"So, a friend of Eden’s," he said. “Since her father's not here anymore, am I to be the one to give you the third degree?"
I chuckled. "If you like, sure."
He peppered me with questions regarding my work, my family, where I lived, and my hobbies. Each answer seemed to either impress or satisfy him.
Then he shrugged. "Well, sounds good enough for me, I suppose."
I looked up as Eden came into the hallway. "Hey, how did it go?" I asked softly.
She nodded, looking a bit spaced out. "Mom is good, I think. Katy said that she could probably go home in a few days."
Eden looked up and blinked as she realized we weren’t alone, and gave her uncle a little hug hello. "Uncle Nick, would it be easier for you if Mom goes to your place, or to Nana’s?"
"I'll ask her," he said. "Either one is fine with me. Is it okay if I go in now?"
"Sure, but she should take a nap after you say hello."
"No problem."
As soon as Nick was gone, I took Eden's hand. "Maybe we should get you some dinner," I said.
She seemed clenched. Her shoulders looked tight and uncomfortable.
"First, let's get you out of this hospital, all right?"
She nodded quickly, and I led her out of the hospital and across the street to a park. I didn't know whether she actually panicked from being in hospitals, but being surrounded by a few trees and a bit of grass was usually helpful for any sort of anxiety.
"Maybe a few slow, deep breaths,” I suggested, holding her hand as we sat close together.
There was something intense churning through her mind. It was almost visible. A dark cloud of something downright creepy.
"I didn't tell you how my Dad died, did I?" she asked softly.
"No. I didn't want to pry. But I'm ready to listen."
Eden stared down at her shoes, grinding her toe slowly into the dirt. "The last time Dad visited Nana five years ago, she stared up at the ceiling and whispered, ‘Never let yo
urself get out of range’."
She paused for a minute, then began talking quickly. "Of course he just thought that it meant he shouldn't bite off more than he could chew, or something abstract like that. He never believed in her whispers. He went fishing with his best friend, and they were out of cell phone range. Dad had a heart attack. Dave couldn't call an ambulance, and had to paddle back to the car, drag Dad into it, and drive to a hospital. By the time they got there, Dad was unconscious and it was too late."
"Oh my god, sweetheart. I'm so sorry,” I murmured, stroking her hand gently with my thumb. "That's terrible."
Eden nodded. "Sometimes heart attacks just happen. I would have been able to handle that. But Mom, Eva, and I have had a hard time dealing with the fact that he should have known better."
"You blame him for accidentally canoeing out of cell phone range? The message wasn't exactly crystal clear."
“I know." Eden looked so frustrated and angry and heart wrenchingly sad all at once. "But it happened yet again. Mom ignored the whispers and broke her leg. And she seems to think that it might have been extra bad because I ignored it as well."
She looked over at me, her bottom lip trembling. "Didn't I, Erlik?"
Her use of that name stabbed me through the heart with a blade of ice. "You can't think that us being together hurt your mother?" I whispered.
"I don't know. But I think Mom believes it."
"That's not the name on my business cards," I said quickly. “It's not a name I use day to day. It's not really my name." I shook my head. "Dammit, if only I'd put my name in your phone as ‘Eric the guy who is already falling for you’, all of this could have been avoided."
"Is it the name on your driver's license?" she asked.