18. Ezekiel
18
Ezekiel
B lue annoyingly flips radio channels the whole drive to the facility housing Wren. I’m not sure why I let her, but she must know a snippet of every song ever made because she can sing along to most. She’s restless.
We arrive and I park the SUV, noticing how few cars are in the lot.
“It might be better if you just wait here,” she says.
“Nah. I’d love to meet your sister.”
“She might get upset.”
“You’re not going in alone, Blue.”
“Fine. I just need to stop by the gift shop,” she says and strolls ahead of me.
“Why? You have a gift.”
“She likes balloons. And teddy bears,” she says. We walk into the building. The gift shop is just by the entrance. Blue chooses the biggest bouquet of Happy Birthday balloons and a huge purple teddy bear. We get to the register. The woman rings up her items, making small talk, and when she tells us the cost, Blue looks up at me, eyebrows high, expectantly looking at me. “Pay the lady,” she says, the smile on her face telling me how pleased she is with herself.
“Christ.” I take out my wallet.
“Wait. Those flowers too. She’ll love those,” Blue says.
I reach over her and tap my card to the reader, tucking it back into my wallet before taking hold of her by the back of her neck. She gathers up the purchases, shoving the flowers into my hand.
“Their prices are extortion,” I comment.
“It’s all for a good cause. Besides, it’s what money’s for. To be spent,” she taunts.
“My money, you mean.”
“You confiscated my wallet and phone. I had no means to pay.”
“It’s all right. You can pay me back later. In flesh,” I tell her, squeezing her neck as I guide her to the front desk, appreciating her shocked expression. I’m enjoying sparring with Blue.
“Hi Marjorie,” Blue says and signs in. I notice she uses Masterson.
“Hi Blue, how are you doing, hon?”
She puts the pen down and looks at the woman. “I’m doing just fine. How is Wren?”
“Excited about your visit.”
Blue smiles at this but underneath it all, I glimpse sadness in her eyes. “I’m glad. Oh, um, this is my… boyfriend. Ezekiel.”
Boyfriend? I raise my eyebrows at Blue.
“But you can call him Zeke. We all do, isn’t that right, Zeke?”
I glare.
She grins.
“This is Marjorie,” she says.
Marjorie waggles her eyebrows at Blue then turns to me. “Nice to meet you, Zeke.”
I grunt.
“You’ll have to excuse him. He doesn’t have great social skills,” she whispers loudly to Marjorie. “Very bad at taking cues too. Men.” She shakes her head. “Am I right?”
Marjorie nods and Blue and I make our way down a hallway.
“You have your little fun with that?”
“I did.”
“Am I your boyfriend ?”
“How did you want me to introduce you, as my kidnapper?”
“I think you might have done a little better.”
“Sorry if you’re offended. You can also just wait for me in the car.”
“Not a chance,” I say. “And I told you, only my friends and family call me Zeke.”
“You have friends?”
I lean in close. “We’ll see how funny you can be when you’re taking my cock up your?—”
“Here we are!” Blue announces as a couple of nurses pass us, their faces shocked because they clearly overheard what I said.
I wink at one of the women as they walk past and turn to take in Blue’s beet-red face. I walk her backward toward the wall.
“Just trying to act the part of your boyfriend. Too much?”
“Jackass.”
“I’m impressed. You’re branching out from asshole.”
She flips me off and turns to the door. “I don’t know how she’ll be so please be nice to her. Just try not to be yourself.”
“I’m offended.”
“Right.” Blue pushes the door open and the moment we’re inside, Wren spins and runs toward us.
“Blue!”
I watch Blue closely, see that crease between her eyebrows, watch how her eyes grow sadder. With effort, she forces her lips to stretch into a smile. She opens her arms to hug her sister. Wren is a couple of inches taller than Blue, and, although Blue is maybe a-hundred-ten-pounds soaking wet, Wren is so skinny, the skin around her collarbones is sunken and she has shadows like bruises under her eyes.
“Happy Birthday!” Blue says as Wren pulls away, eyes excitedly moving to the balloons floating over Blue’s head.
“I love balloons!” Wren takes them from Blue. Blue holds the teddy bear out to her. Wren is over the moon and takes it, too, hugging it to herself like a small child would. “I love her!” she exclaims, and when she squeezes her eyes shut to squeeze the bear, Blue glances at me and when I notice how damp her eyes are, how she’s trying very hard not to cry, she quickly turns away.
“Hi Rudy,” Blue says, moving toward the male nurse. He’s in his early twenties I’d guess and a big guy. He smiles warmly, enveloping Blue in a bear hug. Blue rests her cheek against his chest and closes her eyes. I watch her relax into him and something tightens in my gut.
She trusts him.
“Hey you,” Rudy says.
After a long moment, I clear my throat and they all turn to me.
“Happy Birthday, Wren,” I say, stepping toward Blue’s sister, offering her a genuine smile.
Her smile falters and she stares up at me, uncertain. She takes a step backward, still hugging that bear to herself.
“Blue?” she asks, eyes on me.
Blue comes to my side. “This is Zeke, Wren. He drove me over here. And he got you these.” She points to the flowers I’m holding. “Didn’t you, Zeke?” I shift my gaze to Blue and see her serious expression. “Didn’t you?” she asks again.
I hold the flowers out to Wren, feeling exactly like the asshole Blue accuses me of being, realizing why Blue grabbed those at the last minute. “Your sister said you like flowers as much as you do balloons,” I say to Wren.
“He’s okay,” Blue whispers to Wren, squeezing her hand. “It’s okay, Wren. He’s not scary.”
Aren’t I though? I shouldn’t be here.
“Would you look at those,” Rudy says, stepping forward to take the flowers as Wren watches me, still wary. It makes me wonder what she remembers of the night that changed her life. If she’s instinctively terrified of men now. Rudy looks like a big teddy bear. He exudes warmth and kindness. Me? Well, I am a different story. “What do you say, Wren?”
“Thank you,” she says, sounding like a child made to do something they don’t want to do. I feel uncomfortable under Wren’s scrutinizing gaze, and, weirdly, want her to trust me. “Where’s the cake?” Wren asks, turning to Rudy, her forehead furrowed. She then looks to Blue. “Blue, did you forget the cake?”
“Oh. Um, I?—”
“It’s in the car. I’ll go get it,” I say, remembering the café across from the gift shop on our way in. I hope they have cake. Blue looks up at me, surprised. “Be right back,” I say.
“I’ll go see if I can wrangle up a vase for these,” Rudy says, and we step out of the room together. Once the door is closed, Rudy looks up at me.
“They’ll have cupcakes in the café. Grab the rainbow ones,” he says. “She’ll like those. And I’ll get some candles at the nurse’s station.”
“Thanks,” I say, and we head in different directions. I buy all the cupcakes the café has so she will have her pick and when I return to Wren’s room, Rudy is already back and he’s arranging the flowers in the vase with Wren.
Blue looks at the box of colorful cakes then up at me. She nods once in approval and, for reasons I can’t explain, I’m glad to have it.
“I hope you like cupcakes,” I announce and Wren and Rudy both turn. When Wren sees the arrangement of colorful cakes, her face lights up and she walks over, mouth open in a surprised O.
“I’m going to have this one and this one and this one,” she starts, pointing to the various cupcakes.
Blue walks over and takes the box from me. “Are you going to leave any for us?” she asks and Wren laughs, and, before she turns to follow her sister, looks up at me, that wary expression a little less so.