Goodbye, Mr. Regret

"I just wanted to check on him. As for anything I needed to say, I already said it when he came out of surgery."

Sallie stared at Jessica, barely able to fathom how the woman who used to have eyes only for Timothy could now seem so indifferent.

"Are you really giving up on him?"

"I'm giving up on the marriage, not his life. Of course I don't want anything to happen to him. But at this point, only the doctors can bring him back-not me."

Sallie's voice trembled with desperation. "Jessy, he doesn't want a divorce. Please don't say things like this. If he hears you, it'll break his heart. Can't you give him a bit of hope, just for now?"

Jessica went quiet for a long moment before finally replying, "If he dies, then I suppose I'll truly be free."

"You-!"

The ICU was eerily silent.

Sallie fumed, but didn't dare raise her voice.

How could Jessica say such a thing-almost wishing for Timothy's death?

Her heart aching, Sallie glanced over at Timothy, only to suddenly notice the fingers of his right hand twitch.

Her eyes widened. She gasped, "He moved! He moved! Doctor, he moved—!"

Without another thought, Sallie rushed out to find help.

Jessica's attention snapped to Timothy, just as his ring finger began to twitch even more noticeably.

saying that the ring finger is

really his

own chest

on purpose, hoping to provoke

looked up again, she saw tears

He'd heard her.

He was aware.

couldn't he wake

Timothy's attending physician came

said, "The prognosis matches what our specialists predicted. There's

do it. I agree,

came to tell Sallie and Jessica they

Sallie walked out, Thurston

both want to go ahead with

surgery. It's his best

signed the surgical consent form, handing it to the nurse for the

long after, Timothy was wheeled from the ICU toward the operating room

two nurses.

whole group

ask Herbert if she could go into the operating room

members in the OR could easily disrupt

was about to be taken in, Sallie

She