Daydream Retriever (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 10) Page 17

  “I didn’t know about that, but you said you already know that a big part of recovery is mental. It sounds like you had a positive attitude about your retirement.”

  “Eventually, I guess. It took a while and I’m certainly no saint. But this is different because I might never be the same as I was before.” He looked into her eyes. “That’s why you never skied again, isn’t it?”

  “I’ve never put it exactly that way, but I guess so. It’s not so much that I was badly injured at Snow Grove, but that I felt like I’d lost most of the person I had been. One day I thought I was going to the Olympics, then the next I thought I was going to be a paraplegic without any mobility at all. Obviously, that turned out not to be the case, but I still lost the life I expected to have, so I did everything I could to try to forget about what might have been.”

  “You were paralyzed?”

  “Temporarily, but going through that experience completely changed who I was. I had to readjust and reconsider how I was going to live and how I was going to approach everything for the rest of my life.”

  “I guess that’s a lot to deal with at that age.”

  “It was, and I definitely didn’t handle it well. But I recovered, and you will too.” Lisa put her hand on his again. “As long as I have any say in it, which I do, since you’re a captive audience.”

  His mouth curved into a half smile. “Yeah, I’m too slow to escape.”

  “The first few weeks are going to be awful. But I promise it gets better. Just do your physical therapy exercises religiously.”

  Pete moved his foot in circles in both directions. “Okay, this is me strengthening my ankle.”

  The front door slammed and Harley stood up and barked a few times to acknowledge the interlopers. Lisa smiled at Pete. “I was going to ask you if you wanted something to eat before they got here. Too late.”

  “That’s okay. I’m glad you stopped by.” He struggled to sit up straighter. “I’ll eat later. Now I think I’ll try to figure out the shower. That should take up most of the rest of the morning.”

  “You know you’re not supposed to get your incision wet, right?”

  “I know.”

  “I recommend plastic wrap. I bought a huge new roll of it yesterday.” Lisa stood up. “I’ll go get it and find that shower stool for you.”

  “Thanks.” Pete waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Those guys are going to really wonder what kind of kinky stuff you’re up to with all that plastic wrap.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll never tell.”

  Over the next two weeks, Lisa adjusted to having a roommate and adapted to the routines required to care for Pete. She fed him, retrieved things he needed, helped him with difficult articles of clothing, did laundry and other household tasks, and took him to his physical-therapy appointments.

  The day of his first appointment, the pretty winter weather decided to take a nosedive, so she and Pete had a snow-versus-crutches adventure. The effort to get him into the Alpine Grove Care Center building involved a lot of slipping on Pete’s part and clutching on Lisa’s part, just to keep him upright.

  By the time they finally made it inside unscathed, Pete was laughing. “I’m glad I don’t know anyone here. That was humiliating.”

  “Sure, it’s fine for you, but everyone knows me.” Lisa waved at a woman in a wheelchair who was pointing at her from the end of the hallway. “That’s my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Louden.”

  True to his word, many days Pete sat and helped Lisa go through copious amounts of Lowell-family memorabilia. She set some items aside to take to Betty so she could look at them while Pete was at physical therapy. The last two visits with Betty had been just as frustrating as the others, and Lisa was running out of ideas and patience with her aunt. And Betty was more interested in talking to Harley than explaining to Lisa what she wanted from the house.

  Lisa had put classified ads in the newspaper to begin selling the furniture, so some large items like the living room couches and her father’s desk had gone to new homes. The house seemed strangely empty without the larger furniture, but it did make it easier for Pete to maneuver around on crutches.

  Finally the day arrived that the carpet in the living room had to come out. Craig hung huge sheets of plastic on the doorways in an effort to mitigate the inevitable dust storm from the horribly decayed carpet pad. Lisa, Pete, and Harley hung out in Pete’s room, hiding from the filth. Harley napped while Lisa and Pete read and played cards.

  Lisa put down her hand. “Gin. Read ‘em and weep.”

