“Yeah, me too,” Shane agreed, startling a laugh out of Ryatt.
“See? That’s what I needed. Somebody to act normal, to act natural, and to not let me get away with any kind of guff or anything.”
“It’s not even so much about letting you get away with it, it’s realizing that you’re not quite in a state where anybody can push you. It’s definitely up to you to do the rehab on your own, with or without our assistance. However, if you’re not ready and if you can’t see that progress is happening or that you’re not in a state for anybody to even talk to you, it makes your recovery more difficult.”
Ryatt nodded. “I get that now. Thanks for having the perseverance to keep pushing.”
“Not a problem,” Shane replied, with a bright smile. “It’s what I do.”
“And you do it very well.”
Shane looked surprised at the compliment but also pleased, and Ryatt realized just what a bear he’d been. He promisedhimself mentally to do better. The medical personnel especially weren’t here to wait on him, and yet, in many ways, that’s exactly what they had been doing, and it shouldn’t need to be.
Ryatt kept working throughout the rest of the week, seeing Lana as much as he could. Yet quietly looking for a way to reach acceptance for himself and others. He was likely hardest on himself. And that wasn’t something that anyone else could really help him with. Some, sure. Just not enough.
One day at lunch, he arrived, tired and worn out.
She looked at him, frowned, and asked, “Are you doing too much in Shane’s sessions?”
“No,” Ryatt replied immediately. “And I do want to keep pushing physically. It’s just hard to know what to do in my future.”
“Ah,” she noted, “you’re into that more mental stage.”
He frowned at her. “Are there stages to this rehab process?”
“I don’t know, but I imagine that there’s got to be different levels, where certain things become more important. When you’re here, it’s… Sometimes it’s just about even being able to sit up, and, at a future point in time, you see that you’ll have a life after being here. Then it becomes a case of,If I’m getting my life back, what will I do with it?”
He laughed. “You’re right, and it is something like that. It just seems kind of odd to even be looking forward, when I’m not there yet physically or even timewise. Except I know it’s racing toward me.”
“But you’re not far off,” she noted quietly. “And that’s huge.” And then she frowned and looked down at her plate.
“And what’s that look for?” he asked, nudging her.
“I’ll miss you,” she said immediately.
He frowned at that. “Oh.” And then he nodded. “You’re right. Progress does change things, doesn’t it?”
“It’s not supposed to,” she argued. “I mean, as much as it’s good changes and it’s happy changes—and that’s what should be happening here. However, it also feels… I don’t know. I mean,wrongis not the right word for it, but it feelsoddmaybe.” She shrugged. “I know that’s not quite right either.”
“It’s okay. I guess, once again, it’s an adjustment.”
She nodded. “That it is.… How’s your sister doing?” she asked.
“She’s doing great,” he murmured. “Shane seems to have really helped get her pain under control, and the at-home exercises are working for her,” he noted absentmindedly.
“Perfect,” she said in a bright and cheerful voice.
He nodded. But her words had given him something to think about. What would he do when he left here? And how would he keep seeing her? “How do you feel about long-distance relationships?” he asked suddenly. Then, seeing the surprise on her face, he wished he’d kept his mouth shut.
“What are you talking about?”
“When I leave,” he murmured.
“And where are you going when you leave?” she asked curiously. “I don’t think I’ve ever asked where you’re from. I assumed because your sister was here that you lived close by.”
“I wasn’t living near here,” he replied. “I was in California, when I had my surgeries. But I was planning on staying near Quinton. It is just my sister and me.”
“Well, in that case,” she said, “it’s hardly a long-distance relationship to keep seeing you around here in the Dallas area.”