“Back when my father was alive, maybe. We used to do a lot together, go with him on trips and to events. He did lavish gifts on us both, but more on her. There’s no doubt he doted on her, which annoyed my mother more than it annoyed me.”
I recalled Casto telling me something like that. For a moment, Edward just sat there, rememb
ering. I ate and thought about it, too.
“Perhaps his death did more to her than it did to you, Edward. Maybe that is why she is this way. She is still suffering inside.”
“I don’t believe you, Delia,” he said, shaking his head at me. “After all this, after what she’s done to you, not only now but before, you still find a way to feel sorry for her.”
“If you harden your heart too much, it will turn to stone,” I said.
“Another saying of your grandmother’s?”
I smiled and kept eating, surprised at how hungry I was.
“Can you say that en español?” he asked.
“Si usted endurece el corazón demasiado, se convierte en una piedra para apedrear.”
“Wow. Don’t expect me to memorize that one,” he said.
“What one?” Jesse asked, returning with a new cup of hot coffee for me.
“One of her grandmother’s sayings.”
“Oh.” Jesse handed me the new cup of coffee. “I’ll put another hot cloth on that ankle,” he said, and went to do so. “We’ll get you back on your feet before you know it,” he called from the bathroom.
Edward watched me finishing my breakfast and then Jesse reapplying the moist heat. “I think I have an idea,” he said.
“About what?” Jesse asked.
“About how to take this moment of what she thinks is a victory away from Miss Horror.”
“Oh?”
Edward stood up.
“What are you going to do, Edward?” I asked nervously.
“Don’t worry about it. You get some more rest, Delia. Jesse and I have an errand to perform. We’ll be back in a few hours.”
He lifted the tray from my lap.
“I need to get up, shower, and dress,” I said.
“No need to do that until you get ready for the party,” Jesse said.
“I really don’t know if I should go with an injury like this.”
“Of course, you should go. You’re doing fine. You need to distract yourself and forget the pain. You listen to Dr. Edward and his assistant, Dr. Jesse,” he added. “We are the experts when it comes to forgetting unpleasantness, and we prescribe fun and pleasure, food and music…well, just listening to music for now, but still music.”
“C’mon, you idiot,” Edward told him.
“Stay off that ankle,” Jesse called back to warn me as Edward pulled him toward the door.
What were they going to do? I laughed to myself. They had come in like a fresh rain shower and cleared my mind of all self-pity and sadness. Once again, I thought how lucky I was to have them.
I let my head fall back to the pillow and closed my eyes. The food did make me feel better, and the pain in my ankle was just a dull ache now. I was able to doze off and on and had no idea how much time had passed. Suddenly, Edward and Jesse came bursting back into my room.