Page 34 of The Restoration Program
“Shh. Just admit I’m right, like always.”
“Oh,always? Like you were right about that Craigslist ad for the motorized picnic table?”
“You promised not to bring that up!” Nicole gave his jaw a playful shove. “I was drunk. It seemed like a great idea at the time.”
“You talked about it for weeks,” Ryan said, laughing. “You were set about driving that thing to the beach last I checked.”
Grinning, she shook her head. “Look. If the insurance company is gonna be hard-headed about me being alive, may as well make them pay for it, right? Let’s cash it.”
His steel-blue eyes sparkled for her. He gave a consenting nod. Between Darlene’s visit and Ryan’s improved mood, Nicole was close to content for the first time since her Restoration. Her eyes flickered to his lips, and something pleasant stirred in her belly.
“Nicole,” Ryan said softly. “I don’t want to sound likethat guy, but I was serious about what I said before about you sneaking up, especially where you could be hurt.”
It felt like clouds were rolling in over the sun on a perfect afternoon. “I can barely do anything by myself anymore.” She shot him doleful eyes. Walking to his hand, she took hold of his first two fingers to offer an assuring touch. “The Program crew will be here next week to install all the walkways and accessibility ramps and shit. Things will be better, we’ll both be happy. You saw the mockups they sent us. You won’t have to worry about not seeing me.”
“But until then?”
She hesitated. The urge to double down and fight was weaker. “I’ll stay where you can see me,” she said. “I promise.”
Ryan kissed her hands. “I just want you to be safe. I won’t lose you again.”
DAY EIGHTEEN
The process of making their place NüPrint accessible was more painless than Nicole could have imagined. The Restoration Program seemed to loathe that their patients had to lift so much as a finger. An in-house team took care of the design, materials, and cost of labor. A representative from the Program even worked with their apartment complex to get the design mock-ups approved.
Dr. Jenning showed up at the apartment door on Friday morning with two contractors.
Although Jenning had given a heads-up that she would be visiting for a health check, it was oddly chilling to see her come through the door. Considering Nicole’s initial impression of the doctor was poisoned with terror, she deserved an award for holding her ground on the coffee table when Jenning came over to greet her.
While the install team was hard at work, Ryan followed them half a step behind at every turn. He asked so many questions, it was a wonder that the crew was able to complete the project so quickly. Ryan went as far as tugging at one of the walkways to test its durability—a contractor sharply advised against that. After all, these accommodations were meant to carry the slight weight of NüPrints, not withstand the force of a comparable giant.
By lunchtime, their home was transformed.
The contractors were still working on the final touches in the bathroom while Nicole tested the rest of the accommodations with Dr. Jenning’s guidance.
Sleek railed walkways clung to the walls at various heights. The highest ones were at Ryan’s eye-level, while the lowest were at his waist. Several staired ramps winded to the floor, though Nicole planned to avoid those passages if she could help it.
She had access to light switches and even had a button by the entryway that would remotely unlock the front door.
“Our goal is to give you as much control of your home as possible,” Dr. Jenning said. “That includes being able to welcome guests without assistance.”
The walkways led to every room in the house. Passageways with mini doors were carved through the walls to grant her direct access to the entire apartment. Her doors were all placed at the highest levels of the walkways. In the living room, the walkways branched strategically to the furniture that was deemed safe enough for her to access—the coffee table, couch, and windows.
The main path winded along the wall and through the kitchen archway. There, the walkway led to a corner of the counter that had been transformed into a kitchen suited for Nicole’s size. She had her own oven, stove, sink, and cabinets filled with cooking supplies. The kitchen table had been pushed against that wall, and she could reach it without hassle.
Their final stop was the bedroom. The moment Nicole passed through her personal door, her eyes followed the walkway to the bed. She had the option of reaching the massive bed or the NüPrint one on the nightstand. From there, the path continued into the closet, where an entire shelf had been cleared and prepared to suit her. All of her clothing from the Program already hung from the racks, accompanied by several mirrors and an ottoman in the middle. It was bigger than any walk-in closet she could have dreamed of.
The seamlessness of it all threw Nicole for a loop. The Program insisted that she be able to perform all of her previous tasks in the same spots as before. She’d been worried that Ryan would need to duck or step over the accommodations in the shared areas of the apartment, but the design was accessible without being intrusive. It was brilliant.
“You seem in better spirits than last I saw,” Dr. Jenning said, rifling through her small pack of medical supplies.
“I mean, the bar is pretty much on the ground,” Nicole said, recalling how she had been curled up in a blanket in the carrying tray when they’d been permitted to leave the Facility for the first time after her Restoration. “But yeah. Things are okay. Ryan’s been doing so much.”
“You both have.”
Nicole shrugged. She was seated on top of the dining room table, finishing a cup of jasmine tea. Jenning sat beside her, her own tea untouched while she prepared to take blood and tissue samples. Nicole set down her tiny mug onto the NüPrint table and rolled up her sleeve.
“I plan to undergo the procedure myself,” Dr. Jenning said pleasantly. “Once my work is complete. Perhaps our paths will cross more recreationally someday.”
