by Lori Bell
*
It was well past business hours, and Edie was still behind her desk on the ninth floor of Stockmann Advertising. As an account executive, Edie provided a link between clients and the agency. She was responsible for coordinating advertising campaigns. Communication was the key to the success of her position, and Edie had spent years proving she had analytical, organizing, leadership, interpersonal, oral and written communication skills. Her strengths in each of those only continued to become more impressive. Edie understood how businesses work and how they profit. She was hardly a lightweight and the executives at Stockmann Advertising saw Edie Klein as a huge benefit to their clients and their firm. She was a keeper.
That was the professional side of Edie. The personal side almost altogether the opposite. Edie expected her friends and her family to be there for her when she needed them. And they were. It was Edie who was rarely present for anyone – unless she benefited from it somehow. Edie was reckless with relationships and she was the last person to ever recognize that fact. She defined self-centered. But, she was envied – regardless. Edie shined. It was as if a light followed her everywhere. And everyone who stood beside her, paled in comparison. Her sister felt threatened and belittled by that feeling with Edie. And Tate had the woman he was in love with placed so high up on a pedestal that he didn’t want to see it. He still caught himself wondering why she ever chose him. Edie Klein had given him a confidence he never carried before – because she wanted him.
It was almost nine o’clock before Edie realized it was getting late, and she needed to go home. She had not received a response from Tate after she texted him four hours ago. She assumed he was miffed because she had not been home in time for dinner again. He would get over it though. He always did.
She powered off her computer and stood up from behind her desk. Her long winter white coat felt cozy when she slipped it on and fastened it close to her body. The furnace didn’t run as much in the building, on the ninth floor, at nighttime.
There were only two other cars in the dim-lit parking lot when Edie got into hers. She could hardly wait turn on the heat when she started the engine and began to defrost the wind-shield. The air coming through the vents was cold, and Edie felt chilled as it blasted directly on her face. She just wanted to go home, and be warm.
The fog was thick as she drove, but she had ventured those roads too many times to count, day and night, to let the weather conditions alarm her. Her radio was turned up loud and the pointed-toe of her black heel was holding steady on the gas pedal. She was watching the road diligently, looking for the tail lights of a possible vehicle in front of her, but it appeared as if it was just her and the heavy fog out there on that long stretch of road.
She never saw it coming. Until its bright headlights were right in front of her. Edie was in her lane, centered exactly
where she was supposed to be. It was the driver of the full-size pickup truck that apparently crossed over the center line when the fog blurred his vision and he lost his bearings. He had been driving on the wrong side of the road. Edie saw the truck, and she immediately swerved to the right and veered her car off of the road at the last possible second.
Chapter 4
There was no impact. Or at least, Edie didn’t think there was. Her car hit the ditch so fast and with an incredible force. The airbag in front of her did not function in time to protect Edie from slamming her forehead into the steering wheel. The force threw her back and against the driver’s seat. And then her body went limp.
She had no concept of how much time had passed, but the next thing Edie knew, she was able to open the car door, and step out into the dark, cold night. She saw that pickup truck, undamaged and now parked on the side of the road, and assumed it was the driver who was talking to either a police officer or paramedic. It was too dark for her to differentiate.
Edie called out to them, but her words went unheard. She started to step closer, to climb the ditch with her pointed-toe black heels firmly on the ground. She almost made it into the stream of headlights on the road. But then, she stopped. She instantly froze when she saw a man walking toward her. Her eyes had to be failing her. She had hit her head, she remembered, but it didn’t hurt. She felt absolutely no pain. She didn’t even feel cold right now in the winter’s night air. And she always felt cold. Tate teased her time and again because of all the layers she wore during the overcast Camden winters. The man she saw approached her, but he waited for Edie to speak first.
She did not move. And she stared. “No? It can’t be. You’re–” Edie wanted to say dead but the word never came. Because Tate’s father looked real, and very much alive to her right now. “Mr. Ryman? What is happening here?”
Edie watched Tate’s father look past her and over at her car, positioned nose down in the ditch. Edie turned around swiftly and what she saw alarmed her beyond words. The paramedics were frantically working. She –her body– was still in the car and was now being taken out of it, carefully but quickly. Her body was lifted, carried, and placed on top of a stretcher that belonged in an ambulance or a hospital. She could see her own body that this was happening to. But, she was fine. She was right here. Standing beside Mr.–
“Oh dear God! I’m dead! You’re here and I can see you and I’m now where you are. NO!” Edie screamed and Mr. Ryman took two steps toward her.
“You’re not dead…” She heard his words. He was speaking to her. But she wasn’t as dead as he was?
Edie intently studied Mr. Ryman. She had not seen him look remotely as healthy in a very long time. His eyes were bright. His gray hair was full and wavy. He looked good again. His jeans and tucked-in flannel shirt with brown-tie shoes all looked so real. But he wasn’t real. What was happening could not be possible.
She started to stumble away from him, toward the scene. But, he prevented her. “No, Edie. You must stay with me for awhile.”
Edie spoke adamantly as fear surfaced in her voice and was clearly expressed on her face. “Tell me what is going on!”
