A Song For Lisa (19 page)

“I didn’t plan this, Lisa. I’ve cherished our friendship. It
wasn’t difficult to have it take one more step forward. Lately, I’ve been
thinking that maybe, just maybe, you would not want a one-armed man…”

“Stop right there, Colonel Wright,” Lisa said sharply.
“Those are your thoughts, not mine. If you only knew how much I’ve leaned on
your strong principles. I made the decision to have Terry after talking to you
on the hospital ship. You’ve been my salvation in more ways than you’ll ever
know. I can tell you with all my heart that I love you without reservations. It
has been a secret dream of mine over the years.”

Jon held her again and buried his face in her hair. Suddenly
his world had changed. He looked into her eyes again and wiped a tear that was
falling down the side of her nose and kissed her one more time. Lisa embraced
him. Her heart was pounding wildly. She felt like shouting to the world that
her love for Jon had at last been declared, and the joy was compounded. He
loved her too!

It was a day that Lisa and Jonathon would always remember!
Their first meal out at Yoken’s was an experience they did not want to end. It
had been Jon’s first trip out from a hospital since he was wounded in Korea.

At first, he was self-conscious appearing in public with an
empty sleeve. Lisa was able to dispel his anxiety by telling him that people
may stare, but they do so because his ribbons and empty sleeve only serve to
indicate that he was a brave soldier and has sacrificed much for his country.
Most acknowledged him with respect, not pity.

Lisa also saw that he was getting tired. “I don’t want you
to overdo on your first outing. Why don’t I take you back to the navy yard?”
She took his right hand in hers across the table. “I never dreamed that this
day would be such a happy one for me.”

“I’ll let you take me back. I am feeling a little tired, but
it feels good. It’s hard to explain.”

“I understand, Jon. Where do we go from here?” she asked.
“Do you want me to help you find a house or apartment near the university? Have
the doctors given you any idea just when you can start your teaching tour?”

“The doctors are cautious about predictions. I expect that
I’ll be able to carry out a full day’s work within a couple of months. I’d prefer
starting earlier on a part-time basis. I’m not sure what the routine will be
for quarters, Lisa. I’ll find out later how the army handles that. It’ll be
nice working with you in the same place.”

“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Lisa remarked casually.
“I’m ready to leave if you are. We can be at the navy yard in a half hour.” She
noticed a distressed look on his face. “Are you all right, Jon?”

He was holding his wallet in his right hand. “I need some
help,” he replied embarrassed at his predicament. “Would you hold the wallet
while I remove the money to pay the bill?”

“Of course. Don’t feel bad. It’ll be easier when they have
your arm ready. In the meantime, let me be the one to help you for a change.
Okay, Colonel?”

Touched by the love in her eyes, Jon replied. “Okay, Lisa
Carter!”

On the way back to the hospital, Lisa was focused and alert
with her driving, enjoying the closeness of Jonathon’s presence. Words were not
necessary for her to rejoice that, for the first time in years, she was truly
happy. The future was bright with possibilities. As she was driving over the
bridge between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Kittery, Maine, Lisa remembered
that she had not told Jon about the symphony’s schedule.

“I almost forgot to tell you,” she continued. “Our schedule
for the winter performance is beginning to come together. We’re doing a
Christmas concert on Christmas Eve and a couple of months or so later, we’re
doing a concert at the auditorium with two featured performers. One is a cello
player and the other is a violinist. Commitments are tentative but it’s
exciting to think about.”

“I’m glad for you, Lisa. I hope that I can attend them.
Faith asks me every time I see her when you’re going to play again.” Sitting
beside her in the Studebaker, Jon sensed the inherent decency and modesty that
was so much a part of her disposition. He was a lucky man.

“Faith is a dear girl. You have a right to be proud of her.
Your mother has done a wonderful job, but I have a feeling that she is anxious
to be with her dad. Just maybe, her dad needs her more than she needs him.”

“You’re a perceptive person. I do need her. As I mentioned
earlier, I’ve felt guilty and hope that I can make up for lost time.”

Lisa turned into the hospital parking lot and stopped. “I’m
sure you will, Jon. It’s been quite a day!”

“More than I expected,” he answered, leaning over to kiss
her.

