Just then Kevin felt Laura's head move a bit, and she moaned a little, coming out of sleep. She yawned a bit, and moved her hand over Kevin's chest. Waking up a bit more, Laura spoke. "Hmm, good morning," she said, yawning again.
Kevin smiled. "Good morning! With those yawns you're letting out you should go back to sleep!" he said, kissing her forehead. "Didn't you sleep well?"
"Actually," Laura said, smiling and pushing herself up and kissing Kevin's cheek, "I slept better then I have in a long time." Kevin kissed Laura on the lips, a deep lingering kiss that sent chills down Laura's spine. It had been a long time since she had been kissed, and especially with so much passion. "Hmmmm," she said, running her fingers through his hair, "a girl can get used to that!"
Kevin smiled. "Oh really now?!" he said, pulling her closer to him. "Yeah," Laura said, her voice now trailing off. Kevin knew she had something on her mind. "What are ya thinkin' about, Laura?"
"Just thinking--" Laura hesitated. "Just thinking about--about the surgery."
Kevin was stunned. Just 12 hours earlier she was against it. Could she be changing her mind? Kevin hoped as Laura went on.
"I'm just thinking... it would be nice to be self-sufficient again. I can't remember what it's like not to have to rely on someone else for one reason or another. I--I guess it couldn't hurt anything to talk to a doctor about the procedure, get a bit more educated about it, then maybe I can make a better decision. I'm--I'm still scared, though. Terribly scared," Laura said, trembling.
Kevin sat up, pulling Laura up with him. "Come here, Laura," he said, pulling her back into his arms. "Whatever you choose to do, I'll be behind you one-hundred percent. I just want what's going to make you happy, and if there's a chance that this procedure's going to work, having it done is going to open up so many more doors for you." Kevin kissed Laura softly. "I'm glad you're going to at least get a doctor's opinion. Just talking to someone about it could make a difference. I don't think you'll regret it," he said. Laura sat up straighter, and Kevin released his embrace and held her hand. "I'll go with you to the doctor's office, if you like. I'd like to be there for you, Laura. Please let me," he said.
"Thanks, Kevin. Yeah, I think I would like someone there with me, and I feel so comfortable with you. Yeah, you can come with me, I'd like that," Laura said, smiling. "Well, what do you say we get our lazy bones outta here, go get some breakfast," she said, standing up and stretching. Kevin agreed and they kissed one more time before walking to AJ's kitchen.
Kevin and Laura weren't the only ones that woke up early that morning. Patti was already making some breakfast for herself and Nick, who was in the shower. "Good morninnnnng!" she sang, as she put some bread in the toaster. Kevin pulled out a chair for Laura to sit down, then sat down himself.
"Why are you so chipper this morning, Patti?" Laura asked. All Patti could do was smile. "Oh, no reason, none at all," she said, smiling even bigger. "Uh-huh, don't even try it, Patti. We all know how you and Nick get sometimes!" Kevin said, and Patti blushed. "I'm not sure I know what you mean, Mr. Richardson," she said, rolling her eyes as she turned away to get some things from the refrigerator. "OK, whatever," he said, as he and Laura laughed.
Just then AJ and Whitney and Howie and Misty came in. About 15 seconds later, Brian and Leighanne came in. "Damn! Am I running a cheap motel here?" AJ asked, laughing. "Y'all crashed here last night?!" he asked, looking around at everyone.
"Good morning to you too, Bone," Brian said smiling, patting AJ on the back. "The ever-so-gracious host," Leighanne added with a laugh. AJ laughed again too. Whitney, Leighanne and Misty started helping Patti make more food for everyone and the guys sat down at the table with Kevin and Laura. Just then Nick came into the room, walked up behind Patti and kissed her neck.
"Wow, one big happy family," Howie said smiling, and everyone laughed. Laura leaned in and whispered to Kevin. "Now's as good of time as any," he said, and she spoke up.
"AHEM!" Laura said, getting everyone to stop their chattering. "You guys, Laura's got something she wants to share with all of you," Kevin said, then nudged Laura as if to tell her she had everyone's full attention.
"Well, I guess I'll start by saying that I'm sharing this with all of you because over the past couple weeks, I feel that I've become pretty great friends with all of you, and I want you to be a part of this. I've--I've decided to talk to an eye specialist about surgery to restore my sight. I don't know if I'm going to do it for sure yet, but with the support of my friends," she said, squeezing Kevin's hand under the table, "I know that I'm going to be fine, no matter what the doctor says and I decide."
Finding this out, everyone gave their best wishes to Laura. She was so happy that she decided to do this, because, as she said, she knows that with everyone's support she'll be fine. Kevin leaned in, kissed Laura's cheek, and whispered, "I'm proud of you, Laura. I know that couldn't have been easy." He kissed her again. Laura smiled, as everyone around them picked up their conversations once again and began eating breakfast.
"So, Dr. Richardson, huh?" Laura asked, laughing. "That's quite a coincidence, don't you think?"
"Yeah, kinda," Kevin said, smiling. "That's who the clinic recommended. They said he's the best, so we'll give him a call." Kevin picked up the phone and started dialing. Once he finished, he handed the phone over to Laura.
"Well, here goes nothing!" Laura said, as she heard ringing on the other end. There was only two rings before someone answered. "Doctor Robert Richardson's office, can I help you?" Laura hesitated. "Hello?"
Laura forced herself to speak. "Hello, umm, my name is Laura Preston. I was referred by the Oceanside Clinic. I--I'd like to make an appointment for a consultation..."
