My Perfect Imperfections Read Free

direction or moving my arm that way. I could always drive my wheelchair to where I wanted. I was able to say a few simple words, although my speech was pretty difficult to understand. Besides, like I said, if all else failed, yelling to get somebody’s attention worked every time.
    My other lifesaver was my wheelchair. I was able to control my left arm better, so I learned to drive it with a joystick placed on my left side. This gave me independence with my mobility. If I wanted to remove myself from a particular area or a situation, I simply drove away. I couldn’t even imagine being stuck in a place that I didn’t want to be and wait for others to move me.
    Out of all of the people in my life, nobody knew me better than Layna. Not even my parents. It was almost like she could read my mind. I’d just had to make a certain face, and she knew what I was thinking. Many times, she was my savior.
    Slowly, I learned to make the best of my disabilities—and, more importantly, my abilities.
     

     
    One of the first lessons I learned in life was that good things usually didn’t last forever.
    I was eight years old at the time, and it was Christmas morning. While I was sitting in my wheelchair, Layna was bringing my gifts to me and helping me open them one at a time. I noticed Dad sneaking away, but returning quickly. Layna squealed in delight when she noticed the beautiful puppy in his arms. The black Labrador leaped off and sprinted toward Layna and me. Both of us couldn’t stop laughing as the puppy was jumping around in front of us. Layna picked him up and brought him to me. When he started kissing my face all over, I knew instantly that he was going to be my best buddy.
    “Is he for us, Daddy?” Layna asked the question I was thinking. I couldn’t believe the puppy was ours.
    “He sure is. You can name him whatever you want!”
    “Really? What do you want to name him, Lily?” Layna turned to him while patting the puppy as he sat in my lap.
    I placed my arm on him so I could feel his fur under my hand. Although it was hard for me to have a smooth, controlled movement with my arms, I focused extra hard to gently touch the puppy. I didn’t want him to be startled and scared of me.
    After thinking about it for a few moments, I used my communication device and said, “How about Duke?”
    Layna smiled. “I love it!”
    There were several reasons why I wanted to name him Duke. First of all, he looked like Duke to me. Secondly, the “d” sound was easier for me to express. So even if I couldn’t say his full name, “Duke,” I knew I could at least make the sound “Du.”
    Once I started trying to say his name, he quickly figured out that I was calling for him. Every time I said, “Du,” he’d lift his head to me and slobber all over my face. I remembered the feeling of pure bliss that somebody was actually responding to me calling their name.
    Unfortunately, our happiness didn’t last too long that Christmas. The next day while we were all eating breakfast, Mom and Dad dropped the bomb on us. They said that they had decided to get a divorce.
    “You know we’ll always love you, and we’re always here for you two,” Mom said, avoiding eye contact.
    I didn’t know exactly what “divorce” actually meant, but I knew several kids from school whose parents also had gotten divorced. From the way my stomach knotted up, I had a feeling that it was not a good thing.
    “You’re not going to be married anymore?” Layna asked, her voice shaky.
    “Now, Layna, you must understand that this does not affect Lily and you at all. I will always be your daddy and your mother will always be your mommy.” Dad reached out to hold her hand, but Layna quickly snatched it away.
    “Why?” I asked with my device.
    Both stayed quiet for a few seconds. Mom finally sighed and said, “Honey, sometimes things don’t go as planned. You just have to know that no matter what happens with your daddy and me, our relationship with you