In Love With An Older Man 13

August 1993

"Why, hello there, Cindy and Gary! It's so good to see you again! I can't believe how much the twins have grown!" Lacy Bradford, Cindy's sister-in-law, said as she opened the door. Billy and Lacy's son, Justin Robert Bradford, had been born only a few days previously, and Cindy was eager to meet her new nephew.

Cindy pushed the double stroller holding the twins into the house while Gary held the door open for them both.

Billy looked up from his wheelchair where he held his sleeping son and smiled. Cindy took the twins out of the stroller and folded it and put it away.

"Billy! How's life treating you these days?" Gary greeted his brother-in-law.

"Pretty good, I guess, considering how sleep deprived I've been lately," Billy chuckled.

"I can sure relate the that," Gary replied.

"Oh, let me see him!" Cindy rushed over to Billy, who carefully handed baby Justin to her.

"Oh, aren't you adorable!" Cindy whispered to baby Justin. Justin stirred slightly as she cuddled him. His skin was blotchy, and the top of his head was covered with fine, soft, light brown hair. He was wearing a blue onesie.

"He's our miracle baby," Lacy said. She and Cindy sat on the sofa, and Gary sat in a chair near Billy's wheelchair. Rebecca toddled over to look at her new cousin. Jonathan, who was wearing his new leg braces, pulled himself up into a standing position, using the sofa for support.

"So, are the results of the muscle biopsy in yet? asked Lacy.

"We just got them. Jonathan doesn't have muscular dystrophy, thank goodness. He has hypotonia in his legs, which means they're just a bit floppier than average. He goes to physical therapy twice a week, and since he started wearing the leg braces, he's finally taken some steps on his own."

"That's great!" Lacy said. "For how long does he have to wear them?"

"We don't know yet. He goes back to the orthopedist every three months." Cindy didn't tell Lacy that there was a possibility that her son could need leg braces for the rest of his life. She just wanted to break down and cry every time she thought about that, so she simply didn't allow herself to think about it.

"So tell me, how are things so far with Justin?" asked Cindy.

"Everything seems fine so far. He weighed seven pounds, thirteen ounces at birth. The pediatrician told us that he appears to be perfectly normal in every way."

Justin squirmed and whimpered. "Looks like he's hungry again," Lacy said. She opened her shirt and began to breast-feed her son. "Wow, look at him go!" she remarked as he latched on and began to suckle eagerly.

Cindy watched Jonathan toddle around the living room, trying to keep up with his sister, and felt the lump in her throat getting bigger and bigger.

Jonathan toddled up to Billy's wheelchair and stood silently looking up at him.

"Well, hello there, young man," Billy said with a grin, scooping up Jonathan and sitting him in his lap. Jonathan grinned back at him.

"Know who I am? I'm your Uncle Billy! We're pretty special, you and I. You know why? You get around with your leg braces, and I get around with my wheelchair. And I think both of us get around just about as good as anyone else does. And I think that makes both of us pretty special."

Lacy had finished nursing Justin and put him down to sleep in his crib. As she returned to the living room, she noticed Cindy smiling as she watched Billy and Justin.

"He's so good with Jonathan," Cindy remarked. "I'm sure glad Jonathan has Billy for an uncle. I think Billy and Jonathan will probably always be close."

"Oh, I almost forgot! How are Carly and Jake?" Lacy asked.

"They're both fine. Carly's been helping out at the radio station for the summer. She and Jake both spend a lot of time at the beach with their friends. You wouldn't believe how dark they are now! Gary, Carly, and Jake always tan so beautifully, while I turn red as a lobster."

"You have a beautiful tan now, hon," Gary said.

"I paid a price for it, though. Peeled like a snake for ages." Gary laughed, and Cindy threw a sofa pillow at him, which he ducked.

"How are your studies going?" Gary asked Billy. After he had finished physical therapy, Billy had enrolled in college. He wanted to become a counselor to help people like himself who had suffered a life-changing injury.

"Going well, I got another 'A'."

"Glad to hear it."

Gary and Cindy visited for a while longer, until the twins started getting cranky.

"Thank you both so much for visiting. Come again soon," Lacy said as Gary and Cindy prepared to leave.

"It was a pleasure," Cindy told her. "Now that we're all grown up, we don't see nearly enough of each other."

"That's really a shame," Billy said.

"I think we should make a conscious effort to get together more often from now on," Cindy suggested.

"That's an excellent idea, although life does tend to get in the way," Gary said. "I don't see nearly as much of my own family as I'd like to."

Lacy helped Cindy maneuver the double stroller out the door. "You folks take care," she said.

"You too, and I hope that everything continues to go well with your precious new little one," Cindy said as they walked to the car.

"I feel so much better about Jonathan's situation after being around Billy," Cindy told Gary on the way home.

"I'm so glad to hear that," Gary said. "It's been difficult for both of us, I know, but at least I have my job to distract me. I know it's been harder for you, since you're primarily the one who takes care of him and takes him to doctor appointments and physical therapy."

"After seeing Billy and realizing how far he's come since his accident, I have so much more hope for Jonathan's future as well," Cindy said.

"So do I," Gary agreed.