She promised to call me the next day, and I felt a bit watched over but still pretty good knowing that my friends cared as much as they did. After hanging up the phone I finished cleaning the kitchen and went back to the living room to watch some more TV in peace. After ten or fifteen minutes, though, I was seriously considering jumping in the car and going back to the hospital to see Alice. I knew she’d kill me, but I missed her so much that I almost didn’t care. Still, I managed to calm myself down and talk myself out of it and decided to call her room instead.

One of the nurses answered after only a couple of rings, and told me that she’d come in not ten minutes before to get Alice moved and check her over. She’d been helping her drink a smoothie that had been infused with vitamins when I called, but said that they could afford to take a break. She told me that Al was doing very well and that I didn’t need to worry about her at all. She also told me that the doctor had been in and had given Alice his seal of approval for the day.

“The physical therapist is coming in tomorrow to work with her on range of motion exercises, and after that we’ll have to see how it goes. She did fine in the wheelchair this afternoon though, so the doctor agreed to let some of the nurses take her out to the garden tomorrow if you might like to come with.”

I agreed immediately, and the nurse sounded pretty happy about it. I was too; Alice had always loved the outdoors and I figured she was feeling pretty cooped up in the hospital all the time. I asked if she was all right otherwise and the nurse laughed.

“She’s just fine. Probably a little restless, but the physical therapist says she’s doing a lot better than expected for it being so early in her recovery. She’s probably not going to need to be in here for too much longer, really.”

Needless to say I was almost ecstatic to hear this, and asked if I might be able to say goodnight to Al. The nurse was accommodating and I could hear her carrying the phone and resting it against something, which I assumed was Alice’s ear. I told her that I loved her and that I’d see her tomorrow, and that I hoped she’d sleep well. There was silence for a few seconds until I heard the nurse laugh and I assumed Alice was doing something.