White hot sparks fly off of Ellie's sparkler, and she touches hers to mine, "Here. Light it up, assclown!"

I can't help but snicker at the word, the novelty yet to fade away. Then I hold the sparkler in front of me, keeping it a safe distance away so it won't singe my shirt.

"Cheers, my friend." I remark, and she touches her sparkler to mine once more, "Quite, quite!"

Then we go back to sitting back to back, drifting in the middle of the pond, fireflies buzzing around.

"So, what do you think? Think it's been a good summer?" I ask, and Ellie replies, "I guess so. We should be doing more crazy things."

"Oh, like what?"

"Some of us still have yet to kiss someone."

I sigh as she giggles at her remark, and then reply, "I'm sure there are more important things than love."

"There are. But...not much more." Her tone sounds wistful, and I let my sparkler drop to the water, its sizzling depletion almost overpowering the buzzing of bugs around us.

"Aren't the stars pretty?" Ellie murmurs, as we let our heads loll back to gaze up at the dots of white.

"Yeah."

And then, I'm not quite sure how it happens, but we both turn. And Ellie laughs and my face goes red, and finally she leans in, both of us closing our eyes, "Wait."

"What's wrong?" Her tone is obvious concern, and I feel a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. Then I open my eyes to face a clicker, and scream as it lunges for my neck.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"Ellie!" And I sit up in my bed, heart beating, hard breathing. Then I hold my head in my hands, feeling hot tears against the palms of my hands.

Was I...crying? I hold my palms out in front of me, but it's hard to see much with lack of light. After a few moments of calming myself down, I slip underneath the blankets, pulling them up to my shoulder, tucking my hands under my pillow.

"Please be alright."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

There's something satisfying dragging a paint-soaked brush across a dress canvas. Or in my case, painting the back of the guitar black. Mitzi lets me work in peace, only stopping me to refill my makeshift palette or offer a quick walk around. It gets hot in her little studio quickly.

"You've made some good progress." She remarks, standing behind me, sipping from her old mug. I nod, going over every crack and crevice to make sure none of the sanded wood remains.

Then she lays a hand on my shoulder, "You've worked hard enough, and you can't do much else without the paint drying. Go knock off for the day."

"Really?" And she nods. I clean up my things, set the guitar, and then I'm out the door. Hands in my pockets, I can't help myself from sauntering. Then I imagine Ellie finding me walking like this and laugh.

I change my stance and keep walking forward, back to my house. At least, that's what I always plan until, per usual, Ellie comes barreling at me, tackling me and pulling me to the ground.

"You are such a spaz." I can only manage, as she laughs, hands knit around my waist for the most effective way of take down. And that's when I realize we aren't alone.

"Hi." First words spoken to me from a blonde girl who stands a few feet way, looking at Ellie and I entangled. I try to shove Ellie off, but she's weak in her fit of laughter.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" I ask, and Ellie suddenly nods, letting go of me and rolling onto her feet, brushing off her t-shirt. Then she bounces to the side of the girl, gesturing to her, "This is Lizzie. Lizzie, Maria. Maria, Lizzie."

"Nice to meet you." I give a smile and offer my hand. She grins back as well and returns the shake. Ellie glances between our faces, "Well, glad to see this is going successfully."

"I just moved in, and Dr. Mundell sent me to Ellie so I could learn the town with her."

I try not to glare at Ellie. Okay, okay, it's a fair reason. But then again...wasn't I the one who showed you the town?

"So, Maria, care to join?" And Ellie's giving a smile to me and it feels genuine, so I nod and reply, "Sure."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

I'm stuck behind the two as we pace around, Ellie telling her about the neighbors and children here. She talks about the horses and the stables, the houses where we went looting, and there's a plethora of inside jokes between the two that sends them into peals of laughter.

I can't help a small voice from nagging, She was only biding her time with you 'til someone better came along. And that thought...hurts.

Plus Ellie is, or appears to be, completely oblivious. It's not as if it's so evident that Lizzie is blocking me out from the group, but she seems...shifty. Maybe it's the depleted-friend-speak that's making me question it.

And it these moments of hesitant thoughts I want to run back to the art studio and keep painting. I want Mitzi to bug me over Ellie being my girlfriend...because suddenly, that's what I want her to be.

"Maria." Ellie says my name, and I turn to face her, "Yeah?"

"Lizzie wants to ride at the stables. Do you want to come or...?" There's the teasing in her voice again. The type of teasing that says I know you're afraid of horses, you assclown, so you don't have to come.

I pick it up, and give a smile back, "No, it's fine. I'll catch up with you all later."

"Alright. Will do." And they exchange grins and tear down the street, hollering and laughing and I second guess myself. Should I go? Would there be more inside jokes made that I didn't know about?

"Nah." I say to myself softly, letting myself keep a smile on my face, turning to walk back to my house.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

When we're playing video games, very rarely do my brother and I have long, deep, discussions. Usually it's us cursing full-out on the screen, shouting obscenities at each other, trying to keep our voices down so Mom won't walk up the stairs to his room, all pissed off at our vulgar mouths.

But today, after a few rounds, he noticed how I'm not getting much into the game. It's not because I suck at driving a car (which I do...chalk that up below the whole 'shooting a gun' ordeal), but something else.

Mikey pauses the game and looks at me, "What's going on?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. Let's keep playing."

He keeps his finger hovering over the button, hesitating, then tosses the controller back on his bed. "No. You tell me what's up."

We're brother and sister. We have lived through more-death experiences than normal ones. We know each other's body language.

I sigh, keeping my eyes on the faded and hot controller in my hands, and Mikey takes it upon himself to guess, "What? What's going on?"

"Nothing." I snap, and he raises his eyebrows, "Is it with Ellie?"

