Hours later, Kate sat alone in the family waiting room. At times throughout the day there had been others in here, groups of huddled, glassy-eyed people waiting for news of their loved ones. Now, however, the volunteer at the desk had gone home and the room was empty.

Never before had time crawled so slowly. She had nothing to do, no way to trick her mind into thinking about something else. She tried to flip through the magazines, but none were in English and the pictures didn’t hold her attention. Even a phone call home hadn’t helped. Without Tully here to buoy her, she felt herself sinking into despair.

“Mrs. Ryan?”

Kate got quickly to her feet. “Hello, Doctor. How did the surgery go?”

“He is most well. There was extensive bleeding in his brain, which we think accounts for the continued swelling. We have now stopped it. Perhaps this will give us reason for new hope, yes? Shall I walk you back to his room?”

It was enough that he was still alive.

“Thank you.”

As they passed the nurses’ station, he said, “Do you wish me to page your friend, Tallulah? Certainly you don’t desire to be alone now.”

“I don’t want to be alone now, that’s true,” Kate said. “But Tallulah is no longer welcome here.”

“Ah. Well. You must keep believing that he will wake up. I have seen many so-called miracles in my years here. Often, I think faith has its part to play.”

“I’m afraid to get my hopes up,” she said quietly.

He paused at the closed door of Johnny’s room and looked down at her. “I did not say that faith was easy; merely that it was necessary. And you are here, are you not, by his side? This takes its own kind of courage, yes?” He patted her shoulder and left her standing by the door.

She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, alone in the stark white hospital; in time, though, she went inside and sat down. In a quiet, halting voice, she closed her eyes and talked to him. About what, she couldn’t have said. All she knew was that a voice could offer light in a dark place, and light could lead you out.

The next thing she knew, it was morning. Sunlight glowed through the exterior window, illuminating the beige linoleum floor tiles and gray-white walls.

She unfolded from the chair and stood beside the bed, feeling stiff and sore. “Hey, handsome,” she murmured, leaning down to kiss Johnny’s cheek. The bandages on his eyes had been removed; she could see now how bruised and swollen his left eye was. “No more bleeding in the brain allowed, okay? When you need attention just try the old-fashioned ways, like getting mad or kissing me.”