Beach Rental(57)
“Will you call the doctor or should I?”
He ran his hands down her arms. “He was very clear when we spoke.”
“I’ll call him then.”
“You win. I’ll call him tomorrow morning. I understand you need to hear it yourself, but please don’t go hoping for a miracle.”
“Why not? What’s wrong with believing in miracles?” Asked the girl who never learned to dream and she shivered.
His mood turned solemn, too, and he brushed his lips against her hair. “Dearest Juli, I believe in miracles. I think, however, we—you and I together—may have already had ours.”
****
In the morning, Ben called the doctor’s office.
“When’s the appointment?” Juli asked.
“Not ‘til next week.”
“Next week?”
“He’s out for the rest of this week. Margie got us on his schedule for the first thing Monday.”
“I guess it’ll have to do.”
He kissed her cheek, his lips cool and dry against her skin, and she hugged him back.
“What’s one week?” he said.
Chapter Eighteen
Ben slept late on Friday morning and Juli became anxious. The floorboards squeaked overhead when he rose from bed and walked across the floor. She jogged up the stairs, relieved to hear him stirring. He was groggy as he often was when taking his pain medication.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
He made a noise that didn’t qualify as an actual word.
“I’ll start breakfast when I hear the shower stop.”
He gave her a look that seemed to challenge her assumption that he would start this day as every other day, but then he gave in and nodded.
When the sound of water stopped, Juli started cooking breakfast. Two fried eggs, over easy. The English muffins sat in the toaster oven, waiting for the button to be pushed. The grape jelly sat on the counter.
“Ben? Breakfast is almost ready.” Juli called up the stairs.
The eggs cooled on his plate. Not a big deal, there were more in the fridge. She dumped them into the trash. The English muffins still waited for her to start the toaster. Not a problem, they weren’t going anywhere.
Juli put his juice back into the fridge to keep it chilled.
She refused to acknowledge that today would be, could be, any different from the preceding days. Their usual routine suited them.
Ben came to the breakfast table and Juli cooked up fresh eggs.
“Just toast, I think.”
“Too late, the eggs are already cooking. Just eat what you can.”
She pushed because even two bites were two bites more than he would’ve eaten otherwise.
During the meal, he said, “I think you should take your GED exam now. You’re ready.”
“What? There’s so much I don’t know.” She glanced over at the books stacked on the coffee table. They might be a little dusty.
“You’ll never know everything. No one can. You’re smart. You cut traditional schooling short, but your learning didn’t stop. You soak stuff up like a sponge—wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. Go ahead and take care of it. If it doesn’t work out, you can try again…but it will and you won’t need to.”
His hair was still damp around the edges. Juli touched her cheek to his hair as she placed her hands on his shoulders. “I’ll sign up. When I pass the test, we’ll celebrate.”
Ben pulled her hand down to his lips and kissed the back. “A party. And don’t be sensitive about it, Juli. Declare it. Praise God for his guidance and declare your accomplishments to the world. We’ll invite Maia and Luke. What about Anna? Who else?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’ll check to see when the tests are scheduled.” She ruffled his hair with the hand he hadn’t claimed. He wanted her to succeed now so he could celebrate with her. She wanted it, too.
“Juli, I was thinking it might be a good idea to get a small bed, maybe a cot or something, for the study. Not because I need it, but it would be good to have in case I don’t want to climb the stairs.”
She beat back the protestations and swallowed hard—gulped. “It might be a good idea. Maybe we should trade in the rattan sofa for a sofa bed. It would be useful if we had guests or something.” She blurted out, “Plus, if you do those clinical trials, you may feel extra tired for a while.”
Ben started to nod, then looked away abruptly. He got up from the kitchen table and walked slowly over to the table by the window to sit and push puzzle pieces around. Juli stayed at the kitchen sink, hunched over the cooling dishwater, scrubbing the already clean frying pan. The clean sudsy smell reminded her of the Cox Family Restaurant and the meal that had turned out to be their first date.