THIRTY-FOUR
When Hardy awoke, he found himself in a hospital bed.
There was a middle-aged black nurse checking charts at the foot of his bed, and when she realised that he had opened his eyes she smiled at him showing off a perfect set of pure white teeth.
“Welcome back, darlin’” she announced, cheerfully, “we was gettin’ worried about you.”
Hardy tried to sit up, but as soon as he placed his weight on the bed to lift himself his back went into a spasm and he slumped back down.
“No, no, you mustn’t try that me darlin’” the nurse ran around the bed and stood beside him. “Doctor says that you might ‘ave some spinal bruisin’, she’s given you something for the pain and they’re going to send you for an MRI in the mornin’”
The nurse pulled his bed sheet up around Hardy’s upper torso, leavi
