Chapter 3
After the kiss under the moonlight of the local park things between Melissa and Damon flourished, they had been on two more dates and both parties were completely smitten. After their fifth date Melissa started to wonder how Damon became a quadriplegic, he had never broached the subject so until he did she decided just to let it slide, guessing that he would tell her all in good time. In more immediate matters and while watching a movie one night Melissa decided to propose a meeting.
"I'd really love for you to meet my best friend Shelley. I want to show you off" bubbled Melissa.
"Sure. No worries" replied Damon knowing now they had been on 6 dates and it was probably time to start meeting each others significant people in their lives. It was arranged for 7pm at Melissa's house and she couldn't wait. "Your going to love him. He's so warm and intelligent" gushed Melissa to Shelley as they waited for his arrival. Shelley stood there a bit concerned over how quickly Melissa had fallen for this man but knew this was important to her friend. Soon enough they heard a van pull up in the driveway."He's here" giggled Melissa. She walked outside and out to meet them, opening up the sliding door and seeing Damon sitting inside. "Hey beautiful" he expressed at the sight of his intended. "Hey you!" she replied happy to see her man again. She hopped back of the way and Damon made his way out of the van down the ramp that had been laid out. As they all got settled to come in Shelley was waiting at the front door, she had never seen a quadriplegic before and was astounded by how truly paralyzed he was in person, she also noticed a woman with her and had no idea who she was.
"Who's that woman?" Shelley asked.
"That's Lydia. Damon's nurse" replied Melissa
"How often is she around?"
"All the time. Damon is a vent dependant quadriplegic, he needs someone with him 24/7"
"Even when he is asleep?"
"Yup. Well in the vicinity at least in case something goes wrong"
Shelley had no experience with any of this and it was all spinning her out. As she stood there a little surprised by it all she turned around to see Damon. "Hi how are you? I'm Shelley" she introduced before putting her hand out without thinking.
"Well hello Shelley.Great to meet you. I'd love to shake your hand but I kinda can't" said Damon
"Oh god sorry. I wasn't thinking" replied Shelley embarrassed at her mistake.
They all moved into the lounge room, Damon manoeuvring his bulky black beast of a chair into a vacant part of the room, luckily most of Melissa's doors were doubles so it made it easy for him to get through them. "Anyone feel like a drink?" asked Melissa
"Yes I will have a coffee thanks" piped up Lydia.
"I'll have a vodka sunrise" ordered Shelley.
Melissa then looked at her man."Do you want anything babe?"
"Umm just a water will do thanks"
Melissa headed into the kitchen to fix the drinks leaving Shelley with Damon and his nurse who felt a bit uncomfortable about all of this.
"So how long have you and Melissa been friends?" asked Damon
"A while now" replied Shelley briefly.
"She's a great woman" gushed Damon a little.
"Yes she is, best friend I've ever had"
The conversation continued on for a few more minutes very slow and stilted until Melissa came back in with the drinks. She passed them all out before announcing "Hope you all got to know each other a bit more while I was out getting the drinks"
"Yeah. Like we have known each other all our lives" joked Damon.
It was at this point she put Damon's drink up to his lips, he had a straw so that he could suck it up rather than risk spills by trying to tip it in his mouth, once again Shelley went a bit funny, not believing that someone in Damon's position would want to live. She gulped down her vodka sunrise and quickly asked for another.
"Already?" exclaimed Melissa
"All good. I will go in and get it myself, you all talk"
The three of them all continued to talk while Shelley went into the kitchen, to deal with all of this she poured herself a straight vodka and sculled it in one hit before pouring herself another, as she sunk another drink Melissa came in. "So what do you think?"
"What do you mean?" replied a now inebriated Shelley.
"Damon of course!!"
"He's ok" she mumbled
"Ok? You don't like him do you? I know the fact he is a quad takes a little getting used to but he's so kind and just truly an amazing guy" bubbled Melissa
"Well if he makes you happy it doesn't matter what I think"
That answer made Melissa a little sad as she wanted her to like him, she guessed over time they would become friends though. Soon enough they found themselves back in the lounge room. "What were you girls whispering about?" teased Damon
"We weren't whispering!" smiled Melissa as she sat down.
