Page 65 of Sparking Sara

He nods at me as if he knows she can do it.

“Are you ready, Sara?”

She nods and he lifts her up, holding on to her like he did the other day. And like the other day, someone is on the floor helping her move her feet while another follows her with the wheelchair.

She looks at me, twenty feet away from her, and I can tell she thinks I’m too far away.

“Come on, Sara. You can do it. You’re a rock star, remember?”

She takes two steps with help from the guy on the floor. Then I notice on the third step, she picks up her right foot all by herself, without any help. And then her left. And then she does it four more times before she loses her balance and falls into Donovan’s arms.

He sits her down. “You’re doing great, honey. Let’s go again.”

He helps her up and she starts again, this time without needing to be told which foot to move. She inches closer and closer to me, but I can tell she’s getting tired.

“Sara, make it all the way to me and you can have whatever you want. I’ll even watchThe Bachelorwith you, and you know I hate that show.”

She smiles. “Burger,” she says.

“You want me to bring you a cheeseburger for dinner?” I ask.

She nods.

“You walk all the way to me and I’ll bring youtwo.”

She smiles and then closes her eyes as if to muster the strength. Then I watch her take at least ten more steps. The last few steps, she doesn’t even have to look at her feet. She stares at me. I stare at her. And something seems to happen between us. Something that feels wrong, but at the same time—so fucking right.

Donovan and the others give her a standing ovation after she sits back down. “I think she should also get a milkshake after that,” he says.

“Chocolate,” she says.

“You got it,” I say, my smile about splitting my face in two. “Come on, let’s get you back to your room.”

“Oh, you thought we were done?” Donovan says.

Sara looks a bit scared.

Donovan laughs. “We’re done with walking for the day. But you’ve impressed me so much, I thought we’d get you on the bike.”

“Bike?” I say incredulously, looking at the shock on Sara’s face.

“Don’t worry,” he says. “It’s a three-wheel bike. It’s perfectly safe and low to the ground.”

“Outside?” Sara asks hopefully.

“No. Sadly, it’s raining this afternoon, so we’ll do it in the therapy room. Perhaps we can get you outside tomorrow.”

Sara’s been trapped indoors for over two weeks now. Her only fresh air came when she was transferred to and from the ambulance. Hardly an exhilarating experience.

Later in the afternoon, after all her therapy is done, Sara and I are back in her room playing cards. And every time she calls for a card I have, I hold it over her head, making her reach for it.

I catch Donovan smiling at me from the doorway. He moves aside when Oliver walks in, his arms full of takeout food.

“You’ve got quite a load there,” I say, hopping up to help.

“Nothing’s too good for my girl. Right, luv?”

Something about the way he says that to her makes my spine stiffen.

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