Victor didn't come back. He was dealing with Sofia and the ultrasound.
I stared at the empty doorway. I turned to Clara.
"Get me out of here," I said. "I want to go for a drive."
Clara looked at my face. She checked the monitor beside the bed. The green numbers were steady, but my skin was completely pale.
"Okay," Clara said.
She went to the nurse's station and signed a temporary discharge form. She packed 3 pain injection vials and a bottle of emergency meds into her bag. She wrapped a thick wool coat around my shoulders and helped me into the elevator.
Clara drove a black sports car. She washed it every week. She never let anyone eat inside it.
I bought a hot dog from a street cart on Fifth Avenue. I took a bite in the passenger seat. A crumb and a drop of mustard fell onto the br
