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staring out the window, into the grey skies outside.
    “Give me a bunker in the desert any day. I’d rather be getting shelled by Taliban insurgents than spend another minute in the hospital. I fucking hate hospitals.”
    “Well, don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be out of here in no time. I’ll talk to Dr. Williams and see what the timetable is for releasing you.”
    It’s funny, I thought. Here’s a guy who spent years fighting overseas, was wounded in combat, and just sat through over six hours of surgery—and his biggest complaint is being cooped up in a hospital bed.

CHAPTER 16
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    The next person to enter Darren’s room wasn’t Dr. Williams but one of his many nurses. She had a clipboard and a number of papers Darren needed to sign, a difficult task considering he wrote with the hand of the arm he’d just had surgery on and hadn’t yet regained feeling in his fingers. Instead he did his best to scribble his name with his left hand over the various sheets of insurance forms and other administrative paperwork.
    Soon Dr. Williams was back in, wanting to go over the medicine and therapy regimen Darren would be going through over the next several weeks.
    “I’ve prescribed you two week’s worth of painkillers, but don’t take them unless you really have to. After two weeks, the most intense pain should have subsided and you can just take Tylenol or Aspirin. About three weeks in, you’ll have healed enough to begin physical therapy. You’ll need a weekly appointment for probably the next month or so. I’ll give you a reference for a good PT around where you live so you won’t have to drive all the way up here every week. However, every two weeks I’ll need you to schedule an appointment with me so I can monitor your progress and make any necessary adjustments to the therapy and medicine regimen. If you have any questions whatsoever, or notice any abnormal pains or sensations, don’t hesitate to call and we can set something up sooner. Or I can refer one of my colleagues who’s a little closer to your hometown.”
    I sat in the chair next to Darren listening intently. I knew Darren probably wasn’t listening, anxious as he was to find out when he’d be getting out of the hospital. Somebody had to make sure to pay attention to the doctor’s orders.
    “When is he going to be able to leave, Doctor?” I asked politely. In some sense, I was just as anxious as Darren was to learn the answer. I couldn’t exactly stay at the hospital all week. I had the shop to run, after all, and I knew my employees wouldn’t be able to cover too long without me.
    “Well, we can’t let him go on the same day as surgery. We like to observe patients overnight, the first twelve hours are usually when 95% of major issues come to light. I think he’s fine though and I’d feel comfortable permitting him to leave first thing tomorrow morning. We’ll just need to have one last look at that arm before he goes.”
    “Paging Dr. Williams, 4th floor ICU. Dr. Williams, 4th floor ICU” said a hollow sounding voice over the PA system of the hospital.
    “Sorry, I’ve got to go. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow before you leave. Lauren, could I speak with you in the hall for a second.”
    “Sure,” I said, nodding. Not really knowing what he’d need to speak to me about. I followed him out into the hallway. Dr. Williams shut the door to Darren’s room.
    “Lauren, Darren is going home with you, correct?” he asked quietly, but seriously.
    “Umm,” I wasn’t sure what to say. The be honest I hadn’t really thought about this surprisingly.
    “The reason I ask is that I need someone with him, making sure he’s taking his medicine, driving him to therapy, all those things.”
    “Yes, I can do that,” I said. Maybe it did make sense for Darren to stay with me. His parents were retired and living in Florida now and his younger sister definitely wasn’t responsible enough. Besides, she was living with her