Richard followed her out into the hallway, his leather shoes clicking sharply on the tile.

They didn’t look back.

The transport orderly came five minutes later to push my chair back to the elevators.

The ride up to the third floor felt completely hollow.

I listened to the hum of the elevator motor and watched the floor numbers light up.

The orderly pushed me into Room 314 and locked the brakes on the wheelchair.

Rachel stood by the window with a fresh stack of folded towels in her arms.

She set the towels on the bedside table and checked the room temperature by touching the window glass.