Edie

Edie

SasatheShy

--

Chapter Thirty-One: Five Weeks Later

--

Weeks had passed. Five, to be precise. And Edie’s business was booming.

She worked hard. She did best to forget about what had happened five weeks ago. It was difficult for her, though. Since that night, Lavan was always all over her. He would sweep the floors, and he’d clean tables. She knew he was depressed on the inside. Roddy and Blythe had gone back to Naltin. And they had taken Pip’s body, just like Roddy said. She knew that he missed them. And he was hiding his sorrow by trying to keep her happy. He was being too kind, she knew. But she never told him this. However, she was thankful his wound had healed nicely, and that he was working again.

Also, Amana was back in the game. To everyone’s relief, the support she received from Edie and Tonisha and everyone made her heal physically. And they knew that a part of it was due to the fact that she had not become pregnant. She, too, worked hard. But most of the time, these days, Edie hardly saw her. This upset Edie, for Amana hardly talked with her anymore. They used to be the closest friends, but -- no longer. Edie knew the girl was still struggling to heal emotionally.

Currently, the only person Edie ever really talked with was Tonisha. Even after everything that had happened, Tonisha continued to treat her like a long-lost daughter. The inn’s owner made Edie feel warm and soothed. And Edie was quite thankful. She even had Leigh… That crazy blonde could always make Edie smile, it seemed. They would joke around and speak whenever they bumped into one another at some time during work hours. And when they were both off work, they’d spend time talking with Tonisha. Amana would join in, but she normally sat quietly.

There was one thing about everyone, however, with Edie as an exception. All of them were happy. And why?

Cain.

The captain had now shown his face since the challenge. He had not stepped foot into the inn since Tonisha talked with him in her office. And she believed that he had considered her words. She was glad. Lavan was glad. Leigh and Amana ignored it.

And Edie?

Well, it was obvious that she was not glad. She was miserable. Every day after work hours, she’d go upstairs and quietly sit for an hour, at the most. She kept hoping that Cain would walk through that front door, as he had in the past, to find and greet her. But he never came.

Sometimes, Tonisha would talk with her about Cain. She’d suggest that perhaps his absence was for the best. She’d keep pointing out Lavan to her. She wanted to convince Edie that Cain was not the man she thought he was.

“You’re wrong,” Edie would say. “Stop saying that about Cain.”

She never would had thought that Tonisha would be happy that Cain hadn’t shown his face in such a long time. But Edie felt as if no other’s opinion mattered. Only hers. She missed Cain. And she wanted to see him again. She was the only one who had forgiven him -- her friends were astonished by this, but she did not care.

Lavan was the most upset with her. Any time he found her sitting alone upstairs, he’d join her. He saw that she did not like him doing this. He was depressed, for he had not been able to give her sex since that night Cain had upset her. She had told him to wait for her downstairs while she took care of Cain. Damn -- that was, at least, seven weeks ago. But he was mostly disappointed by the fact that Edie did not seem keen on having sex with him -- not currently. And he was distraught.

That evening, he stepped through the back door to find Edie sitting in her usual spot. She rested on a small stool before the small, circular table closest to the front door. Sighing, he made his way over to her. He put on his best fake smile as he stared down at her.

“May I join you?”

Shrugging her shoulders, Edie nodded. She was used to this. “Yes.”

“Thanks.” Lavan helped himself to a stool. He sat opposite of her. Edie was reminded of Cain sitting in that very spot so long ago. It nearly brought a tear to her eye.

Frowning, Lavan leaned forward. “You -- look very tired.”

“Very busy day,” Edie said softly. “And a pile-up of dishes.”

“Yeah.” Pulling back some, Lavan kept his eyes on her. He was very worried about her. For the past two days, she’s looked a bit green. He wondered if she was starting to come down with something. “What are you thinking?”

Stiffening, Edie sighed. “Do you have to ask?”

“Yes,” he said. “But what I don’t get is why you’re so -- worried about him. He didn’t even have the courtesy to come back and see you after --” He halted, then. He was unable to finish his sentence.

“The point is…” he sighed. “He vanished.”

“No --” she shook her head. “He’s probably just -- busy. He’s Captain Cain, after all. I mean…”

“You -- think he’s out of town?”

“Possibly.”

Lavan nodded. Well, it was a possibility, of course. The captain tended to venture outside of Forter to find villages to plunge and conquer. He did not say this out loud. He would not attempt to further upset Edie, even though he thought she was wrong by believing in Cain. It sickened him, a bit. She liked him, and yet she liked Cain. He was still trying to win over her heart. Blinking, he noticed her head was becoming droopy.

“Maybe you should go to bed?” he suggested.

Sighing, Edie fiddled with her fingers. She supposed he was right. After all, she’s been sitting there for nearly an hour. There was no sign of Cain.

She slowly got to her feet. Lavan rose with her. He took her hand, and led her to her bedroom. She allowed him to without arguing. She was too tired to care. Once they had made it to her bedroom door, she took her hand back slowly.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“It’s --” he paused. “Edie, may I join you tonight?”

