Chapter 25

Sitting at the kitchen table, going through her mail, Linda shook her head. She dropped all but one envelope, the one from Metro Central Hospital, on the table. In his highchair, Joseph banged a spoon against the tray, sending a plastic cup of applesauce over the side. The cup hit the floor and rolled, leaving a trail of applesauce to the stove.

Linda sighed and turned her attention back to the envelope. She tore it open. Her stomach knotted. There was a lot of small print and an endless list of services printed on three pieces of paper, folded accordion-style. Under the sub-heading “Patient(s)” on the first column, both Joseph and Danny were listed. She flattened the pages out and read the last page. Next to the bolded text that read “TOTAL” was the figure $16,879.33. Under that was a paragraph reading, “All bills are payable within thirty days. Interest of 2.5% is applied to all late payments. For more information, call the Metro Central Billing Office. Metro Central is committed to being your partner in good health and a great quality of life.”

Linda dropped the bill on the table.

“My husband gets shot, Joseph gets sick, and now I’m gonna be paying this bill for the rest of my life. Great.”

She turned and saw a photograph on the refrigerator. It was Danny, smiling as he stood in front of a smoking barbecue. He held a beer bottle and his bicep bulged against the sleeve of his black t-shirt. It was taken on the perfect summer day, before Swan moved their factory. It was just as she wanted to remember him, not worried about a thing. Just happy, working hard, and living life. Unfortunately, doctors weren’t paid with memories of better times. They were paid with lots and lots of money. She sighed and shook her head at the photo. “Danny, what am I going to do?”

Joseph went into a giggling frenzy, banging his spoon until it flew out of his hand, clanged on the table, and landed on a box that came in the mail. It was addressed to her, wrapped in brown, grocery-bag paper. She looked at Joseph. He laughed and jumped in his seat. “Dada!”

“Dada’s not here,” she said. “Dada’s bye-bye.”

Joseph kept jumping up and down, his smile going ear-to-ear, jumping so hard she thought he was going to fall out of his seat.

Linda took Joseph’s spoon off the top of the package. She wiped applesauce off the name, “Linda Burkett” that had been printed in black magic marker along with her address in big, careful, block letters. Joseph stopped jumping and stared at the package. He whispered, “Dada.”

Handing the spoon to Joseph, Linda wiped her eyes. Joseph threw the spoon on the floor. He started hopping up and down again.

Linda looked at the package and smiled. “Okay. Calm down. I’ll open it.”

She tore the paper off the box and lifted the lid. Her knees caught on the table as she jumped to her feet, lifting the table five inches in the air before it banged back down. The box tipped over. Stacks of money spilled out. Breathless, she reached for a folded sheet of notebook paper sticking halfway out of the open box.

She unfolded the paper. It was a letter printed in pencil. Eraser marks showed where the writer had rewritten the message until he got it right. She read it slowly, letting each word settle until she was sure she wasn’t hallucinating.

Dear Linda, This is Danny’s pay for his last day of work. Not really his pay, but more like a bonus. I was keeping it for him until everything calmed down. I know it will help you and your son. Danny earned it, so you do what you want with it. And don’t worry, nobody knows about it and nobody ever will.

I thought you’d like to know that Danny talked about you and your son that last night. He loved you a lot. I’m sure you’ll see him again. If you ever need anything, ask for me down at the Fast Stop convenience store. New owners bought the place and I’m working Danny’s old job at the counter. I’m going to school at night, but you can come by anytime during the week from seven in the morning to four in the afternoon. Stop by if you need anything at all, even if you just need someone to talk to. Take care of yourself.

Your Friend, Clay Freeman (The guy you met at the hospital)

She dropped the note on the rubber-banded stacks of money. Tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks. She walked over to Joseph and lifted him out of his highchair. He wrapped his arms around her neck and made motorboat sounds as she hugged him. She looked at the stacks of money, then raised her gaze to the ceiling. “You won’t believe what just happened, Danny.”

Someone knocked on the front door.

She turned to look at the door as a man outside the door said, “Linda.”

Joseph turned his head, pressing his soft cheek against hers, staring at the door. He whispered, “Dada.”