Chapter Four: Ignorance is Anything but Blissful
By the time I'd returned to the medical center, Miss Berrie was awake, although the damage to her nose had expanded beneath her eyes. The darkening purple bruises were actually complimentary to the deep brown of her irises, I thought. As soon as she noticed me, her hands flew up to hide the discoloration.
"Don't worry about it," I told her. "I've seen much worse."
"I'm sure you have in your line of duty," she told me nasally. "Just not on me." She gazed at me thoughtfully before slowly lowering her hands. "I walked right into it, didn't I?"
"You'd think a quarterback would have better aim, but yeah, you definitely got in the way. What were you thinking?"
Her eyes narrowed, which apparently caused discomfort, bringing out a soft hiss of pain. "I was considering Bradley's well-being, which is more than I can say for a few people in this town!"
"Now, come on," I said in a slightly patronizing tone. Surely, she had to realize her assumptions about his father had been wrong! "Brad was obviously the target of bullying, which I've taken care of, by the way."
"Oh, have you?" she said as equally sarcastic. "You think it's that easy? That Brandon will turn over a new leaf just because the big, bad Officer told him to? You have no idea what these kids are going through these days. They're under a lot of pressure."
Was she kidding? "I just so happen to be veteran. I know exactly what motivates bullies, no matter what age they are or where they're from. I've been on the other side of the world and have seen with my own eyes what they do and why. They're no different than Brandon and his buddies."
"You're actually going to stand here and compare a middle school boy to a foreign insurgent?"
"I am," I argued. "They both want to dominate and are willing to hurt anyone who stands in their way."
"I think that's an unfair comparison," she told me, her face turning serious, her brows furrowed. "You don't honestly believe a twelve-year-old thinks the same way a middle-aged radical leader who would sacrifice his own people, do you? These boys are looking for peer recognition. They're just showing off!"
"I think the two are very similar," I continued. "Bullies, no matter where they're from or their age, all have the same goal in mind. They want to take away your power."
She smiled at me then. It was a sort of sweet gesture, although I detected some skepticism lingering behind it.
"On this, let's just agree to disagree, all right? There's no point in arguing about it. Until I speak with Brandon Patine myself, I'm not about to judge him as harshly as you. I need to look at the evidence first."
"I don't have a problem with that," I assured her. "I am an upholder of the law, you know."
"So you say," she informed me.
It was a good thing I'd decided we had no future together, possibly even as friends. She obviously didn't like me very much. That was okay. Teaching interns came and went and she was probably too young for me anyway.
"I hope you get to feeling better soon," I told her honestly. "That looks like it hurts."
"You have no idea," she told me while gingerly touching the bridge of her nose.
Actually, I did. I had several battle scars I'd be more than willing to show her just to prove exactly how much I did understand her pain. I'd also like to share each and every harrowing story that went with them, though I doubted I'd ever have the chance.
"Have a pleasant day, Officer…"
"Kenobi. Ben Kenobi's my name," I offered in a friendly manner.
"Kenobi. That's an odd name. I don't think I've ever heard it before."
"It was my father's," I quipped with a slight smirk.
At first she squinted at me, but slowly and surely a tiny grin appeared. "Funny. My name is Ami. Miss Ami Berrie."
I was waiting for the typical line of something like – 'you can call me Ami' – but it never came.
If that's the way things stood between us, then so be it. There were other women in this town. Stella, for one, who waited tables at the local pub. She seemed more than willing to spend some time with me. She wasn't exactly my type, though. She was too provocative and wore too much makeup. But in the future if I found myself unable to stand my solitude any longer, she would be easily tracked down. She wouldn't refuse me and was even agreeable. Quite agreeable, actually. She just wasn't nearly as attractive as this young woman was.
I nodded my head at Ami and smiled. "See you later."
She smiled back but I left her room anyway. That's all there was to it. At least I thought so. Until later that night when I awoke from a horrendous dream. I was back in the war, but instead of trying to protect my soldiers, it was Ami I was trying to keep alive. It was a no-win scenario. We were surrounded by enemy soldiers; each one with the same appearance; all wearing the face of a man I'd never seen before. Every single one of them who appeared was determined to kill her. No matter how many I shot, more showed up. The dream ended with an explosion and her screaming for help.
I woke up sweating and shouting her name. I wasn't sure why I'd dreamed about her. It wasn't like I was romantically involved with her. Sure, I thought she was attractive; beautiful even, but I didn't think she felt the same about me. At least she didn't appear to. Most women I'd met before who were interested flirted a little. All it seemed Ami wanted to do was debate. Maybe it was just her nature to argue.
It wasn't mine. I preferred nice, quiet evenings without disputes. Dinner by the fire, some wine, and perhaps a walk through the moonlit woods. That's what I consider a good time.
Maybe the guilt I felt in not reaching her in time to prevent her from getting hit was weighing on my mind more than I'd suspected. That could explain why she had entered into my dreams. It had to. Anything else, I wasn't sure I was ready to consider.
I dropped my bag onto the bed, cursing when it slid off and spilled onto the wooden floor.
What else was going to go wrong today? I had spent hours in the emergency room. It was now past midnight. I was tired and my nose ached! The painkillers the doctor had given me weren't doing a thing to make me feel better and I had a headache on top of that!
Bending over to pick up my belongings only added pressure to my injured nose, and I hissed in aggravation. It would be better if I knelt.
I needed to get to bed soon. I had every intention on showing up for my assignments tomorrow. There were lessons I needed to teach to complete my requirements for my degree and I didn't have time to waste!
As I looked in the mirror before washing my face, however, I frowned. Good heavens! I looked as if I'd run headfirst into a…well…a Moose. I suppose I had.
How stupid of me to get in the middle of a fight! The professors at the university had even warned us against doing such a thing! There were procedures and rules to follow and I broke every single one of them!
Gingerly, I removed the bandage from my nose and washed my face before replacing it. Cosmetics were going to do very little to disguise the damage Brandon's fist had done, and the packing in my nose made it difficult to breathe. I carefully removed it as well, following the nurse's instructions and made sure there was no more bleeding. Satisfied I'd done everything I could, I got ready for bed and turned off the lights.
I was too upset to sleep, though what was keeping me awake wasn't necessarily the pain. Maybe the medicine had finally kicked in, because all I felt now was a dull thud. What was upsetting me most was the way I handled the situation. And if I was being honest with myself, I wasn't thinking about the fight or how I had blindly put myself in harm's way. It wasn't that. I was thinking about how I had handled my only visitor.
Officer Kenobi. That was the second time I'd spoken with him and the second time I'd misbehaved. I wasn't a rude person by nature and I didn't understand what was wrong with me! But the man was infuriating! Did he really think life was so simple? That bad people didn't do bad things to children? Surely he knew better! He was a police officer! How could he be that naïve?
I went to sleep finally with Officer Ben Kenobi on my mind. He was a handsome man. It was just such a shame he was so ignorant.