  “At least we’re not playing strip poker. I’d be naked by now.”

  “Not to mention cold.”

  Pete got up, collected his crutches, and went to the bookshelf. “I’m tired of getting whupped by you in cards.”

  “You must be running out of classics to read. I’ve never met such a voracious reader in my life.”

  “The hardware catalogs are starting to look pretty good.”

  Lisa got up and walked across the room to stand next to him in front of the faux-leather-bound books. “Are you feeling up to a trip to the Alpine Grove library?”

  He turned to look at her. “You mean a real library?”

  “Yes, we do have books in Alpine Grove.” Lisa smiled and pointed at his bare legs. “But you might have to wear pants.”

  He followed her gaze downward. “But shorts or sweatpants are so much easier with the brace.”

  “I know, but you’ll feel better being out and about in normal clothes.”

  “I like being comfortable.”

  Lisa picked a pair of shorts off a chair and threw it into the laundry basket. “The first time I was able to wear high heels again after my accident, I felt so much better. You’ll see.”

  “Sorry, but I draw the line at heels. Is that why you have so many shoes?”

  “Lots of women like shoes, and I’m no exception.”

  Pete stared at her without blinking or saying anything. A muscle in his jaw twitched and he was obviously trying not to smile.

  Lisa tugged at her earring. “Okay, maybe my shoe fetish got a little out of hand. Mike used to call me the Imelda Marcos of Gleasonville.”

  “I guess you’ve got the letter ‘s’ pretty well covered with shoe shopping.”

  “Very funny.” Lisa picked up a sock and threw it into the basket. “That reminds me, you said you made it to ‘s,’ but what were you going to do for the letter ‘t’?”

  “Tae Kwon Do, but that’s out.” He shrugged. “I haven’t thought of anything yet.”

  “You could make a terrarium.”

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  “It’s fun. That’s the whole point of the list, right?

  “The word terrarium is not one I’ve ever associated with the word fun.”

  “Hey, setting up a terrarium was fun when I was in elementary school. Maybe we can pick up a fishbowl on the way back from the library.”

  “Where are you supposed to get plants in February?”

  “Hmm, that’s a good question. We might have to work on that.”

  “If I have to put poor, unsuspecting plants under glass in the name of fun, you need to at least start a list. You have twenty-five letters unaccounted for at this point.”

  “I’ll get around to that sooner or later.”

  Pete went over to his bed and rearranged the pillows for his leg before settling in. “Are you happy?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “That’s not what I asked.” He waved his hand at her. “Why are you picking up my clothes? You don’t have to do that.”

  “Well, you can’t, and I don’t want Harley chewing up any more of your socks.” She glanced over at the dog, who was wagging at the sound of his name. “Yes, I’m talking about you.”

  “He’s working on it. The chewed sock was when he got a little too enthusiastic.” Pete snapped his fingers to get the dog’s attention and pointed at a t-shirt hanging off the closet door knob. “Harley, go get it.”<
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  Harley strolled over, grabbed the shirt in his mouth and ambled to the bed. Pete took the shirt and gave the dog a treat. “Good boy.”

  Lisa put her hand on her hip. “I don’t understand why I can’t even get that animal to sit, and you’re the magic dog trainer.”

  “We’ve spent a lot of time together. While you’re dealing with contractors, errands, and all the other house stuff, he’s in here with me.”

  “I guess I haven’t spent as much time with him as you have.” Lisa sat down on the end of the bed and looked down at Harley. “Is he sharing his secrets with you?”

  “Giving him lots of treats would be secret number one,” Pete said. “Harley, sit.”

  The dog sat politely and wagged his tail a few times. Lisa glared at Pete. “He doesn’t sit when I say sit.”

  “That’s because he knows you don’t mean it.”

  Lisa frowned. “But I do mean it.”

  “It doesn’t sound like it. You can’t just say ‘Harley sit’ in that wishy-washy tone of voice and expect him to believe you. It sounds like you’re asking a question, not telling him what you want him to do. Plus, he’s not stupid. He knows you don’t carry around treats, so he has zero motivation to do what you want. You aren’t going to follow through with your command and correct him or reward him when he does something right.”

