"The sound changed."
He's doing a lot better than he realizes. I don't know if it's military training or he's been working harder than I thought, but I'm proud of him."Okay, do you know where the front door is?"
"No. I go left for my doctor appointments, but I don't know the lobby well."
"That's all right. You have time to learn."
We navigate the room together as I teach him how to get around with the stick. I let him know people see him and move out of the way, and he makes it to the door relatively well.
"There’s a front porch here, but I think we should walk the garden. It’s good practice and more private," I tell him.
He nods, and as we get to the steps leading off the porch, his grip on me tightens, but he relaxes once back on solid ground. As we stroll to the garden, he learns how to tell the difference between the grass and the crushed stone path to the garden and leads us there fairly well.
"Do you remember Mandy from school? Her best friend Rebecca was dating Levi. They were a grade ahead of us?" I ask him.
"Yeah."
"Mandy works here, and she and Levi are now married." I smile.
He stops in his tracks and shakes his head."How did that happen?" He starts walking again.
"Levi was a patient here, lost part of his leg, and had to learn to walk all over again. Mandy works here, and she and Levi reconnected. It caused some drama with her friend, Rebecca, from what Lexi told me, but they worked it out around the time I got here to set up your room for you. She didn't remember me at first."
We take our time walking through the gardens to one of my favorite seating areas. There’s a swing under a canopy with some honeysuckle and lavender nearby.
Once we sit, Gavin starts to relax and takes it all in. I close my eyes, trying to figure out what he’s hears and smells.
The pungent aroma of honeysuckle and lavender. The fresh scent of cut grass from the grounds. The trickle of running water from the small artificial waterfall at the back of the garden. No one is around, so all you hear are the birds and insects around the garden. It's very peaceful.
"Thank you for bringing me out here. I don't think I realized how much I missed it," he says softly.
Even though I shouldn't, I reach for his hand.I need the comfort as much, if not more, than he does. We enjoy the quiet a bit longer, swinging gently and holding hands. On any other day, this would be a relaxing afternoon between friends reconnecting, and it's almost too easy to let myself believe that lie.
"This isn't why you were going to school. What happened to physical therapy?" he asks.
Even though I'm not sure I want to start a trip down memory lane, I might not have a choice. There are things we need to talk about, but he’s not ready to hear them. If we’re going to work together, we need to get it out into the open.
"This is a different version of it. I did volunteer work while in school, and this path pulled me to it."
The longer we sit here, the more I know we need to get past the elephant in the room. If we’re going to move on and do this together, I need some answers in order to help him.
"Why did you break up with me? Not the generic answer you have been giving everyone. I want the truth."