My eyes closed, as though the breeze were already brushing my face. “Damn, you make me happy.”

“Your smile makes me feel the same way.”

The moment we got outside, my eyelids closed again, and I filled my lungs with spring. “I missed this.”

“We’re going to do it every day—as long as you’re up for it,” she said, rolling me over the sidewalk.

I wasn’t used to seeing the city from this vantage point, sitting in the wheelchair. These were streets I normally walked when I went out, running the same ones in the morning for exercise, paying little attention to the details around me. But now, I studied the view as though it were the first time, appreciating the architecture and landscape. Colors were brighter. Sounds were louder. The air didn’t even have the same smell.

“Does it look different?” She had ducked close, so I could hear her. “David would always say that when I took him for a walk after a long hospital stay.”

“It’s a completely new Boston.”

She rubbed my shoulder and then asked, “Feeling hungry?”

“You have a plan for that too?”

“Always.”

“It depends on what you’re offering.”

She squeezed the same spot and took me a few more blocks, going right at the upcoming street, where she pulled into a bakery that I had likely passed every day but never noticed. The scent of chocolate immediately filled my nose, and she wheeled me up to the counter, which showcased every flavor of cupcake imaginable.

“What can I get you?” a young woman asked from the other side of the glass.

“We’ll have an Oreo cupcake and a peanut butter one. We’ll also take two coffees—one black, the other with a pump of vanilla and cream.”

This was the first time a woman had ever ordered for me, and Whitney had gotten every bit correct.

I reached over the chair, gripping her fingers when I found them. “I don’t have my wallet on me.”

“Don’t be silly.” She laughed. “This is my treat.”

She paid and set the box on my lap along with the cup carrier and pushed us to a bench outside, where she sat on the edge next to my chair.

“Mmm,” I groaned after the first bite. “This is excellent.”

“I did some research, and this is the highest-rated bakery in the Back Bay.”

“You treat your desserts like patients.”

She laughed, licking the frosting off her lip. “My God, you have to try this; it’s heavenly.”

She held the cupcake in front of me, and I leaned forward to bite it.

“You weren’t kidding.” The richness of the peanut butter made my mouth water. “Your turn.”

Her lips surrounded the Oreo, eyes widening as she took in the taste. “Wow, I did good.”