As Joan had promised, the next morning before school, she quickly went to see Adam. It was only a brief visit, not much more than hello and goodbye. Joan would be back in the afternoon after school.
Lessons dragged on endlessly, each one feeling like an eternity to Joan. She thought about skipping English, her last lesson for the day, but then thought of having to justify that to her parents afterwards, so she bit her lip and endured 45 more minutes of boring poem interpretations. After school, she rushed to the locker and then off again to the hospital.
When she got to Adam's room, he was sleeping. For a split second, she thought he might be unconscious again, but he moved his arm and head a little when she sat down in the chair next to him. Not wanting to wake him up, she took the 'Neverending Story' that was still lying on Adam's bedside table and opened it. From the new dog ear she could see that had someone else had obviously continued reading in her absence, maybe Adam himself, since the dog ear wasn't on the same page she had last read to Adam. However, she managed to find the spot where she had stopped and continued reading silently.
After about half an hour, she felt Adam stirring next to her. When he saw Joan, he said her name.
"Hey, look, someone's awake." She smiled at him.
He wanted to rub his eyes, but his fingers accidentally touched one of the scrapes and he winced. "I saw myself in the mirror for the first time today," he said. "Pretty messed up, huh?"
"Well, not my first choice for a make-over, but the scars will give you a feral edge."
"Ha ha, very funny."
"Don't worry about it, Adam. It's just a few scrapes, they'll heal."
"I guess."
Joan was still holding the novel in her lap, so she closed it and put it back on the bedside table. Adam took it from there and leafed through the pages that were printed in two colors, alternating in dark green and dark red, depending on which part of the story was told. "Did you bring this?"
Joan nodded. "Yeah. I started reading it to you. Well, to me as much as to you, because I really enjoyed it."
"Why don't you finish it then?" He extended the book to her.
"No, Adam, it's yours. You should finish it first."
Adam sensed that Joan would be offended if he insisted that she finish it first, so he put it away on the bedside table again. "You can borrow it after I'm done if you want."
"Yes, that would be great. Hey, listen, do you want me to get you any school stuff? My notes or something? I mean, sheesh, I'm the last person to be telling anyone to study, but I figure that you have to start catching up eventually, right?"
He sighed. "Sadly, yes, I think I'll have to. If you could get me your notes and homework and maybe some textbooks."
"Sure. I'll also ask Grace and the others for stuff from classes we don't share." She suddenly remembered his arts class. "Do you want me to get you a sketch pad and a pencil or anything like that?"
"I don't think I can draw anything with the cast on, really."
"Right. But if you wanna give it a try, let me know, okay? And if there's anything else you need or want..."
"Thanks, but I think I'm good for now. Dad's already getting me some things from home."
"Then it sounds like--" At that moment her cell phone rang. "Darn, I thought I had switched that off." She answered it and had a brief conversation that finished with "Okay, I'm on my way." Turning to Adam, she said, "Sorry, but I gotta go. My mom's making this big deal about how we haven't had a decent family dinner together and they wanna go out for dinner tonight, and there's still some stuff I gotta do at home. Will you be okay?"
"Yes, sure."
Joan didn't think he sounded convincing, but she knew that if she stayed, her mother would throw a minor tantrum. "I'll bring some notes from school next time, so you better get those brain cells in gear."
"Don't remind me," he half groaned before they said goodbye and Joan left his room. When she was gone, Adam took the 'Neverending Story' up again and continued reading, his mind delving into the world of Fantastica and its magical creatures.
--...---...----...--
Joan rang the doorbell to Adam's house. They had released Adam from the hospital after another week, it was now Thursday, one and a half weeks after he had gone home. Joan had still visited him in the hospital every day, they had talked about school mostly, things that went on in the Girardi family. Luke, Grace, Glynis and Friedman had come by, Helen and Will as well, so Adam was seldom bored in the afternoons.
Joan could hear the ring of the doorbell reverberating through the hallway. Then a familiar face opened the front door: Mr. Rove. "Joan, how good to see you. You haven't been by in a couple of days."
It was true, Joan had only been to Adam's house twice after he had been released into his father's care. Mostly because both times it had been uncomfortable. She had brought him school notes and they had mostly talked about that and some of the things Adam had missed during his absence from classes, both holding back on all those things that were still left unsaid. The other days Grace had brought him their notes and told Joan Adam was doing fine.
The truth was, in the hospital Joan had felt Adam needed protection and comfort and entertainment. All that had somehow kept them talking about any of the more intimate issued that still hung unsaid between them. And now that Adam was home and back in familiar surroundings, Joan feared that if she stayed too long or too often, they would eventually broach those subjects she was trying so hard to avoid.
"Yeah, sorry, I've had a lot going on at home," Joan lied to Mr. Rove.
He nodded towards the shed next to their house. "Adam's in the shed."
"Okay, thanks," Joan replied and turned towards the small building that Adam spent a lot of his time in, working on arts projects and sometimes just to be by himself.
Joan knocked before she entered. She heard Adam say, "Come in."
She opened the door and entered. Adam was standing behind his work bench, sorting through some of his artwork. Joan greeted him, "Hey."
Adam greeted her back, "Hey."
Joan went over to him and handed him some notes and folders from her bag. "These are my and Grace's notes from the past couple of days."
He took them, "Thanks."
Joan roamed her bag again. "Oh, and this is from my mom." She gave Adam a book with the title 'Expressionism'. "She said you should concentrate on the part about Klee and Kandinsky and the 'Green Rider', that's what's they've been doing in arts class for the past two weeks."
"'Blue Rider.'"
"What?" Joan asked, confused.
"It's called 'Blue Rider', not 'Green Rider'."
"Oh. Sorry." She looked at the art pieces that were arranged in front of Adam on the work bench. "What are you doing?"
He looked down as well, moving some of the items around. "I was just sorting through some stuff. I tried drawing some things, but," he lifted his right arm with the cast, "it didn't really work. I thought I could finish some older projects, but I guess I just need to wait until the cast comes off."
Joan sensed that Adam was having a hard time, not being able to work on his art. "Anything I can help you with?"
He looked at her, his eyes conveying gratitude for the offer. "Thanks, but that's not the same."
She smiled and lifted her hands, "I'm all thumbs anyway."
Joan suddenly remembered something else she wanted to give Adam. From her bag she pulled the self-made woolen scarf. She went over to Adam and put it around his neck.
"I want you to have this." She took the lower ends of the scarf and pulled at them loosely, just enough for the material to stretch. "I knitted most of it in your room in the hospital. And, just after I finished it, your dad called to tell me you had woken up. I ... I just feel you might need it more that me. You know, so you don't freeze, in case you ever get lost again."
Joan had let go of the scarf and taken a step back. Adam now touched the woolen material himself. "Thanks," he said quietly. "It's beautiful - and unique." He looked at Joan. "Like you."
Joan looked down, trying to avoid his gaze. She half turned towards the door. "I should go, I have gymnastics practice."
When Adam looked at her funny, she said, "Uh... Long story. Don't ask."
"Okay," Adam just replied. "I'll see you around, I guess."
"Yeah," Joan said and left the shed to head for the gymnasium. She let out her breath when she closed the door behind her. Another meeting with Adam where she had just managed to avoid personal issues. Somehow she felt like a coward.
--...---...----...--