Chapter 39

Waiting for Isaac to pick her up for their dinner date, Carissa sat in the white wooden rocker on her front porch, too excited to stay in the house.

He had called earlier in the week and invited her out, and she couldn’t wait to tell him in person about the emails she’d exchanged with Annabelle and Connie. She knew he’d be excited, too. She only wished she could tell Betty at the same time, but that could wait. This night was for Isaac and her.

She saw him pull around the corner onto her street, her excitement threatening to bubble over. He turned into the driveway, getting out to help her with her chair, and she got into the front passenger seat.

“Hey, I’ve missed you,” he said, lifting her chair into the back seat of the car.

“I’ve missed you, too,” she replied. “Where’s dinner?”

“I thought we’d try that Italian place by the mall,” he grinned. “You into that?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “I’m into anything with tomatoes and garlic!”

“That’s my girl!” He climbed into the driver’s seat, started the car, and shifted into drive.

As they headed toward the restaurant, Carissa sang every song that played on the radio. She wasn’t normally comfortable singing with other people around, but there was something comfortable about Isaac. She could be her goofy self around him and not care that he saw the real her. She snuggled into that secure feeling. “I have something to tell you, but you have to wait until we get to the restaurant,” she told him.

“Uh, oh…” he replied, jokingly.

“It’s not bad!” she assured him. “But I’m not telling until we get there because I’m too excited. It has to be a face-to-face conversation, not a car trip talk.”

“Okay!” He glanced over at her with a big grin. “If you’re excited, I’m excited!”

They pulled into the restaurant parking lot, and Isaac got Carissa’s chair, setting it next to the open door for her. She slid into the seat and they went inside. There was a short wait, but it wasn’t long before they were seated. Carissa was glad for the promptness; she’d almost blurted out her secret before she wanted to.

“Okay, what do you have to tell me?” Isaac asked, sliding into the chair opposite her. If she was excited about something, he wanted to be in on it.

“Oh, gosh,” she said, “you know how I’ve been saying I want to change things for people with spina bifida, right?”

“Yep. Got that,” he replied. It was one of the first things he’d learned about her, that she wanted to change things for people like her. He’d fallen in love with her passion for making the world better.

“Okay, so I’ve been thinking.” She leaned across the table, her eyes bright with intensity. “Who are the most vulnerable people like me? Babies, right?”

“Um… I don’t think we’ve been dating long enough to be talking about babies,” he joked.

“No, you goof! Not OUR babies! Babies with spina bifida!”

“Oh,” he laughed. “Okay. I’m back in.”

She continued, serious now. “Well, when I was born, my parents were told a lot of awful things about me that weren’t true. You know that. I’ve told you how they said I wouldn’t live, and I’d be mentally challenged and all that if I did live.”

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“Well, those things are still being said today about unborn babies. Doctors are handing out false, outdated information and, in a lot of cases, parents are choosing abortion based on that information.”

Isaac waited, listening for what she wanted to say.

“Well,” she said, “I’ve decided to do something about it. I wrote to all the people your mom put me in contact with and one emailed me back this week. Her name is Annabelle Jenkins. She has a daughter with spina bifida, and her daughter’s story matches my story. Annabelle’s an assistant of some sort in the governor’s office, and she’s on board for helping me make a law. She forwarded my email to a friend of hers, who is apparently a big shot leader of a spina bifida support group. That means lots of support and voices for the cause. Isaac, this could get big. I really could be about to change things!”

Isaac was astonished. He knew Carissa was a firecracker, but he didn’t see all of this coming. “I’m so proud of you! How can I help? When will you know when and how to take the next steps?”

“I don’t know. Connie said she’d get back to me when she heard back from the leaders of each individual chapter of the support group, so I guess we just wait for now.”

“Then I’ll wait with you. This is exciting! You’re gonna be famous,” he said, her enthusiasm firing him up.

“Okay, calm down. I don’t know about famous,” Carissa replied.

“My girlfriend is going to be famous,” Isaac told the waitress as she came to get their drink orders.

“Is that so?” the waitress asked, joking back with him. “Well, what would you like to drink then, ma’am? I wouldn’t want to disappoint future fame!”

“Coke is fine, and my boyfriend is crazy! Ignore him,” Carissa replied.

“Aren’t they all? And what can I get for you to drink, sir?” she asked.

“Coke is fine with me as well, thank you,” Isaac said.

The waitress went to get their Cokes.

