willing the memory that flooded in to be gone. She shuddered and squeezed Mike's hand. A quick glance at his wife told Mike that she was in pretty bad shape emotionally. "Hey." He paused, waiting for her eyes to meet his. "You know this wasn't your fault, right? You just did what any good officer in your shoes would have. You stepped in and filled a need." Tears threatened to fill her eyes. "Yeah.... I guess I'm just re-thinking everything about that day, what I could have done differently... you know?" At that, Mike reached for Deanna's hand again, squeezing it to show his support.

Mike parked the car and leaned in to kiss his wife, another silent move to reassure her that she was loved and that they would get through this. "How about I go get you a wheelchair? That way you don't have to walk much." Deanna looked at her husband with amazement. He was so good to her. "That sounds marvelous." "Alright, I'll be right back."

Deanna waited, eyes and thoughts transferring between her leg and what would happen at today's appointment, and how amazing Mike was. Her thoughts were quickly broken, as Mike pulled the chair in close to her door and opened it, bowing "your chariot awaits madam."

Deanna chuckled and shook her head. "Man, some days your cheesiness outweighs everything." "So glad I can be of assistance then." Mike winked as he set the brakes and turned to help Deanna maneuver her leg out of the car. A few uneventful moments later Deanna was settled and they were headed inside.

An hour later after an encouraging appointment and a solid cast, they headed back to the car. Deanna's attitude had lifted after the news that she'd only be in the full cast for a month, and even though it would more than likely be another month after that til she would be able to put much weight on her leg she was happy.

Once she was seated back in the car, Deanna let out a long breath. She took a good look at her leg, noticing how well the tech had molded the cast. It now held her leg securely and while it was very strange to not have any movement inside, it felt good for the time being as the combination of heat from the fiberglass setting and the perfect molding stilled her fragile bones and eased the constant ache she'd had for the past week.

She pulled the sleeves of her oversized sweatshirt down over her hands to ward off some of the spring chill. Knowing that the weather would be unpredictable for her appointment, she had Mike cut off the right leg off a pair of leggings. That way her left leg would at least be covered.

"How are you feeling now?" Mike asked as he slid behind the wheel and searched for an answer in her eyes. Deanna mustered a smile, "I'm actually doing okay. Definitely bummed that I can't do my normal activities and that I won't be doing the half marathon with you. But otherwise I'm good." "Good. Well, let's get you back home then, okay?" Mike shifted the car into reverse and began to back out of the spot. "Do you think we could get something to eat on the way home? I'm just happy to have clean hair and to be out of the house for a bit." Deanna leaned back against the headrest and looked at her husband. Mike met Deanna's eyes. "I think we can handle that." He smiled at his beautiful bride. Spending quality time with her was high on his list of things he loved, but getting to have a lunch date with no time limit on a weekday? That sent his attitude to the moon.