"Jenna & Luke" - Chapter 5

When they arrived at Luke’s house Kevin and his girlfriend Susie were waiting in the living room. Luke introduced Jenna to them and he and then he showed Jenna the guest room with an en suite bathroom.

“You can change and use the bathroom in there while we take care of my evening routine, okay?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“See you soon. Kevin will let you know when I’m ready, it usually takes about half an hour.” Luke hoped his bowels cooperated. He normally did his bowel routine every other day and he’d gone through it the previous evening, but the spicy food they’d had for dinner increased the chance for accidents and he didn’t want to risk that. Especially not with Jenna in bed with him. Better to be safe than sorry.

…

Jenna watched as Luke followed Kevin down the hall to his bedroom and when the door closed behind them she went into the guest room and put her duffle bag on the bed. She quickly unpacked it and spread the contents on the bed. She’d brought a change of clothes for tomorrow; a pair of black tights and a colorful tunic a friend of hers had bought her in Namibia the previous summer, and a pair of comfortable ballerina flats. She considered hanging the tunic in the closet, but figured it wouldn’t get wrinkled when it lay flat on the bed. She grabbed her pajamas and toiletry bag and headed into the bathroom.

It didn’t take her long to change and get ready for bed, so only 10 minutes later she sat down on the edge of the bed. She wasn’t sure what to do so she ended up catching up with her Twitter timeline on her smartphone. Jenna was happy when a friend of hers in Chicago was online and they ended up chatting a bit via DM.  It was close to 45 minutes later when Kevin finally knocked on the guestroom door and peeked inside.

“All set. Luke didn’t want me to change his wrist splints to the ones he wears at night, ‘cause he’s not able to use the remote with those on. He said you can help him with that when you’re ready to go to sleep. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, I think I can manage. He’ll just have to talk me through it.”

“It’s not hard. Just align his hands right and fasten the straps, it’s pretty self explanatory,” Kevin said. “Enjoy your movie. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah, see you in the morning. Good night, Kevin.”

“G’night,” he said and headed back to his apartment where Susie was waiting for him.

Jenna walked to Luke’s bedroom, the door was ajar and she knocked lightly on the doorjamb. She hadn’t known exactly what to expect, but she had thought his bedroom might have more of a hospital feel to it. Instead it looked pretty much like a normal bedroom. The walls were painted in a warm caramel tone, the furnishings were modern and made of dark wood and apart from the wheelchair parked in the corner next to the bed and what she assumed was a standing frame next to the wheelchair there was nothing that screamed that the resident was disabled. Jenna immediately fell in love with his brown and blue sheets. Luke was settled in on the right side of the bed and he smiled tentatively as she stepped into the room.

…

Luke felt like a nervous schoolboy when Jenna stepped into his bedroom. She appeared to be a bit insecure too, but he was amazed at how she was able to look stunning even in pajamas. She was wearing a pair of light blue pajama pants with white clouds and a white top. Her hair was pulled into a simple ponytail.

“Jump in,” Luke said and patted the bed next to him. Jenna obliged and as soon as she was in bed she scooted over and snuggled into his side. “Comfortable?” he asked when she rested her head on his chest and draped an arm across his waist. He wondered what she thought when she felt his soft belly with no muscles.

“Definitely. You?”

“I’m not complaining,” he grinned. “Shall I hit play?”

“Yeah, please do. I can’t wait to see ‘Apollo 13’ again.”

“I can’t believe I’m dating a woman that loves that movie as much as I do.”

“I’m a bit of a nerd, what can I say?”

“Yeah, but you’re my nerd,” Luke replied as he pushed play. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and laid his head against the pillows.

A couple of hours later Jenna had dosed off and she was snoring lightly, which Luke found adorable. Suddenly an unpleasant smell hit his nose and his heart sank. Fuck, fuck, fuck! So much for ‘better safe than sorry’. You idiot, you know what spicy food does to your bowels. Luke was mortified and he had no idea how to handle the situation. It was a worst-case scenario; he’d shit his pants the first time Jenna was in his bed.

…

Jenna had dozed off, but she noticed that Luke suddenly got tense and then she noticed smell. She realized what must have happened. Over the past couple of weeks she had done her research on spinal cord injuries and she was aware that Luke’s injury also impacted his bladder and bowel. She’d read about bladder and bowel routines and she already had some experience with catheters, diapers and protective pads from caring for her grandfather. She was aware that accidents could happen, but wasn’t prepared for it to happen the first time she shared a bed with Luke.

“Jenna, I’m…I’m sorry... I’ll call Kevin and have him come and help me clean up the mess.” Luke struggled to get a hold of his phone, it was sitting on his nightstand and Jenna noticed his face was bright red and he was clearly mortified.

Jenna felt torn; she could either play this cool or she could freak out; get dressed, call a cab and never see him again. Part of her was on the verge of freaking out and tempted to just get out of there, but something stopped her. Over the past weeks she had fallen for Luke and she had been well aware of his disability from day one; and she’d chosen to get involved with him despite it. She knew he was self-conscious about his post-injury body and she realized that if she ran out now she’d break his heart and probably ruin his confidence forever. The man whose bed you’re in is the best thing that happened to you in a long time. Don’t screw this up.

Jenna took a deep breath and turned to face Luke.

“Let me help you,” she said evenly.