All of a sudden there was a sound of something dripping. "What the hell is that?" yelled Shelley now quite drunk.
"That's Damon's cath bag, he has no control of his bladder so he needs a catheter and it filters into a bag near his left calf" explained Lydia.
"Oh shit seriously??" That's pretty fucked up" exclaimed Shelley in quite an insensitive manner.
"What is wrong with you tonight Shelley??" replied Melissa unhappy with her friend's comment.
"Nothing's wrong. We are all having a good time aren't we?" Shelley slurred before polishing off another drink.
"I think you have had enough" announced Melissa before grabbing her glass. "Time for you to get a taxi home"
"I'm good" protested Shelley.
"No your not good. Your disgracing yourself" chastised Melissa very unhappy with her friend.
A taxi was called and soon Shelley was barrelled into it and off home. After she left Melissa came back inside to see Damon and Lydia getting ready to leave. "Your going already??"
"Yeah I'm a bit tired and think it might be time to go" replied Damon
"Oh I'm sorry about Shelley. I've got no idea what got into her" explained Melissa hoping to change their minds.
"Well yeah I wouldn't say it was a great night per se but all good" said a polite Damon
"Ok well i will ring you in the morning then"
"Sounds good"
With that said Damon received a kiss to remember from Melissa and he was loaded into the van and headed off back home. Melissa flopped on the couch and was upset the night didn't go to plan, she thought Shelley would love Damon but clearly not, all night she was weird about it all and who knew why, as she relaxed on the couch she decided no point asking why, she was now a bit sleepy too and headed to bed.
The next day Melissa rang Damon to see how he was, he replied that while he wasn't overly keen on ever seeing Shelley again he just chalked it up to "one of those nights" and in time he hoped the two would be friends. After dealing with all of that Damon told Melissa he had a special treat for her.
"What is it?" asked an expectant Melissa.
"Just have to wait and see!" giggled Damon, his vent interrupting him a little. "Just make sure you put on a pair of heels and your best outfit" he added before they got off the phone.
After hanging up Melissa couldn't help but get excited, even though she had no idea what it was she guessed it had to be good, otherwise why else would she have to get so dressed up? As she had that thought she then started to fret over what to wear, she tended to not go out that much so she didn't have too many "going out" outfits. As she scoured through her wardrobe she finally came upon a majestic blue gown with a long train she had bought a couple of years ago, Melissa doubted she would ever wear it but guessed this was as good a time as any, she tried it on and thought it looked ok, low on self confidence Melissa was never one to really think she looked overly good in something but the gown made her feel a little special, she now just needed shoes. Melissa had a look at her shoes already out and they were mainly just flats or work shoes, they wouldn't be appropriate so she decided to go have a look in her wardrobe, as soon as she walked in she could see some ribbon weave pumps she had only worn once so decided they would do the trick, the gown was so long no-one would even see her shoes anyway but she would know, she wiggled her feet into them before heading over to do her makeup. Once that was done she had one last look in the mirror. "All looks ok" she gestured to herself then moved over to the front door to see if Damon had arrived yet. He wasn't here yet so she paced up and down the hallway of her home, nervous over what they would be doing, she then started to freak out and worried she might be too overdressed, sure he had told her to wear her best outfit but what if she had gone overboard? It was at this point she heard the van pull up. She walked outside to meet them, holding the bottom of her dress up so that it didn't get dirty as she pulled back the sliding door she got a nice surprise as she saw Damon in a tuxedo. "Wow. Looking very dapper I have to say!" remarked Melissa. Damon was too busy admiring Melissa to even respond, even though he had no breath of his own Melissa look so incredible he nearly lost his vent induced breaths too. "I can't believe it" he finally managed to get out.
"Can't believe what?"
"I didn't think it was even possible but you look even more beautiful" gushed Damon.
"Don't be silly I'm nothing special" replied Melissa still not used to men complimenting her and meaning it.
