When Jack walked into Tess’s room, she was sitting in a chair talking to Mike.
“What do you think of this girl?” Mike asked in a voice drenched in pride. “She’s acting as if nothing ever happened to her.”
“She’s certainly as beautiful as ever,” he answered, walking over to Tess and kissing her on the forehead. “How are you feeling, shorty?”
“Like I’ve overslept everything on my agenda for a month. Your best buddy over here keeps telling me I have you to thank for saving my life.”
“He’s always been prone to exaggeration. How’s your headache?”
“Better. I’d say it’s now similar to a three-martini hangover.”
“I’m pretty sure it will be gone in a few more days.”
Mike said, “We’ve been talking for over an hour. It’s unbelievable. Her memory’s perfect.”
“Really? Did she remember last year when you forgot your anniversary and called me in a panic to—”
“Easy, buddy,” Mike said with a short laugh. “That’s privileged doctor-patient stuff.”
Tess tapped on the armrest of the chair next to her. He sat down.
“When are you going to tell me all the details of what happened to me?”
He pointed at her abdomen. “How about when baby Katie goes off to college?”
She shook her head. “You’re as bad as Mike.”
“Sinclair stopped in for the first time yesterday,” Mike said with a disapproving smirk. “At best, I’d call it a drive-by visit. He acted like nothing happened.”
“Tess is fine. No need to dwell on the past.”
“I hope you’re kidding because as far as I’m concerned that son of a bitch should be—”
“Let it go, Mike.” He turned his glance and attention back to Tess. “Did Madison do an ultrasound this afternoon?”
“Uh-huh. She said everything looked great.” With a coy smile she added, “Mike’s been telling me you have a little thing for her. She’s really cute, Jack.”
“It’s too bad he’s afraid to ask her out,” Mike said. “Even his mother called him a coward.”
“My mother? You’ve been talking to my mother about Madison?”
“Of course. Let’s see. How did she put it again? Oh yeah. She called you the Hindenburg of relationships.”
Jack rubbed his hands together and said, “Okay. I think I’ve heard about enough of this. If you don’t mind, let’s talk about something else.”
“Mike tells me you’re going back to Columbus tonight, and that he’s flying back with you.”
“As much as I like hanging out with you guys, I’m afraid I have to get back. Do you mind if I take a quick look at you before we leave?”
Jack completed his exam in about ten minutes. There wasn’t the slightest hint of any permanent neurologic injury.
“When can I go back to work?” she asked.
He shook his head at her. “Take a few weeks off. You’ve earned it.”
They talked for another half hour about a host of different things. Jack promised Tess he’d be back to check on her in a week. He couldn’t help noticing that Mike kept stealing peeks at his watch and stalling.
“You about ready?” Jack asked him.
“This isn’t a scheduled airline. We can go anytime. If you want to hang around awhile longer, we can. I think Madison said she might stop in again.”
“Nice try. I’m fine to go now.”
Tess motioned him to lean over. She reached up and hugged him around the neck. He could feel her tear-soaked face against his cheek.
Thank you for everything,” she whispered in his ear. “I’m the luckiest woman in the world to have two guardian angels like you and Mike in my life. I love you.”
Speechless for the moment, an affectionate smile came to his face. “I’ll be back in about a week to check up on you.” He looked over at Mike. “Ready?”
Mike was a nonstop chatterbox all the way to the airport. He was unmistakably back to his old self. Jack smiled the whole time thinking how nice it was to have his best friend back.