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A Rough Day
Josh had the day off. Lucy was at school, Ben had an inspection thing at the station, and Danny had something he couldn’t miss on campus. Which left Josh, parked in the handicapped space with Matt’s placard on the dash, waiting to pick him up.
Matt. The guy Ben’s whole life circled around.
The doors opened. Matt rolled out at an even pace, one push at a time. His collar was damp. His face was drawn.
Josh got out of the car.
“Hey.”
Matt rolled up to the passenger side. “Hey.”
“You need—”
“Hold the door.”
Josh held the door.
Matt set the brakes, planted his left foot on the ground. His right followed slower, brace creaking at the knee. Left hand on the car seat, right on the chair frame. He shifted his weight through his arm and slid across, then pulled his legs into the footwell.
The whole thing took maybe twenty seconds. Josh caught himself counting.
“Wheels come off. Quick-release on the hub.”
“How do—”
“Button on the axle. Press and pull.”
He pressed it and pulled. The wheel came off smooth. He set it down. Did the other one. He put the frame into the back seat, laid the wheels beside it. Shut the door, got in. Started the car.
Matt was already leaning against the window with his eyes closed.
It was only a ten minute drive across the district.
He stole a glance. Matt hadn’t moved. His right hand rested flat on his thigh. Scarred.
Josh had questions. He didn’t ask any of them.
“Rough day?” he said, eventually.
“They all are.”
Josh didn’t try again.
The Hartfield house was one of the quiet ones on its street. Josh pulled into the driveway and parked.
Matt opened his eyes.
Josh got out, came around to the passenger side.
“You need help getting—”
“Just the chair.”
He unloaded the frame and wheels. Matt already had his feet on the ground by the time Josh turned back.
“Line up the axle, push until the button pops back.”
First wheel went on. The second one didn’t catch. He pulled it back out and tried again. It clicked.
“Brakes on. Front wheels toward me.”
“Like this?”
“Yeah.”
Getting out took him even longer. Matt dragged himself into the chair, sat there, then got his feet on the footplate. Josh stepped back as he released the brakes.
Further up the driveway, the garage door rose. Matt rolled toward it. Josh wasn’t sure if he was supposed to follow or say anything.
At the threshold, Matt paused and looked back.
“Thanks, kid.”
Josh watched the door close.
I didn’t even do anything.
Ben was on the couch when Josh let himself in. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat next to him.
“How’d the inspection prep go?”
“Don’t.”
“That bad?”
“I’ve got a bay full of Engine 33’s overflow. Normally fine. Not fine when I’m the one being inspected and nobody remembers whose stuff is whose. There’s a hose reel in there nobody will claim. It’s just sitting there. Rent-free.”
“Wow. Can’t you just toss it?”
“Nope. Has to be disposed of. Through channels.”
“Sounds like a lot of paperwork for a guy who hates paperwork.”
“This is exactly why I went to Rescue. So I wouldn’t have to do this shit. I made lieutenant just to make Matt shut up, and now I’m the captain dealing with it. This is all his fault.”
Right. Everything’s Matt’s fault. Even the good things.
“So how’d it go with Matt?” Ben asked.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Josh said. “I held the door. I put the chair in. I took it out. I drove. Left his placard in the mailbox because he was already inside.”
“Yeah. That’s pretty much it.”
“He wouldn’t let me do anything. I kept offering. He kept shutting it down.”
“You should’ve seen the OTs in rehab. Pulling their hair out. They got paid to help him and he wouldn’t let them either.”
“He barely talked.”
“It’s not you. He’s wiped after PT. Takes a while to come back.”
“At the rehab thing. The first time. He was… different. Sharp. He put me red in one line and I didn’t have anything to say. Which one is him?”
“Both. He’s sharp when he has it. Today he didn’t have it. He used to always have it.”
“Used to.”
“Before.”
The version of Matt without the chair.
“He liked you, for what it’s worth. He wouldn’t have gone at you like that if he didn’t.”
“That was liking me?”
“Yeah.”
Josh laughed. “Oh my god.”
“Thanks for picking him up,” Ben said.
“Anytime.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
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