She couldn’t control anything other than her response to whatever was happening and everything that once seemed so important no longer mattered.
One day at a time, she reminded herself as she went to get ready to see Edward. Earlier in the week it had been one hour at a time but slowly, it was improving. The small wins like his blood levels coming back within an acceptable range, or slowly lowering the ventilator, or his body responding to the aggressive checks from the doctors or the gentle touch of Eve as she washed his face or held his hand.
Flora was sitting on the floor of the twins’ room, as they got ready for school with Myles.
‘Hil’s on her way to see you,’ she reminded her.
Flora looked up at Eve and smiled. ‘Christmas is so happy to be with me again.’
Eve smiled and went to her room.Me too, kid, me too,she thought.
45
Eve walked into ICU and smiled at one of the nurses.
‘How was his night?’ she asked.
‘Why don’t you ask him yourself?’ said the nurse with a smile.
‘What?’ Eve moved to the curtain and saw Edward lying in bed, propped up but looking more like himself without the tubes stuck to his face.
‘Oh my God,’ she said and started to cry.
Edward smiled weakly. ‘Lovely Evie, come here, I’ve missed you,’ he said, his voice hoarse and croaky from the damage and the medical intervention.
‘I’ve been here every day,’ she said, ‘But you just ignored me,’ she teased. ‘So self-absorbed.’
Edward laughed and then coughed.
‘Sorry, I need to stop being funny,’ she said. ‘But it’s hard for me.’
He laughed and coughed again, and she sat next to him, leaning her elbows on his bed and touching his hands.
‘You’re here, you’re alive, this is amazing.’ She could feel the tears falling but didn’t try to stop them. They felt like a relief after crying from sorrow for the past week.
‘What happened?’ he asked.
‘The house, Cranberry, there was a fire,’ she encouraged him to remember the bare minimum.
He was silent; she could see him trying to remember.
‘The cat,’ he said, looking at her for validation.
‘Yes, Christmas the kitten, you saved her,’ she said and moved his hair from his eyes.
He closed his eyes. ‘That’s good.’
The nurse came and adjusted his drip and looked at his blood pressure.
‘He’s tired,’ she said to Eve. ‘He needs to sleep.’
Eve nodded. ‘Okay.’
The nurse opened the curtain and gestured to Eve to come to her.
‘We haven’t told him about his ex-wife yet; we need him to get rested and stronger. Any excessive stress could mean his lungs collapse and he will have to go back on the ventilator.’
‘Okay, yes, absolutely.’