"That's where your wrong because you are special. Truly special"
Upon hearing this further praise Melissa started to blush, while they had only been on a handful of dates she was really falling hard for Damon. "So where are we going?"
"Have to wait and see I guess" teased Damon.
The van pulled out of the driveway and they took off, after hitting the road Melissa picked up Damon's hand and held it, Damon may not have been able to move or feel it but it still filled him with a sense of happiness while experienced Melissa comfort and security in his touch. Soon enough they came up to a well known building. "We are here" smiled Damon. Melissa looked up and could see it was the Metropolitan Opera, commonly known as the Met and got quite excited.
"We are going to see some opera!!?" she asked exuberantly at what was to come.
"You got it" replied Damon happy at Melissa's excitement.
"That's fantastic. What are we seeing??" bubbled Melissa
"Don Giovanni"
"Are you serious?? I've wanted to see this for ages. You are a truly wonderful man" thanked Melissa before landing a passionate blow on Damon's lips.
They entered the Opera, it all looked so majestic and Melissa was glad she wore her fancy gown, she couldn't help but get over how Damon looked, dressed to the nines in his tuxedo, smelling amazing as usual and looking super cute. Once they got inside where their show would be playing Melissa wondered where they would be sitting. "I have one more surprise" hinted Damon.
"Really? What?"
"We don't have to worry about anyone sitting next to us as I booked us a private balcony to watch the performance. It will just be you, me and Don Giovanni. Oh and Lydia of course!!" laughed Damon. Lydia naturally on hand in case anything went wrong.
"Wow you have thought of everything!" replied Melissa wondering if this day could get any better before landing another kiss, this time on Damon's cheek. She loved how his face always beamed when she kissed him, knowing he was feeling what she was.
After a few minutes the show started, once again Melissa taking Damon's hand in hers. The show was majestic and both parties marvelled at how skilled and talented the people in Don Giovanni were. Hours passed and the performance grew to a halt. "Melissa can do me a favour?" asked Damon.
"Of course"
"Give them a standing ovation for me"
Melissa just smiled knowing he was joking but that he had enjoyed the performance. Soon enough they were all loaded up into the van and heading back to Melissa's place. Once there Damon looked a little pale, it had been a big day and it was suggested by Lydia that he better stay in the van and head back home. Melissa looked at him and couldn't hide her feelings for him. "I had such a good time today. I can't get over how happy you make me, it's just ridiculous!" she poured out. "The feeling is more than mutual" he replied. Melissa gave him one last kiss then exited the van, she waved to them as they backed out of the driveway and thought this could be it, someone to share her life with. Who knew what lay ahead though..
Chapter 4
Damon and Melissa had now known each other two weeks but Melissa almost felt like it was two months or even two years, after their early hiccup upon meeting things had been going great and she was very hopeful for the future, as they arranged their next date Melissa decided it was time to see where Damon lived, they had met up 3 or 4 times for dates and Damon over to her place the other times. "Sure, you can come over here. Will be good" replied Damon to Melissa's request. Damon gave Melissa the address and a date was set for 7pm. Soon enough that time rolled around and Melissa popped into her car and headed over to Damon's place, she wondered what kind of place he had, she knew it would have to be spacious and wheelchair accessible but was sure it would still have it's charm. As she travelled into his street she made sure she got the address right, 28 Emerald street, Rockbank he told her, as she creeped closer to the house she eventually pulled up outside what was a very majestic house, it was only the one story but looked very classy and the garden was quite large as was the winding driveway leading in, Melissa wasn't sure what to expect but she had to admit she was impressed and was glad Damon wasn't living by every penny like some people have to in his situation. Melissa's little volkswagen chugged away up the driveway and she started to get nerves again, she didn't know why but the thought of seeing Damon still gave her butterflies which she guessed was a good thing.
