We hung up after I’d asked him to give my love to Angie and the boys, and he asked me to make sure Alice knew they all loved her. I assured him I would, and then called Kallie at her office. I got her answering service, which was no surprise to me. With her job being what it was she was often unavailable during the days. I didn’t begrudge her for it, but I hoped that she was taking care of herself.

My next call was to Shane. Jenny answered and said that Shane was busy talking to one of the food vendors. I smiled. Shane’s always been so much better at the business end of that place than Jenny has, and I’ve always thought it’s cute that whenever something business related comes up, Shane always takes care of it to avoid stressing Jenny out. I think it’s sweet.

I told her not to worry about going to get Shane, and just gave her an update on Alice’s condition. Jenny seemed really happy about it and said she’d tell Shane as soon as she was done talking to whoever she happened to be talking to, and that they’d be there within a couple hours to pick me up and say hi to Alice.

I thanked her and hung up, and then just sat there for a little bit. It was gorgeous outside and the flowers on the tree smelled really good. I was hit by a wave of sadness as I realized that this would be a place that Alice would find it very easy to write from. Then I scolded myself internally and vowed silently to bring her out here as soon as she was able to be in the wheelchair.

With that thought comforting me for the moment, I decided to go ahead and get something to eat in the cafeteria. I wound up ordering some pasta since I’d been mostly living on sandwiches since Alice had been brought in, and took that and my iced tea to a small table by the window.

I ate slowly, thinking about what was going to happen once I was able to take Alice home. I’d thought it over before, but it seemed to be creeping ever closer now that she was able to move more. I knew there was still awhile before she’d be released, but I wanted to get prepared. I made a mental note to call around and see about hiring a nurse to come every day and help us with the things we couldn’t manage on our own. Then it hit me that I needed to call and get ramps installed at the doors, and that I should have someone come and inspect the house to make sure it was suitable for her to get around in, in whatever limited way she could.