Chapter Four - Elsie

Elsie

“So tell me, Ollie, how did this injury on your right leg happen?” Elsie asked, holding the clipboard in one hand and her pen in the other. “And also, what other injuries do you have, if any, that I'm not seeing here?”

“I was in a car accident a couple of weeks ago,” he said, pushing his blonde hair off of his forehead.

“I'm sorry to hear that,” she said. “Car wrecks can be traumatizing in more ways than just physically.”

Ollie shrugged. “I'm just glad it wasn't worse. I walked away with just a black eye, a cracked rib, a torn ACL and fourteen stitches. But I'm just happy to have walked away at all, honestly.”

Elsie parted her lips. She was going to ask what caused the accident, but then decided that it was fairly irrelevant. If he didn't want to share, then she wasn't going to pry. It wasn't her job. She wasn't getting paid to ask unnecessary questions, so she decided to keep her curiosity to herself.

“Are there any other injuries that I should be aware of?” she asked. “Any back issues or shoulder problems? Any family history of either of those things?”

Ollie shook his head, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not really. I did have some whiplash from the accident. My neck was really sore for the first week, but it seems to have subsided for the most part. The doctors at the hospital weren't too worried about that, though. They said it was normal after an accident like mine. Besides all that, I'm as healthy as a horse.”

Elsie scribbled on her clipboard, jotting down everything that he said so that she could refer to it later if needed. She loved that she could actually get some information from this guy, unlike the gate-keeping Nikki.

“And what do you do for your profession?” Elsie asked.

“Really?” he asked, sounding surprised. Ollie raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.

“Yes, really,” she said, tapping her pen against the side of the clipboard. “I need to know so I can get you back to it.”

“You don't recognize me?” He seemed utterly shocked by the idea.

“I'm sorry, I don't,” she replied, shaking her head. “Should I?”

Ollie leaned forward, bringing his elbows to his knees. He looked directly at her with his crystal clear blue eyes and she felt a tingling inside of her, which she tried to ignore. The man had presence.

“You're being serious?” he asked. “You're not just messing with me?”

“Look, Ollie, I'm not here to joke around,” she said with a polite smile. “I'm not messing with you. I've no idea who you are.”

“I'm Oliver Lance,” he said, as if his name was all the information she needed. Elsie shrugged. He blinked twice before adding, “I'm the starting quarterback for the San Francisco Bandits.”

Elsie raised her eyebrows, initially wondering if he was pulling her strings. The Bandits were her nephews' favorite professional football team. She didn't actually know any of the players on the team, so she couldn't be sure he was telling the truth or just trying to impress her.

“I've heard the name,” she asked, twirling her pen in between her forefinger and thumb.

“So you have heard of me?” he asked, a satisfied grin crossing his face.

“No, I've heard of the team name, the Bandits,” she said. “But only in passing. I'm not a huge football fan. I'm sorry.”

Ollie's smile shifted out of cocky and into amazed as he shook his head in disbelief. “It's not often I meet someone who doesn't recognize me.”

“I'm sorry to disappoint,” Elsie replied, with a smile and a shrug.

“No, don't be.” Ollie sat up straighter on the table. “It's kind of refreshing, actually. I'm just surprised is all.”

Ollie being a professional football player certainly explained some things, including his muscular physique and his ability to afford all of the medical equipment than surrounded them.

“Can I ask you something?” Elsie asked, setting her clipboard to the side.

“Of course,” Ollie said, looking completely at ease.

“Why did that woman stress so hard that you being here was a total secret?” she asked. “She reminded me of it over and over, making sure that I wouldn't tell a soul.”

“Because nobody can find out that the Bandit's quarterback has been injured,” he said, his face loosing the confident smirk. “The car accident stayed quiet, but if word gets out that I'm injured, it's bad news for my team. If news of this injury gets out, it changes the game. It changes how we play.”

“I have to ask, does your coach know?” Elsie asked.

Ollie nodded, his blue eyes watching her. “He knows everything. This is actually his idea. I only play if I'm back to full speed. But this is my life. I need your help.”

Elsie sighed. She could see the pain and desperation in Ollie's eyes. His career was everything to him and it was clear by the lengths he had gone in order to preserve it.

“Okay, well let's get going,” she said, putting on a smile. “I can't promise a full recovery. No physical therapist can. But I'll do my best to get you back into tip top shape.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

She raised her eyebrows as she looked at him. “Please, call me Elsie. I'm a physical therapist, and 'doctor' just isn't me.”

“Whatever you say, Doc.” He winked at her.

Elsie shook her head and pushed on. “Now tell me, what was your level of activity before the accident? How many workouts a week were you doing and for how long? Cardio or weights?”

Ollie chuckled. “In the off-season, I worked out every single day for two to three hours. Mostly weights, but always at least thirty minutes of cardio as well. During the season, I cut all of that back since we have practices. I can't afford to be sore during games.”

Elsie continued scribbling on her paper as she listened. This was going to be a unique patient, no doubt. This wasn't just someone who wanted to get back to a “normal” life of walking around the park or the mall. This was a man who was a professional athlete and who was asking her to bring him back to that level of activity.

She'd worked on similar athletes, but she knew this was going to be the biggest challenge she had faced in her career. It made her nervous, but also excited, to be presented with such a unique opportunity. The fact that Ollie happened to be easy on the eyes was just a little added bonus to the situation.