Chapter Thirty-Two
Zoe went straight from the airport to the hospital. Outside her mother’s room, a nurse filled her in. In the two days Zoe had been gone, Mama had made excellent progress. She could form words better, and her vitals had improved. She slept only eighteen hours a day instead of twenty, and had even been seen to smile.
Zoe received one of Mama’s tremulous post-stroke smiles when she walked into the room, straight from the airport. She hugged her so tightly that her mother squawked in protest.
“It’s so good to see you looking better, Mama. You really scared us.”
“Zoe. Carina.”
Zoe teared up at the familiar endearment. “Do you want to hear about my trip to Canada?”
Her mother listened eagerly, not saying much but clearly soaking in every word. When her eyelids started to
