Chapter 9 - The Recovery of Lily
Three days later, the sun was shining brightly through the window of Room 412.
Lily Alderton was sitting up in bed, wearing a pair of light pink pajamas, coloring a picture of a sea turtle with a set of markers. Her right ear was covered by a tiny, flesh-colored bandage, but her smile was warm and full of energy.
The door opened softly.
Sloan walked into the room, dressed in her comfortable green scrubs once again—though she now wore a small, silver pin on her collar representing her military medical division.
Lily looked up, her face lighting up instantly. “Nurse Sloan!”
“Hey, kiddo,” Sloan said gently, stepping over to the bed. “How’s the ear feeling today?”
“It doesn’t hum anymore,” Lily said, holding up her drawing. “And the floor isn’t cold at all today.”
Sloan laughed softly. “Good. That means the floor is doing its job.”
Rear Admiral Alderton stepped out from the adjoining bathroom, carrying a suitcase. He smiled warmly at Sloan. “We’re being discharged in an hour. We’re heading to our cabin in Maine for two weeks of rest.”
“That’s the best medicine there is,” Sloan said.
Lily reached into her small bedside drawer and pulled out a hand-drawn card made from construction paper. She handed it to Sloan.
On the cover was a drawing of two women sitting on a cold hospital floor, surrounded by tiny drawn stars. Inside, in bright green crayon, was written:
Thank you for sitting with me when it was loud.
May you like
Sloan touched the paper softly, a rare, genuine smile spreading across her face. For the first time in three long, painful years, the heavy knot in her chest completely unraveled.
“I’ll keep this in my office,” Sloan said, her voice filled with quiet emotion. “Always.”
