She tapped a faded nine of spades with her index finger.

“Numbers make sense, and they never change.”

We played four slow hands while the anti-nausea medicine dripped from a fresh bag into my arm.

The room went completely quiet except for the soft slide of cards on plastic.

I slowly let go of the blanket and picked up my hand.

My stomach stopped churning as I focused entirely on putting the spades in order.

“You’re a very fast learner,” Rachel said.