“What? No way!” he squeaked, he seemed even more mortified then she was.

“I’ll grab the phone for you. That’s it.”

“Oh…right. That would be great.”

Jenna got out of bed, walked around to Luke’s side and grabbed the phone from his nightstand and handed it to him. He quickly dialed Kevin’s number and put the phone on speaker. Jenna had noticed he usually had a Bluetooth earpiece in his ear; she realized his limited arm movement probably didn’t allow him to bring the phone to his ear.

Jenna watched as Luke waited impatiently for Kevin to pick up the phone and after five rings he did. His voice revealed he’d been asleep.

“Luke, what’s up?”

“I had an accident,” he said simply.

“I’ll be right there,” Kevin said and ended the call.  A few minutes later he knocked on the door and entered the room without waiting for an answer. Luke turned to Jenna.

“If you wanna sleep in the guest room you can, I won’t hold it against you. I’ll hope I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast, but I won’t blame if you just leave in the morning,” Luke said, not looking her in the eye. 

“There’s only one bed in this house I want to sleep in and that’s the one with you in it,” Jenna said firmly. “Will you let me know when you’re ready, Kevin?”

“Sure thing. It’ll take 10-15 minutes,” Kevin replied as he headed for the bathroom to get the supplies he needed. Jenna kissed Luke’s forehead and then she left the room.

…

Luke sighed deeply as Jenna closed the door behind her. This was a worst case scenario and he was mortified. Jenna seemed to take it in a stride, but again it felt a bit too good to be true. He had a feeling she’d stay the night in the guest room. Before he could let his mind wander further Kevin came out of the bathroom with a basket full of supplies. He made a detour to the dresser to get a pair of clean pajama pants and he grabbed a clean pad for the bed from a shelf in the closet.

“I’m sorry about this, Kevin,” he said as Kevin pulled the covers off him.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s my job.”

“Talk about bad timing. The first time she sleeps over and I manage to shit my pants.  I wouldn't have eaten spicy food if I'd known she was spending the night. She’s probably getting dressed and calling a cab right now.”

“Are you deaf now too?”

“What?”

“She made it pretty clear that she wants to sleep in your bed tonight. Don’t underestimate her, or yourself for that matter.”

“Whatever…”

“Luke, you really need to be a bit more open minded. Don’t always assume the worst. I have a good feeling about Jenna. I think she might be ‘the one’.”

Luke didn’t answer. He had hopes Jenna might be ‘the one’ too, but he didn’t allow himself to believe it might happen. And with tonight’s incident he had even less faith.

Fifteen minutes later Kevin was done. Luckily the accident had been on the small side and only Luke’s pajama pants and the protective pad had been soiled, so he didn’t need to change the sheets. Before he left the room he removed the extra pillows Luke had been propped up against while watching TV and put his overnight splints on his wrists.

“Thanks, Kevin. You’re a lifesaver.”

“G’night, Luke. Sleep well. See you and Jenna for breakfast tomorrow.”

Before Luke could reply Kevin had left the room, carrying a plastic bag with the soiled bag and pajama pants.

…

Jenna slipped back into Luke’s bed and snuggled up against him; she resumed her previous position with her head resting on his chest and her left arm draped across his belly. She didn’t say anything and neither did Luke. They just enjoyed the closeness and Jenna hoped her actions conveyed her acceptance to him.

“Thanks,” Luke finally said, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. "You're amazing."

“Let me tell you something, Luke. Five years ago my grandfather had a severe stroke.  He spent the last three years of his life mostly in bed. Insurance wouldn’t pay for home care for him; they wanted him to go to a nursing home.  Grandma refused; she wanted him to spend the last years of his life in the home he loved. The family rallied together to help. We pitched in to pay for the necessary equipment and basic nursing care. The family took turns helping him. Me included.”

“That must have been hard.”

“It was. I changed my grandfather’s diaper a few times. I changed soiled sheets and wiped food off his chin when he ate. Did I enjoy it? No, but I did it because I loved him and I’d like to think it make a difference. That he was happier at home than he would’ve been in a home.”

“I’m sure it made a big difference.” Luke kissed the crown of her head again. “This actually explains a lot.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ever since Mon introduced us it has puzzled me that you’ve accepted my disability unconditionally. You seem to take everything in a stride and honestly I’ve wondered when the bubble would burst. It has seemed too good to be true. What you just told me gives me hope it isn’t.”

“I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. You’re the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time, Luke.”

“Ditto.”

“I’m curious about something; what do you do if Kevin isn’t here? He’s not around 24/7, 365 days a year, right? He does have time off?”

“Normally call the PCA that’s scheduled to come in the morning. They’re paid to be ‘on call’ overnight in case of an emergency.”

“Right. And how soon can they usually get here?”

“Depends…half an hour, sometimes an hour… Fortunately Kevin is usually around and he’s great. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“I want him, and you, to train me so I can help you too.”

“What? No! I want you to be my girlfriend, not my PCA.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice if you and I could spend a weekend away without a PCA tagging along?”

“I guess, I’ve never thought about it.”

“Just think about it, okay?”

“Okay, I guess I can do that.”

“Good. Let’s get some sleep,” Jenna suggested, stifling a yawn.

“Now, there’s an idea I like. G’night.”

“Good night.”

To be continued...