“You look like hell.”
“You should know what hell looks like.”
Jesse laughed.
“Is Delia with you?”
“Right next to me. So, what happened?”
“I told you what I suspected about that bastard Whitfield.”
“Yes.”
“Well, it was true. She told me so,” Edward said, and Jesse turned my way. From the look on his face and the few words I had picked up, I understood completely. A wave of shame washed through me and reddened my cheeks.
“You went after him?”
“Damn right.”
“What would you have done if you caught him, Edward? That’s like those dogs who go chasing and barking after trucks. What if they caught up with the truck? What then?”
He looked at me, but I shook my head. He was speaking too quickly and saying things I didn’t understand.
“I would have found a way to smash in his face.”
“Looks like you found a way to smash your own instead,” Jesse said.
Edward was quiet.
I noticed they were still holding hands.
“Make sure she’s all right,” Edward finally said, nodding in my direction. “No telling what my mother might do because of this, and it’s definitely not Delia’s fault.”
“I’ll check up on her,” Jesse promised.
“Good.”
“I guess I’ll have to come around more often, anyway. You’re not exactly rushing out and around again.”
“Thanks.”
“What are they going to do?”
“Operate day after tomorrow on my eyes.”
Jesse’s face filled with concern; his eyes looked as if they were flooding with tears.
“Don’t worry,” Edward said, as if he could sense Jesse’s feelings through his hand. “My mother won’t permit the operation to be a failure.”
Jesse laughed. “I gotta take her down to the cafeteria to meet your mother now. I’ll come by later tonight.”
“Right.”
Jesse glanced at me, and then he leaned over and kissed Edward on the cheek. The sight of two young men being so affectionate with each other stunned me for a moment. Jesse smiled at me.
“Describe the look on her face,” Edward told him.
“A cross between being electrocuted and finding a pot of gold.”