This is part 10 of a multi-part story. If you have not read the preceding submissions you will be confused by the story. Please read them first.
I have been requested to denote changes in locations/characters/etc. and have decided to use a line of ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ as a demarcation. I hope it helps.
As always, comments are much appreciated, and thank you for following my tale.
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The past thirty day had proved to be busy. Michael engaged a tutor to keep Susie current on her school work, something she found both boring and frustrating. Boring in that she was by herself, and didn't have any interaction with her friends, but frustrating in that she was able to accomplish before noon what would take an entire day at school. If it had not been for regular visits by Justin, Rosemary, and Stephanie she would have been totally stir crazy. By the end of the month she had not only caught up with her work, but was actually ahead.
Today, however, was the day everyone had been waiting for since the accident. She was taking her last ride in the wheelchair van, with Michael and her parents following in Michael's Escalade. This was the day the cast was being removed and life would begin the process of returning to as close to normal as it would ever be.
Physical therapy would begin in the afternoon, and Susie would have to learn to use crutches and to build up her strength, strengthening muscles that had atrophied for six long weeks of immobilization. The loss of her right foot, her dominant side, would take a bit of time of adjustment, and of course, the prostheses, and the use of them would take a lot of work.
A portion of their basement had been retrofitted by Michael with a variety of physical therapy equipment based on a list of requirements given him by the therapists. The setup rivaled the best rehab facility in the city, and had cost a significant amount, but true to his promise, Michael was unstinting in whatever it took to bring Susie back to the best condition she could be in. Of course, he could have gotten her set up with any of the facilities in the city, but his commitment was to create the least amount of disruption to the family as possible.
Fortunately, it was the off-season for the Cardinals, so a variety of trainers were available to make the two hour trip south on different days, allowing for maximum oversight and direction in her rehab.
Tom tried to remonstrate with him one day. "Michael, I'm not unappreciative, you know that, but you are going well beyond anything that could be asked of you. Insurance isn't going to cover more than a small percentage of this expense. There is no reason for you to hurt yourself over this."
"Thanks, Tom. I appreciate what you are saying, and I'm not doing this because I think I have to, but because of the commitment I made to Susie early on, that I will do whatever it takes to get her back to full strength. I'm doing it because I think it's the right thing to do. If I wasn't able to do so it would be one thing, but I can, so I shall."
Madge went into the Dr's office with Susie while Tom and Michael sat anxiously in the waiting room for the Orthopedist to remove the cast. Both jumped to their feet when the door finally opened and a wobbly Susie hobbled out on crutches, her stump bobbing and weaving as she tried to navigate. Michael stood back as Tom stepped forward eagerly to hug his daughter for the first time in nearly two months, and he was unprepared for the smiling Susie, who hobbled to him and threw both arms about him. "I've wanted to do this for so long! Thank you, Michael for everything."
Holding Susie in his arms stirred feelings lying dormant in his mind for some time. Michael, while not disinterested in girls had not been much of one for dating, primarily due to earlier experiences with girls who were interested in him only because of the notoriety that went along with his father, and the doors his father's notoriety opened. What he wanted more than anything was a girl that was interested in him for who he was, not what she could get from him.
Susie still did not know who his parents were. Stephanie and Rosemary had kept it quiet. She knew, of course, he had money from his software and app sales, but really didn't have a clue how much he really had, nor had she ever shown any interest in it. She seemed to care about him for himself and was constantly fearful he was hurting himself to care for her.
Michael gladly returned the hug, relishing the feelings her slim body stirred in him. He saw Madge out of the corner of his eye and noted the slight smile on her face as he gently disengaged himself, and carefully held Susie upright even as he bent over to pick up her dropped crutches. "Shall we get you home and see about getting you settled back into your own room?" Carefully he shepherded her to the entrance of the hospital and got her seated in a wheelchair for the time being while he hurried out to his Escalade.
