She signed “I love you,” and looked a little bit sad, but relieved all at once.

“I bet you’re bored, huh?” I asked, but she shook her head and signed the letters a, s, and l at me. “Yeah, I know you’re trying to remember ASL, and I think that’s great. The last I heard from Charlie was that next week they want to start physical therapy with you, so that should help the boredom a little bit.” She didn’t sign anything in response to this, just moved her shoulders in a small shrug.

“Do you remember when Helena told us about Kallie?” I asked. Alice turned her head to look into my eyes, and I realized how stupid the question was. Still, I wanted to talk about something happy. I hadn’t yet spoken to the doctor myself, and I knew she was probably tired of hearing about her condition and what she’d have to go through once she could get out of bed. She wasn’t stupid and had to know that it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk, and I knew it was probably bothering her. So, I wanted to talk about something that we both loved.

It took her awhile. I suppose she was thinking, although I have no real idea. But finally, she sighed and nodded. I knew what she meant, and I took her hand to hold as I started talking.

**********

We’d been home from Alice and Jenny’s combined book tour for about eight months, and things were going pretty well. She had gotten started on her next book and was often spending the majority of the day outlining chapters, and sometimes sitting in the flower garden I’d planted her with a notebook on her knee. I generally left her alone during these times since it was obvious she was trying to think, and the last thing I wanted to do was distract her.

I was working on things myself. While I wasn’t actively commentating at the moment, I was busy with appearances elsewhere. My campaigns with Fila and Adidas had taken off, so I had to do a lot of work with those. I was also asked to speak at any and all events hosted by the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I always accepted these immediately, even if they were on fairly short notice. I felt that after my battle had ended so well, it was the least I could do for the community as a whole.