The Aspiring Journalist Chapter 11
A few days passed since Ezra cut his hand. He was doing his best to tend the sutured cut. He carried on the routine of teaching his classes with assistance from Lucas and also spending time with Aria.
One afternoon, Aria and Ezra met the Hollis Bar and Grille to have lunch. Ezra was there first. He watched as Aria wheeled over to him
He bent down to kiss her at the table. Aria glanced at his bandaged hand and asked, "Are you putting fresh bandages on?"
Ezra nodded and joked, "I'm glad you are keeping me on track for wound care."
The waiter came over and took their orders. The couple chatted over campus happenings. Then Ezra's phone buzzed. He glanced and read the text on the screen, which read, "Hi Ezra, it's me Syd. I'm back in the States and really need someone to talk to."
Syd was Sydney Driscoll, a journalism colleague of Ezra's. She was one of the journalists he worked with Iraq. He texted her back that he would call her in the later afternoon.
Ezra and Aria enjoyed their lunch and then headed back to campus. Aria went off to the library to do research. Ezra headed to his office. He graded some of the assignments from students. He then picked the phone and called Sydney.
After several rings, her slightly deep voice said, "Hello".
"Hey Sydney, it's me, I got your message earlier.
Sydney responded, "I just back to Philly, a couple of days ago."
"I'm surprised you would be back so soon. You enjoyed war journalism." Ezra said.
Sydney said, "I came back because something happened to me over there."
Ezra's heart sank, he immediately wondered if she had been physically injured.
He said, "Did you get injured?"
There were several moments of silence, before Ezra heard Sydney's shaky voice, say "I was raped."
Ezra was in shock at the revelation. He felt awful for Sydney and he hated hearing about a woman being violated.
He then said into the phone, "I'm so sorry, Sydney. What…happened ?
"I was out covering a story on my own. A group of Iraqi men followed me and then…"
Ezra said, "You don't have to tell me the rest, if you don't want to."
Sydney said, "It was bad. I was in the hospital over there for awhile, before I came back here. Some of our colleagues have suggested that I get in touch with you. I know you losing your leg, is different from me. But we were both hurt in a war zone".
"I'm here for you, Sydney. You didn't deserve what happened to you. If you want to come up here to Rosewood, you are welcome to." Ezra said.
"Ok. Thank you for the offer. I have a boyfriend, you remember Derek Simms, that photographer for Time magazine that did some work in Iraq."
"Yes, I remember him. How long have you two been dating?" Ezra asked.
"We started dating five months ago. He came back with me to the States. He is having a hard time with what happened to me. He is spending some time on assignment in Los Angeles." Sydney said.
"I see. If you want to come down this weekend, I can book you a hotel room."
"That would be great. I'll leave on Friday afternoon."
A few minutes later, Ezra was off the phone. He was a bit shaken up at the news that a colleague of his had been raped in the same country, where he lost his leg and witnessed the horrors of war. He knew Sydney had seen the same horrors of war. Even though he was dealing with psychological pain himself, Ezra wanted to try and help Sydney, in hopes that he could get more strength.
The next day, Ezra didn't have morning classes to teach, so he agreed to help Aria do some of her research. They got together in his office and Ezra made them breakfast burritos.
Ezra faced Aria and said, "Aria, I need to tell you something."
"Ok. What is it?"
"Yesterday, a former colleague of mine from Iraq called me. Her name is Sydney Driscoll. I met her three years ago and we became friends. We and other journalists used to hang out, when we weren't working. When I got hurt in Iraq, she was covering some things in Afghanistan. She has not seen me since then. She eventually went back to Iraq. She was raped by a group of Iraqi men, a month ago."
Aria was stunned to hear what Ezra told her.
"Oh my god." She said.
Ezra said, "I know. She is back in Philadelphia. She needs someone to talk to. I invited her here this weekend. Sydney will be staying at a hotel. I want to help her."
Aria said, "Don't worry Ezra, it's ok. You are so kind."
"Sydney also has a boyfriend, but it seems they are taking some time off because of what happened to her. She is coming on Friday afternoon. I'll help her get settled into her hotel on Friday night. If she is up to it, I was thinking the three of us could get together and go to The Brew." Ezra said.
