Natalie and Jake, each with an empty black luggage bag, walked toward the hospital from the parking lot. The sun was out and the blue sky clear of clouds. A light wind was clearing the air, the city smelled clean, and Natalie felt wonderful, happy that her Dad was coming home.
“It’s a great day, Jake.”
He nodded. “Yes, it is.”
Crossing the lobby, they were on an elevator within seconds and Jake punched the button for the fourth floor. Natalie realized the elevator walls were not nearly as cold and harsh as they had seemed several days before.
When they entered the room, puzzlement crossed Natalie’s face. Her dad was dressed in a loose set of sweats and sleeping. She thought he would be awake. She smiled and leaned down to kiss her dad on the cheek.Stirring easily, Bill smiled when he saw them.
“Hi, guys,” Bill said.
“Hi, Daddy! How are you doing?” she said with her wide, trademark grin.
“Fine, Honey, how about you?”
“Good. Are you ready to go?”
“I am but the doctor hasn’t signed me out yet.”
Bill helped himself from the bed to the wheelchair with little trouble.
“Dad, you made that look easy. What have you been doing that making such a difference?”
“Working out. I got in another therapy session this morning.”
Flipping open the suitcases Jake and Natalie began packing the cards, candy and cookie baskets that had not yet been given away. Wilted flowers were tossed, and she sat the rest near the door to be given to other patients. Dad had a black thumb, never watered anything when home and most of his food spoiled. He did not even have a fish.
There were a few books and magazines, two shirts and a couple pair of loose hospital pants. He would not be wearing jeans for a while. Jake packed away the laptop, Bill’s tablet, the bag of baseballs and the baseball gifts from his teammates and other ballplayers around the country.
Natalie smiled, looking forward to staying with her dad. It had been a while since they had spent more than a vacation or a weekend together, usually with others around, or a day here and there. The vacations were fun, but when they were alone, she noticed they sometimes struggled for conversation.
Dr. Walker entered the room.
“Hi Bill. How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling great.” Bill wanted out of here.
“Let’s get you discharged then,” Dr. Walker said, pulling out a prescription pad and scribbling on it.
“I’m ready.”
Dr. Walker chuckled. “I’m sure you are. Here is a pain med script. Follow the directions on the label. It’s refillable twice in case you feel you need them. We have assigned you to Elk’s rehabilitation unit. They are expecting you at 9:30 on Monday morning. If that won’t work call them and they can work with your schedule. Any questions?” asked Dr. Walker.
“No.”
“I have a request then.”
Bill was puzzled, trying to read something from the doctor’s tone of voice. “Shoot.”
“Would you please autograph this for me?” asked Dr. Walker with a grin, pulling a new baseball and a felt tipped pen from his smock. “I hope that’s all right.”
“Of course! Thank you for taking care of me. I hope I wasn’t too hard on you,” Bill said, meaning it. Signing the baseball with a flourish, Bill handed it back.
“Yours too, Jake?”
Jake scribbled his name and handed it back.
“Thank you for the autographs,” Dr. Walker said, gesturing with the baseball. “You were not hard on me. I’ll have my office give you at least two follow-up appointments. Pay attention to the therapist’s orders and I’ll see you on Tuesday. However, if anything doesn’t feel right, be sure to come in immediately.”
Dr. Walker said, placing his hand firmly on Bill’s shoulder.
“Take care, and good luck!”