Shadow of Love by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Format: epub
Published: 2010-02-13T06:57:12+00:00

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Chapter Six

Jim felt safe in his bed, and he knew it was Mary's presence that made him feel this way. It wasn't her physical strength he required. It was her emotional strength. It was her honesty. And now she was confiding in him-fully accepting him into her life.

Mary gently rubbed his cheek. "I'm caught between two worlds, Jim. I live in the world of the disabled. Now that you've come along, I'm living in the world of the able bodied. I would give just about anything to leave my disabled world behind-anything. You can't imagine how frustrated I am. I was so safe in my own world before you came into my life. I knew who I was and I knew what my limitations were. I lived within those limitations, and . . ."

"Honey," Jim interrupted, "we all fight limitations of one kind or another."

"Let me finish. This is difficult for me to talk about. Please let me finish."

"All right," he said. "I'm sorry, go ahead."

"I live within those limitations, and it's becoming increasingly more difficult to do this."

"I would think that the deep love we have for one another would ease your difficulties."

"It does, Sweetheart. I'm very happy with you. I didn't think I could ever be this happy. But there are times when my heart aches because I'm restricted to this wheelchair. I want you to have a normal life; a normal wife."

"This is the most normal life I've ever had-with you. If I wouldn't have you, I'd be off running in a dozen different directions, trying to impress the world. I don't want to hear you put yourself down like this, Mary. You're way above this kind of talk. You scare me when you talk like this."

"Do I? I'm not trying to scare you. I'm not going to back out of our wedding, if that's what you're thinking. I love you so much that I can't possibly hope to have any kind of happiness without you. I just wanted to share my pain with you. It's not fair to you, but . . ."

"It is fair, Mary. That's what love is all about. It doesn't always go smoothly. Sometimes I'm sure it's even disappointing. But then, I'm no expert; I've never been in love before."

"Jim, you must have had dozens of girls before you met me."

"No, not really. I had friends, and we'd go out, but they weren't even in your league, Sweetheart."

"I'll bet you tell that to all the girls."

Jim pulled her to him. "I will never let you go. The only way we would ever dissolve this relationship is if you broke it off. Please don't even entertain that idea."

"All right," she said, "I won't. I want to go to sleep now. We can talk more tomorrow."

---

She put her thumb under her shoulder harness and ran it up and down.

"Don't be nervous, Mary."

"How can I help but be nervous? I'm being thrown headlong into the world of the able-bodied."

Jim chuckled. "I wouldn't exactly call going to Matt's party as being thrown headlong into the world of the able-bodied.

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