Nadine watched. “So what’d you do after sneaking out?”
“Sascha, my brother’s ex, you know?” He looked up and she nodded. “Took me out to see a live band. They were just two guys. Amazing what they could do. One guy played the drums with one hand, a keyboard with the other, and sang lead vocals.”
“All at the same time?”
“Yeah. He made the other guy, a guitarist and sound engineer, look lazy.”
“You could play an instrument too, you know. Especially if you get used to using your arm prosthesis.”
“I wasn’t musical before the accident, and an artificial arm sure isn’t going to help matters. . . . Do you play?”
“My mom made me take piano when I was young. I wished I’d stuck with it and practiced more. I met an amputee during my physical therapy internship. He could play better with one hand than I could with two.” She blushed, perhaps afraid she’d hurt his feelings.
Today, it was as if he wore Teflon. Hurt deflected right off him.
“You and your stories of people who can do more with less. As if losing a limb makes them stronger.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not sure I can stand those people who think I’m a saint because I can live without an arm and a leg. It’s not like I have a choice. And if I did, I know what I’d choose.”
“You say that now.” She looked up, holding the carbon fitting in place for him.
His back to the wall of windows, Phoenix grasped the right side of the parallel bar and hauled himself upright. He eased weight onto his prosthetic leg.
“It’s going to get better. You wait and see.”
Standing, Phoenix’s view shifted from Nadine’s waist to over her head. His return to full stature lifted his mood, too. He limped a step towards the exit. “You know what, you might be right,” Phoenix said.
CHAPTER 27
SALUTE YOUR SOLUTION
Phoenix
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 29
Something was up. “Why are you pacing, Mom?” Phoenix asked, watching her wander around the ten-by-fifteen room he called home during rehab. She opened and shut drawers and doors, looking but not finding anything.
“You sure you don’t want to bring your arm?” She waved a peach-hued and metal prosthesis, then peered into the bag she’d packed with clothes and toiletries.
“You won’t tell me where I’m going, so how am I supposed to know if I’ll need an arm?” he goaded, not expecting an answer.
“You want me to come with you?” She rearranged the items, seeking a way to make them more easily accessible for a one-handed guy.
“You won’t tell me where I’m going, so how do I know if I’ll need you, Mom?”
Caleb burst through the door. “Where we’re going Mom’s not needed,” he said, then strode over to kiss their mother.
“You trained that soldier well,” Phoenix joked with his brother. “I couldn’t get even a hint out of her, much less a state secret.”
“You’re closer than you think,” Caleb said, grabbing his twin’s suitcase and cane.
“Hey, I can take that,” Phoenix complained, gesturing towards the bag.
“No way.” Caleb stalked to the door, yanking it open without a backwards glance. “Bye, Mom.”
Face lined with fatigue, Veronica leaned over Phoenix’s chair and wrapped both arms around him. “Have fun.”
