BABY STEPS

**Rebecca’s story**

Although I couldn’t see and couldn’t move, the way I felt remained the same. And Dominic’s news really shocked me.
“Rebecca, I know I took you by surprise. I didn’t want you to find out this way, but I really want to take you with me to the Treasure Awards. So I need you cured in two weeks,” Dominic explained, but my mind remained on the Treasure Awards. This man, if he was indeed taking me there, was actually the actor Dominic Stone. If it hadn’t been him, how could he tell me he was taking me there? “So, I got in touch with the best physical therapist in New York, Catherine Rogers. She is actually my agent’s fiancee.”
“Doctor Catherine Rogers?” Who didn’t know Catherine? He was the best, and everyone, without exception, went to him. Another reason to believe Dominic was who he claimed to be. She wasn’t a cheap doctor.
The day in Dominic’s company flew by. I was supposed to meet Catherine the next morning at 8 o’clock. And as the time approached, I grew increasingly anxious. I hadn’t felt my legs for a while. Even Declan couldn’t explain why I wasn’t walking yet. Maybe doctor Catherine was my only and last chance.
I didn’t sleep that night. I kept tossing and turning in bed, hoping to get at least a few hours of rest.
But just as I settled down and felt sleep gradually stealing over me, the clock on my bedside table rang. No time to be tired, though. Today’s excitement was too overwhelming. I went downstairs to the kitchen after freshening up a bit. There was Dominic, making coffee.
“Good morning, Rebecca! I have news” His control was frightening. He didn’t seem to feel a bit of what I was feeling. After all, why would he? I almost suspected he just needed someone to accompany him to the gala.
“News? What do you mean?” For a moment, I thought Dr. Catherine wasn’t coming. That was partly true.
“Yes, news. Catherine called and said she’d set up her private office. It was being renovated, so she’s waiting for us there.”
“Great! What can I say?” Maybe it was better in an environment intended for people like me.
We drove more than half an hour to the office. But the moment Dominic turned off the car engine, I knew my life was about to change. From the second I stepped in my chair into the doctor’s office, my destiny would be different. I always knew I’d do something great, but the attack ruined all my plans. Somehow, I always felt I had a mission to work on. Anyway, I was taking the first steps towards healing and that’s what mattered.
Dominic’s simple knock on the office door almost made me bounce in my wheelchair. I was a nervous wreck. But what if this was not temporary? I assumed Dominic felt my angst and tried to calm me down.
“Rebecca, try to relax a bit. I’m pretty confident Catherine will help you. She’s the best in what she does”
“I’ll do my best. It’s just that...” I couldn’t even connect the words. I could barely swallow. I felt like I was swallowing my entire existence.
Dominic suddenly grabbed my hand in his. It was so soothing and warm. Tears welled up in my eyes, dulled by the obscurity those who hurt me had condemned me to live in.
“Everything will be alright, I promise you! I know it will be. Have faith in your willingness to heal and in Catherine’’
“I do trust you, Dominic, and the doctor too! But I won’t say I am not afraid. That would mean I’d be lying”
A moment of silence followed my words. I could hear my heartbeat. At some point, I didn’t know if it was mine or Dominic’s, because our hearts were pounding at the same time. His thumb stroked my hand in a way that my whole body reacted to. It was funny that I couldn’t feel anything in my legs. Tears were now rolling down my face in cascades, waiting for how impossible it seemed to walk again.

