Maria set down her crayon and looked at Benny.

"Uncle Benny, are you gonna come color with me?"

"In a minute, honey."

He went to the phone and dialed Mimi's number.

"Hello?"

"Mimi, we have to talk."

"Benny—"

"I'd rather do this in person. I'm babysitting for a friend of mine. You think you could come over?"

There was a slight pause. "Sure."

Benny gave her directions and hung up. Maria was staring at him, a confused look on her face.

"Who's comin' over?"

"One of Uncle Benny's friends. And when she gets here, I need you to let me and her talk alone, okay?"

"And then will you play with me?"

"Yeah."

--line break--line break--

Mimi hung up and looked at Angel. "That was Ben."

"What'd he want?"

"He wants to talk. Says it needs to be in person."

"Want me to come with?"

Mimi shook her head. "Think I need to do this alone, chica."

"Okay. Well, call me when you get home and let me know how it went, okay?"

Mimi nodded and hugged Angel goodbye.

--line break--line break--

Roger pulled to a stop and got out of the car. He jogged up the steps with two bags of groceries in hand.

"Mar? Benny? I'm home."

There was no answer. Roger went to the kitchen, fully expecting them to be waiting for him. It was empty. He turned and went to Maria's room. Empty. Roger tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut. Walking back to the kitchen, he spotted a note on the kitchen table.

Rog,

We're at the hospital. Hurry.

Ben

"Oh my God…oh my God…"

Roger dropped the note and ran back to his car, not bothering to lock the front door. He forced back the lump in his throat and slammed on the gas pedal. Five minutes later, he skidded into a parking spot. He ran into the emergency room, eyes flicking over the patients and family members.

"Roger!" Benny said, standing up.

Roger ran over. "What is it? Where's Maria? What happened?"

"I-I don't know, man. I just…I…Mimi came over and…"

"Mimi? My Mimi?"

"Your Mimi?"

Roger shook his head. "Whatever. Just, where's my daughter?"

"We were just talking and then…fuck, Roger, I'm sorry. It wasn't more than five minutes…I just…God…"

"Ben, where the hell is my kid?"

"A car came flyin' down the street."

Roger shook his head, blinking back tears.

"She…she was playing in the street and…there just wasn't…"

"Is she…is she…" He couldn't even form the words.

"She's alive."

Roger turned and went to the triage desk. "Where's my daughter?"

"Excuse me?"

"My daughter. Maria Davis. She-she was hit by a car. Where is she? Is she okay?"

"Sir, I need you to please just calm down a minute."

"Just tell me if she's okay!" he said, slamming his fist on the desk.

The nurse jumped. "I'll see what I can find out and ask the nurse to come speak with you."

Roger sighed and nodded, returning to the waiting room. Benny stood with Mimi in the corner. She came over as soon as she saw him.

"Roger, I—"

"Were you there to see Benny?"

"I didn't know you guys were friends."

"What the hell happened?"

"I told you I was seeing other guys too."

Roger shook his head. "No offense, but right now our relationship is the last thing on my mind. What the hell happened with my daughter?"

"I-I don't know."

"How do you not know? You were there."

"I wasn't watching."

Roger stared at her a minute, grasping her meaning. He crossed the room to Benny. "Were you watching her?"

"What?"

"Maria. Were you watching Maria or were you fucking around with Mimi?"

"Roger, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down! Were you watching Maria or not?"

"No," he said quietly, his head dropping to his hands. He looked up at Roger with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Rog. I'm so sorry."

Roger glared at him, shook his head, and walked away. Mimi tried to grab his arm but Roger jerked away. "Don't touch me."

Roger took a seat on the opposite end of the waiting room. A nurse appeared in the waiting room a few minutes later.

"Mr. Davis?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's me."

Roger rose to meet the young woman. "Mr. Davis, I understand your daughter was brought in?"

"Yeah, Maria Davis. How is she?"

"Mr. Davis, your daughter was hit by a vehicle that was traveling—"

"Look, I know you're just doing your job, but just tell me how she is. Please."

"She's alive, but her condition is critical."

Roger's eyes filled with tears.

"Mr. Davis, we need you to sign some consent forms."

"Consent for what?"

"Her arm is broken in multiple places. We need to do surgery to set it properly with pins."

Roger nodded. "Okay, okay. Yeah, where—where are the forms?"

The nurse handed him her clipboard and gently guided him back to a chair. Roger sank down and started scribbling the information out. She waited patiently until Roger was done.

"Can, um, can I see her?" Roger asked as he handed it back.

The nurse shook her head. "I'm afraid not. We need to take her to surgery immediately and she's…she's unconscious at the moment. I assure you, though, Mr. Davis, someone will come and get you the moment you can see her."

Roger nodded, blinking away more tears. "If she, um, if she wakes up before I'm there, could you just, um, just tell her that I'm here? And that I love her?"

The nurse nodded, giving a small smile. "Of course. She'll be fine, Mr. Davis."

He nodded again as she walked away. Roger looked up and found Mimi and Benny staring at him.

"Is she okay?" Benny asked.

"Fuck off."

"Roger! Just tell me if she's okay!"

"She's going into surgery for her broken arm. She's in critical condition."

Benny brushed away tears and tried to step closer to Roger. He held up a hand.

"Don't, Benny. Do not touch me."

Mimi reached out to him. "Roger, baby, just—"

"Both of you just leave me the hell alone."

"Rog—"

"I'm serious! I want both of you to stay the hell away from me and my daughter."

Mimi stared at him, then turned and walked out of the hospital. Benny hesitated a minute, then followed. Roger went to the payphone and dialed Mark's office.

"Hi. You've reached Dr. Cohen's office. How can I help you?"

"I need to talk to Mark—Dr. Cohen."

"And who can I say is calling?"

"Roger Davis."

"Please hold while I transfer your call."

A minute later, he heard Mark's voice on the other end. "Roger! Maureen's preg—"

"Maria—Maria's…God, Mark…she's…she was just…he said he'd watch her…"

"Whoa, calm down, Roger. What about Maria? What happened?"

"She-she got hit by a car."

"Where are you?"

"Hospital."

"Give me five minutes."

Roger hung up the phone and returned to the waiting room. He paced for a few minutes, his mind racing. He couldn't help but remember the last time he'd been in a hospital. When Maria was born. When April died.