Life in the Fast Lane

His grandfather walked in and saw him on the floor and said, "Well, I'll be damned. Looks like you done let this little colored woman beat the livin' shit outta you, boy!"

He wasn't much help, but what help he provided was just enough to get Cale back in his chair. "That's it for today," Rachelle told him. "I'm gonna get your bath ready and we're calling it quits."

He smiled at her and said, "Yeah, but I won." He reached out his hand toward her and after looking away for a moment, took it in hers.

"Yes, you did. And I'm very proud of you, Cale. In a crazy, delusional kind of way."

"You'll be even more proud when you come see me race again," he told her.

She slowly let go of his hand and said, "Dinner's one thing. Going to a track to watch cars go around in a circle is quite another. Besides, that's a long way down the road. And just so we're clear, I agreed to have dinner with you, but I didn't agree on when. So that's on hold until you can drive me there."

Cale started to make his case and she held out her hand. "Uh-uh. That's non-negotiable. I'm not saying you have to be able to drive a race car. But you will have to drive me—yourself—in your own car."

"Slave driver," he said.

"Excuse me?" Rachelle said.

"You heard me."

"You're lucky I'm taking pity on you or I'd come over there and teach you a lesson about using that word in front of a proud, black woman."

"What are you talkin' about? I just made you the overseer." He threw up his hands in self defense when she balled up her fist and said, "When you get better, you are in so much trouble."

"Promises, promises," he said with a smile. "You see, I've already got you all figured out."

"Oh, you do, do you?" she said.

"Uh-huh. You talk tough, but deep down you have a very tender soul." Rachelle's hard look softened. "I can tell you're a caring person, Rachelle. You can play hard-ass all you want, but it's just a front."

Not willing to let him have a victory, Rachelle said, "So you're a delusional know-it-all. How nice."

She headed into the bathroom and he called out to her, "I'm glad to see you finally acknowledge that I really do know it all!"

She popped her head around the corner and balled up her first again. "Oh, my. The day you're better...." Then she smiled at him and Cale couldn't help but laugh.

A few days later, Cale was walking with the use of open-cuff crutches and thanks to the thousands of hand crunches, he was even able to grip the handles pretty well. He was feeling so good, he would occasionally annoy Rachelle by poking her in the butt with one of the crutches then give her that 'who me?' look when she turned around. Her 'someday' threat to kick his ass was being repeated more and more frequently as the days wore on as his playfulness increased.

During the fifth week Rachelle said, "Okay, Mr. Know-it-All. Today we're getting rid of these crutches for good. You've had to walk without them more and more each day but you've been dependent on them long enough. So...lemme have them."

"Oh, I'll let you have it, all right," he said as he pulled the crutch back every time she reached for it.

"You do that one more time and I've come over there, take them from you, and beat you about the head and shoulders with them. Now hand them over."

He said, "Okay, okay. No need to make threats. I'll be good. I promise." He held out the crutch and let her grab it before he pulled—hard. She didn't let go and ended up stumbling into him and as she lost her balance, she spun half way around. He (and she) let go of the crutch and he broke her fall which ended with her sitting in his lap.

She shot him a look and went to get up, but he pulled her back down. "Just what do you think you're doing?" she demanded to know. He had his hand around her wrist and as she tried to pull free he managed to hold on.

"Where do you think you're going?" he teased as she pulled against his grip.

"Anywhere but...here," she said nodding at his lap.

"Kiss me," he said as she kept pulling.

"It's well established you're delusional, but have you gone stark-raving mad? Let go of me!"

"Not until you kiss me," he said with a huge smile.

"I am not gonna kiss you. Not now and not ever! And let go of my arm!"

He not only didn't let go he reached up with his other arm and put it on her shoulder and pulled her even closer. She shrieked when he did but she also laughed. "Cale, we have work to do so...."

She stopped squirming when he said, "I drove my car this morning. My dad went with me, but I drove it. Without help. So will you have dinner with me tonight?"

"You drove? By yourself? Seriously?" Her eyes were open wide in hopeful disbelief.

"Yes, I did. And I'm calling in my marker."

Her demeanor changed from playful anger to surprise to....well, he wasn't sure but she put her hand on his face and said, "Yes, I will let you take me to dinner, Cale Davis."

