Chapter 28
As nice as the rehab facility was, Linney couldn’t wait to be in her own bed at the lake. It was early September when days were still hot, but nighttime temperatures were perfect for sleeping with the windows wide open. She was ready. Ilse had worked her hard, and it showed. Linney was comfortable with just her cane, her ribs were healed, and she was mentally and physically strong. Finally, her team agreed she could go home. Jake travelled to Germany to get her, while Anna and Kirsten readied the house at the lake.
When Jake arrived, Linney was walking steadily—if slowly—down the corridor, using her cane. She saw him coming and waved. He put down his bag and walked toward her. She saw tears in his eyes and rolled her own. She was tired of this reaction from people.
“Hey you,” he said tenderly, gathering her into a big brotherly hug. He pushed back his emotions and finally released her.
“Jake, I’m fine,” she said. “Not one hundred percent yet, but I’m good. Honestly.” The hug had hardly bothered her ribs at all. Jake only believed his sister after he’d had a long talk with her doctors, who’d insisted on her having a travel companion.
The trip home was uneventful. Jake rolled their carry-on bags through the airport and Linney remembered to tell the security people that she had a metal plate and screws in her hip and showed her documentation when she set off the security alarm. Jake walked slowly beside her as she leaned on her cane through the departure hall. Linney didn’t remember the Frankfurt airport being quite so big. Obstinate, as usual, she refused a wheelchair or a ride on the in-terminal shuttle service. “I’m not an invalid,” she insisted, as the driver pulled away, beeping the horn to get other passengers to move. But she had to admit that she was tired when they finally got to the gate.
They’d splurged on business class tickets so Linney could lie down properly, but she was restless, dozing fitfully through the flight. There was no luggage to collect in Toronto, so they walked straight from the airplane through the airport. Just like Frankfurt, it seemed to have doubled in length since Linney had last flown home and her steps were slow as she limped through customs. She was visibly relieved when they finally made it to the exit. Jake had phoned his wife when they landed, and she was waiting with their big SUV at the curb, watching for them.
“Welcome home,” Rachael said when they reached her. She gave Linney a gentle hug and took her bag, putting it in the trunk beside Jake’s. “Linney, do you need help getting into the car?”
“I can do it, Rachael. Honestly.” But once she was in, and Jake closed the door, Linney closed her eyes. She was exhausted and frustrated by her limitations.
Jake jumped in the back of the car and Rachael pulled gently into traffic. She looked at her passenger. “Are you sure you won’t stay for more than one night? Just until you’re feeling stronger?”
Linney opened her eyes and shook her head. “Thank you, but I just want to go home.”
* * *
The next morning,Linney was still tired, but there was some colour back in her face. Rachael quietly dished up eggs and sausages for the family. A hearty breakfast, Linney supposed, designed to build back her strength.
“Linney, can you pass the pepper, please?” Jake asked her.
“Sure,” she said, reaching out for the pepper mill. She missed it by several inches. Seeing the shocked look on the kids’ faces, she explained, as she concentrated hard to pick it up and passed it to her brother. “My brain isn’t compensating yet for the fact that I only have one working eye. Depth perception is hard for me. So is peripheral vision.” She continued for Rachael’s sake. “Jake will tell you I keep bumping into things on my right side. It will get better. But it will take a bit more time.”
Rachael smiled weakly.
Linney slept in the car as Jake drove up to the lake, stirring only when they got close to town. “Will you drive down Main Street?” she asked. I always love to see what’s new and I’m not sure how long it will be before I can get into town myself.”
“You know, I’m still not sure I love you being up here without a car,” Jake said, protective as ever.
“You know they won’t let me drive yet,” Linney replied. “My hip should be good enough in a few more weeks, but I’ll have to have my vision assessed too.”
“That’s why we all wanted you to stay in the city.”
“I’ll be back. But for now, I need to be here. I won’t be alone, Anna and Kirsten are here and Derek is right next door. And besides,” she teased, “they have this new-fangled thing called home delivery. I can get just about anything I need sent straight to the house.” She yawned. “I think I need to sleep for a few days first! I can’t believe how tired I am.”
Jake slowed the car as they drove down through Silver Lake. First she saw the elementary school she’d gone to, and that Derek’s kids attended now. She was pleased to see that the bakery and the wool shop were still there, along with the Doughnut Hut and a number of little restaurants and cafés that had made it through the winter. Anna’s dance studio came into view and they passed Derek’s office. A block away from that was the long-term care home where his mother had moved last year. Page Turners still looked grand, taking up most of a heritage building. Linney wondered for a moment whether the store had seen its last summer. Kirsten had told her that the owners had never quite gotten it off the ground and that there were rumours they were about to give up.