“It’s too bad we’re not older,” Isaac told Carissa. “This is really more a wine occasion than a Coke occasion, but Coke will have to do.”

Carissa laughed. “Coke is perfect.”

They ordered their food, lasagna and salad, and dreamed out loud about the day Carissa would be able to get her law passed. Isaac promised to be there with her every step of the way.

“You make me happy,” he said, putting a forkful of noodles, beef and sauce into his mouth, “and anything that makes you happy, I’m into it.”

They finished their meal, each of them stealing bites off the other’s plate, and finally decided it was time to leave the almost empty restaurant before they got kicked out.

Isaac paid the bill, and they exited into the warm night. “Do you want to go sit on the beach?” he asked.

“Um… well… my chair… it doesn’t maneuver on sand too well.”

“Let me worry about that. Do you want to go?” he repeated.

“Sure, I guess, if you think you can handle it, macho man!” She loved his spontaneity and fun spirit.

“I’ve got this!” he yelped. “You just get in the car!”

“Yes, sir, whatever you say!” she replied, unsure if he knew what he was getting himself into.

She had gone to the beach once when she was little. Her chair sank down into the sand immediately, and she hadn’t been able to propel anywhere. Her parents ended up carrying her the whole day. It wasn’t fun for anyone. She loved the water, though, and the sound of the waves. She just hoped Isaac understood that the beach was not built with people like her in mind. She got in the car, however, and they made their way down to Galveston Island.

When they arrived, Isaac parked the car on the sand overlooking the water. The moon made light crystals on top of each tiny wave. Isaac came around to get Carissa, but left her chair in the back seat.

“Hey, my wheels!” she protested.

“I’m your legs tonight,” he said, gently lifting her out of the car. Then he took her just to the edge of the water and sat her down in the sand.

“It’s beautiful out here,” Carissa said.

“I know. Everyone should experience it,” he agreed.

They sat in the sand for a long time, building castles. Isaac, at one point, started on a different shape.

“What are you making?” Carissa asked. “That’s not like any castle I’ve ever seen.”

“Texas snowman,” Isaac replied.

“A what?”

“Texas snowman.” He grinned mischievously. “You’ve never heard of it? I mean, we don’t get snow, so… this is our version. You need to get to the beach more. You’ve been deprived of a true Texas tradition.”

Carissa laughed at him and threw a small handful of sand his direction. “You’re such a goof! That’s not a real snowman.”

“Hold on tight!” he yelled at her, scooping her up, running toward the water.

“I can’t swim,” she cried.

“That’s what you get for making fun of my snowman!”

“My clothes!” she half-yelled, half-giggled at him.

“Oh, well, my snowman didn’t deserve that. You’re going in!”

“But I really can’t swim!” she yelled, sounding more concerned than before.

“I’ve got you. I won’t let go. I won’t let anything happen to you, unless a shark comes!” He laughed back at her.

“ISAAC!” she yelled.

“I’ve got you, see?” he reassured her, squeezing her tighter into him. “You’re okay. I won’t let anything happen. Just hold onto me.” They stayed in the water for a long time. Carissa realized she felt free to move more in the water than she ever had anywhere else. It was nice to be able to move like that. It was also nice to be held by Isaac while she did.

“I love you,” she told him. “And I’m sorry I made fun of your snow man. Sort of.”

“You know, I don’t have to bring you back to shore,” he joked with her.

“You would never leave me here.”

He grinned down at her. “Do you feel lucky?”

“No, I feel loved.”

“You are loved,” and he kissed her gently, then brought her back to land.

It was getting late, so the two of them decided it was time to end the night and head back home. Isaac carried Carissa back to the car and turned the heater on so she wouldn’t be cold in her wet clothes.

“I didn’t bring towels. I wasn’t really planning to go in the water,” Isaac said.

“It’s okay. I don’t melt in water. It dries eventually,” Carissa responded.

They took the long drive off the island and back to Carissa’s house, and Isaac walked her up to the door.

“Goodnight. I had fun tonight,” Carissa told him.

“I’m glad,” he responded, kissing her goodnight.

Carissa went into the house and headed straight to her bathroom to shower and get her pajamas on, trying to avoid any weird eyes from her parents. Her clothes had only half dried from the ocean, and she still smelled like salt water. In the shower, she remembered the feeling of weightlessness and freedom the ocean had brought. She also remembered Isaac’s arms around her, and how protected she felt. It was incredible.