Noble Causes

Chapter 8

I didn't break my promise to Ed. I lived at that hospital with him for the five weeks following his reappearance in the park on Milman's street. Truthfully, the first couple of weeks were really quite boring. Ed slept a lot and while I was glad that he seemed to be resting so comfortable it also bothered me if I'm honest. It's not like I ever wanted to see him upset or in pain but other than being in tremendous physical pain he seemed fine otherwise. He never talked about what happened, which I supposed made sense. He wouldn't even try to evade the topic he would just flatly say that it was over and that he didn't want to talk about it. Ed's father even asked me if he was talking to me about what had happened. I was sorry to disappoint him.

Ed's parents stayed at a hotel a few blocks from the hospital and they came by every day. Both of his parents cried a lot at first, but the visits got less and less sad every day as they watched their son's condition improve. Ed never cried. Ever.

The girls came and went every day too, stopping by to check in on us. Just like the first night, every so often, I would hear things that didn't make sense. "They went too far", "Are we still okay?", things that just didn't seem right but I did my best to dismiss them as paranoid thoughts.

"Hey, I was just thinking about something." I said one day while lying next to him on the edge of his bed.

"What?" He replied with a smile.

"The night they found you, the night that you...got out, you said 'it was all worth it'. What did you mean?" I asked.

Ed stared at me for a moment, thinking.

"Did I say that?" He asked in reply.

"Yes. It was the first time I came in to see you that night. I just thought it was strange." I answered.

"I don't remember that but, if you say I said it, I guess I did." He replied.

"Well, you were on a lot of medication and you couldn't have been thinking clearly, right?" I said, briefly considering that I generally did this for him. I would ask him a question, he would give me an answer that I didn't like for some reason, and I would make an excuse for the answer. Although if there was ever a time he was entitled to an excuse, this was it right?

"Well I'm thinking clearly now and I've been thinking about something too." He was still smiling, I loved it when he smiled.

"Well, what were you thinking about?" I asked.

"Do you remember the cabin we stayed at, the one outside Montreal we went to when we were first dating? When I get out of here I'm going to buy it."

"Really? That's wonderful!"

"We can give the girls some vacation time and we can hide out there for a while. What do you think?" He asked as he turned slightly to bring himself nose to nose with me.

"I. Think. That. Sounds. Amazing." I replied, punctuating each word with a kiss. We lay there for a moment, both of us content in the knowledge that we would be out of the hospital soon and have our privacy and the time to enjoy each other again.

Perhaps because of the angle I was looking at him from I noticed a thin cut, beginning to heal nicely, that I hadn't noticed before. I reached out without thinking, starting to trace it with my finger before he recoiled a little and suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, I just...I hadn't noticed that one before. I'm guessing that was from the...mock execution?" The words felt horrible as soon as they passed my lips.

"I don't want to talk about it, Scout, please." He said tersely

"I'm sorry, I'm just worried about you. You're not talking to anyone. Not your parents, not me, not the girls, probably not even your psychologist."

"I'm not talking about it because I can't, okay? Not yet. When it's the right time I'll tell you everything."

"Okay, okay that's fair."

"Scout, please don't take this personally. It would kill me if I thought that you didn't think I trusted you. You know more about me, as a person, than anyone else ever has."

"I know, and that means so much to me. I'll stop. Just remember that whenever you feel like it's the right time I'll be here to listen to you."

"I know. Thank you." He said as he kissed me, for the first time since everything started, like the man I remembered.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" I exclaimed as I reached for my bag beside the bed.

"So the moment is over?" He asked with a laugh.

"We're in hospital. There aren't going to be any moments until we get home." I replied with a wink. "But, what I can do for you right now, is give you something to read."

Ed's face lit up like a little boy that just learned he was about to get an unexpected present.

"I know you love cheesy detective stories."

"Hey! They're not cheesy, they're...well...accessible?" Ed did his best to defend himself.

"Yes. Yes they are really cheesy, at least the ones that you like always are but you love them so I went to the shop downstairs this morning and found one for you."

I handed him the paperback novel and he beamed.

"Dixon Hill and the Case of the Black Orchid! Scout, you are the best." He grinned as he turned the book over to read the synopsis.

"I know. You're really very lucky to have me." I said sarcastically.

"I know that, but you could do one more thing for me."

"We're not having a...moment."

"Okay, there's something else you could do for me though. Read it to me?"