It was a lot sitting in front of me, but I was ready to take it on. Yet, somehow as I sat there with my phone still in my hand, I felt a strange, inexplicable wave of emotion. I couldn’t really explain what the emotion was or why I was feeling it right then, but it was enough to totally obliterate any other thoughts.
“It’s just happening so fast,” I said.
She scoffed. “Are you the same woman who was complaining that it was taking forever, and you just absolutely couldn’t wait for it to get finished?”
“I guess,” I said. “But that was when it seemed like nothing was happening. Now that it is, it’s coming at me so fast. I have to go now. As in, I have to be on the road in the morning. They are extremely booked up for the next several weeks, and if I don’t accept the appointment, it’s going to take that much longer for me to get my leg.”
“So, you need to get to Nashville,” my sister said.
I nodded. “Yes. They want me to spend some time there making sure my leg is ready and working with me to make sure I will be able to use it without issue. I just have to pack up and head to Nashville.”
“Is something keeping you here?”
“Maybe.” I thought about Gerry and realized we still really didn’t know what we were to each other or if we were actually anything. Leaving for a week wasn’t going to make that easier.
“Don’t you think if it’s worth it, it will be waiting when you get back?” she asked.
“I hope so,” I said.
She nodded. “You go ahead and start packing. Or you can make a list and I’ll help you later.”
“I don’t need your help packing my bags. I just need to arrange for transport.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t need transport. You have me. I’m bringing you.”
“You can’t take a week away from everything,” I said. “Wendy’s just starting back to work, and you are supposed to start working from home again so you can watch Olly and Hope.”
“Watch me. You are my top priority, Malia. You’re my baby sister, and I’ve been trying to take care of you since the day you were born. I’m not stopping now. I might not have been able to be with you when this happened, but nothing is going to stop me from being there for you now. I will bring you. And I will stay with you. We’ll figure this thing out together,” she said. “And Wendy, of all people, will understand. She’s known you since you were in diapers. She wants this for you as much as I do. It’ll all work out.”
“I love you, Dee,” I said.
She grinned. “Love you too. Now, I’m going to get started packing my own stuff and give Wendy the head’s up.”
“If you need help, just let me know. I’m good at lists,” I said.
She shot me a glare but laughed as she gave me a playful smack. “Smart aleck.”
I spent the rest of the day trying to get ready to go. It was overwhelming to suddenly be thinking about this. As much as I’d been looking forward to it and hoping for it, I still felt a lot sitting on me and that meant struggling to pack. After writing several lists, going back and forth about things, packing and unpacking and changing my mind about what to bring, I finally finished right before Gerry was supposed to get off work.
It gave me enough time to take a shower and freshen up, but I couldn’t muster up any excitement for when he got to the door. The second I opened it and looked out at him, I could tell he knew something was wrong. His face dropped, and the hand that was holding a bouquet of flowers lowered to his side.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Come in,” I said.
I didn’t know why I was so nervous to tell him what was going on. In my heart, I knew he was going to understand. We’d talked about my accident and what was going to come next. But it was still hard telling him about it. Especially since I didn’t know what this whole thing meant for us moving forward together.
We sat down on the living room couch, and I told him about the phone call from the doctor.
“What exactly do they need to do?” he asked.
“They have to make sure that what’s left of my leg has healed enough from the amputation to have a prosthesis. So, they’ll check it and measure it and possibly see if it fits into the leg that was made for me. Hopefully, everything will be good, and I will be able to leave Nashville with it and come back here to start my physical therapy,” I said.