Page 29 of Maybe in Another Life

It seems so simple, written out in order. For a moment, as I look at it, I think,Is that all?And then I realize that simple and easy aren’t the same thing.

By the time Gabby comes to pick me up, I’m standing on the sidewalk waiting for her.

I get into the car, and Gabby starts driving.

She looks at me and shakes her head, smiling. I am grinning from ear to ear.

“Did I call this, or did I call this?” she says.

“Call what?” I ask, laughing.

“You and Ethan.”

I shake my head. “It just happened!” I say. “I didn’tknowit was going to happen.”

“But didn’t I say that it would?”

“Neither here nor there,” I say. “The point is, we’re together now.”

“Together?” Gabby says, laughing. “Like, you’retogether?”

I laugh. “Yes, we’retogether.”

“So I can assume that aside from the occasional ride here and there and a few meals, I have lost you to your newfound boyfriend?”

I shake my head. “No, not this time. I’m not seventeen anymore. I have a life to create here. Romance is great. But it’s only one part of a well-rounded life. You know?”

Gabby puts her hands to her heart and smiles to herself. I start laughing. I wasn’t trying to placate her. I just don’t think that having a good boyfriend solves all my problems.

I’ve still got plenty of problems to solve.

Deanna comes in to bring me my breakfast and check up on me. Shortly after she leaves, Dr. Winters comes in and sits down with Gabby and me to discuss the details of my injury now that I’m a bit more stable. My parents are on their way, and I know they’d want to be here for this, but I can’t wait. I have to know.

Dr. Winters explains that the crash severed my femoral artery and broke my right leg and pelvis. I was unconscious and rushed into surgery to stop the bleeding and repair the break. I lost a considerable amount of blood and sustained a pretty significant blow to the head when I fell. As she tells me all of this, she continues to stress the fact that all of my injuries are fairly common in a car accident of this magnitude and that I will be fine. Knowing just how bad it was makes it harder to believe that I will be OK. But I suppose just because something is hard to understand, that doesn’t make it any less true.

When Dr. Winters is done going through some memory questions, she tells me that I will be sent home in a wheelchair. I won’t be able to walk for a few weeks as my pelvis heals. And even then, I will have to start off very slowly and very gently. I will need physical therapy in order to exercise the muscles that have been damaged, and I’ll be in pain... well, almost all the time.

“It’s a long road ahead,” Dr. Winters says. “But it is a steady one. I have no doubt that someday, sooner rather than later, you will be able to go for a run around the block.”

I laugh at her. “Well, I’ve never gone for a run around the block in the past, so now that my legs are immobile, it seems like a good time to start.”

“You joke,” she says, getting up. “But I’ve had patients who were complete couch potatoes start training for marathons when they get the use of their legs back. Something about that temporary and jarring loss of mobility can really encourage people to see what they are capable of.”

She pats my hand and moves toward the door.

“Make sure you tell the nurses if you need anything. And if you have any other questions, I’m here,” she says.

“Thanks,” I say, and then I turn to Gabby. “Great. So not only am I unable even to walk myself to the bathroom right now, but if I don’t start dreaming of marathons and Nikes, I’m a slacker.”

“I believe that is what she said, yes. She said if you don’t start training for the L.A. Marathon this very second, your life is a waste, and you might as well pack it in.”

“Man, Dr. Winters can be such a bitch,” I say, and instantly, there is a knock at the door. For a moment, I’m terrified it’s Dr. Winters. I didn’t mean it. I was just joking. She’s really nice. I like her.

It’s Ethan.

“OK for me to sneak in?” Ethan says. “Is now a good time?”

He pulls a large bouquet of lilies from behind his back.

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