She ventured a little more reassurance for April. ‘It’s a little raised at the moment, but that’s normal. It’ll settle over time.’
‘Yes.’ Edward was taking her lead. ‘I’m very pleased with the way it’s healing.’
Charlotte laid her hand over April’s, feeling the tremor of her fingers. ‘When you look at yourself in the mirror, remember that we’re at the very early stages of healing right now. Your procedure went well, and everything’s going just as it should. You’ll see a lot of improvement in the coming months.’
‘That’s okay.’ April managed a smile. ‘I know.’
She might be young, but April was much more pragmatic than some of the clinic’s clients, who seemed to expect that the miracles Edward performed should take effect immediately. Charlotte reached for the mirror, but Edward already had it, and was handing it to April.
‘Everything’s looking good, April. There’s very little swelling, and I can see you’ve been doing all the things that Charlotte told you to do when we saw you last. Keep up the good work.’
‘Thanks.’ April took the mirror and looked at her reflection. ‘That’s not so bad.’
Charlotte grinned at her. ‘No. Not so bad at all. Now, I’ll show you how to massage it gently. With just a little more work, we can make it even better.’
CHAPTER FIVE
THE SMELL COMING from the kitchen was gorgeous. Mouthwatering. Edward wondered how he could possibly be so hungry when normally he ate far later than this, and sometimes not at all if he got involved with what he was doing.
‘Do you know what’s for dinner, Isaac?’ He sat down on the sofa next to the boy, who was fidgeting restlessly.
‘Yes. Mum made it yesterday.’
‘Would you like to share?’
Isaac thought for a minute, and Edward wondered if he ought to rephrase.
‘Lasagne.’
‘Sounds great. I like lasagne.’
‘Me, too. I like it here, too.’ Isaac thought for a moment. ‘When are we going home?’
Edward glanced towards the open door of the kitchen. No Charlotte. She must be able to hear their conversation, but it didn’t appear that she was going to help him out.
‘Whenever you and your mum want to.’
‘Can we stay until next weekend?’
‘Yes, if you’d like to. What’s happening next weekend?’
‘The men are coming again.’
‘No, Isaac...’ Where was Charlotte when he needed her? She didn’t seem to have any difficulty in turning up almost like magic whenever she was needed at a patient’s bedside. ‘Your mother’s done nothing wrong. Those men aren’t allowed to come back, and I’m going to make sure they don’t.’
‘How?’ Isaac slipped off the sofa and approached Edward, laying both hands on one of his knees, clearly intent on a man-to-man talk.
Edward took a deep breath and leaned forward. ‘That’s a secret. But I promise you that we’ll stop them from coming back.’ He held out his right
hand. ‘You want to shake on it?’
Isaac gave him a puzzled look.
‘Here.’ Edward picked up his right hand and gave it a gentle shake. ‘That means that I’ve made a promise to you and I can’t break it.’
‘Like that?’ Isaac proffered his right hand and shook Edward’s again.
‘That’s right. Just like that.’ This was going better than he’d thought it might.