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things over the years. Only problem I remember was it was hard to clean up, ’cause it all sort of came apart in little liquid balls. What do you think is going to happen? He’s going to lean down and lick it up? I tell you what. Every single kid you were raised around and went to school with had their temperature taken with one of these thermometers. Far as I know, they’re all alive to tell the tale.”
    “Yes, and I guess we should drive around without seat belts and air bags just because that’s the way you used to do it. Just because I never had a problem with a broken mercury thermometer doesn’t mean that Dylan won’t.”
    “Ah, parents are so uptight about those things these days.” My dad leaned back in his chair and rubbed his right knee. “When you were little, we let kids be kids. We didn’t run around with antibacterial wipes, and we gave you vegetables from gardens that had fertilizer in them. Kids today, they’re growing up soft.”
    “So you think we should pump our foods full of chemicals and smear our kids with germs?”
    Dad ignored me.
    “Bah. It’s just like those narcotics they’ll send home with me from the hospital. You don’t have to be a particularly smart person to know that those things can be addictive. Don’t mean I’m not going to take something when I need it just because there’s a little risk. That’s what we need more of these days, a little common sense and self-restraint.”
    I set Dylan’s juice on the table beside him. It was in a blue plastic cup shaped like a snail, with a straw coming up from the back of his shell. Dylan didn’t lift his head.
    “Hey, darling, do you think you could eat a little toast? We’ve got to get Grandpa to the hospital for his surgery here in a little while.”
    Dylan looked up. “Okay. Will Hannah Rose be at the hospital, too?”
    “Yes, she will. But you know what? Since you’re not feeling well, you need to stay away from her today, okay? We don’t want her getting sick.”
    “Lord knows that kid has been sick enough.”
    This was a fact I knew well. Hannah had been plagued with colic for the first few months; now it was recurrent ear infections.
    “I can play with her, right? As long as I don’t get in her face?”
    I turned toward Dylan and pulled his hair back from his cheek. “You can dance around like you did yesterday and see if you can make her laugh again, but you can’t touch her or get near her. Okay?”
    “Okay, Mama.” He put his head down on the table again.
    I reached forward and put my hand on his forehead, even though I’d already done so several times. “You know what? I think I’ll go get some liquid Tylenol out of my carryon just in case.” I never gave Dylan medication unless I knew for certain there was a valid reason to do so. But, with no safe thermometer, and my father’s impending surgery, I figured this morning might be the time to bend the rules.

Chapter 5
    Jana, Rob, and Hannah were already at the hospital when we arrived. It was still not quite light outside, and they stood waiting just inside the sliding glass doors of the main entrance.
    Rob was in his usual dark suit for work at the bank, looking neatly pressed and completely at ease, even while holding Hannah under one arm and the diaper bag on the other shoulder. He smiled when he saw us, as Jana rushed over, a concerned look on her face. “So, Dad, are you all ready?”
    My father nodded toward the small duffel in his hand. “Yeah, got my knee packed and ready to go.”
    “What about your list of current medications? And the rest of the items I suggested you pack—the ones I wrote on that sticky note for you?”
    “Yes, I got it all. It’s plain ridiculous, if you ask me. Don’t know why I have to bother to pack a bag. They’ll make me wear one of those ugly hospital gowns the entire time, and they always give you a little kit with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Nothing else I can’t do without for a few