Page 20 of Hush

“It’s pretty lovely,” Elise added.

“Who’s your best friend?” Ben asked.

“He’s not my friend anymore,” Jaden said, ducking down to fiddle with the lovey’s tattered corner.

“Did something happen, Jaden?” Elise asked, peeking at his face.

Jaden shrugged.

Ben and Elise exchanged a look.

“I’m sure Adam is still your friend,” Elise said.

Jaden shook his head. “He says I was gone, so now he’s friends with Stephan.”

Elise sighed. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“When I was ten, I broke my arm,” Ben told them. “My friend and I were climbing trees, and he dared me to go touch the top.” He sat back and crossed his arms. “Well, I was supposed to pitch in my team’s playoff game two days later. Boy, were my friends mad. And my coach, too.” He shook his head. “But you know what? The day of the playoff, it rained and the game was cancelled.”

Moving slowly, Ben lifted Jaden’s arm and carefully undid the straps.

“Did you get to play?” Jaden asked.

Ben slid the brace off. “No, I was still in a cast, but my teammates forgave me for not pitching. At least, most of them did. And the ones who didn’t weren’t good friends anyway.”

Ben unwound the gauze covering the two tiny stitches. The area was red, but it didn’t look infected. It always amazed him how fast young people healed.

“Ready for these to come out?” he asked, stepping to the desk and selecting a set of cutters.

Jaden recoiled, pulling his wrist against his chest.

Ben unwrapped the tool before returning to Jaden’s side. “Here, I’ll show you this cool little thing right here,” he said, holding the cutters so Jaden could see the little hook in the underside. “All I do is scoop that under the stitch. It won’t tug. I promise.” He put the tool in Jaden’s good hand. “Once they’re out, they won’t itch or rub on the brace. Sound like a deal?” he said as Jaden’s small fingers tried to work the too-large handles of the tool.

Ben waited for him to hand the scissors back. Then he attended to the sutures, moving swiftly.

“Better?” Ben asked once they were out.

Jaden leaned his head against Elise.

Ben finished his exam, getting Jaden to wiggle his fingers by drawing a smiley face on each so they danced. By the end, Jaden was giggling.

“How are you doing, Mom?” he asked. Jaden squirmed from Elise’s lap to inspect the box of toys in the corner.

Elise seemed to deflate. “It’s been a rough week,” she said. “I was worried maybe he was sensitive to the anesthesia, or maybe something had happened.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he replied. “You can always call me,” he added.

“Thank you for talking to him,” Elise said. “You make a good psychologist.”

Ben smiled. “All part of the job, ma’am,” he joked.

“Mama!” Jaden called from the floor. “They have a Perplexus!” he said, unearthing a clear, round ball inside of which colorful ramps and levels mixed and crossed over each other like a maze.

“I just got that,” he said. “You like it?”

Jaden’s face glowed, and the sight of such simple, untainted joy filled Ben with a pulse of satisfaction.

He turned back to Elise, startled by the worried look in her eyes. If only he could take her into his arms. That he couldn’t touch her, feel her body against his, was driving him slowly insane.

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