Finally on the end of the street closest to her house was the variety store that a refugee family that the local church had sponsored a few years ago had recently bought. As they turned onto the road that ran along the lake, Linney noticed that the trees were starting to turn. A little bit of yellow here, some orange there, and just a touch of red at the tree tops. October was right around the corner and soon the trees would be in full fall foliage, and the accompanying town festival would be in full swing.
A few minutes later, the house came into view and Linney felt a sense of calm come over her as the wheels of the car crunched on the gravel driveway. Jake put the car in park and turned to face her. “You have to promise to take things easy, and to call if you need anything. Anything at all. Even if it’s just to talk.” He helped Linney out of the car and she used her cane to gingerly climb the few stairs up to the porch one at a time, and then into the house.
Linney came to a halt as soon as she opened the door. It was the first time she had seen the renovations Danny and his team had done. Her sketches and ideas had come to life.
“They did a great job, didn’t they?” Jake said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “The kids and I spent some time up here this summer, so thank you, but I’m glad you can enjoy it now.” He put her bag down. “Kirsten and Anna unpacked the boxes that your friend MJ packed up and shipped.”
Linney nodded. “You’ve all been so good to me.” She was still taking in the changes. Sage green cabinets warmed up the kitchen and white countertops kept it bright. Danny had added pot lights around the work surfaces and the refinished wide pine floorboards gleamed. Paint on the walls made everything seem new again. But the old kitchen table, with its decades of dents and scratches was still there, and Linney was overcome with emotion. She was home.
“Clothes are in your dresser and Kirsten did the best she could to put your books and knickknacks into good places. Give her a call if you can’t find something.” Jake’s words brought Linney back, and she nodded, noticing some small trinkets from London on the mantel, beside a new mason jar full of her stones. “Anna did some grocery shopping. Take a quick look in your new kitchen and see if there’s something you need that she didn’t buy. I can run into town before I go.”
“Jake, you’re amazing. All of you. I write for a living and I have no words to thank you.” She turned around and he could see tears in her eyes. She ran her hand along the scarred kitchen table. “It feels so good to be here.”
He took Linney’s bag into her bedroom as she opened kitchen cupboards. “Looks like Anna did a great job,” she called to him. “She even remembered popcorn!”
Jake came back into the kitchen. “I don’t suppose you’ll let me stay for a few nights?”
Linney put a hand on her hip and cocked her head. “Jake!”
“Okay, okay.” He put his hands up in the air. “How about a cup of coffee and a sandwich for the road then?”
She smiled. “That, I can do.”
* * *
Linney unpackedafter Jake left and folded the quilt at the end of her bed. There was a gentle knock on her door mid-afternoon. Linney slowly made her way across the room and opened it to see Derek’s face. She smiled wearily. She didn’t need artifice with him; she could just be herself. “It’s good to see you.”
He hugged her gently, afraid she might break. “I thought I’d never see you again,” he said, the emotion creeping into his voice made stronger because of their argument. He beat it back. “I’m so glad you’re home. Tell me what you need.”
“Let’s sit. I’m just so tired.” He took her hand and led her out to the porch swing where they’d sat so many times before. He put his arm around her and she leaned into him. “Where are the kids?” she asked after a while.
“It’s a school day. They’ll be off the bus in an hour.”
“How are they old enough to be in school?” she asked, shaking her head in wonder.
“I know. It was hard to let Ivy get on that school bus for junior kindergarten the first time a couple of weeks ago. But what about Anna and Danny—they’ve got one going to university next year!”
“Impossible. Will you bring the kids over later?” Linney made a noise as she repositioned herself on the swing.
“Sore?” he asked, and she nodded. “Do you have painkillers?”
“In my purse on the counter. But—” Derek was already at the door. He returned a minute later with a bottle of prescription pills and a glass of water. “Thanks. I was hoping I was done with these, but all the travel has set me back a bit.” She put two pills in her hand and swallowed them down with a sip of water. “Okay, more than a bit. But I’ll be fine in a few days.”
“What does fine look like for you right now?” he probed gently.
“All my bumps and bruises are gone. No brain damage.” She tried to make a joke, but it fell flat as Derek flinched, reminded of the possibility. She started again, knowing there was no need for bravery with him. “Honestly? It’s still a work in progress. My ribs are finally good—I can’t believe how long they took to heal—and I have a limp that gets works when I’m tired. I won’t be walking to town any time soon. And then there’s this awful cane. The doctor said it would probably take two or three more weeks before I can get rid of it. Possibly even more, but I don’t think so. They’re sending records to the hospital here and I have an appointment with a Silver Lake specialist in two days who will monitor me.”