  “I suppose.”

  Pete pointed at her. “You didn’t answer my question though. Are you happy?”

  “Why do you keep asking me that? I’m probably as happy as anyone else.” She glanced at Pete, who was giving her one of his skeptical ‘I’m not buying it’ looks. “Okay, maybe not. I miss my kids, but I promised I wouldn’t call them more than once a week.”

  “On Sundays. I know. You plan your whole day around it.”

  “The thing is I’m thinking about them constantly. It’s like this little nagging voice in my head that won’t shut up. I’m either worrying about them or wondering what they’re up to. It drives me nuts that I don’t know what they’re doing every day anymore.”

  “Maybe you need to find more stuff of your own to think about.”

  Lisa glared at him. “Is this where you tell me to make the list again?”

  “Hey, if you’re happy, you don’t have to worry about the list. If you’re not, maybe you should stop putting it off. It’s not like I have a lot to do, so I can help or go places with you, assuming you don’t go in for things like acrobat, of course.”

  Lisa giggled. “Do I look like an acrobat?”

  “Getting away from the noise and dust here wouldn’t be so bad either.”

  “You do seem to be feeling better. I guess we could go to the library and do whatever my ‘a’ thing is.” Lisa made a wry face. “I can’t think of anything that begins with ‘a.’ This always happens whenever I try to think about it. It’s like my mind goes blank. Or I think of things like going on an African safari, which is something that, while fun, I can’t realistically do at the moment.”

  “True. I’m talking about smaller things. How about make an aquarium? You can have my fishbowl and then we won’t have to worry about plants. Just a goldfish.”

  “I don’t want a fish. And where would I get one in Alpine Grove?”

  “Yeah, I suppose that doesn’t work. I suggest we veto the fishbowl entirely. You help me come up with a new ‘t’ idea and I’ll help you with ‘a.’”

  “Okay, ‘t’ is for train a dog, which you’ve already done.”

  “Well, training is never done, but I suppose that having a tibial plateau fracture counts as more ‘t’ activity. Even though that wasn’t fun, it led me to being here with you, which is fun. So I can move on to ‘u’ without feeling like I’m cheating.”

  Lisa looked at him. “You think being with me is fun? Really?”

  “Sure I do. You’ve also been sympathetic, even when I’m being a big whiny baby.”

  “Nobody has ever said I was fun before. Well, except maybe Bev. But she’s known me forever, and most of the time she says I’m a stick-in-the-mud, not fun.”

  “I’d like to meet her sometime. Maybe she can be part of ‘b’. In the meantime, how about buy an anklet for ‘a’? Those are kinda sexy.”

  Lisa twirled a lock of hair around her finger and gave him a sly smile. “A beaded one would be pretty, particularly with the right shoes.”

  “I’m sure you can find something in your vast collection.”

  “For ‘u’ how about we walk in the rain with an umbrella? Spring is coming, so it won’t be long.”

  “Okay, but you’ll have to hold the umbrella.”

  “All right. It’s a deal.”

  Chapter 9

  Solving Problems

  The next day after lunch, Lisa took Pete to the library, telling him she would wait with Harley in the truck for as long as he wanted to browse. Lisa pulled up in front of the building, which was a two-story brick edifice built in the twenties with cast-concrete decorations around the arched doorways and windows.

  Lisa turned off the truck and glanced at Pete. “I forgot about the steps.” She pointed out the window at the two long sets of concrete steps that went up to the huge wooden doors.

  “I’m not sure I’m up for that. And if there’s any ice at all, I’m doomed.”

  “There’s got to be another way inside for deliveries. I’ve never gone around back, but the building is kind of set into a hill.” She patted Harley’s chest. “Wait here with Harley for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

  Lisa got out, ran up the steps to the library, and went inside. A woman with curly reddish-blonde hair sat amid piles of books. She smiled politely at Lisa. “May I help you?”

