Fern nodded. “So what do I do?”
Ava wasn’t sure what would work for Fern; they’d only had a handful of sessions, so it was going to take time to get to know her better. Plus she was still recovering from everything that happened to her.
“Tell me about your day here,” Ava invited. Wanting the other woman to have something to focus on.
“Well, Nurse Cassidy comes in really early,” Fern said.
“What does she look like and do when she comes in?” Ava asked, leading her through her day.
“She has blue eyes and reddish-blond hair. It’s really pretty. She doesn’t wear makeup or anything, but I can tell she takes time with her hair. There is always the smell of strawberries around her, and she smiles when she says good morning. She takes my vitals and then checks my IV.”
“Does she chat with you?”
“Yes. Tells me how good I’m doing. Asks what I had for dinner the night before and how Andy treated me overnight.”
“Who’s Andy?”
“He’s my night nurse. He’s totally by the book. He’s really quiet at night when he comes in. I freaked out the first night.”
“That’s to be expected. You woke up and there was a stranger in your room,” Ava reassured her.
“Andy felt really bad and started to bring one of the junior nurses with him. She came in first, checked on me. It was nice. I mean, he didn’t have to do that.”
“But he did,” Fern said.
“Yes. He has a Superman tattoo on his forearm that he got when he was sixteen to remind himself that he could do anything.”
Ava nodded. “Do you use the tattoo to signal safety?”
“I guess. I hadn’t thought of that way, but you’re right. I know that Andy’s not going to harm me in anyway. So he feels comforting, so does Cassidy, and I can tell you’re wearing Daisy by Marc Jacobs…I like that.”
“Good, you’re building a new normal for yourself,” Ava said. “When you feel the memories of the cabin creeping in, remember the routine and people and the smiles here. Go through your day here in the hospital. That will ground you here. Make this start to feel like your new normal.”
Fern nodded. They spoke some more about other things she could do when she felt herself slipping into the past. “Are you sure you’re up to talking to Officer Benally?”
“As long as you are here with me,” Fern said.
She left Ava to go and get Chay. He waited for her in the floor waiting area. Her first thought was of that almost kiss they’d shared in her foyer. It took her a minute to realize she was staring at his mouth. Finally she tore her eyes away, but not before he lifted one eyebrow at her.
She just shook her head at him.
“She’s…go gently. I’m not sure how much information you’ll get from her. If I see that it’s causing her any kind of agitation, I will ask you to stop and leave.”
“Of course. I don’t want to make anything worse. I just need to hear from her what she remembers.”
The hospital room had two guest chairs, and Fern invited him to sit down in the one that was farthest from the bed. Ava pulleda chair up between him and Fern. Fern looked so small on the bed.
It reminded Chay of how he’d felt when his mom left. He pulled out his notebook to distract himself from that unpleasant memory.
“Thank you for meeting with me,” he said.
“You’re welcome. I really don’t want to talk about what happened, but I also don’t want anyone else to go through what I did,” Fern said.
“That’s what we are all hoping to avoid. In the report—” he glanced down at his phone, where he had her statement up “—you mentioned you were walking out of your office…”
“Yes. I’d finished working.”
“What do you do, or did you do?”
