Pixley Emergency Hospital
Oliver woke up with a start at the sound of the door to Lisa's room swinging open. He thought he had only fallen asleep in the chair by Lisa's bed for a few minutes, but when he looked around, he could see the sun shining in through the windows, indicating that it was the next morning. Oliver sat up and tried to straighten himself up a bit as Eb, Ralph, Alf, Mr. Drucker, Mr. Haney, Mr. Kimball, Mr. and Mrs. Ziffel and Mr. Kiley all piled into Lisa's private room.
"Hi, Mr. Douglas," they all said collectively. A solemn silence followed as they gazed upon Lisa.
"Hello everyone." Oliver responded. He looked at his watch and realized what time it was. "What are you all doing here so early?"
"Well, we wanted to come see Mrs. Douglas last night, but they wouldn't let us in on a count of us not being family." Mr. Haney explained. "They told us to come during normal visiting hours, which start at 7 am."
"Any change?" Mr. Drucker asked.
"No." Oliver responded sadly. "She isn't any worse, but she isn't any better either."
Another solemn silence fell over the crowd. No one knew what to say at moments like those, mostly because moments like those never happened in their peaceful little valley. They had occasional robberies and kidnappings, but nothing ever this grave. People they cared for never got hurt. They were safe in their own crazy little world, but now, nothing felt the same.
"I appreciate you all coming out to see her." Oliver said trying to ease up the tension. "It was really very nice of you."
"You kidding! Mrs. Douglas was, or is, our friend. We all care about her and wanted to know how she was doing."
"And we brought these." Mr. Drucker said as he motioned toward the door. "All right Ben, bring 'em in!"
At that, Mr. Miller walked in pushing a cart full of flowers, cards, and stuffed animals. Everyone walked over to the cart and picked out the gift they had purchased for Lisa. They then turned to face Oliver and present the gifts they had brought.
"We wanted to surprise you. You surprised?" Eb asked.
"Yes." Oliver said. "They're all really lovely gifts, but you really didn't have to buy anything."
"We know we didn't have to, we wanted to. You're not the only one who cares for you wife." Alf pointed out.
Oliver looked at all of them graciously. "Thank you," he choked out, "I'm sure Lisa would love them."
As he watched the townsfolk walk around and place their gifts around the room, Oliver couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. He never realized how much these people really loved his wife. She must have really made an impact on them.
See, Lisa, he spoke to his wife telepathically, these people really love you. They brought you gifts. Please wake up and see. Please.
Oliver tried to put on a brave face and smile at his friends as they decorated the room, but inside, he was being tormented. And although the room was looking a lot cheery than it had before, Oliver knew he would never be able to truly enjoy it until Lisa woke up.