Chapter 55

“What happened?” I asked. I couldn’t get enough breath, so my question was a whisper.

“Oh, Wiley, honey!” she exclaimed unhappily.

Then she burst into tears.

“What, Mama?”

Lost in a crying jag, she couldn’t answer.

My right arm felt itchy and too heavy. I lifted it, surprised to see it was in a cast. My chest was also bandaged rather tightly, making it hard to breathe.

“Mama?”

She used a Kleenex to wipe her nose, tried to get hold of herself.

“Thank God you’re okay,” she said at last. “We’ve all been praying for you. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, thank you! I think I’ve said about a hundred rosaries just sitting here.”

“Why are you crying, Mama?”

“I was just scared. But thank God you’re all right.”

It hurt too much to talk, so I was still.

Jackson Ledbetter, dressed in scrubs, walked suddenly into the room. He came to the side of my bed, looked down and smiled.

“Hey,” I said feebly.

“Hey,” he replied.

“Where’s Noah?”