“You were in a car accident, and I’ve been sent to help you figure out a few things before you return to that body you are looking at over there.” Mr. Ryman’s voice was calm. So calm that it had almost put Edie at ease. But this situation was forcing her to panic a little bit more with each passing second.
“So, I’m going to be okay?” Edie needed reassurance. She instantly called him out on what he had just told her. Before you return to your body. “I mean, this is some kind of crazy, I don’t know what, that is happening to me right now, but I will live. I will live, right?”
“Let’s take a walk, get away from this scene for awhile…” Mr. Ryman suggested and Edie felt as if she had no other choice. She stood there for a moment and watched him begin to walk away from her. She unfastened her long winter white coat, draped it over her arm. It just didn’t feel all that cold out there. And then she had to sprint in her heels to catch up to him.
*
Tate rushed through the emergency room doors at Bayhealth Medical Center. He had arrived home minutes ago. He also drove in the heavy fog that was the worst he remembered it being in years. Then a uniformed police officer knocked on his front door. There was a car accident, Edie ran her vehicle off of the road, and was taken by ambulance to Bayhealth.
He was told to have a seat and wait. Tate didn’t know if he should call Sydney. She was the only family Edie had left. He was hoping this wasn’t that dire. He didn’t know anything about Edie’s condition yet, and that was making him crazy. He needed her. He loved her. He was sitting there with an engagement ring in the front pocket of his jeans. It was a two and a half carat pear-shaped diamond in a little black velvet box. He had left the bar and walked two blocks down to Camden’s only jewelry store. It had cost him a small fortune, but this wasn’t just for any woman. It had to be exquisite and fitting for only Edie. He wanted the best diamond for her, and Tate believed he had found it. He now wanted a chance to give this ring to Edie. To see it on her fin
ger. To watch her facial expression when he proposed. To feel her lips on his after she said yes. They had a life to plan and carry out together. Why was this happening now? And what exactly happened to Edie?
The waiting room was chaotic, and Tate found an empty chair in the center. He sat there with his body bent forward. He ran his fingers through his unruly hair. His sandy brown locks were winged around his ears, forehead, and the back of his neck. He knew he reeked of bar smell. Smoke and booze. He just stared at the floor, and he had no idea how much time had passed before he heard Edie’s name. Who’s here for Miss Edie Klein?
Tate stood up from his chair so abruptly that he pushed it backward and it made a loud squeaking sound on the vinyl tile flooring. “I’m here for Edie,” he said, trying not to appear panicked. But he was. He feared what would happen next.
The doctor had a full head of gray hair, and Tate thought he looked old enough to be his father. For a moment, he wanted to dwell on the ache he felt from having just lost him. The doctor led Tate down a long hallway and stopped in front of a closed door of a patient room. As they walked, Tate was trying to process everything he had told him. Edie suffered a harsh blow to her forehead. She had moderate inflammation, and minimal bleeding from her nose and ears. As the doctor stopped walking, Tate did as well.
“I’ve ruled out any internal bleeding at this point,” the physician said.
“So I can see her now? Is this her room?” Tate suddenly felt optimistic. Edie hit her head and was a little banged up but she would pull through.
“Yes, this is her room. She’s not awake yet, though. She’s unconscious but stable. We have not ruled out a concussion, but her pupils are not dilated and her eyes are not bloodshot. All good signs,” the doctor concluded.
“So she just has to wake up then,” Tate added, cautiously.
“Yes,” the doctor replied, as he pushed open the door and Tate followed him inside.
There was a vacant hospital bed, and next to it was the bed Edie was lying on. A dim light shown above the empty bed, but it was dark on Edie’s side of the room. Tate followed, slowly, into the room. Before he even reached her bedside, he felt as if he needed a moment to regain his composure. To get his emotions in check. To him, Edie was always incredibly together. Flawless. The times were rare when he didn’t see makeup applied to perfection on her face and eyes. Those ironically were the times he had loved her most. When she was bare-boned, natural, and real. This was different though. This was frightening. She almost looked…lifeless.
When Tate did reach her bedside, he wanted to touch her hand. He started to reach for it, bending slightly over the bed, until he gave in and sat down on the chair beside it to be closer to her. The doctor was watching him, but Tate only had his eyes on Edie. The thick bandage across her forehead. A few scratches on her face. He could hear her complaining now about the injury…the scar, the imperfection. It could have been so much worse, Tate thought to himself, as he stared at her long, blonde hair, her full eyelashes that were fanned out just above her cheek bones.
“It’s good to talk to patients who are comatose. She can hear you,” the doctor offered.
“So that’s what this is? Edie is in a coma? For how long?” Tate asked, sounding like a child with fear in his voice.
“That we do not know. It’s puzzling to see her under this long actually. She’s breathing on her own. Her injury doesn’t quite match up to the brain’s need to rest to this extent. I suspect she will wake up soon.” Tate wasn’t really listening to the doctor’s words that followed, because he had started to speak to Edie as if they were the only two present in that sterile hospital room. And he had not noticed when the doctor quietly slipped out of the room.
