Chapter 302: Comfort
Monday, January 30th, Evening
Izzy just held a hand up and shook her head.
"Izzy, please say something," Ashlyn said.
Izzy took in a deep breath, held it, then let it go. "As painful it is to tell that story, in some ways, it's therapeutic," Izzy said.
"Are you sure?" Ashlyn asked.
Izzy nodded, took her napkin, and dried the corner of her eyes. "Yes," she said.
Ashlyn nodded and looked at Ivy. "Ivy, are you okay?" Ashlyn asked.
Ivy stood up. "I should've never asked," she said in a stilted voice and walked away.
Ashlyn turned to Izzy and shrugged.
"I need to talk to her," Izzy said.
"Why you?" Ashlyn asked.
"'Cause she needs to know from me it's okay," Izzy said.
Ashlyn nodded, "Good point," she said.
Izzy looked over the table and wondered why Trin chose this time to keep her tongue. "Can you two manage without me?" Izzy asked.
Ashlyn nodded, took a quick glance at Trin, looked back to Izzy, and cracked a slight smile. "I think we can manage," she said, and Izzy could swear Ashlyn bared a bit of her fangs.
"Okay, I'll be back," Izzy said, stood up, grabbed her coat, and headed after Ivy. AS she walked, Izzy slipped her coat on.
In the front room, she looked to Rerun. He looked at Izzy and shrugged.
"What's that all about?" Rerun asked.
"She asked a question that she later regretted," Izzy said.
"It's Tree Hill; there's plenty of hoof in mouth disease here," Rerun said.
"There's no argument here," Izzy said.
"What did she say to give her hoof in the mouth?" Rerun asked.
"She asked about Adam," Izzy said.
"Oh, makes sense now," Rerun said.
"I feel bad that she feels bad," Izzy said.
"Not everyone feels comfortable about talking about your dead son," Rerun said.
"But it's therapeutic to me," Izzy said.
"But not everyone can handle it as you can," Rerun said.
"Hence why I'm going to talk to her," Izzy said.
Rerun nodded, "I think enough time has passed for her to settle down," he said.
"How do you know?" Izzy asked.
"I'm a barman; it's my job to know," Rerun said.
"Okay, thanks, Rerun," Izzy said.
"You're welcome," Rerun said.
Izzy nodded, turned, and walked out of the bar. Looking to her left and right, after looking around, Izzy finally found Ivy leaning against the neighboring building. Izzy felt the cold air cut into her lungs. Finally, Izzy turned towards Ivy and slowly walked down the street.
Ivy looked over and seemed to focus on Izzy. Ivy let out a breath, which released a large puff of steam, and finally turned back to her smartphone.
After a quick minute, Ivy put her smartphone away and turned her head towards Izzy. Ivy watched Izzy for a moment or two before turning to look at the building across the street. Once Izzy was a few arm's lengths away, Ivy turned away from the building. Ivy and Izzy locked eyes.
"Ivy," Izzy said.
"Izzy," Ivy said.
"Are you okay?" Izzy asked.
"I should be asking you that," Ivy said.
"We need to talk," Izzy said.
"What do we need to talk about?" Ivy asked.
"A lot of things," Izzy said, and Ivy nodded.
"Okay, where do we start?" Ivy asked.
"Ever hear of a rainbow baby?" Izzy asked.
Ivy shook her head, "I've heard the term around the hospital, but I'm not sure what it means," she said.
"It's a baby born after an infant's death," Izzy said.
Ivy nodded, "I didn't know that," she said.
"It took about five years, but I had my rainbow baby; her name is Nomi," Izzy said.
Ivy nodded, "Okay," she said.
"It was tough, Ivy; I love my daughter and was excited about having her. Being a mom, it was a relief, and it hurt at the same time," Izzy said.
"Why did it hurt?" Ivy asked.
"It's hard to explain, but it's guilt because I couldn't do the same for Adam. I still remember Adam, especially on his birthday; that's why I talk about him, even though it hurts. It's as I say, therapeutic," Izzy said.
"Therapeutic?" Ivy asked, confused by the shorter woman.
"That way, I don't forget him," Izzy said.
"Okay," Ivy said.
"Anyway, his soul is with me every day," Izzy said.
"How?" Ivy asked.
"In Nomi," Izzy said.
Ivy scratched her neck in confusion.
"Let me explain; I believe that Adam's soul wasn't ready to be with me, so it left. When it was time, the soul came back, as Nomi," Izzy said.
"You seem well adjusted to this all," Ivy said.
"Therapy, love, and soul searching," Izzy said.
"You said we had a lot of things to talk about," Ivy said.
"We do, but there's a time and place for it all," Izzy said, "What you need is a hug."
"A hug?" Ivy asked.
"Trust me," Izzy said.
"Okay," Ivy said.
Izzy walked over and hugged Ivy. Izzy looked up to Ivy's eyes. "Let's go inside; it's cold out here," Izzy said.
"Okay," Ivy said.
The two women walked to the bar. They opened the door and stepped in. As they walked across the front room, Izzy had her arm around Ivy. Ivy, meanwhile, had her arm over Izzy's shoulder.
Izzy saw Trin talking to Rerun as they crossed the front room. Once they entered the back room, they passed Mina as she headed towards the bar. Izzy removed her coat and sat down at the table.
Ivy walked over to the wall and started to look at the collection of pictures on the wall.
Ashlyn looked at Izzy. "Everything good?" Ashlyn asked.
"On the road to it," Izzy said.
Ashlyn nodded, stood up, and walked over to Ivy. Trin returned to the table and looked at Izzy, and just shrugged.
