CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Zane gave his brother a hard stare. “You’re not teasing me, are you?”
“Nope. The x-ray shows that the fracture is healing well, so we can move you to a walking boot.”
“And no more crutches?”
“Continue to use them for the rest of the week, then try short periods without them and see how it feels.”
“This is great news,” he said as he patted the new boot he sported. “How long am I going to be in the boot?”
“Let’s give it a week, then see how it’s going.”
Zane had a hard time believing that five weeks had passed since his accident. This was a step in the right direction, physically. However, his headaches and lack of memory were still a worry.
“Any other concerns?” Gareth asked as he leaned back in his chair at the small desk in the exam room.
Zane’s appointments were usually the last one of the mornings, so Gareth didn’t need to rush off to another patient.
“No. I think physically I’m feeling fairly well. The headaches are still a nuisance, but I’m learning what triggers them and try to avoid that if possible.”
“Does it work all the time?”
Zane shook his head. “No. Unfortunately, I can avoid the triggers and still end up with a headache, but at least I’m having fewer of them.”
“It will take time,” Gareth said. “But the healing will come.”
“I hope so. I need to make some decisions about my future.”
“How are things with you and Kelsey?”
Zane thought about the question for a moment. “I think we’re doing better. I’ve been trying to spend more time with her. It seems to be going well.”
“So, you’re committed to making the marriage work?”
“Yes. I went to talk to Pastor Kennedy last week, and he challenged me to choose to love Kelsey. He said it would be what was most honoring to God.”
“How do you feel about that?” Gareth asked. “It’s not the usual way we start relationships.”
Zane nodded. “That’s true. But I’m trying to… court Kelsey, for lack of a better word, in order to keep the focus in my mind on building a relationship with her.”
“How is Kelsey responding?”
That was the question of the hour. He thought they were getting closer, the more time they spent together. However, he also got the feeling that she was holding a part of herself back. He wasn’t sure what to do about that, or how to overcome the distance she still kept between them.
“She’s receptive, but she also seems cautious.”
“That makes sense. You’re not the man she married. Or at least not completely.” Gareth paused, then said, “How are your feelings for Sarah?”
Again, Zane took his time answering. He was trying his best to be honest with himself and others as he navigated this new life path.
“I’ve accepted that there is no hope with her,” he said. “She’s not dominating my thoughts like she did right after I woke up from the accident. There are times I wonder what might have been, but I can see now that the direction in which God was moving her wasn’t compatible with the direction I was moving with my career. That has helped me to accept where I am now a little better.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“But I can’t just sit around forever. I need to figure out what I’m going to do next.”
“Have you talked to Kelsey about it?”
“Not yet, but I will. I know I need her input since my decision will impact her, too.”
“You could always stay here,” Gareth suggested with a grin.
“I don’t know about that.”
“Open up a restaurant, and you and Kelsey can work there.”
“Not sure that will work,” Zane said. “But I’m not closing the door on anything at the moment.”
“That’s good. Who knows where God might lead you and Kelsey?”
Zane hoped that God would be very clear about His direction because he still didn’t have a clear view on where his future might take him.
“Are you joining us at the gym tonight?” Gareth asked. “I think Jay said we have it starting at six-thirty.”
“I might. I can’t exactly do anything, though. I’d only be a spectator.”
“We aren’t all going to be playing at the same time,” Gareth said. “We’re just hanging out.”
“I’ll see.”
“I think the ladies and the younger kids are hanging out at Charli and Blake’s.”
“Are they?” Zane said. He hadn’t heard all the plans for the evening aside from Jay texting him earlier to invite him to the high school gym to play volleyball. Or, in his case, watch them play volleyball.
“That’s what Aria said.”
“Okay. I’ll think about it.”
Zane pushed up to his feet and turned for the crutches. “Can’t wait until I’m completely done with these.”
“You’re closer than ever,” Gareth said as he stood up. “Just don’t overdo it, or it’ll take you longer to be completely free of the boot.”
Zane hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but he had already decided that he wasn’t going to push himself, realizing that to do so would be counterproductive. He had to take the time now, in order to benefit later. And that included his relationship with Kelsey.
He positioned the crutches under his arms, then took a couple of tentative steps to see how different it felt from the hard cast he’d been wearing for weeks.
Gareth chuckled as he walked with him to the back door of the clinic. “Hop-along-son.”
“Haha.”
“Hope to see you later,” Gareth said once they reached the back door. “Call if your leg gives you any problems.”
“Will do.”
Out at Kelsey’s car, Zane put the crutches in the back seat, then slid behind the wheel, maneuvering his new boot into the wheel well of the small car. He’d been doing research into his next vehicle, but he still hadn’t made up his mind. So far, Kelsey didn’t seem to mind sharing her car with him, but he really should get his own.
Zane swung through a drive-thru and picked up some coffee for him and Kelsey. Over the past couple of weeks, he’d learned how she liked her coffee, and that occasionally, she enjoyed a fancy one. So, he picked up two lattes, along with a couple of chocolate croissants.
