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“Okay, bud. Do you want to watch TV? Or read?” Stephanie asked holding the remote in one hand and a Harry Potter book in the other.
Scott still held Ace’s hand in his and was still shaking it up and down.
“Scotty. Do you want to read or watch TV?” Stephanie repeated.
When her brother still didn’t answer, Ace figured he’d give it a shot but come at it from a slightly different angle. “I’ve never read Harry Potter.”
“You haven’t?” Scott released his hand and took the book from his sister and gave it to Ace. “As you wish.”
Ace took the book and noticed that Stephanie had tears in her eyes. He wasn’t sure what was so significant about the exchange, but he could see that it had affected her. Scott moved over and climbed into his bed as a yawn claimed him. Stephanie sniffed as she sat in the chair beside her brother’s bed. When Scott was settled they both stared up at him expectantly.
So, he opened the front cover and began reading aloud. He’d never had any desire to read any of the Harry Potter books, but he had to admit, the story was pretty good. He was so engrossed in what he was reading he didn’t even notice Scott had fallen asleep until Stephanie tapped him on the knee and held out her hand to take the book back. He had no idea how much time had passed.
He closed the cover and gave it back to her. They quietly exited the room. When they were halfway down the hall, Ace saw a tear fall down her cheek. Acting on pure instinct, he snaked his arm around her waist, tugged her towards him and asked, “What’s wrong?”
She sniffed and wiped the moisture beneath her eye. Her eyes were shimmering with emotion as she explained, “He said ‘as you wish.’ That’s from The Princess Bride.”
“Oh, okay.” Ace had seen that movie when he was a kid, and the line did sound familiar.
“No, it’s not…you don’t understand…” She sniffed again and another tear fell down her face. “He only quotes movies or songs to people he’s comfortable with. It’s how he shows emotions. It’s like his way of expressing himself. He has to feel safe with someone before he does that.”
Not knowing how else to approach this he went with, “That’s a good thing. Right?”
“Yes.” She smiled brightly as she nodded and another tear fell down her face. “It’s a very good thing.”
He would do anything to keep putting that smile on her face. The smile that reaches her eyes.
“Stephanie? Is everything okay?”
He looked up to see a young nurse walking towards them.
“Yeah, sorry.” Stephanie’s posture straightened as she wiped her face with both hands. “I don’t know why I’m being so emotional.”
“Oh good.” The nurse genuinely looked relieved.
Extending his hand, Ace introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Ace.”
“Oh right.” Stephanie shook her head slightly. “Ace this is Nora. She’s Scott’s favorite nurse.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“You, too.” Nora took his hand and smiled a smile that quickly went from friendly to flirty. “So are you a friend of Mason’s?”
“No.” Ace slid his hand out of Nora’s and turned his attention back to Stephanie, who didn’t meet his gaze.
Instead, she hugged Nora and said, “We were just on our way out. It was nice seeing you.”
They’d made it a few feet before Nora caught up with them. “Oh, I forgot to ask, have you and Mason set a date?”
“No.” Stephanie looked at him then back to Nora and back to him again, he could see a battle going on behind her pretty brown eyes, but he had no idea what the war was over. After a few beats of indecision, she said, “Mason and I are not together. I don’t know why he said we were. I didn’t say anything earlier because Scott was confused about it and I didn’t want him to get upset if the subject was brought up and I wasn’t here.”
“Oh,” Nora pointed between Stephanie and him. “So are you two…”
“Yes.” He answered at the same time Stephanie said, “It’s complicated.”
“Got it.” Nora grinned, still looking slightly confused before excusing herself and heading back down the hall.
Neither he nor Stephanie spoke as they made their way back to the truck. Ace helped her in and then went to his side of the car. The exchange that had just transpired was odd, and he could tell that it was bothering Stephanie.
