She threw her hat town on a picture of Manhattan that was still waiting to be hung and scrambled through the mail. The package was important, so important that Johnny just told her to go.
See, she was his ride home yet he couldn’t bear to see the anguish on her face any longer. She had been waiting for this letter for some time.
Johnny told her to go; he could catch a cab home.
Excited, she gave him a big hug and hurried to her car.
In the ensuing hours, she would forget all about the letter.
It was now two hours after she expected Johnny to be home. Attempts to reach him on his cell phone went unanswered.
Something wasn’t right.
She reached out his closest friend, he had not heard from him either.
Frantic, she began to call local hospitals praying Johnny wasn’t there. Her worst fears were confirmed when a desk nurse confirmed he indeed had been admitted a couple hours earlier.
Johnny did in fact grab a cab home. However, he had the driver make a pits stop at a corner store so he could grab a bouquet of flowers as he was sure that her letter brought good news.
As he walked away from the register toward the exit a masked gunman came running in, gun in a hand. He shoved Johnny back into the store and into the ground and then demanded the cashier give him the cash in the register.
The gunman was nervous and twitchy, like someone high on speed.
Johnny sat on the ground with his back to a shelf of now disheveled items. As the products clung to the edge of the shelf a can tumbled down and hit the floor with a bang.
Johnny turned as he heard the can bounce of the floor.
Startled, the gunman swung his arm around and fired a shot that caught Johnny in the back. Realizing what he had just done the gunman fled the scene.
The cashier called the police and the paramedics were on the way. They were able to stabilize Johnny, but he could not feel his legs.
She arrived at the hospital frantic. A nurse directed her to a waiting room as Johnny was still in surgery. The doctors were able to remove the bullet, but there was damage to his spine.
Hours later, a doctor came out to tell her Johnny was stable and he could go in to see him. Before letting her go, he shared with her that the damage to his spine may mean he would not walk again. There was hope, but the odds were against him.
She headed for his room and immediately leaned in and embraced him, tears flowing uncontrollably.
She felt like this was all her fault, if she just would have waited for him none of this would have happened.
Johnny quickly eased her worry and told her you can’t think like that. Stuff happens with no rhyme or reason in life sometimes.
In that moment, he thought to himself. I will walk again. The thing was, Johnny had a vision for a marriage proposal to her and he would need to walk for it to be accomplished.
Over the ensuing months Johnny went to physical therapy. First just struggling to stand, and then just trying to take a step.
He failed over and over. Frustrated often, but still never deterred, his nurse would tell him it was good he was so stubborn as it would serve him well in this case.
As time progressed Johnny learned how to walk again, but he needed to hand crutches to do so. Even with those it was a laborious activity. However, that wouldn’t be good enough for what he wanted to do.
Johnny needed to stand on his own two feet and walk without assistance.
Though she dropped him off at physical therapy every day, Johnny never let her come in. He didn’t want her to see the progress. Not until he could walk at least.
Nearly a year had passed by since the shooting.
Johnny called her at work one day and asked her to head to the beach on her way home. The same beach with the lighthouse they had gone to their first date.
When she got there, she saw Johnny standing unassisted at the edge of the parking lot, just before the start of the sand.
She ran out of her car and asked what he was doing. Since when did he not need his crutches?
Johnny smiled, took her by the hand and then made his first step onto the sand. Then another and another until they had walked hand in hand till they reached the lighthouse were they first kissed.
Stepping inside, there was a candle lit table with dinner for two. They enjoyed the meal and were about to finish up.
Johnny abruptly stood up. Reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet covered box.
He then knelt in front of her….
Johnny had now fulfilled his dream.
This is my entry into the Creative Writing Challenge #7. Hope you enjoyed, looking forward to challenge #8
Regards,
Mitchell J