*
They never walked through the parking lot or entered the door. Mr. Ryman and Edie were just suddenly inside of Ry’s Market. It was late at night, and the store had been closed for hours. Edie wanted to ask him what they were doing there, but then she thought about where they were and what this place had meant to Rex Ryman for almost his entire life. She wondered then if he came there frequently. If he was among the shoppers at any given moment. That idea both freaked her and fascinated her. When she returned to her life –her real life, not this ghost-like limbo– Edie wanted to tell her sister about this. Exactly what she cannot see happening around her while she was working. Edie smiled to herself. She knew Sydney would flip out. And it was as if she had always gotten some form of enjoyment out of her little sister being unsettled or upset.
Finally, as they approached what Edie saw was the office in that building, she asked Mr. Ryman what they were doing there. “Is there a reason you have brought me here?” she spoke, as he stopped in front of the faux dark wood door that read OFFICE.
“There’s going to be a reason for our stops on this journey. I am not your source for answers. You can gather all you need just by watching.” As Mr. Ryman spoke, Edie felt confused and even a little miffed. He was purposely being vague. She didn’t have time to take part in any journey. She just wanted to get back to her life. She left work behind at the office tonight that she needed to tend to first thing in the morning. The only reason she had not completed it was she had to get home to Tate. She drove home in the dense fog to be with him.
Edie’s black pointed-toe heels were now on the waxed floor on the opposite side of the door. There, she saw Sydney burning the midnight oil. She was surprised to see her sister working at a computer. The room was small. The furniture was even older than Sydney’s burgundy Ry’s Market smock. But, as Edie judged all of her surroundings, she found herself studying her sister. A part of her wished she could say, Hey Syd, I’m here, but spying felt more interesting at the moment. Mr. Ryman had told her to observe and learn. Edie was about to try.
She stepped closer, directly behind her sister. Just then, Sydney stretched her arms up high above her head, overtop the chair and into the air. Edie was taken aback that those arms had not hit her. She was right there and that force had gone directly through her body. As if she wasn’t really there. Mr. Ryman chuckled and Edie turned to him with wide eyes. “You’ve had some time to get used to that. I haven’t! You’re sure I’m not …you know…dead?” Mr. Ryman brought a finger to his lips as if to shush her, and then he pointed over at Sydney with that same finger. Edie comprehended the message. She was supposed to be watching, listening, and learning.
The only thing Edie could gather from this scene was her sister sitting there, working on what appeared to be payroll. So what? She was working overtime to ensure every employee under that old rickety roof would receive a direct deposit first thing in the morning when the bank opened. She felt like rolling her eyes at the important career her sister believed she had. The same job since she was a teenager.
Edie wondered now if Mr. Ryman could read her mind. Had he known she was thinking such demeaning thoughts? Anything could be possible, considering where they were and how they currently existed. She hoped that Tate’s father didn’t know what she was thinking. She assumed he had always liked her because of how he had welcomed her into Tate’s life and their family with such grace.
Sydney’s cell phone rang. Edie watched her pick it up to answer. She could easily hear Tate’s voice on the opposite end. “Syd…I’m sorry to wake you.”
“You didn’t. I’m at the market, working late. Payroll is due.” Edie could see her sister’s face flush as she walked around and sat on the edge of the desk in front of her. Edie was so close to her sister right now, and again Sydney was oblivious.
“I’m calling with some… I have some not-so-good news. It’s bad, but it’s going to get better. It has to.” Tate was rambling and Sydney looked up and frowned. It was almost as if she had seen Edie sitting there, because her eyes were focused on her. For a moment anyway, Edie felt as if Sydney could see her. But, there was no possible way. “Edie was in an accident tonight. I’m at Bayhealth with her now.”
“An accident? What kind? Was she hurt?” Sydney remained
seated in her chair, and surprisingly Edie thought she looked unfazed. And that would be unbelievable because it never took much to frazzle her sister.
“She ran her car off the road. She hit her head pretty hard. And, right now, she’s still unconscious.” Tate tried to explain the news slowly as he expected it would alarm Sydney.
“Oh my God… I’ll be there soon.” Sydney ended their phone call and sat there for a moment. Edie watched her take the time to close out of the computer program and power off the machine. She didn’t rush. She didn’t curse or talk aloud to herself as many people did in an emergency situation when they could hardly think straight in a rush. But, Sydney took the time to shut the office down, lights and all, before she slowly and calmly walked out of the building. Edie never even looked to see if Mr. Ryman was following her, she only thought for a split second that she needed go after her sister. And then, instantly, Edie and Mr. Ryman were in the parking lot. They were watching Sydney stroll to her car. Again, she was in no panic, no rush.
There was a full-size pickup truck out there with its lights on, parked nose to nose with Sydney’s compact car. Sydney stood outside of that truck and so did its male driver. Edie moved closer so she could hear their conversation.
Edie didn’t recognize the man, who appeared to be about her sister’s age, as he spoke first. “I did what you asked. I know it’s not the outcome you expected.” The man lit up a cigarette as he spoke to Sydney in the parking lot where only two pole lights above them lit the area.
“We don’t know the outcome. You will not get paid until it happens.” Sydney’s voice was strong and her eyes looked angry. Edie did not recognize her own sister.