Page 30 of Trusting Trey
I held up my finger. “Wait, we were dating before I became a patient. He has no grounds to say you started dating mebecauseI was a patient.”
He nodded. “I did clarify that, but he didn’t seem to want to listen to reason. I’m not sure what’s going on, but at the same time, I don’t want to work there if they think I am unprofessional and would date patients without extenuating circumstances such as ours. Granted, I make your braces for your foot drop, but other than that, I don’t have any real contact with you at the hospital.”
I nodded. “I can always find a different orthotist to do that if it would make it better.”
He laughed sarcastically and shook his head. “You’re stuck with me, kid. I’ll be the one making your braces for the rest of your life. Don’t even try to take that away from me.”
I put my arms around him to hug him, resting my chin on his shoulder. “What are you going to do?” I asked, the turmoil in my own belly swirling with anxiety. “I can’t stand the thought of having to live away from you, Trey. I’m not in the position to buy a new place and my parents are selling theirs.” I closed my mouth immediately and groaned. “I’m sorry, this isn’t about me, it’s about you.”
He kissed my lips gently. “Actually, it is about you. They fired me because of you, but you know what, I don’t care. They call themselves caregivers, but they don’t care about anyone but themselves.”
I rubbed his arm to calm him. “Did you talk to the guy above your boss? Maybe you should go to the hospital administrator?”
He shook his head, his lips in a thin line. “Why bother? I don’t want to work for people that have no regard for their employees or whom they love. It’s just ridiculous. What if we were married when you got hurt? Were they going to fire me because we were married?”
“I can’t believe he did this to you on Christmas Eve,” I fumed. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault. It never crossed my mind that there would be consequences for you because you’re taking care of me.”
He turned and took my face in his hands, his forehead touching mine. “This isn’t your fault, Allie. I’m not taking care of you. I’m in love with you and when you love someone you help them; it’s as simple as that. I can’t help that Garrison isn’t a decent human being.”
I closed my eyes because the look in his was too much to bear. His eyes were lost and I had no way to help him find his way again.
“What are you going to do, Trey? Are you going to have to move again?”
He shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I wanted to make my life here in Duluth, which is why I bought a house instead of renting. I love the town and the people in it. I’m crushed and disappointed that my work wasn’t good enough for them. The fact that I’m in love with a patient shouldn’t matter, but if that’s how they feel, then I’ll move on. Maybe I’ll start my own practice. I have a few friends over in the Cities who would move here and go into a partnership with me. I have a strong patient base that would follow me, if I could swing it. I just don’t know if I can swing it.”
“What do you mean ‘swing it’?” I asked confused.
“It isn’t cheap to start a prosthetics and orthotics company, Allie. You’ve got to have upfront money for supplies, salaries, and rent. There’s getting approved by insurances so patients can be seen in the clinic, and the list is endless. I have savings, but not the million or more I would need to get it started.”
“Wow,” I sighed. “That’s a lot of money.”
He nodded. “I could get a business loan, but then I’m robbing from Peter to pay Paul. I’m still a young prosthetist, and that won’t help in getting a loan. I will probably just have to find a new hospital and I may have to move. This time I’ll tell them upfront that I’m in love with a woman who may need our services and make sure it’s cleared ahead of time.” He grabbed both of my hands and squeezed them hard, as though his life depended on it. “Would you come with me, Allie? If I have to move to find work, will you move, too? I can’t live my life without you now that I’ve had you in it for the last four months.”
I felt the tears on my cheeks as he spoke. “You’re breaking my heart, Trey,” I said, as he wiped the tears from my face. “I will follow you to the ends of the earth. I might be following you in a wheelchair, but I don’t want to be without you either. We’ll work it out; I promise you that right now.”
He crushed me to him and buried his nose in my neck. “I want to make you proud of me, not worried. This is the first time I’ve been fired and it’s humiliating, especially because I didn’t do anything wrong. Thank you for understanding this wasn’t my choice.”
I laid my lips near his lips. “You make me proud every day, Trey. You’re the kind of practitioner who cares about their patients, and isn’t just there for the money. I see that every night when you come home from work and think out solutions to a patient’s problem. You’re never content to help patients achieve an okay life. You strive to help patients achieve the same life they had before their injury or condition. You’ll never convince me otherwise. Maybe we should stay home today,” I said. “We can watch Christmas movies and go to Drakos Agape for dinner.”
He let me go and put his hands on his thighs, resolve filling his face. “No, as much as I love the food there, this is our first Christmas Eve together and I refuse to let Garrison’s bad attitude ruin it. We’re going to go out, have coffee and find a tree.”
“I’m just worried about the expense,” I admitted. “I understand, Trey. I’m happy to just spend the day with you here.”
“Allie, financially I’ll be fine. I have money saved, my student loans are paid off, and I will get unemployment until I find a new job. You’re getting disability, which will cover anything that comes up for you. Please, I want you to enjoy the holidays and not worry about money. Okay?”
I nodded. “Okay, but I’m not sure if we’ll find a tree this late in the game, Trey. Most of the tree stands are out already.”
He smiled and patted my face. “We’re not going to a stand, Allie. We’re going to the tree farm.”
“Uh…Trey. I don’t have skis on my wheelchair.”
He kissed my nose and stood, holding my chair so I could transfer into it. “I know, I got it covered. Do you trust me?” he asked as he pushed me toward the bedroom to put on warm clothes.
“You know I do, but sometimes I like to know what you have up your sleeve.”
He laughed as he pulled cold weather clothes from the dresser and a plaid blanket from the shelf of the closet. He leaned on the arms of my chair. “Now what fun would that be?” He gave me a cheeky grin and I couldn’t help but smile back.
I tried to roll my wheelchair down between two bookshelves, but there wasn’t enough space between the shelving units to allow me to pass through them. Frustrated, I sat at the end of the aisle and fumed. Why was it this difficult to find a place that actually adhered to the laws of the ADA? The room felt like it was closing in on me and I looked around for Trey, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. I had to get some air, so I took advantage of another customer opening the door, and wheeled myself out into the cold air of the early afternoon. The sun was shining, and it was a balmy twenty-five degrees, but my face felt hot. Part of it was embarrassment that I was stuck in this chair and couldn’t do anything for myself, and part of it was anger. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I swiped them away angrily as I sat on Superior Street crossing my arms over my chest and feeding on the feeling of self-pity.