As he drove into the portico he thought with dismay that an SUV was not going to be the easiest vehicle for her to enter and exit with one foot and crutches. He stopped at the door and hurried in to help her out to the car, but needn't have worried. Tom carefully supported his daughter as she struggled to stand up with crutches. The combination of awkwardness with unaccustomed crutches and weakness from being bedridden made it difficult. The sight of her struggling sent a pang through his heart, but her radiant smile at his approach warmed him.
Madge intercepted him in the doorway. "Michael, this is much like a butterfly leaving the cocoon. You are going to have to let her struggle a bit, or she will never redevelop her independence. Don't think me ungrateful for what you have done for her, but she is going to have to learn to do things on her own or she will be dependent all her life."
"Thanks. I know, and I'll try to be careful not to baby her too much."
By the time Susie made it to the car she was obviously tiring, and she looked at the height of the seat and was obviously wondering how she would be able to get into it. Michael stepped over and gently picked her up and set her down on the seat and carefully closed the door behind her. He held the door for Madge also and closed it behind her before walking around the car and getting in. "I'm sorry, Little One. I didn't think about you getting in and out of this thing. I'll have one you can get in and out of tomorrow."
Tom spoke up, "You don't need to go and get another car. Our Buick is available, and you are welcome to use it any time you need to."
"Thanks. We'll see," but it was obvious Michael had his mind made up.
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Progress was being made on the house, with Rosemary, Stephanie, and me making the trip nearly every weekend, but it was slower than I wanted. I was careful to keep work time separate from fun times, although the girl's outfits were always something to keep my attention.
Dad and I had come to the conclusion it would be better to hire a painting crew to take care of the outside of the house, which was in progress, as was the pool. The girls almost caused a problem when they had a day off from school and arrived at the house wearing shorts and cropped off tee shirts without their bras. Both outside work crews loudly appreciated the spectacle to my amusement and their embarrassment. Both girls admitted to being quite turned on by the attention later after nearly draining all of my energy that evening.
Word was getting around among the girls on campus about the possibility of renting off campus, and there were at least two girls stopping by to check the place out each weekend. At the current rate they were going to have the next year's complement of renters lined up before the end of the school year. Janelle and Debbie were both doing a good job of picking the kind of girls we wanted to rent to. We weren't looking for partiers, but rather for good students who put their education first. We felt like they would produce much more stability, and would be less likely to create troubles for us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Susie made rapid progress with her rehab, quickly building her strength back to what it had been before the accident. She had stepped up to forearm crutches, and got around quite well with them. A part of her therapy was recommended for a pool, and we were more than happy to make ours available. Susie was disappointed Michael always found something else to do during that time, and she kept trying to convince him to join her and her therapist, but he would not do so. "If I was there in the pool with you it wouldn't be productive for the therapy. I notice when I'm downstairs with you and you are working out you tend to get distracted by me, and I don't want to do that to you. It isn't a good idea to mix work and pleasure."
Susie's prostheses were delivered and each prosthesis was fitted and tweaked for the best possible fit. Next came learning to use them. Walking on an artificial foot required practice and many tears were shed before it was accomplished well. Michael had insisted on state of the art limbs, but no matter how well they are made they just don't match up to the original equipment. Over a period of a few weeks Susie became fairly proficient on her artificial foot and Michael promised her that as soon as she was proficient enough to walk on the prosthesis without using a cane he would take her to McMahon's Prime Steakhouse for dinner, fancy dress and all.
Susie's goal for herself was to be able to walk across the platform at graduation without using a cane, and hopefully without limping. She was well on her way to making it.
It was the first week in April when Michael stopped by the basement to see the end of Susie's therapy session. With a huge smile on her face Susie walked across the floor, sans cane, to give him a huge hug and a kiss. The kiss was a surprise, although it was not unusual for her to hug him. "What's up, Little One?"
"Karen says I'm just about done with her! She really thinks I'm doing as well as I can do!"
"That's great! I stopped by just to let you know we have reservations at McMahon's on Saturday night; that is if you don't have a date or have to wash your hair or something." His grin gave him away. "My parents are coming down, and I want you to meet them, too."
"Dressy?"
"To the nines! I've told my folks a lot about you, and I want you to really shine."
"So," Susie looked up at him from the corner of her eye, "Is this like a date or something?"