“Thank you for being honest with me,” Lisa was smiling at
him. “I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight. You rest well, Jonathon. I’ll
pray for you.”

Jonathon opened the door and started to get out of the car.
Lisa opened her door to get out. “Please, Lisa,” he requested. “Let me get out
of the car and walk back into the hospital without an escort.”

She smiled at her proud soldier. “Of course. I’ll see you as
soon as I can make it. Probably day after tomorrow. Take care of yourself,
soldier.”

Jonathon climbed out of the car and walked deliberately to
the door, where he turned to wave.

She watched him disappear and started the Studebaker’s
engine. One of the most beautiful evenings of her life was slowly fading to a
memory.

Lisa’s life changed dramatically that day she and Jon had
declared their love. She still taught her classes in music at the university
with her usual enthusiasm and maintained the same routines she had always done,
but it was all accompanied now by a heightened sense of no longer being alone.
Sharing her heart with Jon had made the difference. Their discovery of each
other continued all that winter.

Visits to the hospital were more frequent. They often took
short drives along the rocky coastline. One stormy evening they watched the
crashing waves attack the granite shore in nearby York Harbor. They
occasionally went to the movies. Jon attended his first film in a civilian
theater in eight years. They watched
African Queen
with Humphrey Bogart
and Katharine Hepburn at the Colonial Theater in Portsmouth.

Occasionally Lisa challenged Jon to a game of cribbage. She
told him that Madame June had shown her how to play the game while they were in
prison. In prison, the cards they had were fragile and badly worn, but they
were able to use them for the duration of their incarceration. The board was
usually drawn on the ground and sharpened twigs were stuck into the soft earth
as pegs.

Jonathon claimed that he was considered by many in his
company to be a good cribbage player. But game after game, Lisa was able to
beat him. Occasionally she skunked him and that tickled her. They laughed a lot
together. All of a sudden her life had taken a turn for the better and she was
happy.

In the meantime, Jonathon was growing stronger with each
passing day. The physical therapy section at the hospital had completed the
mechanical arm and the caliper he had selected to substitute for his hand.
Slowly, after days of concentrated therapy sessions, Jonathon was able to move
his new arm in circles and directions that replicated movement of a real arm.
At times he was discouraged with his progress, but Lisa was always there
supporting his efforts and encouraging even greater participation.

The first time he appeared in public with his new arm was
the Christmas concert at the university. Lisa had obtained seats for Jon,
Terry, Faith, and her grandmother. She played lead piano and the primary
accompaniment to the choral group performing with them. Lisa and Terry met Jon
and his family at the hospital and they all went to Yoken’s to celebrate the
occasion. It had become a favorite dining place for Lisa and Jon. Terry and
Faith especially liked the bowls of fresh shrimp Jonathon had ordered for them.
It was a good place to enjoy a leisurely meal and share in warm fellowship
before attending the concert.

After dinner, Lisa drove back to her apartment, where she
changed into her teal green gown with white lace covering her shoulders and her
throat. Jon was the first to see her as she entered the living room.

“Wow, is this the same lady?” he exclaimed approvingly,
getting up from the couch. His mother handed him a box containing a violet
orchid. May I have the pleasure of fastening your first orchid from me?”

“Yes,” she answered modestly. “It’s beautiful, Jon.”

“You look lovely, Lisa,” Mrs. Carter told her.

“Yes, like a star,” added Faith, impressed by the fact that
Lisa was going to perform on the stage.

“All of you are wonderful. Thank you. Would you believe that
my stomach is a buzz with butterflies!”

Jon was proud to show off some of his newly acquired skills
by removing the delicate orchid from the container and setting it on the table.
He then turned to Lisa positioning the corsage high on her left shoulder while
he fastened it to the gown. When he had finished, he smiled and breathed
easier.

“You’re beautiful, Lisa,” he whispered in her ear.

“I love you, Colonel Wright,” she replied lightly kissing
him on the cheek. “We should get going, we don’t want to be late.” She kneeled
in front of Terry and put her arms around him. “Are you going to be a big boy
for Mommie while I play in the concert? Faith, her daddy and her grandmother
will be sitting with you in the front row. You watch and I’ll wave to you.”

“I’ll be good, Mom. You’re all dressed up pretty,” Terry
replied, kissing his mother.

