Chapter Three

Mom, Dad, Stella, Liam, Nolan, and I were all seated at the dinner table. We all had plates full of food and were chatting conversationally. I, however, was more focused on Stella. I was sure she'd eventually bring up her cross examination again and I'd jump in, change the subject, and save the day.

"Starr's birthday is almost here," she said to Nolan, twirling a finger in her curly hair. "We want to give her a party, but she doesn't want one. Would you come if we gave her a party?"

I rolled my eyes.

"I don't want a party, Rabbit," I said.

I had nicknamed Stella Rabbit when she was a baby. She was always so fidgety and constantly moving around. Seven years later, not a thing had changed.

"It would be a surprise, Starr. Duh!" she responded.

"It's not a surprise if she knows," Liam interjected reasonably.

"I wasn't asking you!" she shot back.

"Don't yell at me!" he shrieked, throwing a piece of bread at her.

I sighed and put my face in my hands. World War 3 had just broken out with these two; again.

"Kids, either you settle down, or you go to your rooms. No dessert and straight to bed," my mother warned, raising a finger.

They immediately quieted down after sticking their tongues out at each other, of course.

The phone started to ring and Mom stepped out of the room to answer it.

My father chuckled and shook his head. He glanced at me and threw a piece of bread. I raised an eyebrow and chucked it back. It missed him and landed on the floor behind him. With a mischievous smile, he broke another piece of bread and threw it at me.

I looked down at the bread in my lap and looked up at him slowly. I gave him the look that told him that his challenge had been accepted.

Instead of breaking a piece off of the roll I had, I threw the entire thing at him and caught him square in the face.

I threw my arms up—victorious—as the kids and Nolan laughed. My father picked up the roll and pulled his arm back, ready to let it fly back in my direction, when my mother walked in and took the roll from his hand.

"Honestly," she said, shaking her head.

I wasn't sure what exactly had gotten into me at that moment, but I grabbed a roll out of the basket and threw it at my mom.

"Lighten up," I said as it hit her.

For a moment she looked shocked, then outraged, then calm. Then her shoulders began to shake and she started to laugh. I raised my eyebrows as I met my father's eyes, and we both shrugged.

Mom had been a lot of fun when I was younger, but ever since I wound up in this wheelchair, she took extra precautions when it came to me.

Coming into the dining room and seeing my father wielding a piece of bread must've looked like an assault waiting to happen, to her.

"May I have my roll back, dear?" Dad asked, holding out his hand. She handed it back to him while still giggling.

Stella took that opportunity to bring up my impending birthday again. I watched her put her elbows on the table and insert her chin accordingly. She batted her eyelashes a few times and I had to stifle a giggle.

"So, would you? Come to her birthday party?" she asked, giving Nolan her best, I'm-too-cute-for-you-to-say-no face.

"If you have a party, yes, I will be here," he replied with a grin.

"What if we don't have a party because she doesn't let us?" she wailed dramatically.

"Then I'll still be here," he reassured her.

Stella gave him a big smile and jumped up from her seat. She ran around the table and put her tiny arms around him, giving him the tightest hug she could muster.

"Thanks Nolan!" she said into his arm.

"You're welcome," he said, laughing and returning her hug.

She pulled away from him and made her way over to me, then climbed onto my lap. She carefully balanced herself so as to not hurt me, and pushed my hair away from my ear. Leaning close she whispered, "I think he loves you."

I pulled back wide-eyed and stole a glance at Nolan to make sure he hadn't heard Stella's comment. If he had, he was careful not to let it show on his face. She gave me a kiss on the cheek, climbed off, and skipped back to her seat.

"Help me bring out dessert, Stella," Mom said as she grabbed the dirty plates.

"Can I help too?" Liam asked.

"Yes you can," she said to him. He got up excitedly and ran into the kitchen.

"Hold on, Mom. I can take the dishes," I said, pushing away from the table and wheeling toward her.

"Oh, sweetheart, you have company. It's not very polite to leave him—with your father," she finished in a loud stage whisper.

"I'm sure us men will be just fine," Dad said with a smirk.

"See? Daddy's got it under control. Here, let me take those," I said, pulling a stack of dishes out of her hand and placing them on my lap.

She smiled and pushed the doors open so I could go through them. I wheeled my way over to the dishwasher and pulled it open.

"You don't have to do all that, you know," she said.

"It's okay. I don't mind. Besides, my arms work just fine," I joked, flexing one.

She laughed and shook her head as she went over to the impatiently waiting children. One by one, I loaded the dishes sitting on my lap into the dishwasher, then the ones that were on the counter.

Mom, Stella, and Liam left the room with dessert, while I continued putting dishes in. When I was sure I had them all, I closed the door and pressed the button.

I made my way to the doors and pushed them open, rolling through as quickly as I could. I winced when the doors flung back toward me and hit the back of my wheels.

Just another subtle reminder that you're not normal, I thought with a heavy sigh.

I rolled over to my spot next to Nolan. My parents and siblings were heavy into conversation over the birthday party I didn't want. I sighed again and he nudged me.

