After a while Karen roused. Darin was up next to her bed in seconds. He wiped her forehead with a Kleenex as she became more awake. Patti almost laughed. It was like she was someone he had known for years.

“Where?”

“You are in a hospital room. You had your surgery.”

“My arm. Is it.”

“He bit his lip. “It’s gone. They.” He started to cry.

She reached up and took his hand. “No crying. They had to do it.”

“What?”

“Please, no crying.”

“But. Your arm.”

She closed her eyes a few minutes. He got a cloth and wet it with warm water and wiped her face. She opened her eyes again.

“My arm.”

“It’s. They amputated it.”

“It was bad. Does it matter to you?”

“It will be hard for you.”

“I couldn’t keep it. Does it matter to you?”

“Well. No. It, I mean, it will be hard for you.”

“It was hard for me with it. It hurt. It was making me sick. I didn’t want to die.”

She was quiet for a while, as if thinking.

“Drink?”

“Let me ask the nurse.”

“I’m thirsty.”

He went out. He returned with a cup of ice chips and a spoon.

“She said ice chips. Just a few.” He held the cup and spooned ice into her mouth. After she had several pieces she said, “Good. Enough for now. Thanks.”

“She said if this worked she could get you some ginger ale.”

“Good.”

Her abbreviated right arm was bandaged and pulled up with a pulley and weight. “I wonder how much of it? You know, how much they took.”

“The doctor said it was just above the elbow.”

“I hope they took the part with the veins and metal in it. That was making me sick. Did he say?”

“He only said it was causing you problems.”

“Did he tell you anything else?”

“Only that you were doing well.”

“Are you angry with me?”

“Never.”

In a few minutes she was asleep. She stirred several times and asked for ice but wasn’t fully awake. He and Patti got something to eat at six. They left when visiting hours were over.

The next morning Dr. Blake came in. He asked the usual questions, how she felt and the pain levels. He looked at the chart, she had only taken one hit on the pain meds, about two hours after surgery. He mused that she had taken less pain meds in the twelve hours after surgery than she was taking before.