*****
“My mom worries about me,” Shelly said after they left. “Well,” said Kristen, “you’re lucky you have a mom.” “What do you mean?”
“My mom died last year. They say she died from the well water. They say that’s where I got cancer. So the state brought me here after my mom went to heaven.”
Shelly lowered her head. “My daddy died in the war.”
The room fell silent for a moment.
“Doc Wall is great,” Kristen said. “He does magic tricks sometimes!”
Shelly lay on the bed and listened to her new roommate, who was obviously lonely and had been waiting to talk to someone.
“The nurses are kind of like moms to me, so it’s nice here,” she
continued.
“I don’t really like hospitals,” Shelly said. The light above Kristen’s bed began to flicker.
“There it goes again.” Kristen laughed and pointed. “They’ve replaced that thing three times. For some reason, it likes to go out. Funny, huh?”
Carol, Doris, and Dr. Wall returned to the room and found the girls giggling.
“Okay ladies, it’s time to—” Dr. Wall paused, seeing the light show that had become a regular occurrence in Room 1604. “Again with your light, Kristen?”
Kristen smiled at Dr. Wall, then suddenly winced in pain. The room became quiet. Shelly looked around. What was going to happen next? Dr. Wall broke the silence. “I think a little medicine would be in order here, Doris,” he said to the nurse.
Kristen’s body was now doubled over into a fetal position. The sight made Shelly want to cry.
*****
Three months after her admission to the hospital and the start of her cancer treatment, Shelly was starting to feel closer to Dr. Wall. He always took time to explain what was being done and why. She