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Dad nodded and reached for my chair. He folded it and began to climb the stairs when Nolan shook his head.
“Unnecessary, Mr. East. We’ll be walking today for as long as our legs can hold us,” he said, giving me a gentle squeeze. He turned us around and smiled at the kids. “Let’s go!”
“Come on guys! Let’s go play!” Stella said, happily leading the way to her and Liam’s room.
Chapter Eight
It took ten minutes for me to get properly adjusted on the floor. Stella said that I could sit with my back leaning against the end of her bed and Liam brought me his coloring table to use. Nolan had carefully straightened my legs out in front of me and then we all chose a box of crayons and some construction paper—multi-colored of course.
At the suggestion of Liam, everyone made me a birthday card. I laughed when he said it, because he looked so excited about the idea. So, while they all busied themselves with coloring pictures on the front of the card and writing things inside, I busied myself with making thank you cards for each of them.
When we were all done, Stella insisted that everyone stand up and read their card to me before letting me have them. She also insisted that she go first.
“Dear Janey, Thank you for being born. You are the best big sister anyone could ever ask for. I love you very much and wish we had a party for you. Love, Stella.”
She handed me the card and gave me a big hug. I thanked her and gave her the thank you card I had made for her, and she grinned widely.
As she went and sat back down, Liam stood up.
“Dear Janey, I wish that I could give you my legs as a birthday present so that you wouldn’t have to be in that wheelchair. But I can’t. I’m sorry. I love you, Liam.”
“Oh, Nugget,” I whispered tearfully when he hugged me. I took the card from him and gave him his thank you card.
Nolan stood up and cleared his throat nervously.
“Jane, I’ve never in my life met anyone that I believe in as much as I do you. I believe in the fact that you are the kindest person I’ve ever met. I believe in the fact that your love is so strong for others and that your heart is so big that you have to be confined. I believe it wouldn’t be fair to the world to have someone as beautiful and endearing as you to be able to walk too, so you were given an obstacle. But, in the little bit of time that I’ve known you, I’ve realized it isn’t an obstacle at all. While there are times that you seem unhappy because of your situation, you rarely let it show on the outside. That is why I wanted to ask you a very important question.” He looked up at me for a moment, then back down to his birthday card. “Will you, Jane Camille East, do me the honor of marrying me?”
“Yes!” the kids yelled together.
I was crying by that point. I wanted to say yes, more than anything in the world, but I also knew that if I did I would become a burden on someone new. I didn’t want him to have to take care of me for the rest of my life. I loved Nolan more than I could put into words, but... I couldn’t do that to him.
“I can’t,” I sobbed.
“Yes you can.”
I looked up and saw Mom and Dad had been standing in the doorway. I didn’t know how long they had been there, but their faces were red, and they both looked like they were both fighting back tears.
“You deserve to be happy, too. Even though I think this entire friendship moved way too quickly toward this, you can’t help what your heart wants. And Nolan’s heart wants you, Janey,” my father said.
I held up my hands and took a deep breath. I needed to steady myself for what I was going to tell them. After about five minutes of hiccup breathing, I was finally able to talk.
“I can’t be a burden to everyone that loves me. And that’s what I’ll be to you,” I said looking up at Nolan. “I can’t take a bath or a shower without Mom undressing me and putting me in the bath chair. I can’t find anywhere that will hire me, so I wouldn’t be able to pull in half of what we would need to support ourselves. We’d need to build a special kitchen where I could reach everything just to be able to cook for you. We’d need ramps installed so I can get in and out of the house when you aren’t home. I wouldn’t be able to give you children; that’s something that everyone deserves.”
Nolan came over to where I was sitting and knelt down beside me. He took my hands in his and put his forehead against mine.
“Everything you just said is either material or trivial. True love doesn’t ask for anything other than the person it wants. I’d be happy living in the streets if you were with me. I don’t need a big fancy house; I don’t need children, hell, I don’t even need you to cook for me. I. Just. Need. You.”
Fresh tears poured from my eyes and Nolan kissed me gently. He took a deep breath and let it out after a moment.
“Jane. I think he deserves an answer. One from your heart and not your mind,” Daddy said.
“Are you sure you want a life like this?” I asked, gesturing around me.
“Positive.”
I took a deep breath and looked at Stella and Liam who were watching us with big hopeful eyes. I looked over at my mom as she leaned her head onto my dad’s shoulder. I watched him put his arm around her and hold her close to him. I looked down for a moment and then back up into Nolan’s expectant face.
“Then yes. I will marry you,” I whispered.