Linney took another sip of water and rubbed her hip. “That’s the easy part. Or maybe I should say the part with a known path forward. My eye, on the other hand? The vision limitations are taking some time to get used to.” She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
Derek said nothing, letting Linney take her time. “I still get dizzy sometimes,” she said quietly. “And I keep bumping into things that I used to be able to see out of the corner of my eye. Door frames, tables, bookshelves—things like that.
“I was surprised that the crowds in the airport made me anxious,” she continued, reluctantly, looking back up at him. “It’s okay now while I have the cane, because people give me a wide berth, but I’m a worried about how it’ll work when I look ‘normal’ again.”
“How’s your depth perception?” he asked, knowing that was important from the reading he’d done. Linney laughed. “Not so great then,” he surmised.
She shook her head. “They say my brain will fully accommodate for it in time, but for now it’s a work in progress. And that’s important. I’ll need that, and range of vision to get behind the wheel of a car again.”
They sat together for a few more minutes and then Derek looked at his watch.
“Do you have somewhere to be?” Linney asked.
“School bus time. I’m sorry. I have to go,” he said, standing up. “I’ll come back when the kids are in bed.” He didn’t think she was up to them visiting just yet.
“That’d be nice,” she said. “And Derek? Thank you.”
Linney watched as Derek bounded down the steps and ran across the lawn, disappearing into his house, and wondered when she’d be able to do that again. She closed her eyes and rocked on the swing. It was so good to be home.
* * *
Anna and Kirstenvideo chatted with Derek that evening while he brushed Leo and Ivy’s hair after their bath. “I’m going back over when the munchkins are asleep,” he told them. “But here’s what I can tell you based on what I saw this afternoon.”
Derek suggested that for the first week at least, they go one at a time. Linney was far more tired than she was admitting to. She was only a few weeks post-surgery, and she’d had a long journey home.
“She’s still taking strong pain pills, but I think that’s because she’s pushing herself more than she probably should,” he started. “Also, she’s having trouble with her eyesight, even though her eye looks perfectly normal.” He switched subjects. “I can get her to medical appointments but Anna, maybe you can help with groceries for the next while? We don’t know when she’ll be able to drive. And Kirsten, Linney has some specialists to see at the hospital and I’m sure she’d appreciate your opinion on the doctors.”
“Ouch! That hurts, Daddy!” Derek gave Ivy a kiss. The comb had come across tangles in his daughter’s hair. He worked through them gently. “Sorry, sweetie. Go pick some stories, guys. Daddy will be there to read in a few minutes.” They ran off and he turned his attention back to the grownups. “I’m back. Questions?”
“So many.” Anna was trying to take in everything Derek had said. “But I’m not sure where to start. I’ll come by tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll take the next day, after work,” Kirsten chimed in. “Just call me, Derek, when you take Linney to the hospital. I’ll come and help her manage the bureaucracy and run interference for her.”
“Thanks, ladies,” Derek said. “I’m going to text Jake later tonight and give him a status update. We’ll get her through this.”
* * *
“Come on in, Derek,”Linney called out when she heard him knock on the door an hour later. “They’re asleep?”
He nodded and held up the baby monitor. Linney was sitting on the couch, with her legs straight out in front of her and a bowl of popcorn on her lap. “Now tell me,” he jokingly interrogated her grabbing a handful for himself. “This isn’t dinner, is it?”
She grinned. “No. I actually made salad and an omelette. It was the first time I’ve made a meal in a full kitchen in a long time. Do you want a cup of tea?” She started to get up. “Or a beer?” she added as an afterthought.
“Stay there. I’ll make us some tea. At least for this week, let us—me and Kirsten and Anna—take care of you. After that, you’re on your own,” he warned her, jokingly. Derek put on the kettle, dropping tea bags into oversized mugs.
Linney shifted on the couch, making room for Derek and they sipped their tea and polished off the popcorn, neither feeling the need for conversation. Finally, Linney looked over at him. “I have a long road ahead of me,” she said quietly. “I realized today it’s longer than I thought.” She put up her hand to silence Derek as he started to speak. “I’m not too proud to admit I’m going to need help. I’m sure you’ve talked with the girls already.” Derek nodded. “I’m going to owe you all a lot after this.”
Linney slept better that night than she had in—well, she couldn’t remember how long. The night was cool, but she opened the windows and lay in bed with heavy eyelids, listening to the comforting sounds of the waves on the shore and snuggling under the quilt that Gran made so many years ago.