Chapter 24:
Progress
By the time Nick and Kevin were ready to join the others, Brian
was almost ready to move into the apartment with A.J. and Howie. All three had
continued to visit the hospital daily after they had been released. Howie
especially noticed a positive improvement in Brian’s demeanor once he started
physical therapy. He threw himself into it. A.J. and Howie had tried to spend
as much time as possible with him at the facility. Their programs required them
to be there for three hours a day, but they were present far more than that.
“Do you think Brian really wants to be alone all day in this
place?” A.J. had asked their first day.
“I know I wouldn’t,” Howie replied.
“Well then to hell with relaxing in the apartment. Looks like we
are going to have to live off of more hospital food.”
“What is with you and the hospital food?”
“I’m telling you, I like it.”
“You are absolutely insane, you know that?”
“Yup.”
“Just checking.”
“Hey, speaking of food, I have a great idea.”
“Oh boy,” Howie said under his breath. “And what might that be?”
“I say we sneak Brian some food from the real world. I may like
what they dish out to us here, but there is no substitute for the greatest meal
on earth.”
“The McDonalds we saw on the corner?”
“Hell yeah. Let’s go.” A.J. dragged him out the door and leapt
into the car that Howie had rented. He was the only one of the five who was fit
to drive.
Upon their return, A.J. took great fun in trying to get the food
in to Brian. Howie almost pointed out that no one cared if they brought him
“outside food,” but decided against it when he saw how much fun his friend was
having. It was nice to see him happy and grinning again. He made a huge show of
tucking the carry out bag under his shirt, which did nothing to hide it thanks
to the huge bulge it created. He began humming the theme to “Mission
Impossible” and pranced about the lobby, eyes darting back and forth
suspiciously. For someone in the sorry shape that he was in, he was getting
around pretty well.
Howie followed behind with a wide grin on his face. He laughed at
the strange looks they got from the orderlies and physical therapists, and
other patients they came across.
“I don’t know him. Really I don’t,” he said jokingly.
They passed by their own PT, Anya, in
the hallway, causing A.J. to squeal and dart away.
“Whoo!” he yelped as he rounded the corner towards Brian’s room.
“What may I ask was that all about?” she asked, amused.
“I think the doctors were wrong,” Howie said. “I am now most
definitely sure there was brain damage.”
Howie entered Brian’s room and found the two tearing into the
“contraband” with a vengeance.
“Oh man did I miss this,” Brian said between mouthfuls.
Howie chuckled. “You’d better slow down there, B-Rok. It would be
a shame to see you get through all of this only to have you choke to death on a
BigMac.”
* * *
Since then A.J. had found a pair of sunglasses to fit his tastes,
and now lived in them along with his hat. He was thrilled to be back in control
of his wardrobe, and had dragged Howie out shopping the first chance he got. The
two went early in the morning to avoid crowds, and were escorted by their
bodyguards. During their excursion, they talked about Brian and Nick.
“I don’t know what is up with them,” A.J. said with a shake of his
head.
“Is there anything?” Howie asked, thumbing through a stack of
shirts. “It’s so subtle I sometimes have to convince myself that something is
wrong.”
“Nick just seems like he’s pissed off at the world. Maybe therapy
will help him.” A.J. poked his head around a rack of clothing, wearing the most
outrageous hat Howie had ever seen.
“I’ll kill you if you buy that.”
“Sold,” A.J. said with a grin.
“We are never going to be able to go anywhere with you dressing
like that,” Howie complained.
“Who cares? I miss being mobbed by fans.”
“Well that hat and that outfit will take care of that problem.”
A.J. grinned. “It’s all good.”
* * *
Therapy seemed to do the trick at first. Nick finally seemed
enthusiastic about something. He was anxious to get out and move around.
“He’s set a goal for himself,” Kevin said proudly, as he watched
Nick with one of the workers. They were discussing his knee, and Nick was
concentrating on everything she had to say.
“How’s it going for you?” Howie asked Kevin.
“It’s tiring,” Kevin said with a weary smile. He pointed to his
arms, which had lost a great deal of the muscle tone that he had prided himself
on. “I have a lot of work to do.”
Howie grinned. “Yes you do,” he said. “That’s disgusting.”
Kevin made a face at him. “Better watch it, punk. Looks can be
deceiving. I can still take you.”
“You can’t even stand up without help.”
Kevin considered this for a moment. “True.”
Howie laughed.
Kevin sobered after a minute. “How’ve you been D.?”
Howie looked surprised. “I’m doing pretty well, I’d say.”
“You spend an awful lot of time in the gym.”
“I have to play catch up,” he said carefully, looking
uncomfortable.
Kevin frowned. Howie had seemed cheerful enough for the last
several days, but to him it seemed forced. He wondered if his friend was coping
as well as everyone thought he was. “Are you sure you aren’t overdoing it?” he
asked.
“I’m fine, Kev. Quit worrying,” he said, sounding somewhat short.
“I guess that’s just my job,” he answered, deciding to let the
subject drop for the time being.
They sat for a moment, watching the activity around them. Nick and
the woman he was working with had stopped worrying about his knee, and had
started with some exercises designed to assist his memory. Kevin had done the
same thing earlier.
“That stuff is hard,” he said, nodding toward Nick, whose brow was
furrowed in deep thought. “He’ll probably hate it. It’ll just tell him how much
work he’s got ahead of him.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
“I don’t think that right now I could sing any of our songs
without trouble,” Kevin said quietly. “I can’t keep the lyrics straight. I know them, but I just can’t think fast
enough to sing them. I’m sure he’s having the same problem.” He tried not to
look upset. The last thing he wanted was to burden the others with his worries
when they already had so much to deal with.
Howie’s eyes were wide. He remembered their attempt to sing “I
Want It That Way.” Somehow he’d forgotten about it. How ironic, he thought. “When
is the surgery to remove the rod?” he asked after awhile. Kevin’s face clouded.
“A few weeks.”
“You worried about it?”
Kevin nodded, staring off over Howie’s shoulder. “Yup.” He said it
very calmly. Howie could tell he was more than a little nervous.
“Don’t sweat it. After all the rest of this shit, that should be a
piece of cake.”
Kevin chuckled. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?”
At that moment, Nick threw down a pile of cards he’d been holding.
Angrily, he looked around for a way to get up and leave, but he found none.
Instead he glared at the girl, who was trying to talk to him.
“Yeah,” Kevin said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”
***