When he got home, it took him a minute to figure out how to get everything into the house. He ended up using just one crutch while he held the bag and the drinks in his free hand.
He found Kelsey in the kitchen with a mug of coffee in her hand. When he greeted her with a smile, she returned it.
“I brought you a latte,” Zane said, lifting the drink tray a bit. “And a pastry.”
“Oh, well, I’m almost done with this coffee, so you’re right on time.”
He walked over to the counter. Or rather, he limped over to the counter.
“Oh, wow!” Kelsey exclaimed. “You’re only using one crutch.” She leaned over and looked at his leg. “And you’re out of your cast.”
“Yep. Gareth put me in a boot because the x-ray showed that the break has healed well.”
“I’m sure you’re relieved about that.”
“It is a step in the right direction,” Zane said as he sat down on a stool. He worked one of the drinks free of the drink tray, then held it out to her. “Here you go.”
Her fingers brushed his as she took the cup from him. “Thank you.”
She lifted the mug and took a sip, humming in appreciation. Zane had always preferred regular coffee with just a little cream and sugar. But since he’d learned that Kelsey occasionally liked a fancy drink, he’d taken to getting one himself whenever he got one for her.
“So no work tonight?” he asked, removing the pastries from the bag.
“Nope. I’m done for the next few days.”
“I hear the ladies are meeting at Charli’s tonight.”
After a brief hesitation, Kelsey said, “Rori mentioned it.”
“Are you going?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?” Zane asked, although he wasn’t all that surprised.
“I think I’d rather just stick close to home.”
“The guys are all getting together with the older kids at the high school gym to play some volleyball.”
“Are you joining them?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” He tore off a piece of his chocolate croissant. “I’d be going as a spectator, and that’s not really fun unless I’m cheering for a favorite team.”
“Would you play volleyball if you were able?”
“Probably.” He took a sip of his coffee. “So, what do you plan to do with your evening?”
“I think I’m going to make some popcorn and watch a movie.”
“Want some company?” he asked.
Her brows lifted slightly as she regarded him for a moment. “Sure.”
“Do you have a movie in mind?”
“Yep. I like disaster movies, especially the B movie ones, and there’s a new one out that looks rather crazy.”
“I like those types of movies as well.” He tilted his head. “Did you know that?”
She nodded. “We were making our way through all the disaster movies, even the bad ones.”
“I think some of those have been my favorite.”
“I guess you’ve forgotten all the ones from the past four years. You have some catching up to do.”
“Are you up for re-watching some?”
Her smile grew. “Sure. Sometimes you have to watch them more than once in order to enjoy the true cheesiness of them.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Why don’t you choose one you think you’d like to watch?” Kelsey suggested. “I’m good to watch or re-watch anything.”
“Should we get takeout for dinner?”
“That would be nice,” Kelsey said. “I had planned to just have a sandwich or something light.”
“Let’s get some Chinese,” he said. “I’m kind of in the mood for it. Though I’m up for anything, if you want something different.”
“Chinese is fine.”
Zane grinned. “Chinese and disaster movies. Sounds like a great plan.”
She seemed to relax right in front of his eyes, and her smile lingered as they discussed what they wanted to order. A quick search on his phone revealed that the restaurant the family had always used was still in business.
They didn’t have to rush to place the order, since it was still early afternoon. As they finished their coffee and pastries, they continued to chat, then Kelsey went upstairs to get changed.
When she came back downstairs, she was wearing a pair of leggings and a thin, light green sweater. Though she was blonde like Sarah, Kelsey’s style was a little more relaxed. She was also shorter and had a slightly fuller figure.
He was aware that, as a married couple, they had been physically intimate. But right then, he didn’t know how to even take the initial step of holding her hand or hugging her. But for the first time, he found himself wanting to figure that out.
While he sat at the counter, Kelsey unloaded the dishwasher, then loaded it again with the few dishes that were sitting on the counter. She wiped down the counters, then went to the laundry room and returned with a basket of clothes.
As she folded the dishtowels, Zane wondered what their home had been like in Tampa. He hadn’t had a chance to see it before it was all packed up.
“I’m sure Rori doesn’t expect you to do the laundry,” he said.
“I know, but I like to feel like I’m contributing to household chores. Especially since they don’t take rent from me.”
“Tell me about our life in Tampa,” he said.
She glanced up at him, her eyes wide. “What exactly do you want to know?”
“I don’t know. Just how we lived. Our schedules. Stuff like that.”
Pulling a towel out of the basket, she laid it out on the counter and began to fold it. “Well, your restaurant in Tampa was different from the one in Chicago. It had three seatings, starting at six, then eight, then ten. It was rare that you were out of there before midnight. Because of that, our days started later than most people’s.”
“How late?”
“Since we didn’t usually go to bed until three-thirty or so, we would wake up around noon.”
“Oh wow. Yeah, that is late.”
