Page 12 of Fragile Love (Fragile 3)
“Yeah,” Andrew agreed, his eyes half closed.
“Do you need some water?” Frances asked. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m okay. Really. Searching the backs of my eyelids for a way to figure out how Lillian can work.”
“Andrew needs to start physical therapy very soon after getting discharged,” Frances said. “That’s just a couple of days from now. We don’t want you to be away from work for that long.”
“I mean, I could just call my clients and let them know I’ll be away for a couple of weeks. I could do phone consultations, or even work with them on a video call.” She sounded confident, but her face said otherwise.
A knock on the door made them turn their heads, and they saw the cheerful smile of Andrew’s doctor entering the room. “How is everyone doing today?” His voice was smooth and booming, something about the positive energy around him dissolving the stress from the conversation.
“Can’t complain,” Andrew croaked, reaching out his hand.
The doctor shook it. “Looking good.”
“Feeling pretty good, too.”
“Excellent. Do you need anything?”
“Not that I can think of.”
“Don’t hesitate to ask.” The doctor’s teeth were so shiny that the light glinted off them. He turned to Andrew’s parents. “And you two?”
“All good,” Tanner replied, keeping true to his reputation as a man of few words.
“Good to hear.” The doctor looked at a file he had in his hands. “I have a list of physical therapists who specialize in cases like Andrew’s. Rodney is a big city, and we’re lucky to have these kinds of options for him.”
Lillian’s face fell.
“There are a few more around who are just as good,” he continued, flipping through some sheets of paper, “but I figured that since you live here, it would be best to keep travel to a minimum. Actually, your neighborhood is near one of the clinics.”
“That’s good to hear,” Frances said, but then sighed. “We were just trying to figure out what to do about the location, actually. Tanner and I want to cancel our trip to Europe, which starts in four days so we can take care of Andrew, but—”
“I’m insisting that they go ahead as planned,” Andrew interrupted. “Lillian already said she would take care of me, anyway.”
“It’s just her job that worries us, since none of her clients are here and we’ll be gone for three weeks.”
The doctor looked at Lillian. “Where do you live, if I may ask?”
“Hanneston,” Lillian replied. “All my clients are back there. But, really, it’s no problem. I can figure out a way to make it work. I’m just glad that Andrew’s all right.”
“He’s better than all right,” the doctor said, then stared into space for a second and searched through his papers. “The progression of his healing is really incredible. The procedure went very well yesterday, and we cleared out the small infection. Your temperature’s already down and the little, hmm, shall I say issue, you had won’t repeat itself. You’re on the mend. You’re a strong one, Andrew.”
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nbsp; Andrew smiled, looking like he was about to fall asleep. “Thank you, Doc.”
“Actually,” the doctor continued, pulling out a piece of paper, “I think one of the physical therapy clinics I mentioned is in Hanneston. I printed out all the surrounding ones because, well, you never know what works for someone.”
Lillian shot out of her chair and to the doctor’s side, looking at the paper. “That’s only about ten minutes from my place!” she exclaimed.
“Is it, now?” the doctor seemed to be sharing in Lillian’s joy. “Well, would it be better for me to get you situated with them instead of with the clinics here in Rodney?”
“Yes,” Lillian answered, almost before the words were out of his mouth.
Yes? Cayden’s attention was suddenly piqued. Andrew would be staying at her place? Physio and what else?
“Lillian—” Andrew’s dad started.
