Page 34 of Revive Me

“The technician,” Roman says stiffly, already pulling his wheelchair over to pull himself into it. “Make sure he confirms who he is before you open the door, though.”

I glance at the TV, my brain still scattered from the interruption. It feels like wejustsat down. I mean, we never even started watching anything.

I’m moving on autopilot as I stand up, round the couch, and near the back entrance. “Who is it?” I call out.

“Mark, from Humphrey’s Repair,” comes a gruff voice. When Roman nods, I open the door to an older man who looks more frazzled than I feel. “Sorry for the lateness. One job got pushed and suddenly my whole day is screwed.”

I stand aside to let him in. “I understand. Did my boss tell you which machine it is?”

He’s already moving toward the treadmill in the corner as he nods. “Yup. I’ll try to be quick so you can get out of here.”

“Okay, thank you,” I answer. “We’ll just…hang out here in the meantime.”

I close and lock the door, far too aware of Roman’s presence behind me. Of the fact that when I turn back, I have no idea what to say to him.

Based on the clock on the wall, Roman and I talked for almost thirty minutes. We somehow went from being unsure we could even exist in a space where we weren’t physical therapist and patient to chatting about our favorite movies.

“Out of curiosity,” Roman starts, jolting me from my thoughts. “If you were alone in a room with a strange man, what would you use as a weapon in here?”

For a moment, I can only blink at him. “A weapon?”

He nods. “Something tells me you would pick an interesting one.”

Frowning, I look around the room. “Um, I guess…maybe a dumbbell? Oooh wait, no, I’d grab one of the walkers. I’ve never checked, but I’m pretty sure Mrs. Wilson is whittling one of them down to a shank underneath the tennis ball at the end.”

“See? I knew you’d have a good answer,” Roman says with a light laugh.

I bite down on my smile, my uncertainty from a minute ago nowhere to be found. Now, the silence between us is a comfortable one. Roman’s gaze stays locked on the technician as the man fiddles with the treadmill, while my attention moves back and forth between him and Roman. Once or twice, my smile gets away from me as I remember something Roman said tonight.

“Yup, I had a feeling it was going to be this pin causing the issue,” Mark says, straightening from where he was crouched. “I don’t have the part with me that I need to fix it, but I can come back tomorrow. During business hours, of course.”

I nod. “I’ll let my boss know.”

He nods in return. “Alright then. I’ll get out of your hair.” He moves toward the back door, but pauses before he turns the handle. “By the way, as a technician, that was a terrifying conversation to overhear. But as a father, I’m proud of your answer.”

My cheeks burn hot immediately. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you could hear us.”

With a hearty chuckle, he pulls the door open. “It’s alright. Tell Mrs. Wilson I’m proud of her, too.” And then he’s gone, leaving me flaming with embarrassment.

I clap my hands to my scorching cheeks. “Oh myGod.”

As if he was waiting for the technician to leave, Roman suddenly lets out a full-bellied laugh. “That was amazing. Better than I could have hoped for.”

I whip my head toward him. “What do you mean,hopedfor?”

He’s grinning shamelessly. “It means I wanted to make sure he knew not to fuck with you if you happened to be alone with him again.”

I think I’m even more confused now. “Again? I wasn’t alone with himnow.”

Roman sobers as he gestures toward his wheelchair. “I mean, you basically were. It’s not like I would’ve been able to do much.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I don’t know if I should smack you for assuming I don’t know how to protect myself from a strange man, or for assuming that youcan’t.” When I prop my hands on my hips, Roman’s surprised expression just makes me frown harder. “Let’s not act like being in a wheelchair means you couldn’t have broken that guy’s limbs with fourteen different submissions. I saw the Santera fight. You basically choked him out with one arm.”

A myriad of emotions flashes across Roman’s face: more surprise, amusement, pride. But in the end, he settles on pure delight.

He’s grinning like a fool when he says, “That tidbit of Bellator knowledge wasn’t an accident, was it?”

I sniff. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

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