CHAPTER 4
1349 Words
There was a knock on Juliet's house door. "I'm coming," Juliet said, moving herself in the wheelchair to the door. She opened the door and saw Doc. Bryan standing there with a warm smile.
"Good morning, Bryan," Juliet said smiling, surprised to see him. "I came to check on you and to take you to the gym," he replied, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
"The gym?" Juliet asked, her voice filled with skepticism.
"Yes, if you want to walk again, you have to put in a lot of effort," Doc. Bryan explained, his tone gentle but firm.
"Did you get me a therapist?" Juliet asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"No, I did not but I studied a few things about the physical therapist thing and I don’t mind being your therapist," Doc. Bryan said with a smile.
“If I try my best and it does not work out then I would get you an actual physical therapist”, Doc. Bryan added smiling even broader
"Really, but if I may ask, why are you doing this?" Juliet asked, her curiosity aroused.
“Doing what exactly”, Doc. Bryan asked curiously.
“I mean, you brought me home from the hospital, you check up on me every time you get the chance to, now you want to be my therapist, I bet you do not do this for all your patience”, Juliet said plainly.
Doc. Bryan, thinking about the fact that revealing he was the one that put her in that condition might cause a separation between them quickly replied, "Well... Let's just say you are my special patient," his eyes crinkling at the corners.
Juliet's face lit up with a smile. "Okay then, thank you so much," she said, her voice filled with gratitude.
"You are most welcome, go get dressed," Doc. Bryan said, his eyes scanning her outfit. "Yeah, I have to change into something befitting," Juliet said as she moved herself to her room.
"Mom, please, I need a little help here," she shouted, her voice muffled by the distance.“She would find out eventually, I would just have to tell her someday, probably when she starts walking again”, Doc. Bryan thought to himself.
***
It was not easy for Juliet, but she needed to walk again. In pain, she tried to move her legs on the elliptical while Doc. Bryan supported her.
After some minutes of silence from Doc. Bryan and groans of pain from Juliet, Doc. Bryan finally voiced out, "Sorry, you can do it, you have five more steps to go."
"It's so difficult," Juliet said, her face scrunched up in pain, almost crying.
"Sorry, you just need to continue, it is set at its slowest," Doc. Bryan convinced her, his voice soothing.
Taking a deep breath, Juliet replied, "Okay."
"The day you had the accident, were you going for or coming from an interview? Because I believe it was an interview, you had with you an envelope containing your curriculum vitae and other credentials, and you were dressed in a lovely corporate attire," Doc. Bryan engaged her in a conversation, trying to distract her from the pain.
“A lovely corporate attire, uhhh”, Juliet bantered then continued while Doc. Bryan let out a light smile, "I was going for an interview, my fourth interview precisely," Juliet replied, her voice strained.
"But your curriculum vitae speak well of you, and you also graduated with good grades. Why didn't you get any of the jobs?" Doc. Bryan asked, his curiosity genuine.
"Maybe the jobs really weren't for me," Juliet said, pausing for a bit before continuing.
"I actually told my mom that if I do not get this last job, I will start my own business."
"What kind of business would you start?" Doc. Bryan asked, his eyes sparkling with interest.
"Probably a home bakery business. I cannot afford a shop right now so, I guess I would make pastries and sell from home to both online and offline customers. But I will do more of the online visibility because I would be needing a whole lot of customers so as to make a whole lot of money," Juliet explained, her eyes lighting up with passion.
Doc. Bryan smiled lightly again.
"A cake business is what I intend to start with – cupcakes, yeah! I know I told my mom that I would sell at the street market”, Juliet said smiling amidst the pain.“But you did not mean that right”, Doc. Bryan asked curiously
“I meant it at the time but I had a rethink. Apart from having a home bakery and sell from home, I could also supply them to supermarkets and malls. Then, if anyone orders for a birthday, anniversary, or wedding cake, I can deliver."
"That is nice. So, you can actually bake?" Doc. Bryan asked, his voice filled with amusement.
"One of the fluffiest and tastiest cakes in the world," Juliet praised herself with her head up high, forgetting the pain she was going through at the moment.
He gently helped her out of the elliptical and made her lie on a yoga mat while he rubbed some balm on his palms and massaged her legs, taking one at a time, trying to put her bones back in place.
"Well, I love cakes," he said, his voice soothing.
"Really, I love cakes too. My love for cakes and pastries in general made me learn it, and I believe I learnt from the best," Juliet said, smiling and grimacing at the same time, revealing the intensity of her pain.
Doc. Bryan mistakenly pressed harder on a part of her leg, and she let out a shout, "Easy, please!"
"Sorry, I am so sorry. I did not realize when I moved that hard," he apologized as he continued, now gently, as Juliet lay facing the ground with her eyes closed.
Leaving the gym to go home, Juliet said, "Thank you for today," as Doc. Bryan moved her on her wheelchair into the house.
***
On hearing Juliet's voice, her mom came out, "You both are back."
"Yes, Ma'am," Doc. Bryan said.
"Thank you so much for helping my sweet daughter," her mom appreciated.
"You are welcome, Ma'am," Doc. Bryan replied, then helped Juliet sit on the chair.
"Here you go," he whispered. "I will like to see you putting more effort so that you will walk again."
"She definitely has to", her mom said.
"Okay, let me put it this way, if you walk without any aid before the end of next month, I will surprise you with a gift" he assured.
"You will surprise me... With what?” Juliet asked
"A gift that cannot be revealed yet which is why it is called a surprise, if revealed, it would no longer be a surprise Dear", he said smiling.
Just then, Doc. Bryan’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and his expression turned serious. “I have to go,” he said standing up abruptly.
“What’s wrong?” Juliet asked, feeling a sense of unease.
“Sorry to startle you, I have an emergency at the hospital and my attention is needed, I have to go”, Doc. Bryan explained hating to break it to them that he had to go so soon again.
” Okay, go have a great day”, Juliet replied smiling.
Without a waste of time, Doc Bryan zoomed out of the house bidding Juliet and her mom good bye.
Turning to her mum, Juliet said amidst an unease and confused expression, “Mom, I don’t think those calls Bryan gets are work calls”
“Why”, her mom asked, looking perplexed.
“Because the call startles him, how can a work call make him jolt that way”, Juliet explained
“That’s true”, her mom caught it
“Well, whatever it is, I hope he sorts it out”, she concluded “
“I hope so too”, Juliet replied convinced
- Writer