After making her way up the driveway Melissa hopped of her car, she saw a big ramp outside and pictured Damon blowing into the straw of his sip 'n' puff and wheelchair gradually making his way up and inside, as Melissa moved towards the door she had a quick look in the mirror of her foundation capsule to make sure everything still looked the way she wanted, this was a usual occurrence and all was fine so she knocked on the door. After waiting a few seconds the door opened and it was Lydia. "Oh hey Lydia, how are you?" smiled Melissa.
"I'm well thanks. Come in" invited Lydia.
As Melissa made her way inside she could see the inside was every bit as good as the outside, a glass chandelier coming from the ceiling and some wonderful art adorning the entrance and hallway. As Melissa headed further in she saw her man, he looked so relaxed and was just wearing a black t-shirt with some cargo shorts. "Hello beautiful" he expressed upon the sight of Melissa, thinking she looked delightful in just a pink singlet top and jeans with red flip flops, her toes painted fire engine red to match her footwear. They had a quick embrace which they both enjoyed.
"Wow this place is amazing" remarked Melissa. "You really landed on your feet didn't you" she added not realising the pun, although once again thinking she had never actually heard the story about how her new man had become a quadriplegic.
"Yeah it's ok" replied Damon playing it down.
"OK?? King of the understatement much!!" responded Melissa
They decided to head into the lounge room where Lydia asked them if they wanted a drink, both of which said no so she then decided just to leave them be and have some alone time. "Great to finally see your house though, and you in it haha" laughed Melissa. Damon always loved that sound, the laugh of his potential new partner.
They continued to talk before Melissa started to sticky nose a little looking at what appeared to be family pictures and the like in the corner of the room. As she poked through the photos she would ask Damon who the people were. "Who's this?"
"My mother"
"This one?"
"That's my niece and nephew"
As Melissa continued to go through the photos she came up to one of Damon pre accident, he had an arm around a blonde woman and she just assumed it was another family member. "Who's this?" she asked pointing the picture at him. Melissa then noticed Damon's expression changing. "Something wrong? Was she your mistress?" joked Melissa.
"No, not my mistress" replied Damon
"Well who is she then??"
"My wife" informed Damon
"Your what!!????" objected Melissa thinking she must have misheard.
"It's not what you think" responded Damon
"How can you having a wife not be what I think!!??" screamed Melissa.
"I'm a widow"
"Oh god" replied Melissa changing her expression completely upon hearing this.
"If things progressed further I would have told you but we have still only known each other the sum of two weeks"
"Very true" acknowledged Melissa. "I'm so sorry to hear about your wife. I guess I'm just realising there is so much more to you than I first thought"
"Well yes. I'm sure there's more to Melissa Ryan too that I don't know about" expressed Damon
"Not much to tell with little old me" she replied knowing that wasn't true. While she was a quiet woman it was fair to say she hadn't lived a great life. "I don't mean to pry but how long ago did your wife pass?"
"4 years ago. It was the hardest period of my life, particularly given the circumstances"
"Circumstances?"
"Well yes" replied Damon cutting himself short. On one hand he wanted to let Melissa in and tell the story but on the other he probably felt it was too soon, not to mention the fact he wasn't keen to go through it all again.
"I get the feeling there's a bit to this so you don't have to tell me if you don't want to" assured Melissa.
After thinking about for a few seconds Damon decided to go forward with it. "To tell you the whole story I have to go back to a night in June 4 years ago. My wife Emily and I were going to the opening of a new restaurant in town, it was meant to be a glamorous affair and plenty of well known people would be there, we were just simple folk but a friend of mine was a big player around town and he couldn't go so he passed on two invitations to us. We both got dressed to the nines and headed off. The night was going well before we got invited to drinks on the balcony, as we laughed and swilled champagne we started to hear a creaking sound, at first we thought it was just the wind but then it got louder, not long after the balcony started to crack and everyone started rushing off, Emily and I were trapped at the back though and before we could get off the balcony collapsed" explained Damon now getting quite emotional.
Melissa just sat there, almost frozen at the chilling tale Damon was telling and the torture in his face as he told it, she knew this was bad but she had no idea how bad.
