Package Deal (38 page)

Amanda
drew a shocked breath,
squ
ee
z
e
d
h
e
r hand and whisp
e
r
e
d
, “C
e
c
e
. I’m h
e
r
e
,
sw
ee
th
e
art.
”
She reached for the buzzer with her free hand to call
th
e
nurs
e
.

Her daughter
cough
e
d
and tri
e
d
to mov
e
, th
e
n groan
e
d
again.

“Her throat is probably sore from the endoscopy tube
,
”
the doctor explained
after he examined the child
.
He spoke with the nurse and smiled encouragingly to Amanda after he checked the monitors before waving the nurse away. “She may not
answer you consistently for aw
hile, or even be coherent. Don’t worry about that. Some children take longer than others to come out of a drug-induced coma.” He patted her hand. “Feel free to talk to her. Let her know you’re here. That always helps.”

She nodded, her own throat tight.
Not even c
oherent? Oh, Cece.
She squeezed her daughter’s hand when it seemed to lift off the sheet.
“Honey,
lie
still. You were hit by a car. Do you remember that?”

“No,” Cece said, her voice
a
hoarse
whisper
.

Throughout the afternoon, Cecelia seemed to float between full consciousness and sleep, rarely responding to Amanda’s touch or her voice.

She watched as her child’s head moved, or she licked her lips, even when her eyes remained closed. Other times she seemed deeply asleep. When she made little whimpering sounds, Amanda’s
heart clutched, imagining what her daughter might be remembering, wishi
ng with all her heart that she c
ould wipe those bad memories away.

Amanda was napping when Cecelia’s hand gripped her own
, stronger than before
. She raised her head and looked into her daughter’s blue eyes, dulled by pain, but open and looking at her.

“I hurt, Mama.
”

Mama? It was a
word
Cecelia had stopped using
in
kindergarten
.

“I know, hon
e
y. You’
r
e
going to hurt for a
whil
e
. But
I’m so glad
you’r
e
awak
e
now.” Amanda’s t
e
ars spill
e
d
ov
e
r h
e
r ch
ee
ks again, this tim
e
with r
e
li
e
f.

“Why ar
e
you crying?”

“B
e
caus
e
I’m so happy you’r
e
awak
e
, sweetheart
.”

“I want
Eeyore
.”

“I’ll
ask
Marcus
to
bring him.”

C
e
c
e
lia clos
e
d
h
e
r
e
y
e
s
and
sl
e
pt fitfully.

Wh
e
n Marcus cam
e
to th
e
hospital that
e
v
e
ning
with dinn
e
r for Amanda
,
he was stopped at the door
of
Cecelia’s room by a nurse new to the floor.
Wh
e
n Amanda h
e
ard
voic
e
s
, sh
e
ros
e
, opened the door and grasped Marcus’s arm. Eeyore was perched on top of the dinner boxes.

“
Didn’t you check the chart?
That’s
C
e
c
e
lia’s favorit
e
stuff
e
d
animal. Would h
e
hav
e
brought him
here
if h
e
w
e
r
e
n’t family?” sh
e
d
e
mand
e
d
.

Th
e
nurs
e
backed away
.
“But
I didn’t see
his name
in the chart.”

“
Look again. If it isn’t there, please add it. It’s Professor Marcus Dunbar.”
Amanda shut the door as Marcus approached the bed.

“C
e
c
e
lia. It’s Marcus. H
e
r
e
’s
Eeyore
, sw
ee
ti
e
.”
H
e
plac
e
d
th
e
animal in h
e
r right hand
.

S
h
e
brought it to h
e
r ch
e
st to cuddl
e
it
, her eyes still closed
.

Marcus
turn
e
d
to Amanda. “Wh
e
n did sh
e
wak
e
up?”

“
E
arli
e
r today. Sh
e
’s b
ee
n
drowsy
most of th
e
time
.”

“
After four days of being
completely unconscious
,
I guess that’s normal
.
How ar
e
you
doing?” H
e
rubb
e
d
h
e
r should
e
rs.

“Much b
e
tt
e
r, now that sh
e
’s awak
e
.
” She reached up and covered his warm hands with her cool ones.
“
Thanks for bringing
Eeyore
.”

“Family
m
e
mb
e
rs
tak
e
car
e
of on
e
anoth
e
r
, remember?
” Marcus
smil
e
d
and kiss
e
d
her foreh
e
ad. “I hav
e
som
e
information. Sh
e
looks lik
e
sh
e
’s asl
ee
p. C
an
w
e
talk about this?”

Sh
e
nodd
e
d
then
l
e
an
e
d
clos
e
to C
e
c
e
lia. “Hon
e
y. I’m going to sit with Marcus n
e
ar th
e
window. I’m h
e
r
e
if you n
ee
d
m
e
.”

C
e
c
e
lia’s
e
y
e
s r
e
main
e
d
clos
e
d
, h
e
r br
e
athing r
e
gular.
Eeyore
’s head
lay
on h
e
r ch
e
st,
one
tattered
ear angled toward her right arm,
his body
tuck
e
d
close to
h
e
r chin and on
e
ch
ee
k. Amanda slid h
e
r hand awa
y, and C
e
c
e
lia’s fing
e
rs r
e
lax
e
d
slowly
in h
e
r sl
ee
p
,
like
flow
e
r p
e
tals
op
e
n
ing
to
th
e
sun.

Amanda
sat with
Marcus
n
e
ar th
e
window, gazing into his eyes, soft with concern and caring
.
She felt
better
just looking at him.

“
What d
id
you fi
nd out?”
she
finally
asked
, drawing strength from
him
when he
leaned forward and gathered her into
his arms
.

“I talk
e
d
to Jan
e
t. Sh
e
says sh
e
saw som
e
on
e
run b
e
tw
ee
n th
e
hous
e
s and up th
e
hill
when Cece was hit
. Sh
e
didn’t
know him
. One of the students in an apartment up the hill from your place says he thought he saw someone from the campus.
That m
e
ans
e
ith
e
r a stud
e
nt or faculty or staff m
e
mb
e
r—mal
e
.”

Amanda nodd
e
d
.

“
That paper. When you work at home, don’t you keep things in th
e
little alcove near the stairs?
”

She nodded. “The living room is fam
ily space. I never do my school
work there.”

“But
that’s where I found it,
on the floor next to the couch.
” He paused.
“
I think
Carl
cam
e
to your hous
e
to bring you the paper
.”