“We’d usually stay up for a few hours after you got home from work. We both really liked that time.” She set the folded towel on top of the others, then pulled out another one. “We enjoyed the peace and quiet of those hours. There were no phone calls or text messages demanding our attention. We could just eat together, talk about our day, and sometimes we’d watch TV or a movie. It was wonderful.”
Zane found what Kelsey had described to be very appealing.
Sarah had always been more social than him, and because he worked evenings, while she worked days, she often went out with her friends while he was working. When he’d had his days off in the week, he’d preferred to stay home, but Sarah had liked for them to go out and socialize with friends. Sometimes he’d agreed, but sometimes, he just wanted to stay home and decompress from a busy week at work.
On occasion, it had been a bone of contention between them.
From the sound of things, he’d ended up with a life that suited him well, and with a woman who seemed to appreciate many of the same things he did.
“Did we have friends that we spent time with?”
“Not really. We each had people at work we were friendly with, but none that we really socialized with.” She set the folded towel on the pile and reached for another one. “Technically, we were still newlyweds, and we hadn’t really had the chance to take a honeymoon, so we were happy to just spend time together.”
“Did we explore Tampa at all?”
“Not much yet. But on one of our days off, we’d gone to the beach.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
Kelsey wrinkled her nose as she plucked a facecloth from the basket. “No. I got a sunburn and ended up with sand in so many places sand shouldn’t be. Plus, I have to say, I’ve never really been comfortable around nearly naked strangers.”
Zane chuckled. “Actually, I was surprised to hear that I ended up in Florida. I’ve never been a big fan of beaches, the heat, or hurricanes.”
“Yes. You did mention that.”
“So why did I accept a job there?”
“The Michelin star.”
She said it like that explained everything, and it probably did.
“Was I happy there?”
“Yes.” Kelsey placed the stack of folded towels into the basket. “You said it was so inspiring working for a chef who had attained such a lofty position in the restaurant world. You would talk about some of the incredible dishes the chef had developed, and the people who came to the restaurant to try them.”
It was odd, because as he listened to Kelsey describe what he’d been like working at such a prestigious place, it really felt like she was talking about another person. A person he wasn’t anymore. Though a part of that life really appealed to him, his desire to work for prestige had never been that strong.
He’d only wanted enough prestige to be able to dictate the type of restaurant he could open. But he’d never viewed a Michelin star rating as the pinnacle of his career, though, of course, he’d never turn it down.
“Would you be surprised if I said that I’m not sure I’ll try for a position like that again?”
Kelsey frowned. “You mean at a Michelin star restaurant?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe?” Her brow furrowed. “But you worked really hard to get that position.”
“And now I’ve forgotten all the work that I did.”
Kelsey nodded. “That’s true.”
“Back at the start of my training, I dreamed of having a Michelin star restaurant,” Zane said. “But as time went on, my perspective shifted, and I began to dream of a restaurant that made high concept food accessible to all ages.”
“How did you come up with that idea?”
“Mainly my family,” Zane said with a laugh. “Aside from Kayleigh, none of them really like the more haute cuisine. All they care about is that food tastes good, and I know that there are a lot of people who feel that way. It made me think about how to make haute cuisine more appealing to people like my brothers.”
“You really think you can do that?”
“I think so. I have journals filled with recipes that I developed over the years. The ones I remember doing were my first attempts at that. As I reviewed the recipes I’d worked on over the past couple of years, that has definitely changed.”
Kelsey nodded. “By the time I met you, you definitely were working to attain the highest position you could. Which is what led you to Tampa.”
“And you were okay uprooting your life in order for me to follow my dreams?”
“I had no problem with that,” she said. “I can get a job anywhere.”
“Do you like moving around?” Zane asked. “Or did the way you grew up make that difficult?”
“I prefer to stay in one place, but I was willing to make the move in order to be with you.”
“And then you had to pick up and move again,” he said.
She nodded. “But circumstances aside, it hasn’t been a horrible move.”
“Do you like Serenity?”
“It seems like a nice place, from what I’ve seen.”
“Not someplace you probably ever thought you’d live, huh?”
Kelsey shrugged. “I don’t know that I ever really thought about where I wanted to live. Chicago had been home for quite awhile, so I guess I just assumed I’d always live there.”
Zane was in the unique position of knowing where certain decisions had led him, and he wasn’t interested in repeating them. The two things he’d been most disappointed in learning about who he had become were how he’d distanced himself from his family and from his faith.
It felt like he had the opportunity to reset his life’s direction. Or perhaps it was a forced reset. One that might have been impossible to make without a change of heart.
In his case, it had taken a drastic, life-threatening event in order for him to take a hard look at where he’d been headed. It wouldn’t be a good thing if he wasted this opportunity. Which was why he was trying not to rush into anything.
He needed to take the time to pray about what God wanted for his career, Kelsey, and their marriage. It was his hope and prayer that Kelsey was also open to taking some time before they dove into whatever they decided for their future.
But for the time being, they were going to eat some Chinese food and watch a movie about a disaster that wasn’t their current life.