A Long Day Into Evening

After three days in the hospital, it was finally time to come home. Ann was grateful that her husband Eddie had been able to spend so much time at the hospital with her; in fact, he slept in her room the whole time. But it was time to return home to a new normal.

==+==+==

Ann was disabled. Born with a birth condition called Spina Bifida. Without the details, to the world, she was a woman in a wheelchair.

When they met in college, Ann feared falling in love with the goofy oaf of a man. She did everything she could to throw obstacles in his path to discourage him. She didn't want to be hurt yet again. Problem was, Eddie Ingram was either so stubborn he wouldn't take a simple No for an answer, or he was so naive he didn't realize that Ann had been trying to give him the brush off since shortly after they'd met! But he kept coming back, until she finally realized that she was dreading the time he was away more than she used to look forward to when he'd leave.

"But Mom!" she exclaimed in a phone call one evening, "He doesn't know anything about me!" Ann's mother Lucy, a woman of wisdom and grace asked, "He doesn't know anything about you? Or he doesn't know anything about Spina Bifida?"

"He doesn't know anything about anything!"

"Well Sweetheart, maybe you should tell him."

"If I tell him about that, he won't want to be around me. He'll ... he'll leave me!"

"Ann Marie Gephart! If that's how little you think of him, if he's that shallow, maybe you don't want him to be with you."

Her Mom could almost hear Ann roll her eyes, "No Mom, he's not one of THOSE .. I just wonder if he'd feel like I'd trapped him somehow."

"Well, he's the only one that can make that decision isn't he? Shouldn't he have all the information to make it?"

So, Ann and Eddie went out for dinner. The school dorms didn't have dinner service on Friday nights, so the students had to fend for themselves. For most, it meant ordering pizza from Piaza Palace. For some, it was burgers at the local fast food joint's drive through. For Ann and Eddie, it was a special place they called their own, Gritzby's. As the server walked away with their order, conversation was light.

Eddie could tell Ann had something on her mind, but he didn't want to push. He knew that she'd tell him when she felt comfortable or the moment was right. He worried a little. This was the most serious he'd ever been with someone, and he feared Ann was wanting to break it off!

After dinner, they went for a stroll around campus. Most of the time, Ann preferred to push herself. But she had become more and more willing to let him push. To some, it wasn't much. But it was a trust issue. Ann was willing to be seen as a bit weaker, because she knew that Eddie would never betray that.

"Okay so," Ann began tentatively, "If this is going where I think it's going, I want to tell you some things about me..." and she told him EvErYtHiNg! Eddie had known about Spina Bifida, and had guessed that was most likely the condition that she had. It was nice to have this verified, but it was most important that Ann wasn't breaking things off and was in fact exposing very personal stuff. Deeper trust. After that, when they weren't in classes or asleep in their respective dorm rooms, it was a rarity to find Ann and Eddie apart. Eddie even arranged to have his dorm dining service transferred to her dorm so they could have meals together.

==+==+==

The night was young. Ann and Eddie were celebrating Eddie having completed his master's degree. They were at their regular table at Gritzby's. Talking about their future together seemed to be all they talked about. It seemed such a wonderful dream. As much as they loved the topic, in her heart of hearts, Ann always had some trepidation on the subject. Spina Bifida posed several question marks regarding their future. One of them was children. Having it didn't mean there was no way to have kids, but it meant that there could be challenges. Ann still kept the tiniest bit of herself back. She wanted to spend her life with Eddie. She wanted to have children with Eddie. She knew that he would be an excellent father! But if she couldn't conceive, what would happen?

Ann was nervous. So was Eddie, but for different reasons. Eddie was the youngest of four children in his family. People joke about how the youngest is always "Momma's favorite", but Eddie always felt that he lived in a deep shadow cast by all three of his siblings. Ellen was very much the "Type A oldest child." By the time she was 35, she and her husband owned an advertising agency and lived in one of the more affluent neighborhoods in town.

Bill was second. For many years, he was the lone wolf of the family. Driven by demons none of the rest of them could understand, he floundered for many years. A "Deadhead", no one really expected much of him. Which made his eventual success in home construction that much more of a surprise. Possibly even to him.

Marie was third. Eddie teased his sister, calling her "Donna Reed", making reference to her seeming inexhaustible energy and acumine as a homemaker and mother of four. But Marie was also the cement that held the rest of the Ingram kids together after their mother died.

Eddie sometimes didn't think he'd ever just be his own man. Usually, he was Ellen, Bill or Marie's little brother. Ann was the first person that he was the focus. Not in a conceited way, but he just didn't have to worry about how he compared to them. This had to go perfectly.

After the server had delivered their dessert -- a fairly massive brownie hot fudge sundae the restaurant called "Death By Chocolate" with two spoons -- Eddie spoke from his heart. "Annie, tonight is a night I want us to both remember. Today is March 30th. We are here at Gritzby's and this has been a most wonderful evening with you. I don't want evenings like this to end. I want us to be able to enjoy every evening together. Ann Bethany Gephart, you hold my heart in your hands. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" As Eddie asked the question, he did a bit of slight-of-hand he had practiced for weeks. His hands were empty, then they were holding a small velveteen box which he opened to reveal a ring of pure gold with a modest but very noticeable diamond set in two hands clasped together. A "Claddagh" Irish ring.

Ann took several minutes to answer. Long enough in fact that Eddie became nervous that she was trying to think of a kind and understanding way to say no. The restaurant had become silent. It would seem everyone had overheard the question and waited with baited breath. To her credit, the only reason Ann was taking so long to respond was that she was just so in shock at the surprise that her brain had gone completely blank! The scared look that Eddie took as her fear of him was in fact her fear that her mouth would never open! That she could not get the one word out that she wanted to say more than any other. Finally, with the effort of an Olympic athlete, Ann said,

"YES!!"

The restaurant erupted into applause!

==+==+==

Two years after their wedding, Eddie and Ann Ingram were expecting the birth of their first child. There would be complications. Ann wound up spending three days in the hospital, but finally they came home with their daughter, Abigail Elizabeth Ingram.

(word count per my word processor software: 1340, per WDC, All Words: 1333)