“I shouldn’t impose on you. I can take a cab.”
“When will you be released?”
“Tomorrow morning, but I don’t know the time.”
“Your surgeon usually makes his rounds early, so I’ll guess midmorning. Stay put until I get there. Okay?”
“Okay,” Chad agreed, laughing. At this point, he could accept help from Vicky easier than from his own family.
When Vicky arrived at the hospital the next day, Chad was waiting in the lobby in a wheelchair. He wore navy-blue sweats, with an OSU ball cap perched jauntily on his head, a gift from the nurses who’d served him. No one would guess by looking at him that he had recently had a serious injury and a delicate operation. His firm and generous lips widened into a smile when he saw Vicky.
An orderly wheeled Chad to her car. He had to flex his long legs to fit into the front seat of her compact car. Vicky tossed the plastic bag holding his possessions into the backseat.
As she drove away from the hospital, Chad looked with interest at the majestic university buildings. Strangely enough, although he had been wishing he had died, it was good to breathe the fresh air and to feel the warmth of the sun on his face as it shone through the car window.
“It’s hard to believe that a month ago, my life was all figured out,” he said. “I thought I would be playing pro football for years. Now I’m at loose ends, hardly knowing what to do. I have an engineering degree, although I may have to take some refresher courses to catch up with changes in the field. My dad supported my dream of playing football, but he insisted that I train for a profession when my career was over. I couldn’t see much reason for it, but I guess he knew best.”
“You don’t know that you can’t play football, do you?” she queried in her soft, sweet voice.
“I haven’t talked to any league officials yet, but the surgeon advised against it. If I don’t hear anything within a few days, I’ll call, but I want to put off hearing the official’s decision as long as possible.”
While she drove, she found herself wishing that she could have known Chad before this injury messed up his life.
“I have a reservation at the University Plaza Hotel,” he said.
“That’s a good choice and close by. And I may have found an apartment for you. Do you want to check it out before you go to the hotel? It’s expensive, but I’m guessing that probably isn’t an issue with you.”
“I’m used to a simple lifestyle, so I’m not interested in anything too fancy.”
“Why don’t I drive by and let you look at the house and the neighborhood? It’s located in a Victorian home on Neil Avenue, not too far from the university. It’s a handy location for appointments at the hospital.”
“If you have the time, I’d like to see it.”
“When I was looking for an apartment for myself, I looked at this particular space, but it was too pricey for me. I met the landlady then, and was thrilled when I called and found out it was vacant again.”
“If we come to a bank before then, will you pull into an ATM so I can withdraw some cash? Fortunately, my wallet and other items I had in my pockets were sent to the OSU medical center with me.”
Vicky pulled into a branch bank and Chad withdrew five hundred dollars. She drove along High Street, where many of the businesses catered to college students. The street was congested, not only with vehicles, but with pedestrians, all with backpacks, heading for their classes.
Intent on her driving, Vicky kept her eyes straight ahead, which gave Chad an opportunity to watch her. He hadn’t really looked at Vicky at the hospital. Too intent on my own problems, he thought.
Tall and graceful, Vicky was worth a second look, although all he had noticed about her in the hospital were her compassionate, heavily lashed blue eyes. Now, he admired her brown hair tumbling to her shoulders in soft curly waves. Her smooth ivory skin glowed with rose undertones. She had a gentle but overwhelming beauty, and he was surprised he hadn’t noticed it before.
He didn’t want Vicky to catch him watching her, so when she took a right off High Street and drove to Neil Avenue, Chad turned his attention to the century-old houses.
The street was lined with large trees, and their foliage was a mixture of yellows, reds and greens. Chad was amazed at the change in the foliage since he’d entered the hospital. The football season had just been starting then, but the hint of fall was evident in the fading flowers and the occasional fallen leaves drifting downward to the street.
Constructed of brick and stone, most of the houses had three floors. He especially liked the rounded turrets on many of the residences.
He listened to Vicky’s comments as he squirmed uncomfortably in the limited space of her car.
“Several blocks of these houses were renovated a few years ago. The area is called Victorian Village. Some of the houses are one-family dwellings, but several have been turned into apartment buildings. I live in an apartment two blocks to the west.”
Vicky pulled over to the curb before a redbrick dwelling with a one-story stone porch across the front. A wide doorway was centered on the porch. A sign in front of the house indicated an apartment was for rent.
“The apartment is on the second floor of that house. The owner couldn’t afford the upkeep and taxes on the property after her husband died, so she had to rent part of the house or sell it. There’s only one apartment in this house, so you wouldn’t be bothered with a lot of noise.”
She pointed to a roofed stairway on the left side of the building. “That’s a private entrance to the apartment.”
“Do you suppose we could see it now?” he asked.
“We can ring the doorbell and find out if the landlady is at home.”
Vicky was out of the car and had opened his door before Chad had time to ease his body out of the vehicle.
He grinned up at her as she stood by the car’s open door. “I’ve never had a chauffeur before. I might have to give you a permanent job.”
“You’d better hire someone with a bigger car,” she answered. “I’ll push that seat backward before we leave here to give you more legroom.”
Vicky timed her steps to his slower gait, but climbed the front steps before him and turned the old-fashioned bell in the center of the front door.
A woman opened the door on the first ring. She was a tall, bony woman, probably in her sixties. She had piercing, blue eyes, and her straight, iron-gray hair was cut short. She nodded to Vicky, apparently recognizing her, and then she turned questioning eyes on Chad.
“I called yesterday about your apartment. Would it be convenient for us to look at it now?” Vicky asked.
“You married?” the woman said, glancing from one to the other.
The comment discomfited Vicky, but before she could answer, Chad said, “No, ma’am. I’m the one who needs to rent an apartment. Vicky lives a few blocks from
