Chapter
24 – Progress
By the
time Nick and Kevin were ready to join the others, Brian was almost ready to
move into the apartment with A.J. and Howie. All three had continued to visit
the hospital daily after they had been released. Howie especially noticed a
positive improvement in Brian’s demeanor once he started physical therapy. He
threw himself into it. A.J. and Howie had tried to spend as much time as
possible with him at the facility. Their programs required them to be there for
three hours a day, but they were present far more than that.
“Do you
think Brian really wants to be alone all day in this place?” A.J. had asked
their first day.
“I know
I wouldn’t,” Howie replied.
“Well
then to hell with relaxing in the apartment. Looks like we are going to have to
live off of more hospital food.”
“What
is with you and the hospital food?”
“I’m
telling you, I like it.”
“You
are absolutely insane, you know that?”
“Yup.”
“Just
checking.”
“Hey,
speaking of food, I have a great idea.”
“Oh
boy,” Howie said under his breath. “And what might that be?”
“I say
we sneak Brian some food from the real world. I may like what they dish out to
us here, but there is no substitute for the greatest meal on earth.”
“The
McDonalds we saw on the corner?”
“Hell
yeah. Let’s go.” A.J. dragged him out the door and leapt into the car that
Howie had rented. He was the only one of the five who was fit to drive.
Upon
their return, A.J. took great fun in trying to get the food in to Brian. Howie
almost pointed out that no one cared if they brought him “outside food,” but
decided against it when he saw how much fun his friend was having. It was nice
to see him happy and grinning again. He made a huge show of tucking the carry
out bag under his shirt, which did nothing to hide it thanks to the huge bulge
it created. He began humming the theme to “Mission Impossible” and pranced
about the lobby, eyes darting back and forth suspiciously. For someone in the
sorry shape that he was in, he was getting around pretty well.
Howie
followed behind with a wide grin on his face. He laughed at the strange looks
they got from the orderlies and physical therapists, and other patients they
came across.
“I
don’t know him. Really I don’t,” he said jokingly.
They
passed by their own PT, Anya, in the hallway, causing A.J. to squeal and dart
away.
“Whoo!”
he yelped as he rounded the corner towards Brian’s room.
“What
may I ask was that all about?” she asked, amused.
“I
think the doctors were wrong,” Howie said. “I am now most definitely sure there
was brain damage.”
Howie
entered Brian’s room and found the two tearing into the “contraband” with a
vengeance.
“Oh man
did I miss this,” Brian said between mouthfuls.
Howie
chuckled. “You’d better slow down there, B-Rok. It would be a shame to see you
get through all of this only to have you choke to death on a BigMac.”
* *
*
Since
then A.J. had found a pair of sunglasses to fit his tastes, and now lived in
them along with his hat. He was thrilled to be back in control of his wardrobe,
and had dragged Howie out shopping the first chance he got. The two went early
in the morning to avoid crowds, and were escorted by their bodyguards. During
their excursion, they talked about Brian and Nick.
“I
don’t know what is up with them,” A.J. said with a shake of his head.
“Is
there anything?” Howie asked, thumbing through a stack of shirts. “It’s so
subtle I sometimes have to convince myself that something is wrong.”
“Nick
just seems like he’s pissed off at the world. Maybe therapy will help him.”
A.J. poked his head around a rack of clothing, wearing the most outrageous hat
Howie had ever seen.
“I’ll
kill you if you buy that.”
“Sold,”
A.J. said with a grin.
“We are
never going to be able to go anywhere with you dressing like that,” Howie
complained.
“Who
cares? I miss being mobbed by fans.”
“Well
that hat and that outfit will take care of that problem.”
A.J.
grinned. “It’s all good.”
* *
*
Therapy
seemed to do the trick at first. Nick finally seemed enthusiastic about
something. He was anxious to get out and move around.
“He’s
set a goal for himself,” Kevin said proudly, as he watched Nick with one of the
workers. They were discussing his knee, and Nick was concentrating on
everything she had to say.
“How’s
it going for you?” Howie asked Kevin.
“It’s
tiring,” Kevin said with a weary smile. He pointed to his arms, which had lost
a great deal of the muscle tone that he had prided himself on. “I have a lot of
work to do.”
Howie
grinned. “Yes you do,” he said. “That’s disgusting.”
Kevin
made a face at him. “Better watch it, punk. Looks can be deceiving. I can still
take you.”
“You
can’t even stand up without help.”
Kevin
considered this for a moment. “True.”
Howie
laughed.
Kevin
sobered after a minute. “How’ve you been D.?”
Howie
looked surprised. “I’m doing pretty well, I’d say.”
“You
spend an awful lot of time in the gym.”
“I have
to play catch up,” he said carefully, looking uncomfortable.
Kevin
frowned. Howie had seemed cheerful enough for the last several days, but to him
it seemed forced. He wondered if his friend was coping as well as everyone
thought he was. “Are you sure you aren’t overdoing it?” he asked.
“I’m
fine, Kev. Quit worrying,” he said, sounding somewhat short.
“I
guess that’s just my job,” he answered, deciding to let the subject drop for
the time being.
They
sat for a moment, watching the activity around them. Nick and the woman he was
working with had stopped worrying about his knee, and had started with some
exercises designed to assist his memory. Kevin had done the same thing earlier.
“That
stuff is hard,” he said, nodding toward Nick, whose brow was furrowed in deep
thought. “He’ll probably hate it. It’ll just tell him how much work he’s got
ahead of him.”
“It
can’t be that bad.”
“I
don’t think that right now I could sing any of our songs without trouble,”
Kevin said quietly. “I can’t keep the lyrics straight. I know them, but
I just can’t think fast enough to sing them. I’m sure he’s having the same
problem.” He tried not to look upset. The last thing he wanted was to burden
the others with his worries when they already had so much to deal with.
Howie’s
eyes were wide. He remembered their attempt to sing “I Want It That Way.”
Somehow he’d forgotten about it. How ironic, he thought. “When is the
surgery to remove the rod?” he asked after awhile. Kevin’s face clouded.
“A few
weeks.”
“You
worried about it?”
Kevin
nodded, staring off over Howie’s shoulder. “Yup.” He said it very calmly. Howie
could tell he was more than a little nervous.
“Don’t
sweat it. After all the rest of this shit, that should be a piece of cake.”
Kevin
chuckled. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?”
At that
moment, Nick threw down a pile of cards he’d been holding. Angrily, he looked
around for a way to get up and leave, but he found none. Instead he glared at
the girl, who was trying to talk to him.
“Yeah,”
Kevin said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”