Free Prodigal Son by Danielle Steel Page B

forty-four. She had survived the accident that happened twenty-four years earlier, but just as Michael had said it would, her health had grown markedlyworse over time. She had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which was a source of great concern to Michael. He tried not to worry her, or alarm her, but she could always see in his eyes how concerned he was about her.
    He was a devoted, adoring husband, and she was immeasurably grateful for his lavish kindness, their children, and the life they shared. She felt guilty frequently for how little she could do for them. She was trapped in her bedroom most of the time, a prisoner of her own body. As the Parkinson’s progressed, she could hardly walk anymore, and never without a walker. Michael preferred her moving around in a wheelchair so she wouldn’t fall and hit her head again. He did everything possible to protect her. And Maggie felt useless a great deal of the time.
    Without question, Maggie’s children were the greatest source of joy to her, and Lisa was tireless in the help she provided her mother. And in spite of her infirmities, Maggie had managed to derive joy from other things as well. She was by nature a cheerful, optimistic person, although with Michael’s constant warnings, she had grown more fearful about her health over the years. And she hated the idea that one day she would leave Michael and her children, long before she was ready to do so. She tried not to think of it too much, but the specter of her failing health and what it could mean to all of them was ever present.
    Instead of dwelling on it, thanks to a Christmas gift from her son Bill, she distracted herself with the Internet and had become addicted to it. It was Maggie’s magic carpet to the outside world. Michael complained that it exhausted her, and confused her with unreliable facts from medical websites, but with Bill’s wonderful gift of a laptop computer, she could shop for Lisa on eBay, write e-mails toBill in London whenever she chose, and learn fascinating facts about history, art, and the travel she would never be able to do. The Internet had given her access to a whole new world. She stayed abreast of all the news happening around the globe, and was well informed on many subjects. Sometimes Michael burst out laughing when he got home and she announced some obscure world event, or fact about something he had never thought about and had no need to know. She was insatiable in her passion for information and knowledge. Maggie entered chat rooms occasionally, corresponded with people she had never met and wouldn’t have otherwise, and looked up old friends on Facebook, although she herself wasn’t listed there.
    And once in a while, although she rarely admitted it to him, she Googled articles and medical data about her health in order to learn more about her ailments, since Michael sometimes kept harsh facts from her to protect her, although she could always see his deep worry for her in his eyes. And most recently she’d been reading about Parkinson’s, since Michael had diagnosed her with it two years before. She knew that Michael was always the best judge of what was good for her, but she liked to be informed about her health, and she constantly learned new things on the Internet. But she never wanted Michael to feel that she questioned his medical opinions, so she almost never mentioned the medical research she did. He was so devoted to her that she didn’t want to upset him. And he said that a lot of medical data on the Internet was inaccurate. But she found it interesting anyway. She had a voracious appetite for information.
    Recently, she had corresponded with a woman she’d “met” in a chat room for shut-ins. They were exactly the same age, although Maggie had been housebound for longer. Her new friend had been in a wheelchair for ten years after a car accident. And they had exchangedinformation about Parkinson’s when they discovered they both had it. And Maggie had