Freefall

Seventh Chapter

The door burst open, and a golden flash burst through and pounced on me. I squealed as soon as I realized what it was. Well, maybe a little before I realized what it was.

"Dodo!" I exclaimed, my voice turning babyish. "How ish my big boy?"

The golden retriever snuggled his face beside on my shoulder and licked my ear lobe. That meant that he was extremely happy. After all, he hadn't seen me in a month, and I was his favorite.

"Yeah." I rubbed my good knuckles into his head and hugged him with my bad arm.

Dodo was a good boy, but a few weeks after we got him, we began to notice that sometimes his eyes would seem to roll around in his eyes, and he would trip or even sometimes fall. At first, I was horrified by it. After the vet said there was nothing wrong with him, though, some of his stunts were comical. Eventually we decided to call him Dodo like the bird that threw itself off of cliffs. At least, in Ice Age, it did.

Once he had settled across my lap, I finally noticed that my parents had come too.

"Hey," I greeted them happily, still rubbing the dog's head. "They let you bring him!"

"All they needed were the papers saying he was up to date with all of his shots, and we were good to go." Mom leaned in for a kiss on the cheek. "And you know how he loves car rides."

Dad grinned and rubbed my head before taking a seat on the nightstand again. Why he preferred that to the comfy-looking armchair, I wasn't sure, but it did make him closer to me.

"Two days in a row," I teased. "I feel special."

"Well it is the weekend," Dad said, still smiling. "I don't get to see you much over the weekdays, so of course I'll take the chance to see you on the weekend."

"Oh yes!" Mom exclaimed suddenly, patting the basket she had set by her chair. "I brought some leftover supper from last night. I thought you might like something different than hospital food. I told the nurses on the way in that you wouldn't need food tonight. I asked the doctors yesterday if I could bring food for you, and they said it was fine."

"Wonderful!" I exclaimed. "Between the last four years of campus food, and this week of hospital food, I love every chance to get your home cooked meals."

She beamed at me.

Dad smacked his lips. "And just think, I've gotten them for the last forty years!"

"Snob," I said accusingly.

"You know it." He laughed. "Hey," he said, looking around, "did Elliott already visit today?"

"Yes."

"Too bad. I wouldn't mind talking to him again. He seemed like a nice fellow. Young, too."

I nodded but stopped as soon as I realized what he was getting at. "Dad!" I exclaimed, glaring at him.

Dodo opened one eye to see if my outburst was of anger. I patted his head reassuringly, and he made a low, happy growling noise in his throat as he closed his eye again.

Dad looked innocently back at me. "Was it something I said?"

Mom had that indulgent parent look, but I wasn't sure if it was for me or my dad. "Now, dear, it isn't right to tease her. Dr. Harris is her doctor, after all."

When she said it, it reminded me of what Malcolm and I had talked about regarding the mandatory therapy.

"Hey," I said, deciding to see what they thought of the discovery. "I was talking to a nurse today, and he said that—"