Broken

Chapter 21

"She quit."

"What do you mean, she quit," Stan demanded.

Ernie shrugged. "Ada quit her job. She said she had to go somewhere. I've seen her type. They're freelancers. Too young to buckle themselves down into a career."

Ford shook his head. "No. I warned her! She can't just leave like that!"

"Ford, you gotta calm down. So she skipped town. It's not the end of the world."

Stanley's words were as shallow as they were unhelpful. Ford would have snapped right there and told Stanley why it was imperative that they find Ada. However, whining about the task was not going to help it progress.

"Where else could she have gone," he mumbled to himself.

"Let's just go back home."

Ford didn't argue this time- rather, he just helped himself into the passenger's side of his brother's car and allowed himself to be driven to the Shack. He realized how lonely he'd become once again, and his heart would likely decay once again as it was before Ada's impromptu arrival.

Imagine his surprise when he saw Ada passed out on Stan's armchair, in the depths of a restful sleep. To put his incredulity to rest, Ford knelt down beside her and took her wrist to feel for the one significant sign of life-the pulse. A pulse beat steadily beneath his fingers, and Ford took the hand he was now holding and kissed it. This gesture had no romantic implications hiding behind a mask of sincerely solemnity; Ford was glad to have Ada back.

"Hey, Ford."

Stan had called him from the living room.

"Hey, uh, when Ada wakes up, don't question her so much about what she's been doing or where she's been. I know you. You're gonna want to ask her a million questions. I've seen the two of you. She's bound to tell you over time."

Ford nodded. "I'll make sure of it."

The night Ada returned to Ford for good seemed like the one night of Ford's life in which he slept soundly. Stan left, knowing that his bond with his brother had begun to heal, even though full recovery would likely outlive both him and Ford. In the morning, Ada woke, and pulled out a beer from the fridge. Most would say that 7 in the morning is too early to drink, but given what Ada had been through recently, she felt she deserved some sort of reward. Ford followed suit with his own beer, and they sat across from each other, making sure to not make eye contact. Silence grew between them as their beers slowly emptied.

"Good to see you again," Ford said, after deciding that the silence was too awkward to bear. "I can't remember the last time we saw each other."

"At least a month," Ada replied, and sipped the last drop of her beverage. "You were out of it in the hospital last time I saw you."

"When I came to, I realized you were gone. Where did you go?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"What about that girl, Iris? I could've sworn I saw the two of you kissing."

Ada continued to avoid the subject. "I'm just glad I'm back," she said finally.

Once she stood up to dispose of her bottle, Ford immediately crossed the room to give Ada a large hug. She hugged back, even though she'd told him ages ago that she wasn't a hugger. They stood like that, for a while, in the silence and solemnity.

Ford didn't feel so broken anymore, but rather at peace with himself. Ada was the one thing he hadn't managed to lose. He made a promise at that moment, to keep Ada for as long as possible. She pulled him out of intolerable loneliness and into a more tolerable variety of being solitary. For that, he was grateful.