He reached up and took her hand and said, "So...are you going to make me wait until after our first date for our first kiss?"

She turned even more so that her legs were behind his left arm. "What makes you think you can replace my doctor friend?" she said as a kind of last wall of defense.

He smiled and said, "There is no doctor. Or at least there hasn't been for several weeks."

"Oh, really? And how would you know that?" she demanded to know. "Did you hire someone to follow me around or tap my phone?"

"Nope. I really didn't know until right now, but the way you responded just told me there is no doctor. In fact, I'm betting there's no one."

"You are?" she said as she squeezed his hand.

"I am. And I'm just as sure of something else."

She was very quiet and staring into his eyes as she said, "And what might that be?"

"I'm betting you feel the same way about me as I feel about you." He ran his thumb over the back of her hand as his eyes moved back and forth between hers.

"And how do you feel about me?" she asked in a near whisper.

"Other than getting back behind the wheel of a real car, I can't think about anything else but you. I wake up thinking about you, I can't wait until you get here, I don't want you to leave when you have to go, and I fall asleep thinking about you. That's how I feel."

"So...maybe we do have something in common after all," she said softly.

"Maybe so," he agreed.

"Then maybe you should go ahead and...kiss me."

"Right now? Before our date?" he said with mock seriousness.

"Well, a kiss now doesn't mean there can't be another later on, does it?" she said sweetly.

"Um, no. I don't see where the one precludes the other."

"So...?"

He put his arm around her shoulder and ran his hand through her long, black hair then gently placed it behind her head and slowly pulled her toward him. Their eyes closed just as their lips met for the first time. Several seconds later, the kiss ended and they opened their eyes. "Wow," he said.

"And how," she said in response. She ran her hand through his thick, black hair and said, "You know, I hated my life a few years ago. But I saw something on television one day that changed my perspective and it made me want to change my life completely." She was being so sweet and romantic that Cale felt himself stirring and she felt it, too.

Rachelle stopped talking as she felt him. "Oh, my!" she said. "I see more than your arms and legs are recovering."

He smiled and said, "That's all entirely your fault."

"Are you saying you wish I was big, fat, and ugly?" she said trying to serious.

"No. I kind of like you just the way you are." He stroked her hair again and asked her, "So am I a part of all this positive change in your life in any way? I mean, would this change possibly allow you to, you know, maybe date a race car driver?"

She looked at him very seriously and said, "You know, a girl's gotta draw line's somewhere. I mean, getting out of the hood was a great idea. Learning to speak standard English was really smart. Becoming a physical therapist made perfect sense. But dating a crazy redneck race car driver? I have standards, you know."

Cale immediately pulled her off the chair and onto his bed which was right next to it. Rachelle yelped but laughed as he growled, "Redneck race car driver? I'll have you know I was in second place in NASCAR standings before the accident. I'm not just any crazy redneck race car driver. I'm a damn good crazy redneck race car driver."

Both of them were laughing as Rachelle pulled him close this time and kissed him. "I think about you all the time too, Cale."

"Hah! I knew it!" he said. "You're crazy about me, too!"

She put her finger over his mouth and said, "Don't gloat. I hate men who gloat."

As she kissed him again, their romantic interlude was cut short by a loud, grumpy voice.

"Oh, for the love of God! What in the hell are you two doin' back here? That's all we need is you knockin' up the help, you stupid fool! Now get up off my grandson so you can come help me get somethin' down from the top of the pantry."

Both of them looked over at Grandpa Davis who had a look of disgust on his face and tried not to laugh. "I'll go help him," Rachelle said. "I can't wait for you to meet my grandfather. You think your's is bad? Oh, no. You ain't seen nothin' yet. Trust me."

She got up and said, "I'll get if for you, Mr. Davis."

He snorted and said, "Well gee, isn't that just mighty white of you to take a break from whatever the hell that was to actually doin' somethin' around here."

Rachelle turned to Cale who was still on the bed. Cale shrugged his shoulders and threw up his hands while she smiled and winked at him.

That night, Cale managed to fully dress himself in less than fifteen minutes after having showered and shaved without help. He even managed to get his wallet and car keys in his pockets without difficulty.