"Yeah, that sounds ok." Aria said.
Friday afternoon rolled around, Ezra drove to the Rosewood Inn. He sat on a bench and then saw a car pull in and Sydney step out. She had long brown hair, brown eyes, and her skin was a bit pale.
She got out her suitcases and walked over to the entrance.
Ezra said, "Hello Sydney."
"Hi Ezra."
He took one of the suitcases and hugged her.
He helped her find her hotel room. Then later on, they went to The Brew.
They ordered coffee and sat in a table away from the other patrons.
Sydney said, "You look good, Ezra. You are walking well. I heard that you got a prosthetic."
"Yeah. I've been doing well on it. I still have my knee so that helps."
"I'm still sorry about what happened to you over there. Everyone over there still thought about you all the time. " Sydney said.
"I miss a lot of our colleagues."
Sydney asked, "How do you like teaching?"
"I'm in my second semester, but I like it. I kind of like not having the stress of being out reporting and trying to meet deadlines. I met a good woman who I'm dating."
"Tell me about her." Sydney said with a smile.
"Her name is Aria Montgomery. She was my TA last semester. We hit it off well. She is kind of different too. She is paralyzed and in wheelchair."
"Oh what happened to her?"
"She was injured in a car accident as a teenager. She wants to be a journalist. I think she has the right drive and attitude, but I kind of worry that her disability might be a problem." Ezra said.
"It could be. Maybe I could help her out." Sydney said.
"That would be great. I was thinking that the three of us could meet here tomorrow."
"Sure."
Ezra and Sydney spent the next hour talking about different things. They got caught up and talked a bit about Ezra's injury. Sydney said that she wasn't quite ready to talk Ezra more about what happened to her.
The next day, Aria pulled into one of the handicapped spots at The Brew. She wheeled in and saw Ezra waiting in line. She greeted him and told him what to order her. He directed her to table where Sydney was already sitting at.
Aria wheeled over to the table. She noticed a curious, but friendly smile on Sydney's face. She had seen that type of smile before. It was a smile of kindness, mixed with curiosity about Aria's disability.
"Hi Aria. I'm Sydney Driscoll. It's so good to meet you. Ezra told me good things about you last night."
"It's good to meet you too. I'm glad I get to meet another journalist with experience. May I ask how old you are?" Aria said as she wheeled closer to the table.
"I'm 27. Ezra has a little bit more experience"
"He is great at teaching. He really inspires students to love journalism more."
Sydney smiled, "My best journalism teachers were like that."
Aria said, "Ezra, told me about what happened to you in Iraq and I'm so sorry."
"Thank you. I hope you don't mind me seeking advice from Ezra. It's just that some people in our circle, recommended that I talk to a returned journalist from war".
"I understand Sydney" Aria said.
Several minutes later, Ezra appeared with their coffee orders and three slices of pie.
The three chatted and Aria asked about Sydney's journalism background. Then there was a loud stapling sound in the cafe. Some workers were stapling some decorations on the wall. Sydney started to shake.
She got up and said, "I need to get some fresh air." There were tears on her face.
Aria said to Ezra, "You should go after her."
Ezra nodded.
He was nervous as he walked out of the cafe and found Sydney leaning against a light post trying to regain her composure.
Ezra hugged Sydney and said, "You were scared of the stapling sound."
Sydney nodded, "I think I have some PTSD that isn't related to the rape."
Ezra said, "I know how you feel. Certain sounds take me back to Iraq."
"Just calm down Sydney." Ezra said as he hugged her and rubbed circles into her back.
From a window in the cafe, Aria watched was Ezra calmed down Sydney.
Several minutes later, Ezra and Sydney went back inside. They chatted for awhile, before Sydney headed back to the Rosewood Inn.
Ezra and Aria stayed behind.
Aria said, "You were good with Sydney. You calmed her down. Did something in here scare her?"
"Yeah. It was the stapling sound from the waiters decorating. She is ok."
Aria smiled and said, "You are a miracle worker. You and Sydney are so brave to have worked in a war zone."
Ezra just smiled a bit. He was a bit satisfied that Aria didn't suspect that he was suffering mentally. He liked that she believed he was fine after Iraq.