then he would. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Chapter 5
“Let me get the door,” David said. He stepped around Kelly and opened the door to her garden apartment.
She inched her way in, awkwardly balancing on crutches, and looked around in awe. The small, very Afro-centrically designed space was filled with flowers. Her living room resembled a tropical hot house, bursting in a kaleidoscope of color.
She turned clumsily toward David, her face beaming in delight. “This is incredible.”
“From all the folks who love you.”
She moved gingerly into the room and pressed her face to the blossoms, testing one after another. “This is so nice.”
“And I’ll personally drop by every day to take care of them and you,” he added.
“You’ve done too much already. You haven’t missed a day at the hospital; you brought me home, getting me into rehab. I can’t ask you to come over here every day.”
“You’re not asking. I’m volunteering. I want to and I will.” He picked up her small overnight bag. “I’ll put this in your bedroom. Why don’t you sit down?”
She did as he asked and plopped down on the couch with her leg stretched out in front of her. She propped the crutches against the couch. The delight that she felt only moments ago on coming home slowly slipped away when she considered what she was up against in her current condition. At least in the hospital pretty much everything was done for her. Now she would have to get in and out of bed alone, maneuver through the house—and what about bathing? She sighed and rested her head against the cushions, just as the phone rang.
She reached for the phone on the end table.
“Hello?”
“Kelly Maxwell?”
The voice was totally unfamiliar.
“Who’s calling?”
“I’m a reporter from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and I was hoping to speak to Ms. Maxwell.”
“She moved.” Kelly slammed down the phone just as David returned.
“Who was that?”
“Can you believe it? I haven’t been home five minutes and reporters are calling already!” She frowned. “How in the hell do they keep getting my number? I’ve changed it three times. Do you think they followed us from the hospital?”
David walked over to the window and peeked out. “I don’t see anyone, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. Which is more of a reason for you to get to New York and away from prying eyes.” He closed the blinds and joined her on the couch.
Kelly folded her hands on her lap. “You know what, David…”
“What?” He took a seat beside her and angled his body to the side.
“I’ve never done anything else but run.” She laughed lightly. “It seems as long as I can remember I was out in the air trying to slice through it. It paid my way through private high school, got me into college and the endorsements padded my bank account.” She turned and glanced at him for a moment. “I’m scared.”
“Why?” He reached out and stroked her hair.
“I’ve never even had a real meaningful relationship, never held a real job. If I’m not running it’s almost as if I’m not living. I have dreams of it all disappearing and me along with it. I never thought there would be a time when I’d even have to think about not flying through the wind, hearing the roar of the crowd. I know there is more to life than this. I’m just not sure what it is.”
“Kelly, you’re young, healthy and you have a long career in front of you.”
“Maybe. But I need to be realistic. I need to start thinking about alternatives.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If this therapy doesn’t work, I need to be prepared for that and I’ll need to prepare myself for the real world.”
“Hey, hey. What kind of talk is this? You’ve never been a pessimist. Everything is going to be fine. You’ll be back out there before you know it and coming into my office complaining that I work you too hard. Just like old times.” He chuckled and was relieved to see the slight smile brighten her face. “Now that’s better.”
“You always know what to say.”
“Just the truth.” He slapped his knee. “How ’bout I whip us up something to eat?”
Kelly grimaced. “Uh, the last time you fixed us something to eat we needed the Pepto-Bismol. How ’bout if we order something instead?”
“But I’ve been practicing,” he moaned, feigning hurt.
“Well, you just keep at it.”
“You wound me.” He placed his hand over his heart.
Kelly giggled. “Right. The menus are in the drawer next to the kitchen sink.”
“Fine. What do you have a taste for?” He headed for the kitchen.
“Pasta.”
“You got it.”
While David was gone Kelly wondered how long David would hang around if she couldn’t run again.
Chapter 6
When Kelly next opened her eyes, the room was submerged in darkness. She was soaking wet. Her heart raced. She felt exhausted. Were they still after her? Panic contracted the muscles in her stomach. She blinked, attempting to clear her head and her eyes. Had she gotten away?
She tried to sit up and felt the weight of the cast hold her in place. A thin streak of light filtered in through the partially opened blinds. Where was she? She looked wildly around and by degrees her pounding heart slowed. It was only a dream, she realized, a dream that had its genesis in reality, but a dream nonetheless. This was her bedroom in Atlanta, not the back woods of Mississippi, or the alleyways of Chicago’s South Side. She was safe here. Home.
Kelly reached for the bedside lamp and the room was bathed in a soft light. The antique shade in a bronze-colored velvet with its dangling clear crystals—a present from her grandmother—cast prismatic shapes against the winter-white walls.
Propped up against the lamp was a note. She picked it up and opened it, recognizing immediately David’s simple print. She stared at the paper and said each word aloud and slowly.
“‘Food in oven. Will call later.’”
She smiled. The always-thoughtful David. She slowly eased her legs over the side of the bed. She reached for her crutches and pushed until she was standing. She made her way into the kitchen and found a Pyrex dish in the oven filled with
