7:30 am

For once in this crazy mixed up world, everything has fallen into place.

Duvalier, our art thief friend, is in jail where he belongs, framed for a murder he did commit.

Norman Rockwell’s ‘Outward Bound’ is inward bound to a museum in America.

Bennett and Marianne are happily married and enjoying their honeymoon.

A certain bouquet ended up in unexpected hands. Now Daphne and Cindy are playing pool, putting my questions to rest once and for all.

My mother’s locket is back in my hands thanks to the nimble fingers and caring heart of a friend.

Cinderella gets to keep her dress. It’s only fitting for the most beautiful girl at the ball.

And a seed of hope has found its way into my heart.

In today’s fairytale, the magic does not end at midnight, it continues until the dawn and beyond. Wonderful things are happening.

I bumped my foot on the table leg a few minutes ago and it hurt. I couldn’t believe it. For a moment, I thought that the ‘Ow’ escaped my mouth because I saw my foot hit and I subconsciously thought it should hurt. But I’ve bumped into things before and I never responded like that. So I tried it again, and there was no mistake. It definitely hurt. I felt something. I truly did. It’s unbelievable. It’s miraculous. But it’s happening. And it’s real.

1:00 p.m.

I am experiencing a miracle today, but all I can think about is yesterday. I keep replaying the day in my head and each time Max is in the scene. On Friday I felt so lucky that she would want to go to the wedding with me, but I had no idea how lucky I was.

There is something about putting on a tuxedo, tying a bow tie and having a beautiful girl at your side that is good for the ego. But Max is not just any beautiful girl, and I was completely unprepared for the gorgeous, elegant, woman that came walking towards me at Jam Pony. I could feel everyone’s eyes on us. I could almost hear them questioning each other. Who is that guy? What kind of a hold does he have on Max that she would go out with him? I could have answered that. This beautiful woman is my date. I asked her out and she said yes. She wants to be with me. I wanted to show her off to the whole world. The way she looked at me, she made me think that she was as proud to be with me as I was to be with her. She made me feel handsome, wanted and absolutely attractive.

Then on the way to the wedding, the cynic inside Max came out in full force. She ridiculed my speech and threatened to fence the wedding ring. She didn’t even hesitate a moment to remind me of what a failure I was at keeping my own wedding vows. She stated flatly that she didn’t think it was possible to promise to love another person forever. I thought she was doing it to bait me, but it turned out that ‘Miss Weddings Are A Public Humiliation’ was full of surprises all night.

I settled Max in one of the chairs, then I worked my way to the front to try and keep a very nervous Bennett on his feet until Marianne arrived. I was immersed in my role, so I didn’t get a chance to look at Max until the end of the ceremony. When Bennett was finally kissing his bride, I stole a glance at Max and she was crying. She smiled at me happily as she wiped the tears away. She didn’t even bother to hide her emotions. Max crying at a wedding? I couldn’t believe it. But now I know better. As the evening progressed, I learned that behind that tough military shell is one of the most sentimental people I know.

Max even saved me from my near disaster of a toast. My fear of the Reds a few days ago was nothing compared to the fear that gripped me when I realized I had lost my notes. But somehow Max arrived in the nick of time and got me through it. And she continued to surprise me all night. I was completely shocked when she stepped out of nowhere to deflect the wedding bouquet into Cindy’s arms. She continued our conversation as if nothing had happened, but I know her and that was definitely a calculated act. Why would she care about who caught the bouquet? Who did she think was going to catch it? Who did she block?

Daphne?

Why didn’t she want Daphne to have it? Who did Max think Daphne would want to marry? Who was there that Max would even care about? Max didn’t know anyone but me.

Me?

Max didn’t want Daphne to marry me?

Me?

Well, I did spend most of the night talking to Daphne and ignoring Max. This morning, I apologized to Max for that, but now I think that maybe it was a smart move after all. I definitely like this jealous streak of Max’s. Definitely. Despite the fact that I spent the whole evening talking to Daphne, I couldn’t help but notice Max every time she walked into the room. She was breathtaking in that red dress. Still, like a complete idiot, I gave her such a hard time about the dress and where she got it. I even accused her of stealing it. Of course, this morning, I found out that she went to so much trouble to get the dress so that I would feel comfortable around my family. She wanted me to have a date that ‘fit in’. For a genetically enhanced killing machine, she certainly has a lot of consideration for other people’s feelings. Her methods may need some refining, but her heart is definitely in the right place. After the way I behaved, the least I could do was to buy her that dress. She deserves it. I can still see the beaming smile on her face when I told her how beautiful she was in it.

Then Max handed my mother’s locket back to me. That was the most thoughtful thing anyone could have done for me. I spent the evening essentially ignoring her while she spent the evening looking out for my needs. I may not have realized the full extent of it before, but Max has an amazingly compassionate heart.

She sees the hole in his soul

And reaches out

With care and thoughtfulness

And hands him his heart

In a simple locket

Filled with his parents’ love

Now, I think that Max’s questions about how we could possibly promise to love another person forever weren’t as flippant as I thought. Maybe she really wants to know. I still can’t get my mind off her, standing there in her flowing red dress, mouthing the words of the toast along with me.

"They met by fate, but became partners by choice."

10:00 p.m.

I wasn’t mistaken about all the changes in my body. I am getting stronger. I am healing. I’ve been paying attention all day and a level of sensation is definitely returning to my legs. It seems to be developing in stages. First, I was able to feel pain. Then a few hours later, I felt the cold metal of the wheelchair against my leg. The sensation only lasted a few minutes, but it was there. Then it faded away again, only to return a couple of hours later. The pattern has been repeating all day. With each subsequent return, the range of sensations has been growing more complete, pain, cold, heat, even textures. It is all coming back.

A few minutes ago, I moved my toe. It was a miniscule movement, but my brain sent the signal and my toe responded. Somehow that signal got through. It got through! Now the signal has faded again, but I am not concerned. It feels like my body is rewiring itself. It replaces a wire, does a test run, then turns off the circuit breakers for a few hours while it replaces a few more. With each test run the connections improve.

I called Sam this afternoon to give him a heads up as to what is going on. We’ve set up an appointment for tomorrow morning to follow up. I can’t wait to talk to him about this. Maybe there is some way we can help it along. Maybe we can speed up the process. I didn’t think it was possible, but now I’m sure that I’m going to get out of this chair. I am going to walk again.