After Father Gordon made his departure, Ed was left alone in the room with Lorraine. "How are you feeling?" he asked, gently stroking the side of her face.
"Tired," Lorraine admitted. Noticing worry starting to grow in Ed's eyes, she quickly added "But also ready to go home and get some proper rest in our bed,"
"I know what you mean," Ed tapped the handrails on the side of Lorraine's cot. "These things weren't exactly made for long-term comfort,"
"Or two people,"
Ed smiled at the comment, but after a moment his eyebrows creased. "Lorraine," he said as he took her hand once again, "About what happened at the lake, under the water…"
Lorraine squeezed Ed's hand in response. "We're okay," she said, "That's what matters,"
Ed cast his eyes downwards, unable to meet her gaze. "If you drowned or froze to death because of me, I don't know what I would have done," he said. "When I saw you swim through the windshield the first time, I felt relief knowing you'd be okay. But when you came back…I thought you were going to drown because of me,"
Lorraine pushed herself to an upright sitting position. "I would never leave you," she said, "Especially if there was a chance you would survive,"
"It was a very small chance,"
"It was bigger than you'd think," Lorraine tilted his chin so their eyes locked. "Ed…I saw something when we were underwater,"
A curious expression broke through the worry on Ed's face. "What was that?"
Tearing up of the memory, Lorraine replied "An angel,"
A look of surprise overtook Ed, though he was silent, unsure how to respond. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end no words came out.
"It wasn't a hallucination from the temperature, and it wasn't a vision," Lorraine said. "I saw the angel just as clearly as I'm seeing you now. The angel pointed to the concrete, that perfectly jagged manmade item that set you free," A tear ran down her cheek. "I alone wouldn't have been able to find it and save you, which must have been why God sent help,"
Overcome with emotions and unable to remain merely standing next to her any longer, Ed took a seat on the side of the bed and gently guided Lorraine into his embrace. In response she wrapped her arms securely around him, taking in his love and warmth, not wanting to let go after she almost lost him less than twenty-four hours prior.
"I knew when I saw the outline of the bright being that there was still a chance," Lorraine cried into Ed's shoulder. "I knew you didn't have to die, and you didn't my love, you didn't,"
They sat like this for a while, the two of them holding onto each other as they processed all that had happened. How everything was fine one minute, then almost ripped away the next. Lorraine thought of Ed trapped under the seatbelt as he nearly drowned, while Ed thought of Lorraine shaking violently in the snow, her lips blue and eyes barely open as they waited for an ambulance. But God had spared them; they were here, they were alive, and they were going home that evening.
Saying a quick prayer of thanksgiving, Ed pulled back and cupped Lorraine's face in his hands. "I won't put you in a situation like that ever again," he said as he wiped away her tears. "I promised I'd take care of you every day of my life, and I won't falter on that,"
Lorraine kissed his hand. "You always have," she said. "Some things are just beyond our control,"
Ed smiled. "How about I start with something I can control and make dinner this evening? Does grilled cheese and tomato bisque still sound okay? Georgiana will be picking us up later, so with Mary Ellen watching Judy I can make a meal for the five of us,"
Lorraine smiled at the thought. Family and friends sharing a meal: in a world as inexplicable and unpredictable as theirs, it seemed like a welcome relief and a semblance of something normal. "Yes," Lorraine said, "That sounds wonderfully perfect,"