He waited, but his father just nodded and then looked
away. “Get some rest,” he said. “We’ll take you home
tomorrow.”
Jack tried to stay awake in case his father wanted to
talk more, but his silence—punctuated by the beeps and
pages of the hospital—seemed only to grow louder and
more resolute. Finally, Jack gave up, and closed his eyes.
At first, when he woke up, he didn’t know if it was day or
night. The fluorescent light of the hospital hallway was
inconclusive. His father was lolled in a chair by his bed,
snoring. The white face of the clock in his room read
four a.m. A nurse in a white uniform stopped in front of
the door to his room to greet an emaciated old man in a
hospital gown. Jack closed his eyes and tried to fall back
asleep, but he couldn’t help following their conversation.
“My brother died in New York,” said the old man.
Jack thought he heard the nurse say,“We should all be
so lucky.” But that seemed like an odd thing to say.
“Oh, things aren’t perfect there, either,” said the man.
“The fountains were down the other week. And there’s
concern that someone who”—the man whispered something
Jack couldn’t hear—“could find a way—”
“Down to the ninth floor?” interrupted the nurse.
“You know that can’t happen.”
“But some people say . . .”
“That’s just an urban myth. Are you getting out
tonight?”
“You bet!” said the patient. “I was thinking of flying
around the city.”
“Maybe I’ll join you. Nobody’s dying here,” said the
nurse with a laugh.
Jack smiled with relief as he realized that the conversation
didn’t make any sense because he was dreaming.
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