A new life?

9. Going home

Regina

Like the last days I wake up to the sun shining on my face. Today is the day I finally go home. I'm really excited about it. In the morning Maura visits me again and gives me prescriptions for the medicine I have to take. I sign my discharge papers with the condition to call her if anything happens. A nurse helps me to pack the rest of my stuff and then I just wait for Robin. I don't have physical therapy, but tomorrow Tink will come by.

Robin

I get up early and make breakfast for us before Roland wakes up. There is still a lot to do before I'll pick up Regina. Luckily my mother volunteered to come by at eight so we can have breakfast together, something we haven't done in a long time. I missed it. Next time we should do it with my father. Before she leaves with my son I thank her again for taking him and tell her I'll come by whenever I can. I say goodbye to Roland and promise him to call in the evening before he goes to bed. Once they are gone I put my stuff in the car and drive to the supermarket knowing I'll have to go grocery shopping and I better get it done before I take Regina home. Apart from Italian food I don't know what she likes I just buy different things. Then I drive to her apartment, but I don't go inside. It feels just wrong to go inside without her. I still have some time and stop at Starbucks to grab us a coffee before I go to Regina. When I arrive she is already waiting for me wearing a pair of dark blue jeans paired with a red blouse and black flats. She is truly beautiful, even more when she smiles. "Good morning milady. You're ready to go home?" I ask handing her a coffee. "Yes and thank you for the coffee. You didn't have to do that." she says with a smile. I smile back "I know, but I wanted to.". "Could you possibly help me with that jacket?" she asks me shyly. I can feel it isn't easy for her to ask for my help and she only did it, because she couldn't do it herself. "Sure, I'm here to help you." I pick up the black jacket and help her putting it on "I suppose we can go now.". "Yes. Let's go home." she says without looking at me. She feels uncomfortable about requiring assistance. Marian wasn't any different at first. I just hope Regina will accept my help without feeling uneasy about it, but I don't know how to change her mind just yet. Once we leave the hospital behind, we are right in the middle of Manhattan's busy streets. It's nearly time for lunch break, which makes the streets even more crowded than usual. People leave their offices to go to the next diner or coffee shop or food truck to get lunch. They are always in a rush and don't pay attention to the world around them. A few years ago I've been one of them. It feels so wrong to me now when I think about it. I'm not the same man anymore. I learned that sometimes you have to slow down to live your life completely or you miss the important moments. I take a deep breath and relax. "Can we please just go home?" Regina pulls me out of my thoughts. I didn't even notice how longe we've been standing here on the street. "Oh, yes sure." I say and start walking. Briefly I thought about taking the subway, but I quickly decide against it. It will be very crowded and I doubt Regina will feel very comfortable about it. I can see her tense and looking down as we walk down the street. "Is everything okay? Are you in pain?" I ask her with worry. Regina shakes her head "No, I'm fine Robin. Just take me home. Please.". It's not nothing. Something is clearly troubling her, but I don't want to pressure her. So I pretend that I didn't notice her lie and continue walking. Regina wanted to stop at the next pharmacy to get the medicine her doctor prescribed. She wanted to do it all be herself and I stepped back once we were inside to let her do it knowing a little success would be good fo her. She had some difficulties, but in the end it all worked out.

"We should have lunch here." I say as we pass Granny's, my favorite diner. Of course Regina protests saying she is tired, but I won't let her out of this situation that easily. She finally gives in and we go inside. I choose a table in the back. Soon Granny comes to our table to give us the menu. Usually it's Ruby's job, but when she sees me she always comes herself. She hugs me "Robin! It's so nice to see you again. Your mother told me what happened. I'm so sorry.". "Thank you." I say nearly crying. Granny asks me carefully "How are you and Roland doing? By the way where is he?". "We're trying, but it's hard. He stays with my parents." I explain. "And who is the beautiful lady you brought?" she asks turning to Regina. "I'm Regina, nice to meet you." she introduces herself. I can see she is a bit shocked when Granny hugs her, but she immediately relaxes and smiles. It was a great idea to come here. "Robin didn't tell me you know him." she says accusingly. "I'm sure he didn't." says and looks at me "His mother and I are good friends. I'll give you some time to choose now.".

