Separate Dreams by Joan Early

Author:Joan Early
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington

Chapter 9

She spent most of the day with Edison, listening, talking, and wishing.

Pretending to be his wife was easy because she had never stopped feeling like Mrs. Edison Page. She had never stopped loving or wanting him. The pain she felt was in knowing he no longer belonged to her. Did she even have the right to hope that one day he would?

When J.P. arrived with Leila, Shannon took a break. Miss Etta was waiting in the hallway.

“I want you to know, I wasn’t tryin’ to start nothing with you. I want my son to get well, and if you can help him, I’m grateful. It don’t bother me none ’cause you’re here. It bothers me that Jeannie don’t want to be here no more. She loves Edison. She’s being put aside by all this, and that’s jes a shame.”

“So what do you want me to do? Tell me, and I’ll do it. I love Edison, too, but if you want me to stay away just say so. Then you go in and explain it to Edison. Maybe he’ll just laugh it off. But if he doesn’t, if his blood pressure rises and his heart rate doubles, his death will be on your head. Just tell me, Miss Etta, because I’m tired of this.”

“How you plan to ’splain this to him later on? The doctors don’t know everythin’, but I can’t be the one to say no. They want you to lie to him, so go ahead and do it. I just don’t like any uh this.”

“And you think I do? I know it hurts Jeannie for him to ask for me, and believe me I wish he didn’t. I wish he was well and could go on with his life.” She started to walk away then turned back. “I still love Edison very much, Miss Etta. I’m not proud of myself for doing something that helped end my marriage. I loved my husband. I also remember your husband going off every fall to work on some kind of harvesting job in Louisiana. He was gone from early fall to just before Christmas.”

“He went where the work was. You didn’t have to leave here. It ain’t the same thing.”

“There are always choices, Miss Etta. Your husband left because he couldn’t stay here and give you the things you needed, just as I felt I couldn’t stay here and miss the chance to do something spectacular. I wish I hadn’t gone away, but I did. I didn’t marry Edison with the intention of leaving for any reason. When someone offered me something I really wanted, I felt compelled to go. I didn’t leave Shepherd because I didn’t love my husband and baby. I also didn’t leave, as you’ve claimed, to be with Thierry. I made a choice. I now feel it was the wrong one, but I didn’t at the time. If we were all content living under minimal conditions, this world would be one sorry place, don’t you agree?”

She left

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