Chapter 50: Revenge

I just want to go home, slip on my yoga pants, climb into bed, and stay there for days.

I glance around the waiting room as I walk through. There are a few more people here now, a few more people who understand the agonizing but monotonous torture of having a loved one in the hospital. The man with the hat and the popped collar looks up as I pass, but otherwise no one pays me any attention.

A bright blue sky greets me as I step outside, and a warm breeze sweeps playfully across the parking lot, but neither one can lift my mood. I want to cry again, to sink down onto my knees and weep until all my tears have dried up.

I also want to call Orlando, to hear his voice one more time. To tell him I made his father laugh.

There's a footstep behind me.

"I was hoping for Orlando, but you'll do just as well."

Throat clenching, I spin around. The man from the waiting room - the one with the cap and the collar - is standing there, and as he lifts the brim of his hat, my eyes go right to the r