Page 26 of Eden's Dom

“Good. I’ll leave a note for the desk, so everyone knows the situation,” Robin said.

Eden smiled. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“Let’s get you better. That’s all I care about.”

A young man ran up with a huge basket of things. “Hey, Robin. I think I have everything. They helped me in the shop.”

“That’s great, Austin. I’ll take a picture to make sure. When you call later, we’ll have more to bring you, and we don’t want to wake you up. Now, they’ll get you up to your room.”

“You all are a godsend,” Eden said and walked behind the two young men.

The elevator rose to the second story.

The one opened the room and set her suitcase and purse on top of the table. The other boy set the basket on top of the bureau by the TV. Eden went to her purse and pulled out some money.

They held their hands up. “No, ma’am. You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to, and you’ll take it,” she said and smiled, giving both a twenty-dollar bill. “Thank you all so much.”

“Call down if you need anything, and the kitchen is open twenty-four hours a day.”

“That’s good to know.” She walked them to the door and waved as they walked away.

She immediately locked the door and closed the curtains. She had wanted to undress but didn’t have the energy. She fell on top of the bed, rolled up in the comforter, and passed out.

Chapter Twelve

Eden had no idea how long she’d been asleep. When she looked out through the crack in the drapes, it was dark, so it had to have been several hours.

She pushed the comforter off herself and sat up. She waited until the dizziness faded before she got up. She walked into the bathroom, filled a cup with water, and drank it down. She filled it again and set it off to the side. Her temperature had risen, so now she had the chills and sweated so much that her clothing was wet.

She stripped, turned on the warm water, and stepped in. She didn’t wash her hair and just kept it in a bun. Even though the water was warm, when she stepped under the spray, it felt like little ice crystals were beating on her body.

She gritted her teeth against the pain and toughed it out. Not only was it washing away the sweat, but it was also hopefully bringing down her temperature. Her dizziness started again, so she turned off the water, dried herself quickly, and pulled on the robe they had on the door.

After grabbing the cup of water, she went to bed to set it on the nightstand before walking to the basket they had given her.

Her eyes widened. They had everything she might need. Every medicine she could think of, easy-to-eat food, bottles of water, thermometer, special cloths for cold compresses. It went on.

Eden cried. She was so glad she’d had her angels to take care of her. She pulled out a shirt and saw it was an extra-large t-shirt, perfect for a nightgown. She slipped the t-shirt on, and only then did she realize tears were streaming down her face. She grabbed the Kleenex, wastepaper basket, and a few things from the basket before pulling back the covers and sliding in.

The first thing she did was take a few Tylenols and make herself drink most of the bottle. The tears never stopped. She would dry her face, blow her nose, and her face stayed wet.

Eden turned, pushed her face into the pillow, and wept. She cried until she was exhausted and then fell asleep. When she woke, the sun was shining.

She remembered to text her daughters to tell them she’d be delayed, and then she called down to the front desk with the hotel phone. She didn’t want to forget and then have firemen or police officers break through the chain.

“Hello, this is Eden in Room 213.”

“Yes. Hi, it’s Robin. You don’t sound like you’re doing any better.”

Eden tried to smile. “Not yet. But I’m not getting worse. You have no idea how much you helped me. I was at the end of my rope, physically and emotionally.”

“I’m so glad I was here. Do you need anything?”

Eden thought about it. She was planning on calling down for some soft food. Her throat felt like it was on fire from the virus and the crying. “No. I can’t think of anything.”

“Well, call if you do. I’ll wait to hear from you tomorrow then. Rest as much as you can.

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