“Interesting, but at least he’s seen the light in some ways.” Lana shrugged. “I know he seemed to be more thoughtful, as if thinking deeply about life.”
“The more pondering he does is better for us all.” Dani smiled. “So good. I’m glad you went and talked to him.”
Chapter 2
Lana quite likedRyatt. It had been tough hearing him so angry and so upset days before. But then she’d understood it because people reacted differently to the same set of problems. Before her mother had found a way to be graceful under her circumstances, she had also railed at life. Lana’s father, on the other hand, had been a whole different story. He had railed and railed and railed. Even when Lana wasn’t around, he kept it up.
It had been tough, watching him come apart at the seams, not dealing with his grief of losing his wife. It had been hard for all who loved them because they could do nothing for him or for her mother. Even now it was something that he didn’t handle well, and it had been years since her mother had passed away. Friends and family had expected him to make at least some attempt to pick up and to move his life forward, but he hadn’t. And that had been even harder to watch.
How did any parent expect their children to move on if the parents themselves couldn’t? And yet that was something that she knew her dad wasn’t capable of doing, at least not yet. At one point in time she had hoped it would happen, but she also had to understand where he was coming from and let it go. He was a good man, and she had worked hard to find patience and tolerance and sympathy and empathy.
But it was also hard when he didn’t seem to understand that Lana also suffered in the loss of her mother and needed her father’s support as well. She’d finally sought some professional help for her own grief and had come to the realization that her father would deal with his grief in his own time. All she coulddo was be there in a supporting role for him for as long as he needed.
Yet even her therapist reminded Lana that there was a difference between a supporting role and an enabling one.
As she worked away at her desk, she got a text message from Ryatt.
You mentioned licorice …
She picked up the phone and called him on her cell.
As soon as he answered, he asked, “Oh, we can call?”
She laughed. “You can do pretty much anything you want—as long as it’s within reason and you don’t hurt anybody.”
“I knew there would be a catch somewhere,” he replied, with a note of humor.
She laughed. “So what kind of licorice?”
“I really love black licorice,” he told her. “I haven’t had any in a very long time.”
“Well, we can fix that,” she stated. “I just need to know a little more about what kind you prefer. I know there’s soft. There are long skinny strands. There’s rope licorice. There are… one million different kinds.”
“You know something? I haven’t had it in so long that I don’t even know what choices I have,” he admitted. “Maybe get a couple different ones for me to try.” And then he asked, “How does that work?”
“Tell me how much you want me to spend,” she explained, “and either I can collect the money before I go or bring you a bill, and you can pay afterward.”
He said, “I do have a little bit of cash but not much.”
“We also can run banking through the center here,” she shared. “We do that for small denominations on a regular basis for patients.”
“Oh.” He hesitated.
She chuckled. “Seems like you haven’t quite integrated into the center yet.”
“I think that’s my fault,” he admitted quietly. “I was so adamant that nothing here would help me that I think I hurt myself more.”
“Well,” she replied, “understanding that is huge progress. Now it’s up to you to change it.” And she added, “I’ll go figure out what the black licorice choices are, and I’ll bring some back this time. And we can work from there.” And, with that, she hung up and got back to work.
When Ryatt gotthrough his PT session the next day, he was tired and frustrated. He glared at Shane. “I know it’s supposed to take time, but is it supposed to take this much time?”
Shane sat back on his heels, from where he’d crouched on one of the thick mats, showing Ryatt different moves. “There is no set timeline. There is no right or wrong here. PT is very individualized to accommodate each patient’s strengths and weaknesses. There is noYou’re doing it wrong. Therefore, you’re set back, orYou’re doing it right. Therefore, you’ll get out of here early,” Shane explained. “Yes, there are definitely more correct ways to do these moves and ways that you need to do them better. You’ve come a long way in this last month.”
“I’ve come a long wayemotionally,” Ryatt corrected. “And, for that, I apologize for my behavior early on.”
Shane faced him again. “Good. I’m really glad you do see the change in yourself, and you understand what a problem it was before. However, the fact of the matter is, there’ll always be challenges, and none of these challenges are guaranteed to be any easier. You are making physical progress. You are getting somewhere. Are you at the tipping point, where you cannecessarily see it? No, absolutely not.” Shane tapped his tablet. “You’re at that point where it’s important that we keep your spirits up, and we keep you moving forward, so that you don’t get so depressed that you give up. Thankfully you have come a very long way.”
“It doesn’t feel like it,” Ryatt replied, staring down at his twisted thigh, ending at a stump where he should have had the knee and the rest of his leg.