Dominic placed his hand on my cheek, reassuring me. I felt my heart slow its beating. Without thinking, I opened my arms and threw them around his neck, holding him close. So close that he remained still, stunned by my reaction. Suddenly, I felt his arms embrace me in return, pulling me into his arms tightly, abandoning myself in that safe place. But it was time to enter, as Catherine’s sweet voice greeted us.
I could feel her smile. She wasn’t that sober doctor who would treat you strictly on topic.
“Come on in, friends! Nick told me you were coming!” I walked in and Dominic helped me stop right in front of the doctor.
“It’s good to see you again, Catherine! We desperately need your help. Do you think you can do the miracle in two weeks?” Then there was a moment of silence. Catherine must have been studying me. She had already come closer. Her vanilla scent invaded my nostrils.
“Okay, I’ll do my best. Hopefully, God will work through my hands. I understand from her medical records that she also has memory loss, selective amnesia”
“That’s right. Only the moment of the attack she doesn’t remember. She also has nightmares...” Dominic added, then fell silent for a few seconds, probably remembering what happened two nights ago.
“It’s completely natural. Don’t worry too much. Considering the drama she’s been through, I see she is in a wonderful spirit,” Catherine added, and somehow I agreed with her. Maybe all my good mood was thanks to Dominic.
“Is there any possibility she could walk again?” His voice had already lowered a tone and seemed to be a little more gloomy.
“Of course it exists! Keep your hopes high, Dominic. With my therapy and a lot of patience. I know you need her cured in two weeks, and if this you want to be doable, I would need you both to collaborate, as a team. And I am sure Dominic, that your wife will be fine”
I didn’t even know the moment I felt my cheeks on fire.
His wife. How cute did that sound? And it was a question. Even their eyes could feel them on me.
“I think there is a misunderstanding here. Miss Rebecca is not my wife...”
I felt a tinge of regret in his voice. And again he turned to Miss Rebecca…
“Oh, my mistake! I’m so sorry, Dominic, I didn’t mean to...”
“It’s all right, don’t worry about it” The way Dominic turned the tables left a mark somewhere deep in my subconscious. But it was all still embarrassing. Neither of them said anything.
I lowered my gaze, waiting for some kind of wonder. I was hoping they would change the subject, but the silence was so oppressive, I just had to speak up.
“Dr. Rogers, I apologize for interfering concerning my amnesia and nightmares,” and the spell seems to have broken like magic.
“What about them?” I had piqued the doctor’s interest, and that could only be a good thing. More than that, Dominic owed me a talk. We might as well have had it here.
“In every bad dream I have, there’s a young man with me and the gigantic wolves kill him. I call him Tom. What is that supposed to mean?”
“A young man, you say... unlikely to be someone you know. It could be a manifestation of your fear.”
“It could be... maybe you’re right” I really hadn’t thought about it from that point of view. Maybe that’s why Dominic was avoiding talking to me, because Tom didn’t really exist. He was a figment of my imagination, of the fear that filled me at that moment that I might end up horribly.
One more moment of uncomfortable silence before Dr. Rogers turned to speak again, only this time to Dominic.
“Ok, friend, I suggest we begin our first session”
I froze in my wheelchair. The long-awaited moment had just arrived and there was no turning back.
I felt Dominic push the wheelchair towards what seemed to be a space specially set up for me. “Miss Rebecca, just so you know, we have arrived, as you may have guessed, in a sort of gym, if I can call it that. You can’t see it, but I guarantee it’s nice. Dominic will be able to sit here with us and watch. Maybe even help if we need it. So, in this room, we’ll work for two weeks from now until I can get your legs strong enough to walk again.”
It all seemed so unreal. I was so close to fulfilling a dream. Because that’s what it had become, a dream. An attack that, even if I didn’t remember it, seemed random, changed my whole life.
“Rebecca, please don’t forget one thing” Dominic stepped in and I could hear him so close I shuddered at every inflection of his voice. He was doing so much for me and although nothing would compel him to do it, not even saving me from death, he was with me every step of the way. And I was feeling safe with him. “You have to take everything calmly, in baby steps, so that your effort will be rewarded. And remember one more thing. I’ll be with you all the way through this. I promise!”
Dominic’s voice was so peaceful and so supportive. I knew he wanted me to heal, to walk and see again, but as he said, we had to take baby steps to make it complete. I knew I had a long, hard road ahead of me, but I also knew he would be there for me. He promised! And with that thought in mind, I stepped towards what was to become my only escape. My only universe for the next period. Let the fun begin!