"You be careful, son," his father told him on the way out. "And whatever you do, don't blow it with that pretty young filly o' yours. She's a keeper. You know that, right?"

Cale smiled and said, "Yes, sir. I surely do. And I have no intention of messing things up."

As he followed his GPS to her house, he noted that while she lived in an older part of town, it wasn't really a bad neighborhood. He had a general idea of where she'd lived before and he shuddered to think of what her life would be like had she not seen whatever it was that prompted her to make these changes. The thought made him realize he'd have never met her and that was something he didn't care to think about.

He pulled into her apartment complex and found an open spot. He picked up the dozen long-stemmed roses he'd bought and slowly made his way up the sidewalk. He climbed the stairs to the second floor one at a time then stopped to catch his breath. He checked the numbers until her got to hers then stopped and knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, an old, white-haired man opened the door and said, "What the hell you doin' stan'in' there wid dem flowuhs, crackuh? Dis ain't no nursery and we didn't order none. So go on back to your own kind and get the hell...."

"Grandpa! I told you I had a young man coming to pick me up tonight. Mind your manners."

He turned around as he flung his hand toward Cale and grumbled, "You didn't say nothin' 'bout no crackuh showin' up here. You don' loos' yo' mind, child. What is wrong wif kids deez days?"

Rachelle smiled and said, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

He handed her the flowers and said," Wow. You look so beautiful," he told her. He'd never seen her in anything but green scrubs before. She was wearing a very pretty, long-sleeved white sweater with a black skirt and the contrast with her ebony skin was amazing. She was also wearing a small amount of makeup and some jewelry and Cale was even more smitten.

"Are you coming in?" she asked breaking his spell.

"Oh, sure. Sorry. I just can't get over how different you look."

"So this must be your young man!" a new female voice said.

"Momma, this is Cale Davis. Cale, this is my mother, Jennetta Johnson."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Cale. Rachelle talks about you all the time." She took a look at him from head to toe and said, "Now I see why." She turned to her daughter and elbowed her slightly as she said, "You was so right, girl. He is fine."

"Momma!" Rachelle said.

"Well, that's what you done told me a hundred times. Why I can't say it to his face when it be true?" Mrs. Williams looked at Cale, winked, then smiled as she went back to watching TV while Rachelle put the flowers in some water.

"Okay. I'm ready," she told him.

She put her arm in his once they got outside then said, "This isn't just to help steady you up, okay?"

He turned to her and smiled and said, "I hope not." It took them a good while to get to his car and then he insisted on opening her door and helping her get in.

They made small talk on the way to the restaurant. As he made the turn into the parking lot she said, "Fandangles? That's one of the top five restaurants in all of Atlanta. I've always wanted to go there." She turned to him and said, "Thank you. This is really nice."

"It's my personal favorite and in case you hadn't noticed, I'm trying to impress you," he said as he parked the car.

"In case you hadn't noticed, you already have," she said sweetly. She looked at him a way that said it would be okay to kiss her so Cale leaned over and did just that.

"You look so beautiful," he told her again. "Wait right there, okay? It may take me a week or two to get around to your side, but I will get there."

Rachelle laughed as he got out and slowly came around to let her out.

They held hands on the way in and a greeter met them at the door who said, "Hey, Cale! We haven't seen you since the big...you know... Looks like you're doin' pretty good."

"Doing much better, Timmy. Gonna be back behind the wheel pretty soon," he told him as they walked inside.

"You are not!" Rachelle told him. "There's no way you're driving a race car in less than...."

"Hey, Cale! Look, it's Cale Davis. Hey, Mr. Davis! Good to see you out and about, Cale. We been rootin' for ya, buddy!"

Rachelle was stunned by the non-stop greetings and well wishers. At least a half dozen people got up to shake his hand and tell him how good he looked. In each case he said, "It's all because of her," nodding to Rachelle.

"I had no idea you were this famous," she said once the hoopla died down.

"NASCAR is big everywhere and its fans are insanely loyal. You're gonna love them."

"I told you I'm not going to some track and watch you drive around in a...."

"Hi, Mr. Davis! Table for two right this way!" the pretty young girl said. "We've got our best table all ready to go and there's a bottle of champagne on ice for waiting—on the house."

