Chapter 383

• Pam had been at the kitchen sink rinsing dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. The water was running and she thought she heard a strange noise. It sounded like it was coming from her son's bedroom. Nine months earlier he had broken his neck and was paralyzed. Now he was in the bedroom and the 26-year-old personal care attendant they had hired was helping him with a shower. But the noises Pam heard were unique.
• She turned off the water and listened for a second -- nothing. She put the plate in the dishwasher and flipped on the water to rinse the next plate. Just then she heard the sound again. She was going to ignore it but decided to stop the water one more time. She stood there holding the plate and staring into space with her ears listening closely. There it was again. Without the water running it was obvious what she was listening to. That was Marlene, and she was moaning.
• She set the plate down and did not know what to think. Her mind was a blur. This 26-year-old woman was in there taking advantage of her baby. But she knew better. She knew he was now a 19-year-old man. That first night when she came to his side after breaking his neck she asked him if he had had sex before. He told her he had and she was ultimately relieved. Like most other people, she figured his sex life was completely over beginning that night. Like Brian, over the next several months she learned quite a bit. It turns out that he could be sexually active. Nevertheless, she constantly worried that simply because he is in a wheelchair he may never be able to find a partner.