WEEK TWENTYTWO
I’m at the airport in Toronto. We’ve wrapped
the first episode of season five and I’m on my way to LA. I can’t wait to see
Meg and the kids again. I miss them a lot and I’m impatient to get home. To be
honest I’m a way less enthusiastic about our new scheduling now than I was when
I agreed to it. Two weeks is a long time
to be separated from my family, but at least I’ve got a whole week at home with
them to look forward to.
“Thank you,” I say as place the passport and
boarding pass in my lap. “I’m aware of the boarding procedure.”
“Have a nice flight,” she says before she
turns to the next passenger.
I make my way through security quickly and
after checking the screens to find out which gate my flight is leaving from I
head in that direction. I still have an
hour and a half ‘til boarding is supposed to start and I’m hungry, so I decide
to grab a bite to eat.
. . .
My flight arrive at LAX at five in the
afternoon. I’m immensely relieved when my wheelchair is waiting for me on the
jetway. I quickly put the cushion in place and transfer to it under the
close supervision of the traveler’s assistance staff. When I’m safely
settled in my chair one of them hand me my backpack and I put it on. I thank
them for their assistance and place my hands on the rims. Just as I’m about to
start making my toward the terminal a member of staff approaches me with a shy
look on her face.
«Mr.Ramsay? I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve
been a fan of you for a long time. Could I have your autograph please?»
I stop and quickly flick on the brakes of my
chair to prevent rolling back down to the plane. «Sure,» I say with a smile.
«What do you want me to sign?»
«Oh, crap…» she mutters with a flustered look
on her face. «Um, I’ll run up to the desk at the gate and grab a piece of
paper.»
«Hold on for a sec,» I say, as I pull my
backpack into my lap. After a few moments of digging I find what I’m looking
for. A manila envelope with promo pics for season five of ‘Dean and Dad’. I
pull out a shot of me and ask her what her name is as I grab a Sharpie from the
front pocket of my backpack.
«Amanda,» she says with a smile. I sign
the picture with a personal greeting and hand it to her. She beams. «Thank you
so much. Um, I’m probably stretching my luck here, but would you mind taking a
selfie with me too?»
«Of course not,» I say as I tuck the envelope
and Sharpie back into the backpack and put it on again. Amanda gets her
phone out and asks one of her co-workers to take our picture. When we’re
done she thanks me again and I make my way towards baggage claim.
…
I’ve barely made it into the arrivals hall
when Meg elbows her way through the crowd and comes running toward me. Moments
later she’s in my lap, straddling me and hugging me tightly. After she has
kissed me soundly she finally gets up and grabs my duffle bag, which has been
wedged between us, and we make our way toward the exit. I’m slightly
embarrassed by our public display of affection, but mostly I’m happy and
looking forward to seeing the kids again.
After we’re settled into the car I ask Meg
about the kids. I’m a bit surprised they didn’t come with her to pick me up.
“They’re with Joel. They went down to his
place after school to get help with their homework and refused to come with me
when I came down to get them. They were in the middle of playing some sort of
video game. Joel got mouth operated game controller and he seems to have a
blast playing with the kids.”
“How’s he doing? Something felt a bit off
when I talked to him last week.”
“I think he’s just a bit tired of constantly
arranging his care, which has been a bit of a challenge for the past couple of
weeks. A couple of days after you went to Toronto Jerry quit and the next day George’s
mother had a heart attack so he took some time off to visit his family in
Oregon.”
“Ah, that explains it. Is he hiring someone
to replace Jerry?”
“He mentioned that Kevin is wants to work
more hours if possible, so Joel is considering giving him Jerry’s hours. They
seem to get a long really well and Joel won’t have to go through the process of
training a new guy and getting to know him.”
“Makes sense to me,” I say before I change
the subject. “So, how do you feel about the new scheduling and me being away
for two weeks at a time?”
Meg sighs deeply. Not good. I bet she hates it as much as I do, but we’ll have to deal
with it for the next eight months or so.
“Honestly I’m not thrilled about it. These
past two weeks felt like a really long time. I get that it’s better for you
since air travel is more of a hassle now, but I don’t necessarily think it’s a
good thing for our family.”
“I get it,” I say with a deep sigh. “I’m not
thrilled about it either, but we don’t have much of a choice except to deal
with it for the next eight months. At least I’m here for a full week now.
That’s something, right?”
“It is. And I have to say that Joel has been
a great help. I know I was hesitant about him moving in to the guesthouse, but I
don’t think I would’ve gotten through the past couple of weeks without Joel.
He’s amazing with the kids and most his PCAs are too. Them looking after the
kids for a few hours here and there so I could have some time to myself has
really made a difference and thanks to that I think we’ll make this work.”
I can’t stop a sigh of relief from escaping
me. “I’m so glad to hear that, I really am.”
. . .
When Meg pulls into our driveway a grin
spreads across my face. The kids are waiting for us and they’ve put up a
colorful banner that says “Welcome home Dad!” over the front door. I assume
Joel’s PCA has helped them with that. As soon as Meg stops the car they tear
the passenger door open and before I know it I both my kids are climbing into
my lap and hugging me.
“I guess you’ve missed me,” I say as I wrap
my arms around them and pull them close.
“You’ve been away for like forever,” Jacklyn
says and Jay echoes her statement.
“Not forever, two weeks,” I say. “But I’ve
missed you too.”
After a few minutes of hugging and chatting
the kids finally climb off my lap and get out of the car. I’m a little
surprised when Meg places my wheelchair next to me with a smile on her face.
Although she’s been amazingly accepting and supportive since I got injured, but
this is the first time she has actually taken the parts of my wheelchair out of
the car and assembled it. It makes me happy that we keep moving forward and
adjust to our new normal.
TBC…
More to come soon, I promise. -Maddie
YES, finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3
ReplyDeletei was hoping you'd finally update the story, still love it and check your blog super often,thank you
ReplyDeleteMillemini? This is call2wrshp. I remember you from CA fanfic! Wondered where you went. So glad to have found you. :)
ReplyDelete