  “Do you have any way to get into the building that doesn’t involve stairs? My, um, friend, he’s on crutches and needs something to read.”

  The librarian stood up. “Yes. Technically, the building is considered accessible because you can get in the back door and we have an elevator if he wants to go downstairs.”

  “That’s perfect. How do I get to the back?”

  “Go around the block and then go down the alley. It dead-ends at the building. There’s not really any parking back there, but you can drop him off and I’ll open the door for you.” She paused. “He doesn’t have a problem with dogs, does he? My dog Rosa likes to sleep back there in my office. She’s very friendly though.”

  “Pete loves dogs. He’s sitting out there in the truck getting drooled on by my dog, Harley.”

  Lisa ran back out to the truck and got in. “You’re in! There’s a sneaky back entrance. I had no idea!”

  “When was the last time you went to the library?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve been busy.”

  “So you’ve said.”

  She started up the truck and said. “I guess you’ll need to get a library card too. Maybe I’ll take Harley for a walk, so he doesn’t get too squirrelly.”

  “At least one of us won’t be squirrelly.”

  “You’re being impatient again. Look at how much better you’re doing than you were two weeks ago. Before you know it, you’ll be walking Harley.” Lisa parked the truck behind the library and waved at the librarian, who was holding the back door open.

  Lisa got out, grabbed the crutches from the back of the truck, and helped Pete get settled on them. “Have fun. I’ll see you in a little while.”

  “Take your time. Once I’ve found enough books, I’ll hang out and read.”

  The librarian held the door open for Pete. “I’m Jan. I’d be happy to show you where everything is.”

  Lisa watched as they disappeared into the building, feeling suddenly alone. She turned to Harley. “It looks like it’s just you and me again. Let’s find a place to park and take a stroll around town. Maybe I’ll let you annoy Larry too.” Harley wagged his tail to indicate his approval of the proposed plan.

  The walk around town proved to be more complicated than Lisa had anticipated. It was a pretty winter day and it seemed that m
ost of the residents of Alpine Grove had gone outside to see the sun before it disappeared again. Lisa was stopped by almost everyone she walked by, asking how she was, where her kids were going to college, how her parents liked their new house, and how her siblings were doing.

  The months after Christmas were the slow retail season, so apparently none of these people had been visiting Lowell’s Hardware to get the lowdown on her family. Of course, she hadn’t been to the hardware store either, but for different reasons.

  No one seemed interested in adopting Harley either. It was too bad because he’d been so good about sitting next to her too. How could people not notice what a sweet dog he was?

  By the time Lisa made it back to the truck, she was feeling anxious about having ditched Pete for so long at the library. It was his first trip anywhere, other than trips to physical therapy, and he had to be exhausted by now.

  Lisa parked in front of the library and encouraged Harley to behave himself for five minutes while she went inside to let Pete know she had finally returned. She ran up the stairs and opened the door. People reading in a row of comfy chairs all looked up at her. Maybe she was breathing a little hard. Somehow she’d managed to forget about her exercise program. Again.

  She turned her head, looking for Pete. A burst of laughter came from the direction of the librarian’s desk and then a shushing noise and giggles. She started across the room, heading toward Pete, who was sitting at a table. Jan, the librarian, was leaning over him pointing at something in a book, and whispering.

  Lisa stopped walking. Well gee, weren’t they looking all cute and cuddly together? And Pete certainly didn’t look tired at all. They probably didn’t want her interrupting their little tête-à-tête.

  Turning around, Lisa ducked behind a stack of books, pretending to look interested in the latest releases in the horror section. She picked one up and put it back. How disgusting. Even the cover was disturbing.

  Lisa let her arms drop to her sides. How stupid was this? Was she actually jealous that Pete was enjoying hanging out with the pretty librarian? Pete was handsome and she enjoyed his company, but sheesh, she wasn’t fourteen anymore. She was behaving like an idiot.