Page 81 of Keep This Promise
He waves and then heads back inside the hospital. I think of what Zach said, how Stephen was one of the main suspects. He seems perfectly nice, but I can’t really trust appearances.
I turn back to Holden, who shifts Eden again. “Was that our friend, Mummy?”
I smile, not sure what to say. “Not everyone is our friend, love. But we are always kind to people, right?”
She nods. “Holden is our friend.”
“Yes, he is.”
“And Emmett?”
I nod. “Yes, and Spencer too.”
“I like Emmett,” she says innocently.
Holden grins at her. “Why is that?”
“He gave me ice cream.”
“Solid reason, but remember that ice cream is something we only have at special times.”
“Is now a special time?” Eden asks.
“No.”
I laugh. “Look at you, saying no.”
He winks.
“Nowisa special time, Holden.” Eden pushes his cheek so he has to look at her.
“Why is that?”
“Because I didn’t have any ice cream in the hospital.”
I wait to hear his response to this logic. “All of that sounds good, but we have to be really strict these next two weeks to make sure that the medicine is working like we need it to.”
Eden sighs dramatically. “Can I have two cakes?”
Holden laughs and then spins her around. Eden laughs without restraint as the two of them twirl.
I shake my head with a wide smile as we head to the car.
* * *
“Mummy, are you going to have a pump in your arm?” Eden asks as I’m tucking her into her bed.
“Nope, you’re the only special one.”
Eden smiles and then starts to pull her covers back. “Where’s Duck?”
I move her pillows and check under the blankets, but I don’t see it. “Did we bring it to Mama James?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Duck stays in bed. He likes the blankets.”
This duck has been in her bed since she was born. “I remember.”
I get up and search under the bed, but it isn’t there either, so I walk around the room, checking to see if maybe it was thrown or . . . who knows. Eden’s routine has always been to put Duck on the pillow with the blanket pulled up.