"My wife and I plus some others were still on it as it crumbled.. I can still remember the fear in Emily's eyes as we hurtled toward the ground below, I tried to somehow bring her body on top of mine to break her fall but she was just out of reach, we both hit the ground hard and I was knocked out. When I came to I was in a hospital unable to move,talk or breathe and told my wife was dead"
"Oh I'm so sorry" remarked Melissa now almost as ashen faced as Damon.
"Yeah well now you know I became like this" expressed Damon.
"I'm not worried about that, I just can't believe the story you have just told me, I can't imagine the pain you would have been in those first few months. Emotional and physical" empathised Melissa.
"Well it wasn't a picnic I'll tell you that for free. Lying there in that bed, day in, day out was the worst torture I think anyone could ever be put through, at first I was like a zombie, barely changing expression, too traumatised by the events of that night and everything that went with it. Then it just all turned to anger, so many days where I had so much anger, when that wore off though the sadness crept in like an unwanted visitor, some people might say this is weak but I reckon when it all finally caught up to me I cried every night for three months" explained a very solemn Damon.
"Your not weak at all, you are an incredibly brave wonderful human being" assured Melissa now picking up his limp hand and putting it in hers. "I can't imagine what I would be like. To not only lose a partner but to be left completely paralyzed and helpless. It's just too cruel"
"You want to know the worst part? I missed Emily's funeral due to being in hospital. I didn't even get to say a proper goodbye"
This was almost too much for Melissa, sure she had been through her own tough times but this was the purest form of heartbreak she had ever heard. "Did the people that build the balcony ever get prosecuted?"
"Yeah they got a lousy $160,000 fine. According to the report they were under a tight deadline so they put on a couple of unskilled workers to finish the job quick. They forgot to fortify the balcony properly and that's what caused it to buckle"
"A lousy fine and that's it!!?? What bastards! I guess with the legal system though it's not surprising"
"Yeah well my parents actually filed a civil suit against the restaurant and the company that built it while I was in hospital. I wasn't interested as I was just far too depressed and no amount of money would bring Emily back. My parents told me the week before I got out of the hospital the builders and restaurant owners settled for 3 million. That's how I got this house"
"I know in the scheme of things it's not much but better than the hospital I'm guessing" replied Melissa trying to find some sort of positive out of it all.
"Yeah I suppose. When i first moved in I didn't like it, but then again I didn't take pleasure in anything for a long time. To be honest it's only been the last few months that I have really moved on with life and tried to put it all behind me"
"I just can't believe what you have been through, it just defies belief" remarked Melissa.
"Well believe me I wish it all had of been some bad dream but it wasn't. I have to actually thank you"
"Thank me?? For what?"
"For giving me my first slice of happiness since that day. Spending time with you makes me feel alive again"
"Feeling is more than mutual" smiled Melissa. She then moved over and wiped the remaining moisture off Damon's face from the tears that had streamed down before giving him a comforting kiss on the cheek.
The two of them talked into the night before the clock struck 11pm and Melissa mentioned she had better go and let Damon get some rest. "Thanks for tonight. I know it must have been awfully hard to relive the events of 4 years ago but I appreciate you letting me in your life, past and present" expressed Melissa.
"Thanks for listening. Drive home safe" replied Damon.
Melissa just smiled and gave him a peck on the lips before heading off, she knew that some of the things that had happened in her life should go left unsaid and she planned to keep it that way, for now at least. Melissa arrived home but then while lying in bed she wondered if Damon was really over his late wife, sure she had the utmost sympathy for his loss but she didn't want to be living in the shadow of another woman, she was too sensitive for that and her heart far too fragile. As she continued to ponder this she then looked at the other side of the coin, if Damon just forgot about her and didn't at least acknowledge her memory in any way that wouldn't make him much of a man would it? At least she knew that he was loyal and respectful, two very honourable qualities. After mulling it over Melissa decided that she wouldn't want to be judged on her past so she wasn't going to do that with Damon, at this point in time things were going great and she was just being silly entertaining notions about being second fiddle. Damon was the closest thing she'd had to love in a long time and there was no good reason for that to change..
No comments:
Post a Comment