Taylor rubs his hands on the wheels' handles. He is nervous. I want to ask him if he is okay, but I'm afraid that I will make him feel more anxious.
We get called into the doctor's office. I was surprised when he asked me to come with him instead of asking a family member. He said that he didn't want to give them false hopes.
"Hello, Mr. Reed. Good to see you again," the doctor says.
"Good morning. This is my friend Nina Cox. I have asked her to come with me,"
"Hello, Miss Cox,"
The doctor shakes hands with me and then opens Taylor's digital file. He begins a detailed explanation of the results of an MRI and motion tests that I can't understand completely. Something that was a zero and now is a one, whatever that means.
I look at Taylor's face to try to figure out if it is good news. He nods and asks a few questions about bodily functions. I feel myself blushing at the intimacy of the information.
We say goodbye to the doctor and Taylor makes a new appointment with the receptionist.
"Is it good news?" I ask as I get in his van.
"There are changes in my injury. So it is possible that I felt my legs," Taylor says, but there is no excitement in his voice.
"Why aren't you happy about this?"
"Because it doesn't change my situation," he says and sounds a bit irritated.
"How come? Isn't this the first sign that you might walk again?"
"Nina, get real. That only happens in soap operas," he says roughly.
I feel a bit shocked by his unusual reaction. I look at my lap and don't dare to look at him.
"I'm so sorry, Nina. That was harsh. I'm frustrated and shouldn't take it on you,"
"Why are you frustrated?" I dare to ask.
"Because I'm a fool. Thinking that I will be okay after so many years. My spine was fucked up badly. Even if I can feel my legs a bit, I won't be able to walk again. I appreciate your positive thoughts. God knows I can use them in a moment like this,"
I don't know what to say or even feel.
"I'm sorry. Forgive me for the nasty outburst,"
"I forgive you," I say and smile at him. "I didn't understand much of what the doctor said,"
"He told me that there is improvement, but the regeneration is not enough for anything more than a slight feeling,"
"You never talk about your accident," I say while gazing out of the window. We are almost in my neighborhood.
"There isn't much to say. A man was drunk, and I wasn't. He died, and I'm in a wheelchair. His family probably has many more reasons to suffer. I'm limited in my activities, but I'm alive,"
He is alive and in my life for which I'm grateful. I want to do something for him to make his day better.
"I want to take you out. We still have a whole free day. Let's change cars," I say.
"Take me out as on one of your ten dates?" he says in a mocking way.
"Don't be ridiculous," I say, smacking his arm as I get out of the van. He grins.
Taylor looks relaxed as he seats in the passenger seat. I know that he still feels very anxious behind the wheel. He is just brave and does it anyway.
I drive to one of his favorite places. He smiles like a little child when he realizes where we are heading.
"You are taking me to the aquarium!" he says in a happy voice, very different than the hopeless tone of a while ago.
We head inside after paying the entrance. The aquarium is located next to the beach, and the rest areas have sights of the creamy sand and aqua waves. Taylor gazes at the beach for a moment, shakes his head and turns around.
"Let's go," he says.
"Don't you like the beach?" I say still enjoying the beautiful display of nature.
"Not anymore. Come, the dolphin show is about to start,"
I follow Taylor, and we take place at the spots reserved for wheelchairs. His face brightens as the show begins. I'm glad that he is finding a bit of happiness after the news.
After the show, we head to a snack corner and pick large slices of pizza.
"Damn it. One of these is almost a meal," I say, looking at the food that is almost spilling from my plate.
"I have seen you eating a pizza bigger than this while watching the same movie non-stop," Taylor says with a chuckle.
I smile at the fact that he has noticed that.
"Okay, so the date with Jett didn't work. What is next?" he says.
"I don't know. I feel disappointed. Jett was cute until he turned into a pedantic child,"
"You can always try a dating website,"
"Those things freak me out. You never know what sort of psychos are behind the profiles,"
"I can help you. My brother was in a decent one. He met his wife through there, and she is not a psycho. Although she is with my brother, so that gives me some doubts," he smirks.
"Okay, let's do it when we get home," I say defeated. I still have eight guys to date and need to speed things.
"We can do it now," he says, taking out his phone and browsing the page.
Taylor starts asking me all sort of questions and writes the answers for me in the profile. I feel as if I'm going to a job interview. Where is the romance in this?
"Okay, now we need a few photos to finish it," he says while scrolling on his phone.
He has many pictures of us. Many of them are not charming. My eyes get droopy when I'm drunk, and he seems fond of capturing those moments for posterity.
"This one," he says and makes it bigger.
It was from a few months ago. We were at a BBQ party at Elijah, and he must have taken it when I was watching my nephews jumping on a trampoline. I'm smiling wide, and there is pride on my face at their talent.
"Okay, this one is good,"
Taylor finishes the profile, and we continue eating and talking nonsense as always. His phone starts buzzing on the table, and we fight for it. He eventually snatches it from my hands.
"You got a message!" he says and gives me the phone.
Dear Nina,
After so many months of browsing through hopeless profiles, I'm glad that I came across yours. It is refreshing to see a natural beauty. Your bio is fascinating, and I would like to get to know you better.
Regards, RJ
I look at his profile picture, and he looks mighty fine. A bit on the intellectual side.
"So, is it an option?" Taylor asks.
"I guess that you found me date number three,"