The one nice thing about having Isaac half-drugged, Nora reflected, was that she could finally get an accurate idea of how he was feeling. �Are you all right?� she asked him, when, early that afternoon, he slowly slid his eyelids open.
Isaac blinked a few times, not saying anything. Which was better, Nora thought, than having him lie and say he was all right.
�Umm. . .� Isaac said, yawning. �What?�
�Never mind,� Nora told him.
�Okay,� Isaac agreed, nodding, but he opened his eyes again a second later. �What?�
�You�re probably still exhausted,� Nora remarked.
�Huh?� Isaac asked, yawning again.
�You should go back to sleep for a little while,� Nora suggested.
�Um,� Isaac said again. �Back to sleep?�
�Back to sleep,� Nora assured him.
�Okay,� Isaac agreed. In the back of his mind, he knew that something was bothering him; there was some question he wanted to ask. He didn�t remember what it was, though.
For awhile, Isaac slept without dreaming, without any awareness of how much time was passing or memory of what he was supposed to be worried about. Gradually though, the drugs wore off. He began hearing noises in the room, he heard voices from the hall. He didn�t open his eyes, not entirely awake, as the realization that had slowly dawned on him slipped in and out of his mind, something he couldn�t remember long enough to put into words yet.
�Did he wake up at all?� A loud, female voice, from the other side of the room.
�No.� Dan was here. It must be late. �He�s not as. . . I don�t think as deeply asleep. . . as he was when I got here, but not awake. Not yet.�
�Okay,� the voice agreed. �Just checking.�
�Thanks,� Dan said. And suddenly Isaac remembered what was bothering him.
�I�m not getting out of here Friday.�
Dan jumped. There was no hesitation in Isaac�s voice, no indication that he�d been dead to the world for almost eleven hours. Unprepared to respond, Dan took a deep breath.
�Ike. . .�
�I�m not, am I?� Isaac rested on his elbows, the matter-of-factness of his voice thinly masking the deep emotions that ran beneath his words. �I mean, not after this.�
Dan shook his head. �No, Ike. I�m. . . I�m really sorry.�
�It�s okay.� Isaac shrugged, his eyes momentarily faraway. �It really isn�t a big deal.�
Dan raised an eyebrow. �You must be mad, though.�
Isaac shrugged again, sighing. �Yeah.� His eyes met Dan�s for a moment, uncertainly. �I mean, you know. I kinda thought I was going to.�
�I wouldn�t be happy,� Dan agreed.
Isaac shook his head. �Do you know how many more days?�
�They said maybe Monday.� The last thing Dan wanted to do was name another day and have something go wrong again, but he thought it was probably better to be honest. �Maybe Monday, Ike. If anything happens. . .�
�Monday�s not that different from Friday.� Isaac tried to reassure himself. �I mean, not that much different.�
�No,� Dan allotted.
�So, like a weekend?� Isaac asked.
�Like a weekend.� Dan agreed.
Isaac nodded, sighing again. �Okay,� he said, but he had to bite his lower lip to keep it from trembling.
�Ike. . .� Dan began, �it�s not okay.�
Quickly, Isaac ran the back of his arm across his eyes. �It�s not?�
Dan shook his head. �You thought you were getting out on Friday. They told you you were. You�ve been stuck in the hospital for six weeks already-�
�It�s only two days,� Isaac whispered. �Anyway, there�s nothing anybody can do about it.�
�So?� Dan asked, working up steam. �Two days can feel like a long time. You�re right, there�s nothing anybody can do about it, but you can still be mad.�
�Well, it�s like. . .� Isaac thought for a moment. �Like, why does one more thing have to happen? Why can�t I just get out of here when they said I was going to?�
�Exactly,� Dan agreed. �Anybody would ask themselves those questions. It�s natural to be angry about something like this, maybe because you can�t do anything to change it.�
�Well, I just keep thinking. . .� Isaac took a long, slow breath. �that. . . well, stupid stuff. Like I haven�t even been outside since. . .� He remembered when, suddenly. He didn�t want to talk about that night.
�You think that�s stupid?� Dan shook his head. �That�s not stupid, Ike. That would be something I�d keep thinking about, too.�
�And now. . .� Isaac stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds. �I guess not until Monday.�
�Well, we can�t really go outside tonight,� Dan agreed. �I�d take you. . . but it�s about fifteen degrees out there.� They both looked at the glittering snowflakes that were blowing against the window.
�I guess not,� Isaac sighed.
Dan thought for a moment. �Come here a second,� he said, lifting Isaac out of bed, blankets and all.
�We�re not going out. . .?� Isaac began, questioningly.
�Not out.� Dan assured him. �Can you grab the IV pole? I don�t want to pull the needle out again, or you�ll kill me.�
There was a blast of cold air as Dan wrenched the window open. Snow forced it�s way into the room, stinging icy flakes that disappeared as soon as they met the warm air blowing from the heating unit.
Isaac smiled. �Fifteen degrees?�
�Yep,� Dan assured him. �They�re predicting a snowstorm tonight.�
Isaac leaned his head out the window, staring at the gravel-covered roof of the hospital entrance a few stories below. �We�re up pretty high. I never realized.�
�You�re making me nervous.� Dan tightened his grip.
�I am?� Isaac looked incredulous.
�Well, you�re about to fall out the window,� Worried that Isaac would, Dan wasn�t above exaggeration.
�I�m making you nervous?� Isaac asked again.
�Yes, you are making me nervous,� Dan affirmed. �Aren�t you freezing?�
�It�s not that bad.� An ambulance screamed around the side of the building, it�s siren dying into a fading wail as it reached the emergency room entrance. Isaac swallowed, his eyes darkening.
�Let�s close the window,� Dan suggested.
�Okay,� Isaac agreed. �That�s a good idea.