“Yup. It's really Samantha. My friends call me Sam.”

“Mine is Alexander. But only my mom calls me that.”

“Want to go for a ride?” She was feeling restless and he was as good a companion as any.

“Now?”

“Sure. Why not? You expecting a visitor?”

“No.” He looked momentarily sad again. “They just went home. I was watching them leave from the window.”

“Okay, then why don't you and I take a little tour?” She grinned mischievously at him, gave him a push to start him, and told the nurse at the desk that she was taking Alex for a ride, and the entire nurses' station waved good-bye as they headed for the elevators and from there to the gift shop on the main floor. Sam bought him a lollipop and two candy bars, and some magazines for herself. Then they decided to buy some bubble gum too and they came back to their floor, blowing bubbles and playing guessing games.

“Wanna come see my room?”

“Sure.” He had a tiny Christmas tree covered with little Snoopy decorations, and the walls were pasted with pictures and cards from his friends at school.

“I'm gonna go back too. My doctor says I don't have to go to a special school. If I do my therapy, I can be just like everyone else, almost.”

“That's what my doctor says too.”

“Do you go to school?” He looked intrigued, and she laughed.

“No. I work.”

“What do you do?”

“I work at an advertising agency, we make commercials.”

“You mean like to sell kids junk on TV? My mom says that the people who write them are ireessperonss… susperonsible, or something like that.”

“Irresponsible. Actually I write commercials to sell junk to grown-ups mostly, like cars, or pianos, or lipstick, or stuff to make you smell good.”

“Yuck.”

“Yeah, well… maybe one day I'll go back to working on a ranch.” He nodded wisely. It sounded sensible to him.

“You married, Sam?”

“Nope.”

“How come?”

“No one wants me, I guess.” She was teasing but he nodded seriously. “You married, Alex?”

“No.” He grinned. “But I've got two girl friends.”

“Two…?” And the conversation went on for hours. They shared dinner that night and Sam came back to kiss him good night and tell him a story, and when she went back to her room, she smiled peacefully to herself and attacked a stack of work.

29

Alex left the hospital in April. He went home with his mom and dad, and then back to school. He sent Sam a letter every week, telling her that he was just like the other kids again, he even went to a special baseball game every Sunday with his dad, and a bunch of other kids in wheelchairs. He dictated the letters to his mother and Sam saved them all in a special file. She sent him letters too, and bubble gum, and pictures of horses, and anything she found in the gift shop that looked like something he'd like. Their connection somehow made Sam feel stronger. More like pushing on. But the testing time for Sam came at the end of the month, when her doctor brought up the question of going home.