Page 55 of Right in Front of You

“Hi, honey. What are you doing here so late?”

“I saw you come in, but I had to wait for the guard to leave the hallway to see you because I couldn’t fall asleep again.”

“Oh, come here, Sarah.” I reached out, and she almost ran to me. “I want you to meet someone. This is Carter. He’s a firefighter, and he saved a little girl like you, from a fire.”

“You’re a hero. Did you get burned?” she asked, looking over Carter’s bandages.

Carter gave her a wide smile, the kind that I loved so much when he was proud.

“I did, but I’d do it all over again.”

“Fires are dangerous.”

“They are. What are you here for?”

“I have leukemia.” Sarah shrugged.

“That sucks.”

Sarah turned to me, saying, “I like him.”

“Me too,” I answered.

Carter cleared his throat to get her attention again. “But you know what helps the body recover, heal, and fight better?”

“What?”

“Sleep. Lots of sleep. Now I can’t promise that it will heal you, but more sleep will help you feel much better the next morning.”

“I know, it’s just hard.”

“Wanna try here?” He pointed to the empty bed beside him.

“Yes,” she whispered, half looking at me for permission, and so I nodded.

Sarah jumped off my lap and hopped onto the bed beside Carter, pulling the covers right up to her chin and smiling.

“Usually I’d make finger puppets in the light, but I’m sort of tied up here.” He wiggled his right arm. Sarah giggled.

I came to sit at her bedside. “Close your eyes, sweetheart.”

“Doctor Fowler? Can you sing the rainbow song for me?”

I’d do anything to take the leukemia out of this girl. I’d take it upon myself if I had to; in fact, I’d checked to see if I was a match for a bone marrow transplant, but I wasn’t. Sarah was still on the waiting list. She had her whole life ahead of her and here she was, fighting for the mere chance to actually make use of it.

I lay down beside her and sang, the way I always did when she asked me to, watching her eyes slowly close. Once Sarah was asleep, I sat back beside Carter.

“She’s a gorgeous little girl. Those freckles…”

Yeah, I knew exactly who they reminded him of.

“Do you know who this is?” I asked, with a hint of trepidation.

“She said her name is Sarah,” he answered, partly confused.

“It is. Sarah is Daisy’s little cousin, but Daisy didn’t get to meet her.”

“What? How do you know?”

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