- 32 -
Release
When they saw Mary walking, the nurses scratched their heads. Later, Steph scratched her head. And when Dr. Han came to examine her, she also scratched her head. She ran some X-rays and other tests, but that just made her scratch her head even more.
"I can't explain it," the doctor said. "According to these results, it's like nothing had ever happened to your spine. You still have some slight muscle atrophy, but that can be easily taken care of with some time. But, my word. If you didn't still have the burn scar on your stomach or the one from the surgery on your back, I'd question whether you were ever injured at all!"
"Does that mean I can go home?" Mary asked.
Dr. Han shrugged. "I can't see why you should stay. I'd like you to continue with physical therapy for at least a few weeks, and I'll let you schedule that with Steph. But other than that, you can get your things packed. I'll get your discharge papers going."
As Mary got dressed in the bathroom, Mom and Phos gathered up all of her school things and other stuff she had accumulated during her stay. Before she pulled on her shirt, Mary stared at the scar on her stomach. She ran her fingers over it, feeling the rough skin. It was rather ugly, as most scars are. But she was still glad to have it.
When they were ready to go, Dr. Han came back with a bunch of stuff for Mom to sign. "It's the hospital's policy that you be taken to the exit in a wheelchair. Do you want to use yours?" she asked.
Mary looked at Michelangelo. "I guess one last time wouldn't hurt." She lowered herself into the chair, and Steph pushed her out of the room, followed by everyone else. After a quick elevator ride, they arrived at the front of the hospital. There was a bunch of people there, along with balloons, flowers, and a couple kids in wheelchairs as well.
"They were released from the cancer ward today," Mom explained.
Mary smiled.
Steph pushed her and Michelangelo to the sliding doors. "Here you go!"
Mary stared at the doors for a moment without moving.
"Are you all right?" Phos asked.
She nodded. "I was just thinking." Yesterday, she thought she wasn't going to be able to walk out of the hospital. Now, she took hold of the chair's armrests and pushed herself up to stand. Then, she stepped through the sliding doors.
***
Mary stayed home from school for a few days, but she was getting stronger. Ba was so happy to see her walking that she cried. Sienna and the others also flipped when they heard she was home.
"It's a lot better hanging out in your living room than at the hospital," Sienna said as she skimmed through the television stations with the remote. "But your TV kinda sucks."
Mary laughed. "Maybe I should've asked to exchange the wheelchair and bring the flat screen home instead."
"Hm," Sienna said as she flipped another channel. A black and white movie came on. "Oh! It's Roman Holiday! I love this movie. I wanna go to Rome some day. Can you imagine seeing all the art everywhere? And not just in the museums."
Mary smiled. On one of their "cool" dates, Phos had translated them to the Eternal City. It really was an amazing place.
Sienna continued. "I think it'd be awesome to study abroad there. Hey! Maybe we should all do that next year and—Babe? What are you doing?"
David was rolling around in Michelangelo, trying to balance on just the two large wheels. "What are you going to do with this? If you're not using it, can I have it?"
"Mom and I are donating it," Mary chuckled. "There's this charity downtown that takes wheelchairs and gives them to people who can't afford them. I'm gonna miss it a little. I was starting to get attached."
"So, don't break it," Sienna told him as she picked up her glass of lemonade. When she saw it was empty, she raised it in the air. "Waiter! More, please."
Phos was in the kitchen putting the clean dishes into the cabinet. When Mary got home, she was a little distressed to find that Mom had hardly cleaned the apartment while she had been in the hospital. Dust covered everything, dirty clothes and dishes were piled up, and weird things were growing in the bathroom. Phos pitched right in to help, even scrubbing the toilet. The only thing that Mom didn't let him do was wash their unmentionables. Since then, Mom was totally cool about having him in the apartment.
He smiled as he got the pitcher from the fridge and refilled her glass. "Here you go, my lady."
"I think you're abusing the help," Mary chuckled.
The door to Mom's bedroom opened, and she came out in a fresh set of scrubs. "I've got to pay the electric bill before I go to work, so I'm heading out now. You kids have fun, but don't stay too late. It's a school night. And David, honey, be careful in that chair."
Mom kissed Mary on the cheek before they exchanged their usual "love-you-buh-byes." Then she was gone.
Sienna pulled herself to her feet. "Well, we'd better head out, too. I told my mom I'd be home for dinner. You think you'll definitely be at school next week?"
Mary nodded. "That's the plan."
"Cool," Sienna said. "All right, see you all later."
After Sienna and David left, Phos asked her, "Are you hungry? What do you want for dinner?"
"Hmm," Mary said. "I want pizza. Are there any in the freezer?"
He opened the door. "Sausage or pepperoni?"
"You pick," she said.
He took one of the boxes and opened it. "How do I prepare it?"
"There should be a pizza pan in the cupboard," she said. "The instructions for setting the oven are on the box. Just a heads up, our oven is ancient and it takes a while to heat up."
"That won't do then," he said. He found the pan and put the frozen pizza onto it. But rather than put it into the oven, he just held it in his hands. Hot pizza smells started filling the air as the cheese on top began bubbling. After a couple minutes, Phos grinned and said, "Ding."
Mary laughed. "That works, too."
He cut the pizza up with a knife and brought it to the coffee table. Then he sat on the couch next to Mary and she snuggled up beside him. It was the first time in a while they were alone together.
They watched the movie as they ate. There was a part where Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn were riding around the city on a Vespa.
"That was one thing we didn't do when we were in Rome," Mary said thoughtfully. "Ride a scooter."
"We didn't think to do it then," he said. After they had seen all the sites that Mary wanted, they spent the rest of their date making out at the Villa Borghese Park.
"Maybe we can if we go back," she said.
"Maybe," he said.
Mary looked at him. "Are you okay? You seem preoccupied."
He didn't answer immediately. Then he said, "I can't figure out how you are able to walk again."
She shook her head. "I can't either."
"Did anything strange happen?" he asked. "Between the night before and the next morning?"
She thought for a moment. "Not that I can think of. Although I did have a really weird dream."
"Dream?" he asked. "What was it about?"
She told him about her dream with the odd janitor, Josh. "It felt so real. I don't think I've ever had a dream like that before."
He looked at her. "He told you to call him Josh?"
She nodded. "Why?"
Again, he didn't answer right away. "It's…nothing."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes," he said.
Mary stared at him for a moment. Then she turned back to the slice in her hand and picked off the sausage pieces to eat first. "I think I had a couple dreams in the hospital. In one of them, you were talking to Mayim. I didn't see anything. I just heard you two talking."
He was quiet.
"You're going to leave, aren't you?" Mary said. "You're going to give Carter back his body and leave."
Quiet again. Then he said, "Yes."
Mary felt like someone had shot her in the heart. "When?"
"Soon," he said. "Carter's fully recovered. I can leave at any time. But I was waiting."
Mary kept picking things off her pizza, but she didn't eat them. "For what?"
"There was something I wanted to find," he said.
"What is it?" Mary asked.
"You'll know soon enough," he said.
Mary wasn't hungry anymore, and she put her pizza down. In a way, she knew that this was going to have to happen eventually. The whole reason why Phos had possessed Carter was to keep Carter's body alive while his energy recovered.
She clung to him. "I don't want you to go, Phos."
He wrapped his arms around her, too. "I know."
They said nothing for a while, letting their pizza get cold and the movie go unwatched.
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