Page 43 of Full Contact

None of that had been for this. She was resting on my hands because she’d decided they could hold her, and I found I cared a great deal about being right about that.

“Mark,” Trier said. “Tilt the phone down a little.”

I reached over with my free hand and angled it.

“There you go, sweetheart,” he said.

Her ear turned toward his voice. He watched her eyes close.

A few minutes later, Trier told us his car was downstairs. Anna took the phone and propped it against the box of gloves again while I kept Peaches settled. On the screen, Trier picked up his bag, checked the hotel room once, and left.

We heard the elevator, then the lobby doors. The picture darkened as he got into the car, and he turned his volume up.

“Still there?”

“Yes,” I said.

He settled back so he could see Peaches.

Dr. Hall cleared her at a quarter past seven. The new results had improved enough for her to be satisfied, and Peaches had eaten a third of a dish of food, while everyone pretended not to watch.

We left with two pages of instructions, confirmation that she’d had her morning gel, and a report sent ahead to Dr. Feld. Anna checked the medication entry before putting the tube back in her bag.

Trier had reached the airport while the nurse went over the paperwork. He kept the call connected through security, the camera briefly showing us the inside of his coat pocket. By the time I carried Peaches outside, he was walking toward his gate.

I drove back to Trier’s condo through rush-hour traffic. Anna held the phone so Trier could see the carrier.

Upstairs, the condo was exactly as we’d left it. The lamp was still on beside the couch. Anna’s abandoned tea mug sat on the table next to the open space where the folder had been.

I set the paperwork on the kitchen counter and propped the phone against the fruit bowl. Anna marked the next medication time and put a clean dish beside the food we’d brought home.

“I’ll call Dr. Feld when the office opens,” I said.

“Tell them the report’s already been sent,” Anna said.

Peaches walked out of the carrier on her own, drank at her water bowl while all three of us held still, and then climbed the little wooden chair to the counter to inspect the paperwork herself.

“Approved?” Trier asked her.

She stepped on the discharge instructions and sat down. Anna laughed, then placed both hands on the counter. In the daylight, I saw the redness around her eyes. Apart from dozing in the hospital chair, she’d been awake since before one.

“Go sleep,” I said. “I’ll sit with her. My first meeting isn’t until ten, and I can postpone it if necessary.”

“You’ve been up all night too.”

“I got some sleep before the phone rang. Go lie down until Trier gets here.” I nodded down the hall. “I’ve got the instructions, and she’s already checked my work.”

Peaches remained seated on the paperwork.

“I’ll wake you if anything changes,” I added. “Anything.”

Anna looked at Trier on the screen.

“He’ll be there,” Trier said. “Go.”

Anna went down the hall. I picked up the phone and carried it to the couch.

I sat on the end nearest the lamp. Peaches walked over the cushions, examined the situation, and settled against my leg. When I shifted to reach my water, she pressed closer.