Keith (Hathaway House #11) - Dale Mayer Page 0,47
Shane would say that’s when the real Iain showed up.”
“Yes, I’ve been there,” Keith said. “It hasn’t been as dramatic as yours, but I’ve certainly been in a position where I could see that I had to work harder, be more, and do something to show the improvements, and I’m almost there now.”
Iain looked at him and smiled a knowing smile. “You’re not even close,” he said. “I remember this stage. It was about halfway through.” He pointed to his legs. “It’s so much farther than you ever thought you’d get, so you think it’s good. It’s good enough. You think that maybe you can live with this because you’re afraid to hope for more.
“But I’m here to tell you that there is so much more, and you have to give them a chance to give it to you. I’ve seen guys walk away early because they couldn’t stand being away from their families so long. And sure, their rehab could continue at another place, but it’s not the same. Every day you get here is a gift. You need to make as much use of it as you can, and, when you’re lucky enough to get the full benefit, you end up with something like I did.” He smiled. “Every day I wake up and bounce out of bed, grateful that my body works again.”
“I can see that,” Keith said, and he could, but Iain was so far advanced from where Keith was that it was hard to see himself there.
Iain smiled, nodded, and said, “Listen. I know what you’re thinking because I felt it too. I saw other people, who were way ahead of me, and I knew it couldn’t possibly be the same for me. But I was wrong, very wrong, and so are you. Even if you’re upset and worried right now, just know that you have a lot of room for more progress, and it’s worth every bead of sweat.” Then he grinned. “And, by the way, I’m going to marry your sister,” he said. “Some would say I should be asking for your permission, but, since I’m not doing that, no matter how you feel, asking seemed insincere.”
The change in conversation caught Keith off guard. He looked at Iain, smiled slowly, and said, “Well, I’m really glad to hear that,” he said, reaching out for a handshake, “because she is head over heels in love with you.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Iain said with a gentle smile. “She’s unlike anybody I’ve ever met before. And a far cry from the kind of woman I used to go out with.”
“We’re different men now,” Keith said.
“Not only different,” he said, “but because of the real relationship it is, and the way it started here at Hathaway House, there’s no comparison. In this place, you see people in an honest way, at their worst in some cases, and that has to be dealt with first. It’s not like the supposed real world, where everybody has all these layers and layers of fakeness that you have to get through to find out who the person is on the inside. Here, fake doesn’t work. Here, it is what it is, and you have to deal with it. The good news is that, by the time you survive the first stages of a transparent relationship, you have something that’s solid, and it can go the distance.”
“I hear you there,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about those issues myself.”
Iain looked at him, his lips quirking. “Have you met someone?”
Keith flushed. “I have,” he said, “and believe me. Nobody was more surprised than I was.”
“I think that’s a standard response for those of us lucky enough to have it happen,” he said. “I don’t even understand it myself. Robin could have anybody, so why someone all busted up like me? Now that also gave me the impetus to work a little bit harder, to make sure that I came to her as physically sound as I could possibly be. The reality is that, because of all the surgeries and the injuries, things could get a little uglier down the road, but she says she’s fully prepared for that. I don’t know that I am though,” he admitted honestly. “But it is what it is, and, having met Robin, I’m no longer prepared to be alone, and I’m not afraid anymore to commit to me and to her.”
His words still impacted Keith, long after Iain had walked away. They would meet again for lunch