On the Sixth Thanksgiving, I Stopped Waiting for Him Chapter 08
I froze.
Ethan stood beside my bed, an awkward smile still on his face. But his eyes were completely
serious.
“Ethan, I lost my right eye. My face is scarred, and I can’t have children…”
“You searched for me for six years. Was finding someone like me really worth it?”
Ethan pressed his lips into a thin line.
He stepped closer, bent over me, and braced both hands against the edge of the bed.
“Claire, listen to me. I, Ethan Cole, have spent my whole life-”
The hospital room door suddenly flew open.
Ryan came barreling in.
“Detective Cole, don’t say it! Let me say it!”
Ethan straightened sharply.
“Ryan, you-
Ryan rushed to my bedside.
“Claire, don’t turn Detective Cole down! He’s child-free!”
I stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
“He’s child-free! He’s said ever since his first day on the force that he never wants kids!”
“When the lieutenant tried to set him up with someone, the first thing he said was that if she
wanted kids, he didn’t want to waste her time!”
“He decided a long time ago he’d never have kids!”
“Ryan!”
Ethan grabbed Ryan by the back of his collar. His ears were so red they looked like they were on fire.
“Be quiet!”
Ryan twisted around and called out to me again.
“Claire, you may not know this, but Detective Cole searched for you every year!”
“One year, he had a 102-degree fever and still took a train to the next city the following day. I told
him not to go, but he said, ‘What if Claire is there?””
“Ryan Miller!”
Ethan shouted his full name, making Ryan flinch.
“Detective Cole, if you don’t tell her, Claire might give up on herself again!”
“Detective Cole said there’s only ever been one person for him. If he lost her, he’d never want
anyone else!”
“Who do you think he has been waiting for?”
With that, Ryan bolted out of the room.
After the door shut, the room was quiet again.
“Ethan, was everything Ryan said true?”
He was silent for several seconds before he nodded.
“Claire, I’ve liked you since high school.”.
“If you can’t have children, then neither will I. If you only have one eye, I’ll be your eyes.”
My throat tightened so badly that I couldn’t speak.
He grabbed a tissue and awkwardly wiped away my tears.
The moon rose outside the window.
It looked even fuller than it had the night before.
All at once, I felt as if something were slowly filling the empty socket where my right eye had been.
I couldn’t put a name to it.
Maybe it was all the moonlight I had lost over those six years finally returning to me.
As Ethan tried to comfort me, someone knocked on the hospital door.
He straightened and went to open it.
Light from the hallway spilled into the room, outlining the man standing outside.
It was Julian.
His hair was a mess, and he looked as though he hadn’t slept in days. His eyes were bloodshot.
He carried an insulated food container in one hand. When he saw Ethan at the door, his lips parted slightly.
“Detective Cole, I’m here to see Claire.”
