Fixing a Broken Heart with Casts - Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Roy and Mel talked every change they got about plans for the business they would be starting for him, which would allow him to travel with her and keep working. When they weren't making these plans, they were often exchanging ideas to plan for the next cast trip. Mel had offered to participate by being in something very large or restrictive for her husband's pleasure. Roy was ecstatic and looking forward to it more than anything he could remember. Mel, who usually wasn't, was even a bit excited for he time together and how happy she would make him. Since they had some time to plan, he wanted to be sure to be patient and choose exactly what cast or combination of casts she would wear.

Mel wanted to spend time with her partner Betty as well, they loved each other, but the relationship was complicated since Mel was married to a man as well. The women were together often and occasionally spent nights together, although they lived in different houses. Mel wanted to do something special and planned a spa day for them to enjoy together. It made the women feel very close and the opportunities to talk while being pampered were a real pleasure. They discussed work, family and other topics.

Betty said that she had maintained contact with her roommate from the ortho care wing and she was now out of the cast. Betty had visited them and become good friends with Sandy as well after all these years. Sonja was resting at home and had frequent appointments for observation. Sonja was a young woman in her early twenties with severe spinal curvature that was treated with one of the most radical treatments they had ever seen. Sonja was the daughter of Sandy, a former classmate of Betty's who had also been casted for scoliosis when she was younger. This was overheard by a masseuse as they left from having massages to go to a different room to have their nails done. Politely, the masseuse joined their conversation and remarked that casting was a surprising treatment for scoliosis. Her background was in spinal alignment and knew quite a bit about the subject. She was very friendly joined Mel and Betty in the nail salon to wait for her next appointment.

The  woman working on their nails now joined in, saying that she has many women wearing a cast come have their nails done since they are much more noticeable with the cast. She added that requests for work on toes sticking out of a cast were particularly common since they couldn't be covered with a shoe. Many of the color choices were made to match the color of the casts. Mel and Betty took the opportunity to share stories of casts they had worn, wowing the women working at the spa. They left out recreational casts and didn't divulge that Mel's husband was a fetishist. Even so, they both had quite a repertoire. Mel had been in a LAC in college and hated it. Her motorcycle accident also yielded a wide variety. Betty surprised them with the description of her medical hip spica that she had just recently gotten out of. This was a fun conversation for all of them, swapping stories of casts they had worn or seen.

As they were leaving, Betty said that talking about the accident reminded her that her sister Dee Dee would finally be getting the transfer that she had requested and would be moving in to share the house with Betty. The sisters had this idea after Dee Dee stayed with Mel and Roy to recuperate after the motorcycle accident. Dee Dee, the youngest of four sisters, was very close with Betty and became friends with Mel. She worked as a detective, but needed to wait for a position to open near Betty before she could transfer and move in. Dee Dee was the only person in the family that knew about the relationship between Mel and Betty, but would not divulge their secret.

Speaking of her sisters, Betty also shared that Caroline had been injured and couldn't golf, the rest of the season and her career was potentially over since many sponsors dropped her. She told her partner about the LATS, hinged LLC, soft collar and wired jaw that her sister was dealing with and that her mother was staying with her to help. Mel wondered aloud how that was going, knowing the personalities of both the cold and selfish Caroline and the headstrong and bossy Edith.