Chapter Four

"Dear, sweet Edna," Kelly whispered, reaching for Edna's hands. She kissed them and pressed her cheek gently against the warm fingers. Her eyes rose once again to Edna's face.

"You should rest." Kelly moved away from Edna, cleaning up the mess. She emptied the bloodied water from the sink, replaced the alcohol, gauze and tape on the shelf, wiped the blood from the floor, and rinsed the sponge and washrag. When she was sure she had left no trace of the episode that had taken place there, she took Edna's right hand in hers and guided her to her feet.

Edna let Kelly lead her back down the hallway to her and Wilbur's bedroom. She stood in the doorway and watched as Kelly retrieved the knife and rolled it up in the bloody lavender rug that had been beneath the vanity stool. Kelly returned to Edna's side and walked her to her side of the bed, the vanity side. Kelly fetched one of Edna's slips from the dresser. She removed her own slippers, but let Kelly remove her slip, then reach around her and unclasp her bra. Finally they both slid the slip over her form.

Edna slid onto the bed. She laid her head on the pillows and sighed, gazing at the ceiling.

"How do you know you're really alive? That you're not just…dreaming?" Kelly considered Edna's question as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Well," she said, taking Edna's hands. "It depends. Like right here, right now, the reason I know I'm alive is you. You're solid and you're real, and when I hold your hands I know that everything is true."

"So does that mean that you're my reason?"

"If that's how it feels to you."

Edna looked at Kelly, thinking. Then she nodded slowly and gave her a small smile. Kelly smiled back and like so many times before, Edna felt Kelly's warmth wash over her.

"Sometimes your smile is the only thing that gets me through the day," Kelly said. "If you have a smile on your face, I know everything is right in the world." Edna gave a gentle chuckle, squeezing Kelly's hands. Kelly stood and bent over Edna. She kissed her forehead delicately, and Edna closed her eyes.

Kelly looked down at herself and realized she was still spotted with Edna's blood. She looked around her, and then made her way to the closet. On the far left she found what she was looking for; dresses that quite clearly did not fit Edna anymore. She found a white and purple floral number that looked as though it might possibly fit. She turned her head toward Edna, who now had her eyes open, and raised her eyebrows enquiringly as she lifted the dress. Edna gave a small nod. Turning her back to Edna she pulled the blood-stained hand-me-down from her body and slipped on the clean dress. When she turned around, Edna was smiling.

"Wilbur bought that for me for our anniversary…I could never wear it." Kelly could see why; the bottom half was roomy, but Edna could never have squeezed her magnificent bosom into the top of it.

"It fits you like a glove."

Kelly smiled back and crawled onto the bed to lie on top of the covers beside Edna. Edna looked at her.

"Will you do something for me?"

"Anything," Kelly smiled.

"…Stay right here, beside me?"

Kelly clasped Edna's hand. Edna sighed deeply as she closed her eyes once again.