“He’s going to be just fine, Mother,” remarked Jon, holding
out his new arm for Terry. He took it without a thought and smiled at Jon.

For the past month, Jon and Lisa had taken special pains to
show him how it substituted for the hand Jon had lost in the war, and that it
was nothing to be frightened about. Jonathon had even taken his shirt off to
show Terry how it was attached to his shoulder and upper arm. Every day
Jonathon needed someone to tighten the straps around his chest and arm. When he
first began wearing the arm, Lisa was instructed by the nurses and therapist
about the correct tension of the straps. She insisted that Terry become a part
of that same team so that he could do it if she were absent. One day Jonathon
had asked him to fasten the straps all by himself, and he did a good job. That
was the beginning of a very special relationship between the two. Terry
idolized Jonathon, who in turn made Terry feel important to him. Lisa beamed
when she saw the two men in her life interact with each other.

The Christmas concert opened with all the old familiar
favorites:
Silent Night, Joy To The World
, and others. They played
excerpts from George Handel’s
Messiah
, which embraces the full breadth
of human experiences, hope and fulfillment, suffering and death, resurrection
and redemption, a perennial favorite the world over.

Lisa’s piano was positioned to the left of center stage. She
waved several times to Terry sitting between Jonathon and Faith directly in
front of her piano. She was her usual inspiring self. Twice during the concert,
she brought the audience to new levels of involvement, sharing the passion and
joy of the musical selections. At the finale of the concert, the conductor and
the choral director walked to the center of the stage with her. She bowed to
the audience. They rose to their feet as one and gave her a resounding
endorsement.

Jonathon saw the tears that filled her eyes. He picked up
Terry so that he could see his mother better.

“They like my mommie don’t they,” Terry said to Jonathon.

“They sure do, Terry, they sure do. How lucky you are to
have a mom like her,” Jonathon told him, his heart pounding. He was so proud
and thankful that she was a part of his life.

Twenty minutes after the concert, Lisa was able to free
herself of the fans and made her way to the Studebaker in the parking lot. Mrs.
Wright and Faith were holding Terry between them in the back seat. He was sound
asleep with his head on Mrs. Wright’s lap.

“I’m sorry I’m so late,” announced Lisa climbing behind the
wheel.

“You don’t have to apologize, dear girl,” said Mrs. Wright.
“This has been a wonderful evening. I’ve enjoyed it so much.”

“I hope that I might be able to play like that someday,”
Faith told her.

“You’re very generous with your praise and I appreciate it.
Now, what do you and your grandmother say if I take you two to the apartment?
Would you look after Terry while I take your son to the hospital?”

“Faith and I will be glad to,” responded Mrs. Wright
uplifted to see how things were going between Lisa and her son. “Terry’s out
like a light. You could tie his arms and legs into knots and he’d never know
it,” she laughed softly. She was a gentle lady and Lisa liked her pragmatic
ways.

As soon as Lisa stopped the Studebaker, Jon stepped out of
the car, picked up Terry, carried him into the house, and placed him on his
bed. Faith and her grandmother quickly got him undressed and slipped him into
his pajamas. He was still sound asleep. Lisa excused herself to change into
something less formal than her concert gown. Shortly, she reappeared wearing a
deep purple blazer and skirt.

“Now I feel more comfortable,” she announced. “Are you
ready, Jon?”

“You bet,” he answered. “I feel terrible putting you through
this trouble.”

“You know it’s no bother,” she scolded him. “Good night
Faith and Mrs. Wright. I’ll be quiet when I return and we can sleep late in the
morning. The first one up can put on the coffee.”

Mrs. Wright warmly embraced Lisa. “Goodnight, Lisa. I want
you to know how grateful I am to see Jonathon’s response to therapy. Thanks for
giving me back my son. I understand now why he loves you the way he does.”

“Mrs. Wright,” Lisa sighed. “You’re going to make me cry.
I’m thankful to be the object of his love. You rest well and I’ll see you in
the morning.” Lisa turned to Faith who had been looking at her as if she were
ten feet tall all evening. “Goodnight, Faith. I’m glad you liked the concert.
Your time will come. Probably sooner than you think.”

“I love you, Mrs. Carter,” confessed Faith, kissing her on
the cheek.

“I love you too, honey,” Lisa replied. Happiness and
contentment filled her heart.