Chapter 37
Two weeks after the impromptu party at Sydney’s and the first burst of good news about her Bird Bench, Daisy was back at the doctor’s office.
At long last, the brace was off. Her first steps had been tentative and nerve-racking. She’d been so worried that the bone was going to be frail and her muscles were going to be weak and that she would feel unsteady.
It hadn’t felt that way, though. Sure, putting weight on it felt strange, but it was okay.
Now, though, as she sat on the examination room table and waited for the doctor, she couldn’t help but frown at her calf. It was pasty white, rather spindly looking. It was in need of a good scrub. And goodness. It was hairy! Her leg looked hairy, skinny, and white. It was ugly.
“Daisy, what’s wrong?” asked the doctor as he walked into the examining room. “Are you hurting?” he asked as he strode directly to her leg and studied it.
“Nee. I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Jah. I um, was just fretting about how my leg looks. I didn’t imagine that it would look like this.”
The doctor grinned. “Everyone has that same response after we remove their casts. But don’t worry.
Once you’re moving around a bit and get a little sun on your skin, your calf will look a lot better.
Within a few weeks, if you do your physical therapy, you should feel almost like you did before the accident. ”
“I hope so.”
“What matters the most is how it feels. Did it hurt to put weight on it?”
She tested it out. “It feels tender and maybe weak?”
“But pain? Are you feeling any sharp stings?”
“No. I didn’t even feel that when Julie took it off.”
He reached out a hand and helped her climb off the table. “Take some steps for me, please.”
“All right.” Dutifully, Daisy took a couple of steps. Once again, she felt a little unsteady, but she wasn’t worrying about falling. Most importantly she didn’t hurt. “It only feels sore, like my muscles haven’t been used. But it’s not painful.”
“That’s good news.” He nodded to Julie, who’d just joined them.
She was holding a set of X-rays and clipped them on a light panel.
When he illuminated the board, Daisy could see two sets of X-rays.
The first were the three from the day of her accident and the second was the set taken just an hour ago.
It was easy to see where her bone had mended itself.
She thought her bone looked much better, but she wasn’t the doctor. “What do you think?” she asked.
Dr. Alvarez asked Julie a couple of technical things, the nurse answered. Then, after studying the films for another minute or so, he smiled. “I think your bones did a good job, dear. They did what they were supposed to do. I’d say you’re almost as good as new.”
“I’ll take that.”
“Don’t forget, it’s going to take some time to build back the muscles, so there might be some aches and tenderness, so take it easy. But, all things considered, I think you should be riding your bicycle before you know it. But maybe with a little bit more care?”
“I don’t think I’ll be riding that bicycle ever again.”
“Really?” Julie asked.
“Oh, jah. I think I’m done with my electric bike for now. I paid a call to Jonny Shrock at his bicycle shop. He was able to fix my bike. He got a nice price for it so I took the money instead.”
“I don’t blame you. But how will you get back and forth to work now?” the doctor asked as he was looking at his notes.
“I’m not going to go back to the bulk food store. I started my own business while I had this cast on.”
“What business is that?”
“The Bird Bench business,” she said with a smile. After describing the swings for the hens, she shared that they were now selling on the internet.
“I didn’t know chickens liked to swing.”
“I had heard that they might, which is why I made one out of a branch and some rope. Our hens seemed to like swinging a lot.”
Julie grinned. “If we looked up Bird Bench on that retail site, we’d find it?”
“To be sure.” Unable to hide the pride in her voice, she added, “We’re selling them all over the country. I wouldn’t have thought that so many people wanted their chickens to have a toy, but I guess our hens weren’t the only ones.”
“I’m going to order two for my brothers for Christmas.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, I can’t say that I ever want to raise hens, but I do admire your gumption,” Dr. Alvarez said as he handed the file back to the nurse. “As bad as the day of your accident was, it seemed like the Lord gave you a silver lining.”
“We’ve said that very same thing.”
“Yes, it sounds like everything is working out for the best after all.”
“I hope so.”
He held out a hand. “Daisy, it was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Danke,” she said as she shook his hand. “To you as well.”
“I mean this in the best way. I hope we never have an occasion to see each other again.”
She laughed. “I feel the same way.” When she walked back to the waiting room, she felt much lighter. Both on her feet and in spirit.
Lukas, who’d been reading a magazine, looked up as she approached. “Hey, look at you!”
“I know. I’m almost back to my regular self.”
“How does wearing your tennis shoe feel?”
“Strange but okay.”
