Danielle Steel - The Kiss

“I'm fine. I just got up. Teddy's still asleep.” They chatted for a little while, and then finally hung up when she heard the boy stir, and she was still thinking of Bill when she went to check on Teddy. She gave him his morning medications, and he went right back to sleep. She went to her own room and dressed, and stood looking at the garden for a long time, thinking of Bill. It saddened her to realize that it would be a long time before they saw each other again, but it was for a good cause. But she knew it might be as long as a year.

And in his own bed that night, Bill smiled to himself as he thought of her and drifted off to sleep. Helena's words came back to him just as he was dozing off, and they made sense to him, but he still thought she was wrong for him. He didn't belong in Isabelle's life, or anyone's, if he couldn't learn to walk again. He believed it to his very core, although his belief was counter to everything he was seeing here. But Helena was beautiful and young, and a woman… she just didn't understand how he felt… it was different for him… he was a man. He knew that if he couldn't walk back into Isabelle's life, he couldn't be there at all.

Chapter 14

When Olivia and fane came to visit Bill the next day, they were thrilled to see him, and they both thought he was looking well. He showed them around the hospital and the grounds, introduced them to the people he'd met, and then found a quiet corner to sit with them outside in the warm September air. It was a sunny afternoon, and both girls were looking happy and well. They had a lot to say, they talked about their mother a lot, and said they'd missed him, and wished he'd come home. They were still both very upset about the divorce, but they were both distracted by school.

They went to the cafeteria for a hamburger in the late afternoon, before they left, and when they got there, they ran into Joe. Bill introduced the three young people to each other, and they seemed to hit it off immediately. Olivia knew someone he'd gone to school with in Minneapolis. The world of college kids was small. And he asked Jane how she liked NYU, he was thinking of going to law school there. She told him she loved it, and the conversation continued at a lively pace without further input from Bill. Joe joined them for a hamburger, and they talked about all the subjects that interested them. And the fact that Joe was in a wheelchair seemed entirely irrelevant to all of them. No one noticed, no one cared, and Bill observed as they left the cafeteria and walked back to his dorm, Olivia walked alongside her father, and Jane was walking along next to Joe. He seemed to be very taken with her, and asked if she'd like to go to a movie with him and some of his friends that night in New York. But she said she had other plans, and seemed sorry she couldn't go. She told him to call her another time, or she'd call him. They seemed to have a lot in common, and he hung around almost till they left, and then discreetly left them to their family gathering. He was sensitive and polite and intelligent, and Bill commented on how much he liked him once Joe left.

“He's nice” was all Jane contributed, and Olivia laughed at her.

“Never mind ‘nice,’ he's hot!” He was a great-looking kid, and Bill was amused by how they all related to each other at that age. They reminded him of puppies at play.

The girls were on their way to stay with their mother that night. And Bill went back to his room when they left. And when he got there, Joe was waiting for him, looking concerned.

“I'd like to ask you something,” he asked nervously.

“Sure, Joe, what's up?” He assumed it was another basketball game.

“I wanted to know if… actually … what I was thinking was …” This was serious, the bright personable boy was suddenly severely tongue-tied, and blushing to the roots of his red hair.

“This must be good,” Bill teased. “It sounds like you want to borrow my car. I don't have one, and neither of us can drive.”

Joe Andrews laughed. “I was wondering if you'd mind if…” He took a breath and plunged in,“… you'd mind if I call Jane sometime? I won't do it if you'd rather not, and she may not want to see me anyway … I mean … you know … it… well…”

“I think that's a great idea.” She'd had a boyfriend they'd all hated for two years, and much to Bill's delight, they'd broken up the year before, and she hadn't been interested in anyone else since. “As far as I know, she's free and not spoken for, though I'm not always privy to those details. You'll have to check it out with her.”

“She said I could call, and she gave me her mom's number and her number at school. But I wanted to ask you first.” It was a nice thing to do, and Bill was touched.

“I'd say that's a hopeful sign,” he smiled at the boy. “Better than Helena's sister then?”

“Are you kidding? You can't even compare the two of them. Jane is great! I mean … Helena's sister was a nice girl, but…”

“I know. She looked like a frog.”

“Don't tell Helena I said that, she was a really sweet girl, and very smart.” He looked panicked at the thought that Bill would tell Helena what he'd said.

“I promise I won't. I'm flattered you liked Jane. I'm very proud of both of them.” Joe could see why. He had liked Olivia too, but she seemed older and more mature, and more reserved. He was more comfortable with Jane, and bowled over by her looks.

“Maybe I'll call her tonight.”

“That's up to you,” Bill said, looking fatherly. “From here on, I'm out of the loop. She's a big girl.” But it touched him that this boy whom he liked so much had felt some kinship with Jane. It would be good for both of them, he thought. She needed someone bright and decent and kind in her life, and he deserved some happiness after what had happened to him. It never occurred to him for a moment that the match was unsuitable because he was in a wheelchair. He felt that way about himself, in terms of Isabelle, but for Joe and Jane, he thought it was fine. The dichotomy between those two ideas never even dawned on him.

The girls were pleased with their visit with Bill. And they both called him before they went back to school the next day. Jane didn't mention Joe again, so Bill had no idea if he'd called, and he didn't want to pry. And Cynthia got on the phone before they hung up, and asked if she could visit him that week. He hesitated and then agreed. There was no harm in it. After all, he'd told her himself that he was divorcing her so they could stay friends. Like the girls, he hadn't seen her in two months.

Two days later, on Tuesday, Cynthia came to have dinner with him. And when he rolled into the cafeteria next to her, she was amazed. People were smiling and laughing and looking happy, and it didn't seem to matter if they were walking, or in wheelchairs, or on gurneys strapped to body boards, everyone seemed to know each other and have something to talk about. It was one of the liveliest places she'd ever seen.

Helena stopped by to say hello to him, and he introduced her to Cynthia, who he explained was his wife.

“Who was that?” Cynthia asked afterward. “She's incredible looking.”

“She's a model.”

“Are you going out with her?” she asked, with a flash of jealousy in her eyes as he laughed.

“She's engaged.”

“Lucky guy.” Cynthia sounded relieved.

“That's what I said.” Bill laughed. They went back to his room then, and talked for a while. She looked all right, but she sounded unhappy when they talked about the divorce.

“Are you sure that's what you want?” she asked him again. “It seems such a stupid thing to do now, at our age, after all these years.”

“There was nothing left, Cyn. You know that.” He was gentle but firm.