My hand was cold, and my fingers felt stiff.

I pulled out the heavy brass ring, but it slipped from my hand, clattering against the floorboards.

“Whoops,” Greg said, leaning down to pick them up before I could.

“Long shift?”

“Very long,” I said, taking the keys from him.

“You look pale, Mara,” he said, studying my face in the dim hallway light.

“Everything alright at the hospital?”

“Just the usual volume,” I said.