“Do you have to come back?”
“I don’t think so. The doctor talked to me about taking things easy. But as long as I don’t rush my progress, I’m good.”
He gave her a hug. “Congratulations. You are now on the other side of it.”
“Danke.”
As they walked down the hallway, he said, “We have about an hour before the driver comes to pick us up. Want to get some lunch?”
“Sure.”
The office was in the middle of a shopping area. There was a mall across the parking lot and several restaurants nearby. “What sounds good? Your choice.”
“Can we go to the food court in the mall? If we finish early, I want to look at the stores.” She knew this was Lukas’s least favorite thing to do but she couldn’t help herself. She wanted to celebrate.
“Jah, sure.”
After they walked inside, and each decided to get pizza, Lukas told her to sit down while he paid and carried everything to her.
“This smells good,” he said.
“I agree.”
After they said grace and had a couple of bites, he said, “What do you want to do now?”
“You mean after we look at the stores?” she teased.
“Jah. Have you thought about looking at office space in Walden yet? Or hiring more help?”
“I’m not ready to leave the barn. I like working in there with all the animals. I do need to hire some help, though. I’m going to ask some women this Sunday at church.”
“Let me know if you need me to help with the search. I’d be happy to ask around.”
“Danke, but you’ve already done enough. Everyone in the family has.”
After eating a few more bites of pizza, Lukas said, “It’s been good to see Kyle so much in the barn. He’s a hard worker.”
The change in topics surprised her, but Daisy went with it. “He’s been more than that. He’s been so helpful and supportive about my little business.”
“He’s a gut man, Daisy. He would be great for you.”
She thought he would be great, too. But he obviously didn’t see her that way. “He’s become a good friend.”
“Friends can become something more than that, don’t you think?”
“Jah, but not in this case. I … I don’t think Kyle is ever going to see me in a romantic sense.
” She’d thought for a moment that she and Kyle had a future together, but his fascination with Winter had changed that.
When she’d heard that they broke up, she had hoped he might begin to see her differently, but he hadn’t.
“You might be wrong about him,” Lukas said. “He might simply need a break before he starts courting again.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You know, some people are talking about going up to Shipshewana. A whole group wants to travel together and go to the flea market. It could be fun. What do you think? Do you want to go?”
“Maybe. Do you?”
“I’m seriously considering it. I haven’t met any women here. Maybe I will there. Plus, that flea market is supposed to be amazing.”
“Going on a trip does sound fun. I’ll think about that, too.”
“Mamm and Daed seem like they’re finally supporting you.”
“I suppose.” They’d helped her some. They’d even almost congratulated her on the Bird Bench’s success.
However, she continued to feel as if they wished she’d never built that very first swing for their hens.
Which hurt.
Taking a chance, she said, “I feel like I’ve disappointed them. Like even though lots of people want Bird Benches, that’s not the future they wanted for me.”
“You think they wanted you to be married by now.”
“Jah, or at least had a beau.”
“That’s not on you. I know you liked Kyle.”
“I did. I wish I could’ve been different for him, but that wasn’t possible.”
Lukas wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “If Kyle can’t see how special you are, then I’m sure some other man will.”
“I hope so. We’ll see.” She smiled at him, not wanting to admit her most secret fear, that no one would ever consider her to be special—because she wasn’t.
Not wanting to burden him with such negative thoughts, she added, “Lukas, we’re a handful, aren’t we?
You are thinking about finding a wife at a flea market, and I’m going to concentrate on Bird Benches instead of relationships. ”
“If it makes you feel any better, Ben isn’t doing much better in that department either.”
“He says not to worry about him,” Daisy said. “Lukas, I think he might be dating someone and just not telling us about her.”
“I’ve thought the same thing. If Ben is seeing someone, it doesn’t make sense to me that he isn’t telling us about it, though.”
“I feel the same way. He knows we’d be nothing but supportive. He’s done so much for me.”
“I guess he has his reasons.” He sipped his soda while she finished her slice of pizza. “So, were you serious about wanting to walk around this mall?”
“I was. And sorry, but I’m not going to let you change your mind.”
“I wasn’t going to,” he grumbled. “But if you want to go, then come on. We don’t have all day long to waste.”
“If we were at Tractor Supply, you wouldn’t be telling me to watch the clock.”
“That’s because Tractor Supply has good stuff,” he teased. But after they threw out their trash, her brother seemed to have a good time. They looked at windows, people watched, and simply enjoyed the moment.
After all, it was a very good day.