Bells Palsy is a form of facial paralysis resulting from a dysfunction of the facial nerve that results in the inability to control facial muscles on the affected side. Chachi's complaining of numbness in his cheek, tongue and lips was the first warning sign and by the next morning full facial paralysis had set in on the left side of his face.
His phone call was hard to understand because his speech was slightly slurred. He explained that he had to wear an eye patch and that he was having difficulty eating and drinking. Matt still worked at Convergys on the telephone and so he had had to take a week off since his speech was greatly effected.
I felt awful. I had teased and mocked him and now he was really sick! And he was all alone in Logan with no girlfriend to take care of him. I longed to be in Utah with him. But I had just arrived at my sisters and I had to keep my word to her. Matt and I made a plan to talk later that night after he had seen the doctor and would know more about his condition.
I was able to let go of what was happening at home and have a fun day with my sister and me cute nieces and nephews. Meanwhile I filled my sister in on my current boyfriend and how great he was. She and I headed to a novelty store where I purchased an eye patch and pirate costume to send to Matt. A sort of slightly-mocking care package.
That evening Matt called to give me the update.
His oldest brother, Aaron, had driven him to Ogden (1 hour south of Logan) where Matt could see a specialist. He was assured that everything was all right and that most cases of Bells Palsy clear up on their own within 10 days - 3 weeks with very few lasting side effects. I was relieved, but sad that I couldn't be there with him. After the prognosis was out of the way Matt told me about his ride with Aaron.
Aaron was Matt's roommate and had driven him from Logan to Ogden in Matt's Corolla. Suddenly, for the first time, Matt was riding shotgun in his own vehicle. A few minutes into the ride towards Ogden, Matt realized that the shoulder seat belt of the passenger side of his car smelled like my perfume. I am a monogamous perfume wearer and that Summer/Fall I had been wearing
Ralph by Ralph Lauren exclusively. Over the phone Matt told me that during the drive to Ogden and back he had been secretly smelling the seat belt so he could imagine I was there, all the while trying desperately not to be caught by his brother.
It's still the cutest thing I have ever heard.
P.S. Matt would later tell me that perfume I always wore smelled like bug spray.
He hated it, but loved it because it reminded him of me.
* * * * *
Each day of my trip had me spending the days with my sister and her kids, playing, laughing and having fun. After dinner she and I would talk or play board games. When bedtime came I called Matt and we talked well into the night hours.
About half way through my trip I had a sudden and terrifying realization. I missed Matt. A lot. I had dated boys before and had week long breaks from them for one reason or the other, but I had never felt this lost without someone. Never. And that scared me. I realized this was serious. More serious than any other boyfriend had been. I was in trouble. If this didn't work out I was going to be truly heartbroken for a very long time. I realized I loved him. I was in love with Chachi. I
could live without him, but I
didn't want to.
Soon our long distance phone cards ran out of minutes. My sister said I could use her work phone. The bill was sent to my father (her husband worked for my dad) and she had asked him if it was okay and he had agreed. Those nighttime phone calls were getting to be hours long. And at the end of each phone call Matt would sing to me. His sweet, deep, tenor voice reaching across the phone to my heart.
Towards the end of that week, one night on the phone, I lay in my sister's guest bedroom bed, talking to Matt about missing him and how excited I was to come back to Utah to be with him again. He paused. The phone was silent. I asked what was wrong. He admitted he was worried about his face. What if it never got better? Would I want to be with someone who had a broken face?
I laughed a bit at the thought. Of course I would. I assured him that what his face looked like didn't matter one little bit to me. He told me he knew it wouldn't. As he had been through this medical drama he had, in his heart, known it wouldn't matter to me. Known I would not care at all. And then he said it. Those three little words that change everything.
I love you.
To which I responded, "And I love you".
* * * * *
The week's end finally came and I said a sad goodbye to my sister, nieces and nephews. A week later the phone bill would arrive at my father's office and it would be discovered that Chachi and I ran up a phone bill worth hundreds of dollars. I was horrified.
How could I possibly pay it?
My sister called to talk to my dad to try and fix the situation. He finally decided to let it go after my sister explained,
"Dad. They're in love".
