“You have to keep it within arm’s reach, Jordan.” Sally’s footsteps crossed the room and returned. She pressed the cane into Jordan’s hand. “Have you considered the counseling I mentioned?”

“I’m not sure what talking will do about my condition.”

“It’ll help with the stress of the transition.”

“Transition. Makes it sound like I won’t get back what I had.”

“It’s good to be mentally prepared, regardless.”

“Maybe. Right now, I’m focused on getting as much normal back into my day as I can. I’m on medical leave, and I don’t want to waste it in the hospital.”

Sally chuckled. “Fair enough. I’ve got your wheelchair and your discharge papers.”

“Can’t I walk out of here?” she asked.

“No. The hospital’s policy is fairly strict. You know, the lawyers always get their way.”

“I hear you.” Jordan swung her legs over the side of the bed. And with Sally’s help, she lowered herself into the wheelchair. Sally folded the cane, explaining what she’d done, and laid it across her legs.

Jordan absorbed the hospital’s normal background noises. The beeps, buzzers, hushed conversations, and rolling carts were becoming her points of reference in this new world of shadows and light. From her hospital outings with Sally, she’d learned the man in the room beside hers had been in a car accident. He had been broadsided by a truck that had run an intersection. He had regained consciousness. “One lucky bastard,” his father had said over and over as if he were muttering a prayer.

Down the hall was a young girl who had been thrown from a horse. Her neck injuries required surgery, and she was facing months of rehab.

“I’ll be coming by your house later today,” Sally said. “I can help you rearrange furniture and make it more accessible.”

“No offense, Sally, but that sounds awful. I don’t want to change a thing in my house. I like it the way it is.”

“For now, you’ll need to make modifications.”

“I’ll have to put it back when my sight returns.”

Sally did not miss a beat as she guided Jordan’s hand to the arm of the wheelchair. “If that day comes, I’ll come by and help you do it.”

If. Sally had never used when.

“You don’t think it’s going to happen,” Jordan said.

“I worry about the evidence before me.”

“You should be a homicide cop.”

“You think?” she said lightly.

“I’m sure of it.”

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind. You never know.”

She set Jordan’s feet in the foot cradles and unlocked the brake. “What do you want to do with all the flowers?”

“Give them away.”

“They’re lovely.”

“They smell nice, but honestly, they’re wasted on me right now.”