"Robin, what is she talking about?" she asks me as we look through the menu. "I'll tell you someday. That's nothing for lunch." I answer her briefly. Luckily my answer satisfied her for now. Regina takes a chicken salad and a water and I get a burger with fries and a coke. While we eat we continue our little game from yesterday. I know that her favorite color is red and she likes to watch crime shows on tv. She likes music from Andrew Belle and Ed Sheeran and the season she likes most is winter.

Regina

It's the first time I'm on the streets again outside the park belonging to the hospital. I feel terrible when I see people looking at me. It's horrible and I just want to be home already. The whole time I look down to avoid their glances. When Robin asks me I try to brush it of. I can't talk about it in public. The desperation in my voice must have been enough to not pressure me further. In the pharmacy I got my medications all on my own. It wasn't easy, but I did it. My small success was able to lighten my mood a bit. I felt extremely uncomfortable when Robin brought me to that diner and I wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave, but I couldn't. I put a fake smile on and tried to be nice. It surprised me that Granny treated me so normal and even hugged me. I slowly relaxed and in the end it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I wouldn't mind going there again.

After lunch we continue our way to my apartment. We stop at Robin's car to get his suitcase and the groceries. I insist on taking one of the two begs on my lap so he doesn't have to go twice. I open the door with my key to let us both in. Everything in here reminds me of Daniel and tears begin to form in my eyes again. I try to hide them from Robin. He doesn't need to know how broken I'm now. When I'm ready I slowly turn around to look at him. I can see he is impressed by my apartment. It's designed very open. That's something I insisted on when we looked for apartments. Floor deep windows let in a lot of light and give a nice view over the city. "Let's get on a tour first." I suggest. "I'd like that." he says. I show him every room and allow him to take the guest bedroom and connected bathroom for as long as he stays. I noticed some small changes daddy must have made to make living here easier for me. "It's a really nice apartment." Robin compliments me.
"Thank you. We should unpack the groceries now." I tell Robin, already trying to turn around. In the kitchen I take the things from the bags and explain where they belong. Since he didn't know what I like he just bought what he thought I might like. It's not even two, but I already feel tired and exhausted and I just want to take a relaxing bath. It takes me a lot of courage to ask Robin about it. He takes me into my walk in closet and I choose my favorite pajamas to wear afterwards. The worst part was that I needed his help to undress and he could see me naked. He even gave me a shirt of his to cover my body, but it didn't help much to make me feel better. I didn't look him at him the whole time. When the bath was ready he lifted me up from the bed like I weigh nothing. I place my arms around his neck and I could feel his strong muscles holding me safely. As soon as I'm in the hot water I feel my body relax. "Call for me when you want to get out okay?" Robin asks me. I nod in agreement.

After he left I take off the shirt. It feels incredible to be in the water like I'm free. The scent of apples and cinnamon fills the room and helps me relax even more. Robin chose my favorite bubble bath. Soon I fall asleep.

I wake up again when Robin softly touches my arm "Hey sleepyhead. You should get out now. The water is getting cold. I was really worried when you didn't call.". "I'm sorry. I was so tired and fell asleep." I say looking up at him. "It's okay. The whole day must have been exhausting for you. Are you feeling better now?" Robin asks and hands me his shirt. I pull it over and say "Yes, I'm more relaxed and my body hurts less.".

Once I'm dressed in my pajamas Robin carries me to the livingrroom and help me to get comfortable on one of the lounge chairs, because I wanted to watch TV Since Robin has never seen some of my favorite shows I'll use the time we spend together show them to him starting with Unforgettable. He enjoyed it a lot so we are definitely continuing it. After the first two episodes we take a break and Robin makes us sandwiches for dinner. I've never been a fan of dinner on the couch, but now I have to admit not having to get up is great. Some time into the third episode my eyes begin to fall closed and I slowly fall asleep. I didn't even notice Robin taking me to my bed.

I find a lot of time to write so here is chapter nine already. I'd love to read what you think about it. Leave some likes if you like it ☺️
~Julia