Edie bit her lip. Lavan asked her this almost every night. She missed him, but she was not up for his comfort. “I -- I’m really tired. I’m just going to go straight to bed.”

Nodding, Lavan pulled her into a hug. He forced her into this, glad that she hugged him back.

“Sleep well,” he whispered as he kissed her cheek.

Smiling, Edie thanked him before stepping into her room. She closed the door behind her.

Rubbing at his neck agitatedly, Lavan turned and headed back upstairs. He had his own room, now, instead of that one he had shared with Pip. He made his way upstairs, determined that he would make Edie come to her senses.

And he hoped that he could soon. Otherwise, he was going to lose to the captain of the Cretchens. And to him, that just wasn’t right.

--

That next morning, Edie woke up feeling dreadful. Groaning, she turned on her side, peering up at her small window. She saw a small amount of sun. She knew it was time to get up, even if she didn’t want to.

Moaning, she struggled to sit up. She rubbed at her forehead. It felt sticky -- she was warm. She ignored the sweat. She got to her feet and dressed, knowing that she could not take a sick day. The kitchen needed her. Her assistants and customers needed her.

Going over to her dresser, she pulled out a nice orange dress. It had some small stains on it that she was unable to get washed out. She folded it over her arm as another dress caught her eye.

There, just beneath the orange dress, was the blue one she had worn when she visited with Cain at his home. Frowning, she set down the orange dress as she grabbed the blue one. She ran her hands over the soft material. Sighing, she held it close, giving it a whiff. Cain’s scent was no longer on the now washed dress. Frowning, Edie sniffed as she folded it back into her drawer. She closed her door quickly, after fishing out some clean undergarments. Grabbing the orange dress, she started to get ready for the day ahead. She knew it was going to be a rough one.

--

The hours passed. Upstairs, Tonisha busily wiped at the counter. She looked up, smiling as two customers waved goodbye.

“Please come again!” she called, bowing. Sighing, she tossed the rag next to others in a bin. She was done wiping that damned counter down for the evening. She knew that the restaurant would be closing in about an hour. She noticed that Edie had been working very hard that day.

Untying her apron, Tonisha folded it up and placed it on the counter. She turned her head, watching as Leigh walked down the stairs, arm linked with a drunken old man. He looked very satisfied.

Tonisha rolled her eyes. She waited for Leigh to say goodbye before going up to her. “Leigh, it’s not nighttime yet.”

“I was bored,” Leigh shrugged. “And he was a nice old man -- in his seventies. He hadn’t been laid in over fifteen years.”

Throwing her hands up in defeat, Tonisha turned to finish her work. She froze, watching Edie struggling through the backdoor. She was carrying a large tray.

The poor cook looked awful. Her hair was tangled, her dress was floury, but that wasn’t the worst of it. She looked like a zombie. Her skin was pale. Her eyes were puffy. She had a runny nose.

Immediately, Tonisha ran over to help. “Here, let me get that.”

Amana was on the other side of the room, gathering dirty dishes. She eyed Edie, and frowned at the sight. Leigh, too, felt bad for Edie.

“I -- I got it,” Edie insisted. She sounded weak.

“Edie, I think we should close up for the night,” Tonisha sighed. “You don’t look too well.”

But Edie was being stubborn. She shook her head. “I’m fine. Really.” She went over to a table of her own, and started to clean up.

Shrugging, Tonisha watched her work. She stood next to Leigh. “The girl is overworking herself.”

“Well, I feel sorry for her,” Leigh whispered. “She’s been miserable for the past few weeks. I’ve never seen her -- this sad before. It’s strange.”

“Not too strange,” Tonisha knew. Cain entered her mind. She grumbled a bit, but let it go. She sighed. “But yes, I, too, feel bad for her.”

“Maybe we should try and see Cain?” Leigh then suggested. She received a gasp and two bulging eyeballs.

“What?” squealed Tonisha lowly, so Edie couldn’t hear. “Are you nuts? I am not going to -- go to that man’s place and -- see if he’s home…”

Crossing her arms, Leigh sighed. “It was only a suggestion.”

“Well…” Tonisha began, but she was interrupted, then, by a sudden scream and bang.

The two turned their heads. Tonisha shrieked as Leigh placed both hands over her mouth, surprised.
“Oh God, Edie!” Tonisha ran forward, joining Amana over Edie. “Edie… Amana, what happened?”

“I -- I don’t know,” Amana stuttered. “She just -- fainted!”

“Leigh, go get Tiller,” Tonisha ordered.

As Leigh rushed out, Edie’s eyes fluttered open just slightly. She moaned as some customers came over to see what the trouble was. Tonisha tried to gently lift Edie. “Edie…”

“Mm…” Edie groaned. “I -- I’m fine…”

“No, you’re not,” Tonisha whispered. She eyed a rather large man with a dark mustache. “Would you mind picking her up?”

The man nodded. He got Edie into his arms as Tonisha led him downstairs. The customers went back to their tables, but some of them were still concerned. While Edie was led to her bedroom, her eyes rolled back -- her mind went blank as she again met with darkness.