I looked at him and he raised an eyebrow. I just shook my head slightly and shrugged.

"So what did you kids do today?" my dad asked, turning his attention back to us.

"Starr got on the swings," Nolan immediately answered.

I put my face in my hand and groaned inwardly. Although my father was the more relaxed of my parents, he wasn't going to be too happy to hear that I was out of my chair without him there.

"She did—what?" he asked in shock.

"She got on the swings," Nolan repeated uneasily.

"How?"

"I helped her."

"Why would you do that? Do you know how dangerous that could be for her?" my father exploded.

"Um, with all due respect Mr. East, Starr seems like a big enough girl to make her own decisions. Also, I wasn't going to do anything that would harm her," Nolan replied.

"Yeah, Daddy!" Stella chimed in.

My father shot her a warning look and she immediately quieted down.

"Nolan, there are things you need to understand. The first thing is, we don't know you," my father said, pointing his fork at him. "The second thing is that I think Jessie and I would know what's best for Starr. And lastly, if you can't respect that my daughter cannot be out of her chair without either one of us present, then I suggest you leave and never come back. We want Starr to have friends and your parents said you were an upstanding young man, but I will not allow you to put my eldest in danger."

"Dad!" I exclaimed in shock.

"No, Starr, don't interrupt me please," he said, holding up a hand. "Can you respect that, Nolan?" he asked him.

He was quiet for a moment before he looked my father in the eyes and spoke.

"Mr. East, do you know what one of her hopes is? To be able to walk to the bathroom. That seems trivial enough doesn't it? But we aren't confined to a wheelchair and not given the chance to try new things. I never knew that walking to the bathroom was something that's so easily taken for granted, did you?" he asked.

My father dropped his fork and excused himself from the table.

"Aaron, sit down," my mother said, quietly but firmly. "The boy has a point. We don't know what Starr can and can't do, because we don't let her try."

I looked at my mom rather proudly. She and my father almost never disagreed on anything when it came to their kids, but she was standing up for me. And for Nolan.

"What else do you want to do, sweetheart?" she asked me while simultaneously giving my father a dangerous look.

"Well, I would love to ride a rollercoaster someday," I said slowly. "Those always looked like fun. Maybe walk up the stairs so I can play with the kids in their room. Walk outside to get the mail instead of having to roll and use the gripper. I'd love to walk on the beach and feel the cool water underneath my toes, forming sandy footprints because I'm standing there. I'd give anything to be able to jump rope next to Rabbit instead of holding one end for her. I think it would be so much fun to be able to run and stand when I play catch with Nugget." I blinked back angry tears. "I'd do anything to be able to go out with you and Dad; walk side by side and not have you worry about me getting bumped into."

She smiled at me. "What else?"

"Listen, I know this sounds like a long shot, but I would love to get married one day. I'd love to be in a pretty white dress and walk down the aisle."

I suddenly felt an overwhelming sadness. Hopefully, I still had my whole life in front of me, but I knew that was something that had the slimmest chance of happening.

"Oh, Janey," my mom replied softly, her eyes growing misty. "It'll happen. Even if I have to help you walk down the aisle myself."

I smiled at her and sniffled. I refused to cry. Though I was kind of impressed with the fact that I had almost cried three times in a single day.

"There's a great amusement park about an hour away from here. It opens tomorrow if you want to go," Nolan whispered in my ear.

I looked at him and smiled.

"I don't think Dad is going to let me go," I whispered back.

"Maybe the day after tomorrow then," he replied quietly with that half smile.

I grinned in response.

"You two should get married," Stella said.

We both turned to look at her and she had her face in her hands again. But instead of giving the too-cute-to-say-no-to look, she was giving us an innocent look.

"Stella Giselle!" my mother scolded. "You don't say things like that. Now take your brother outside and go play. You've got thirty minutes before you have to take a bath and get in bed."

"She's just being a kid, Mrs. East. It's okay," Nolan replied with a laugh.

My mom nodded and smiled. She told my father to help her clean up in the kitchen and they were gone. Nolan and I were left sitting at the dining room table in silence.

"I should probably get home. My parents might be wondering where I am," he said, getting to his feet.

"Here, let me walk you to the door," I said as I pushed back from the table.

He chuckled at my joke, and I smiled. It was nice to finally find some humor in my situation. I rolled to the front door with Nolan following me. Once we reached it he opened it, and hesitated before walking through.

"Do you... want to hang out tomorrow? I can come by earlier and we can go to the zoo or something," he said nervously.

"Sure! That sounds like a lot of fun," I replied enthusiastically.

"Awesome." He smiled widely. "I'll come by around ten, okay?"

I nodded and smiled up at him. Maybe I had finally found a friend. Maybe I had found a reason to get out of the house more; farther away than just the front porch.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he said softly.

"Okay."

Nolan bit his lower lip for a moment, before leaning down and kissing me gently on the cheek. He walked out the front door and descended the stairs without so much as a backward glance.

I put a hand to my cheek and watched him disappear down the street. I smiled more widely and felt myself trembling.

Maybe I had just found something more.