Part 10 (1/2)

”But I do think you need to slow down. Take a deep breath-”

”How is that not telling me what to do?” Izzy asked.

”Just stop and think,” Jenk said as the elevator door opened again with a ding ding. ”At least figure out what you're going to say before you get there.”

”I'll do that,” Izzy said. ”On the plane.” He handed the sc.r.a.p of paper to Jenk and got into the elevator. ”Give that to Dan. Make sure he calls to tell Eden he's all right.”

”Iz,” Jenk said plaintively as the doors slid closed.

Izzy stopped them with his hand and they sprang open again. ”I just want to see her,” he told his friend. ”You know, talk to her? In person? I know she's done with me and I'm...I'm done with her, too.”

”You're not acting like it, bro,” Jenk said.

”I know,” Izzy said. ”But I'm just going to keep saying that to myself and...maybe by the time I get there, it'll be true, and I can, I don't know, have some kind of closure.”

The elevator starting ringing-he'd held the door open for too long.

”You want me to come with you?” Jenk asked, even though he must've said forty times in the past five hours just how psyched he was to get back home to see his adorable pregnant wife. ”Let me come with you.”

”Thanks,” Izzy said as he let the doors close. ”But no.”

”Call if you need me,” was the last thing he heard before the elevator took him down.

LAS V VEGAS.

TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2009.

Eden's cell phone finally rang in the early hours of the morning, long after Ben had fallen asleep in her bedroom, exhausted by the medically and emotionally taxing day.

It wasn't her father, but it was someone else, calling from Germany. She recognized the country code. She closed her eyes and said a brief prayer before flipping it open.

”h.e.l.lo?”

”Eden. It's Dan.”

It was her brother's voice. It was her brother calling. ”Oh, dear Lord,” she said. ”Oh, thank you, thank thank you for calling me. Thank G.o.d you're all right.” But then she realized that just because he was able to dial a phone, that didn't mean he wasn't horribly maimed. ”There was this letter saying that you were wounded, and Ben and I were so scared and... you for calling me. Thank G.o.d you're all right.” But then she realized that just because he was able to dial a phone, that didn't mean he wasn't horribly maimed. ”There was this letter saying that you were wounded, and Ben and I were so scared and...Are you all right?” you all right?”

”Yeah, I'm fine,” he told her. ”I'm getting out of the hospital tomorrow morning and...Sorry if I frightened you. Is Ivette there?”

Like Eden and Ben, Danny, too, called their mother by her first name.

”I'm not...I don't live with her,” Eden told him. ”In fact, she and Greg don't even know I'm back in town. I came because Ben...” And the relief that filled her over the news that Dan was okay triggered some kind of release, and it all came out of her, in one giant rush, even as she lowered her voice to keep from waking Ben. ”Oh, Danny, he said he kicked Greg's a.s.s yesterday, but you should see the bruises he got. He was trying to hide them, but he changed his s.h.i.+rt and...That man is a monster and a freak, and Ben says he's not going back, and I'm not going to make him, how could I? Especially when they keep saying they're going to send him to one of those reparative therapy camps? They have him scheduled to go to this awful place in June, but what if Greg sends him someplace earlier after this? I'm trying to earn enough money to hire a lawyer so I can get custody of him, but I'm afraid if I break the law it's going to make things worse-” She broke off, realizing that this was the last thing he needed. He was still in the hospital hospital, and she was dumping all of this on him like a little whining girl. ”I'm sorry. It's just...This is harder than I thought.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

”But I'm handling it,” Eden said, forcing back her tears. She would not cry. She would would not cry. not cry.

There was more silence, but then Dan sighed. ”s.h.i.+t,” he said.

”I'm sorry,” Eden said again. She took a deep breath. ”The truth is, I could could use a little help-well, okay, a lot of help-but before you say no, I'm not asking you to come all the way out here to save us. That's not what this is about. In fact, I'll come to you so we can talk. Ben and I'll take the bus to San Diego-” use a little help-well, okay, a lot of help-but before you say no, I'm not asking you to come all the way out here to save us. That's not what this is about. In fact, I'll come to you so we can talk. Ben and I'll take the bus to San Diego-”

”I'm not going to San Diego,” he told her. ”After I'm released I'm going to New York City for at least a week.”

It was Eden's turn to be silent.

”How come Ben didn't e-mail me?” Dan asked, and it was kind of nice, because he was asking the question in a regular voice, as if they were having a normal conversation between a brother and a sister. It wasn't some kind of dysfunctional shouting match, the way it usually was when they spoke.

”He did. A few weeks ago,” she answered him, in the same conversational tone. ”We figured you were, you know. Out there. Busy.” She forced a laugh. ”Which apparently you were. Getting yourself injured. I am am sorry about that...” sorry about that...”

More silence. And then he said, ”I didn't know it was that bad with Ben. I knew it was getting to that point, but I didn't think...I thought I'd have more time.”

”Me, too,” Eden said. ”But...I can't let him go back there. To have to live in that house with Greg? Really, Danny. And I've been reading about those ex-gay camps...”

”Yeah,” Dan said. ”I know. I have, too.”

And hope sparked. So Eden groveled. ”I would never ask you this if it was just about me,” she said quietly. ”I hope you know that. I know I've used up all your patience and...Financially, I've...Pushed you too far. I know that. And I'm okay. I'm working. I have a job. I'm doing better than okay. I'm making enough to support Ben, too-and to pay you back everything that I've ever borrowed from you, but...You know that Ivette will never let Ben live with me. Not unless”-she closed her eyes and just said it-”you said you lived with us, too. In San Diego. Of course.”

Danny was their mother's pride and joy. Captain Perfect. The offspring who could do no wrong. Of course, it didn't hurt that he still sent a huge chunk of his pay home every month.

He was silent again on the end of the line, all the way across both the continent and the Atlantic Ocean, where it was much later in the day than it was here.

But whatever time it was in Germany, Eden could hear him breathing.

”Look,” he finally said. ”I'm going to have to call you back. I'll call you soon, okay?”

”Yeah,” Eden said, then quickly added, ”Dan, wait...” before he could hang up.

”I'm still here.”

”Thank you,” she told her brother. ”Even for just thinking thinking about doing this for us. Thank you so much.” about doing this for us. Thank you so much.”

”Yeah,” he said, his voice gruff before he hung up.

LANDSTUHL, GERMANY.

TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2009.

”s.h.i.+t,” Dan said again after hanging up the phone.

”Trouble?” Jenn asked, and he nodded, glancing up only briefly to meet her eyes, before looking down again at the cell phone he held in his hands.

Something was cooking in that big brain of his-something that was making the muscles jump in the side of his jaw and his elegant lips set in a tight line.

”Is Ben okay?” she asked, and this time when Danny looked up at her, there was a flash of what seemed to be annoyance or even anger in his eyes.

Which was, in part, what made his next words so surprising.

”Marry me,” he said.

Jenn laughed, but then stopped, because it was clear that he wasn't making some kind of crazy joke. He was serious.