Her voice carried absolute medical authority.

I tightened my grip on the edge of the blanket and tried not to move my head.

Rachel pressed the back of her bare hand against the window glass to check for a draft.

She closed the heavy blinds and pulled a metal chair up next to my bed.

“I brought something to keep your mind busy,” Rachel said.

She reached into the pocket of her blue scrubs and took out a worn deck of playing cards.

The edges were soft and frayed from years of shuffling.