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“You’ll have your brother I was afraid you’d be alone I have to go to the film festival, and I have the Aspen house booked for teeks”

“By all means, don’t let my death screw up your vacation plans”

Val flashed a guilty look “I could cancel…”

Angel had never felt so alone He orld-famous and it didn’t mean shit His life was like his star on Hollywood Boulevard A beautiful, glittering thing to behold, but frozen in the pavement and cold to the touch “No, don’t bother I’ll be fine”

Finally Val said, “You’re stronger than you think you are, Angel You always have been You’re gonna make it”

“I know”

After that, there was nothing left to say

Dr Madelaine Hillyard entered the ICU in a breathless rush, her na system

The rooh the center of the small, private room Beside it stood a table, its surface heaped with pitchers and cups

Her patient, Tom Grant, lay in the narrow bed, a pale,that connected hi ventilator Intravenous lines flowed froe chest tubes stuck out froical wounds to a bubbling, hissing cylinder

Susan Grant sat huddled against the bed, her arms uncomfortably looped over the silver htly around her husband’s liers At Madelaine’s entrance, she looked up “Hello, Dr Hillyard”

Madelaine gave the woentle smile and , made a note on his chart that the canister needed to be emptied more often, and checked his medications Pressors, i overti the new heart

“Everything looks good, Susan He should come to any time”

Tears squeezed past the woman’s lashes and streaked down her cheeks “The children have been asking about him I … I don’t knohat to say”

Madelaine wanted to tell her that everything would be all right—would be better than all right—that Tom would wake up and sood