Finding Jaime

Chapter 125

"Get me a soy vanilla latte," I answered. I watched the road as Jaime put in our order.

"Kay, done," he said, handing me back my phone and leaning back in his seat. He continued watching out the window.

"Anything on your mind?" I asked him as we pulled into the drive-through.

"No," he said. "N-not really."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm o-okay right now," he said. I handed him his drink, and he smiled at me.

"I'm really proud of you, Jaime," I said to him as I pulled back out into traffic to go home.

"Thanks. Why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I haven't heard you complain all that much about all this. Maybe you're complaining to yourself or whatever, but you've been working really hard at coming back from what those guys did. I know you get frustrated. I know you were the most frustrated when your speech was still stuttered and stuff. But you've worked really hard, and you haven't let anything stop you. Except if you've gotten sick. But that'd stop you anyway."

"Yeah, I-I guess," Jaime said and sighed.

"All good?" I asked again.

"I guess. I just..." he stopped, frowned and looked ahead. "I don't get what h-ha-happened. I mean, I know what h-ha-happened to me, but I d-don't understand w-w-why."

"I'm not sure I can explain it either. None of them said anything at the trial, so..." I said, shrugging. "Jaime, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he said.

"What, if anything, do you remember from that night?"

He frowned.

"I-I remember going to Jose's," he started. "A-and F-Fr-an-nk."

Jaime blew out a frustrated breath. His emotions were affecting his speech.

"Relax, Jaime. Take your time. I'm just asking out of curiosity," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder.

He took a deep breath.

"A-after we ate," he said, pausing. "F-Fr-ank said he wa-anted to g-go for a w-walk. I r-remem-ber an alley, and that's a-a-bout it."

"You don't remember anything after going for a walk?" I asked, hoping I didn't set Jaime off in any way.

"No," he said. "I just re-re-remember going for a walk and an alley."

"Okay," I said.

"Dad?" Jaime asked.

"Yeah?"

"Never mind. I forget," Jaime mumbled. I glanced at him. He was looking out the window again. I decided to leave it at that. If he wanted to talk, he knew I was there for him.

When we got home, Jaime got himself out of the car. He took a couple of shaky steps toward the back of the car while I got his wheelchair out of the back, and once I had it open for him, he got himself situated.

He rolled himself into the house and straight through to the backyard like he did every time we got home from his therapies. I never bothered him while he was out there, and usually, he just came in a little while later, looking calm. Sometimes Marvel might go outside when Jaime was there, and he usually wound up with her on his lap while he sat outside. He would roll to the edge of the backyard, looking up into the hills behind the house.

I wondered what he thought about out there, but I never asked. It was Jaime's place to tell me and not mine to ask. But it seemed to make him work harder to recover.

"Jaime?" Meagan called from the doorway a little while later. "Dinner."

"Okay, Mom," he said, turned his chair around and rolled into the kitchen.

"Set the table, Jaime," Meagan said. I watched as he went to the cutlery drawer and pulled out the napkins and cutlery, put them in his lap and rolled over to the table where he set about putting them on the table. He was adapting to his current normal with no complaints and helping out however he could.

Bronx helped Jaime by putting out the plates while Saint helped Marvel into her booster seat. I helped Meagan bring food to the table, and we all sat down together.

"Hey, Jaime," Saint said.

"Yeah?" he said, looking at his brother.

"Coming to my game Saturday?" he asked.

"I think so. I don't have therapy, and as long as Mom or Dad can take me," Jaime said.

"We're all coming, Saint," I smiled at him. "And then you're all coming to watch me play tennis."

The kids groaned, but I snickered.

We ate dinner, the kids talking, Meagan asking Jaime about his therapies that day and Marvel hanging on to everything Jaime did and said. Other than him being in a wheelchair, it was almost as though we were back to something close to normal. And I hoped we were much closer to getting there.