“Oh,” I said. Maybe that explained why he was so comfortable. “You’ll be good at it.”

“Thanks,” he said, looking down. His hair was a rich brown, loose and wavy.

“Bartending probably helps, too. In dealing with all sorts of people,” I said. “And situations.”

“Yes, it does,” he said, smiling and nodding. This guy smiled a lot. I liked it.

“I have something for you,” he said while Vera was out of the room. “I thought you’d want this.” He held a piece of torn paper with handwriting, numbers, an address. “The address you asked Bailey for,” said Sam. “Remember? Before you fainted.”

I looked at the numbers. “Deena Wilkins’s house,” I said, holding the paper to my chest. There was that smile again. I held the paper, thinking what to do next. This guy had helped me, and he seemed to like me, so maybe he could help me even more. “Hey,” I said. “Can you take me there?” I tried to sit up and figure out the tubes that were plugged into my hand.

“Now? Tonight?” said Sam.

“Yeah, did Vera tell you about my ex taking my baby?”

“I don’t think you can leave,” said Sam, looking around.

Vera returned to the room. “Leave and go where?” she said.

“I need a ride to Deena Wilkins’s house,” I said.

Sam and Vera looked at each other as if they didn’t understand the language I was speaking. As if they were trying to figure out which one of them would give me the bad news. Sam stood up and put on his coat.

“I’m afraid you can’t leave, dear,” said Vera, taking her time. “You’re having surgery in the morning.”

And yes, I remembered. Dr. Sheldon was concerned about the bleeding, maybe a clot. They were concerned about damage. She’d asked about the syringe insemination. She’d asked if they had done a pregnancy test first, and I’d said yes. Dr. Sheldon said they’d have to go in and see what they found. They wanted me to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. They said they needed to act quickly.

“It’ll be very early in the morning.” Vera moved close to my bed and stroked my shoulder. “Is there someone we should call for you? A family member?”

“My parents are both gone,” I said. In the background, Sam lowered his head, as if out of respect for the dead. I wanted to tell him, No, it’s fine, my mom’s not dead, she took off. And last I heard, she was a travel agent somewhere in California. And before that, she was a hotel manager in a small town in Montana. And before that, she worked the rental counter at a ski resort. Probably wore a cowboy hat, or maybe that was a photo I saw of her.