Cale helped Rachelle sit down on a soft leather-seated chair then set just across from her at the small, intimate, cozy little table. She saw the bottle of Dom in front of them and said, "Okay, now I'm impressed."

He reached for the bottle and she instinctively tried to help him. "Sorry. Force of habit. You got it?" she asked.

It took him a while but he did finally manage to pop the cork and not hit anyone with it. His grip was getting stronger every day and he didn't shake at all as he poured his date a glass. Once he had his, he looked over at Rachelle and said, "I know I'm always joking around, but I want to be serious for a moment, if that's okay."

Rachelle held her glass in her slender fingers and long red nails and smiled waited for him to speak. "After the crash, I really thought I might never race again." He paused then said, "And for a while, I even thought about ending my life if, you know, that was the case." He blinked a couple of times. "But that day I met you on the patio out back? That changed my life. I don't know what program you saw on TV or how it changed your life, but you did that for me. The day I walked 20 steps, I did that for one reason. You. You inspired me, Rachelle. Yes, I want to race again, but without you to motivate me and make we want to work so hard every day, it could never happen." He waited for a moment before saying, "You made me want to live and you gave me hope. And...."

She'd seen him cry from pain—the pain she'd inflicted on him. But she'd never seen him emotional before. He didn't cry but he was clearly fighting off the tears. He looked right at her again then said, "And you've taught me what it means to really care about someone else." He swallowed hard then added, "And...to...love someone else."

Rachelle felt her own eyes welling up and blinked several times fighting off the urge to cry herself. They'd been through so much together the past five weeks or so.

"So...to life and to...changes," he offered.

She repeated the words before they touched glasses and took a first sip. "I feel the same way about everything you said," she said without looking at him. She continued by saying, "I've never had much luck in my relationships with men. Most of that is my fault for making some pretty bad choices, and I own that. But even the doctor I was dating was a loser. He had no respect for me. In fact, I've never dated anyone who truly respected me." She blinked away another tear and said, "Until you. You not only make me smile and make me laugh, you make me feel beautiful. And most importantly, you respect me. And...and you've also shown me what if feels like to really care about someone else. And...to love someone else."

Cale set his glass down then slid his chair next to hers. He took her glass and set it down, too. He reached out for her hand and she gave it to him. "I honestly don't know whether or not I'll ever race again, but as much as I want that, my life would be just fine as long as you're in it."

Her eyes were once again quickly moving between his as she hung on his every word. "You've given me the courage and the strength to go on and to push myself when I wanted to roll over and cry and quit—or worse. So when I said I think about you all day, every day, I wasn't kidding and I wasn't exaggerating." He took both of her hands in his and said, "I'm in love with you, Rachelle."

She pulled her hands back and put them over her mouth as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue box. Neither of them were aware that every eye in the restaurant was on them as he painfully knelt down on one knee before opening the box.

"Rachelle? You're not only my inspiration, you're my reason for living and I can't imagine a life without you. I love you, Rachelle Williams. Will you marry me?" he said with open eyes and raised eyebrows.

This time she couldn't blink back the tears fast enough and they began to fall freely. She grabbed a linen napkin to staunch the flow then threw down saying, "Oh, the hell with my mascara! Yes. Yes, I will marry you!"

As he slipped the huge solitaire diamond onto her finger, the entire place erupted in loud applause, whistles, and calls of congratulations.

He stood on his own and bent to down to kiss his fiancee who put her hand on his cheek and said, "I love you so much."

On the way home she said, "I won't be there tomorrow."

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Because I can't be around you—like that—anymore. It was getting harder each day to be near you and not able to be...you know, be with you and now that I am with you, I can't be near you like that anymore. Does that even make any sense?"

Cale smiled and said, "I think it does." She hit him playfully then offered him her left hand. "I love my ring. It's so beautiful. And I love you, too. I am so happy! Thank you, Cale," she told him.

"Thank you for saying 'yes'," he said as he briefly glanced at her and smiled. "Have I told you you're beautiful?" he said again.

"It's been a few minutes so...." She held her hand and out looked at the ring in the soft glow of the car's internal lighting. "As much as I love this ring, I love what it signifies even more." She turned to him and said, "A life together with you."