"I am as real as you want me to be."
Slowly I opened my eyes. A nurse sat in a chair beside me. At the end of the bed was a lump formed by my feet.
No bird.
The nurse leaned over and gently touched my hand.
"Mr. Culpepper, my name is Debbie. I'll be taking care of you today. Please don't worry. Your jaw is healing nicely. So are your cracked ribs and everything else. You have to lie still for a while. But you'll be on your feet in no time."
Maybe she noticed new hope on my bandaged face and maybe she didn't.
Then, with a grin, she whispered. "I had a nice chat with Mrs. Lansky. We have a surprise for you tomorrow. The hospital doesn't permit animals, of course. But just this once I'll look the other way."
Alex! They were planning to sneak my cat into the room!
"So get some sleep." She tucked in my sheets. "You'll be fine now."
"You bet I'll be fine now," I told her, though she couldn't hear me. "Things will be great." The only thing that bothered me a little was that worried look on Sally's face when she left. But I put it out of my mind and went to sleep.
"Are you sure we did the right thing, Nick? Maybe we should have told him the truth."
"David's in shock right now, Sally. He's lost his wife, his job, his home---even his car. How could I tell him Alex is gone, too?"
"It's not fair. It's just not fair. David has always been so . . . timid. Such awful things should never have happened to him."
"I know, honey. But there's nothing we can do about it. Let's get in the car and go back to the hotel. We'll cheer him up tomorrow."
"I'm not sure. Rhoda's mynah will never replace Alex."
"You may be right. But at least he'll have company. Everyone needs someone to talk to, don't you think?"
The Bird Page 3