"Can we just go to playing video games?"

"Maria." His tone is serious, and mine is pleading, "Please. I want to play."

"Do you...like Ellie?"

"Why does everyone think that?!"

"Because Maria...you, my baby sister, are in love." He grins at the words, but mostly at my reaction. I throw myself on the bed, like I'm five and throwing a tantrum on our ragtag group of blankets, "I'm not!"

"It's cool. She seems nice. The only thing is...we live in a backwards southern country. Coming out would be social suicide."

"I know." I sit up, sighing. But my brother is levelheaded, "If you truly do care for this girl, I'm sure you would both be able to keep it a secret."

"It's just...now she has a new friend."

"So? Does the new friend flirt with her? Or is it all completely friendship and you're goofing it up?"

Realizing that I'm probably making a big deal out of nothing makes my face go hot, and I can only laugh at myself, "It's probably nothing."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

Ellie and I find ourselves playing makeshift ping-pong, with paddles substituted with discarded pans and soggy cardboard. It makes a helluva racket (hardy-har-har), so we only play when there's no one around to specifically bother.

"So, how's Lizzie?" I'm going to be casual about it.

Ellie gives a shrug, "Not much to talk about."

I hit the ball back to her and we pass it back and forth for a bit until, "I'm going to teach you how to shoot a gun."

"They're not going to appreciate you wasting bullets on me." I go for a grin, and it's returned with a sassy smirk, "Oh please. Like I really care about what they have to say."

"Fair enough." And that's when Ellie clears her throat, "You wanna spend the night at my house tonight?"

"Is Lizzie going to be there?" My tone hints on the edge of anger, and she picks up on it, raising her eyebrows, "Do I hear jealousy in your voice?"

"No."

Ellie gets this big grin on her face, coming to my side, making a pretend pouty face, "Oh, poor Maria, all alone because I'm so ditching you for Lizzie."

"You're being an assclown." But she gets me to laugh, and I roll my eyes. "Fine. I'll come."

"I knew you would! I'm irresistible!"

I keep laughing at this statement.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"So, what do you guys do for fun?" Lizzie asks, as we sit on beds in Ellie's room. I shrug, "I think you've seen it all."

"Haven't been fighting anything?" She goes on, and I shake my head, "No. A few raids here and there, but..."

"We should go looking for clickers."

You are a dumbass. Yeah. I'm going to put that out there.

"Why would we go looking?" Ellie has her eyebrows knit in confusion, and Lizzie crosses her legs, leaning back against the wall, "Because it's fun killing them off."

Ellie and I exchange a look, a microscopic exchange of Can you believe this girl, Maria? I can't, Ellie!

"The border patrol wouldn't let us out at this hour anyway." I remark, and that's when Lizzie smirks, "Don't you know all the backwards exits?"

Her tone is enough to shut me up out of embarrassment, and she's obviously done talking to me, turning to face Ellie, "C'mon, then. We'll just leave the scaredy-cat here and go kick some ass."

"The thing is..." Ellie rises, giving a glare to Lizzie, "You're looking for trouble. You have a death wish. I'm not about to be killed because of some dumbass who thinks it's a great idea to go hunting in the middle of the night."

YOU GO GURL!

"Oh, big deal. You know how to shoot. You'll be fine. Maria's just a wuss." Lizzie sticks her tongue out at me, and it's such a brazen action I can't figure out if she's playfully teasing or not. Then I catch her smug grin and know, that indeed, she's being an assclown.

"If you want to, by all means, go. We'll alert the patrols to haul your sorry ass out of there." I must admit, I love Ellie's sass.

"I get the hint. Yeesh, this town's boring."

Only because you don't know about the pond, and the rope-swing, and the baby birds, and the video games, and the movies. I have a list to shoot back at her, but I don't. Instead, I inch my hand toward the lamp, "Let's call it a night."

"Yeah. I'm tired." Ellie lies down on her bed, while I lie on one opposite of her. Lizzie has to take a makeshift pallet on the floor. You better believe I'm sticking my tongue out at her in the dark of the night.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"Maria?"

Someone takes my wrists and gives a gentle shake, another soft voice, "Maria?"

"Let me sleep." I'm in such a deep sleep that being awake feels painful. Then, ferociously, "It's Ellie, you assclown!"

I open my eyes, facing her green ones, alert and attentive. Then she gets this smile on her face, "What do you say...we salvage this night."

"I second that notion." With that, she yanks my blankets off, and I shake at the cold air, "Whew. Little brisk."

"Here's your hoodie, and here's your shoes." She might as well be throwing them at me. Luckily my night vision doesn't completely suck ass, so I'm able to grab them. Lizzie sleeps peacefully on her pallet, completely unaware of our escapade.

"Do you still have your sparklers?" Ellie asks, and I nod, heading toward my little drawstring, "Yup."

"Good. I stole some matches the other day, so we should be good to go." With that, she twists and pulls the knob back, and we make our way through the house. I'm not even sure what time it is, so much later and darker than before.

"Holy shit, it's dark. Okay, give me a sparkler." I shake a metal rod out of the blue box and hold it before Ellie, who strikes the frail match against the side of the box. It gains a flame and she almost drops, "Whoa! That's weird!"

I can't help but laugh at her, and then shake out another sparkler, "Me now!"

So we light our sparklers, and then exchange a look, "Wanna head to the pond?"

"Hell yes. Thought you'd never ask."

So we tear down the dark streets of the sleeping town, holding our sparklers are our only source for light...and constant amusement.

When we reach the pond, I quickly tie the boat to its cinder block, then gesture, "Go on, hop on."

Ellie does so, and I begin to push it out into the water slowly. I kick my shoes and hoodie off on the sandy bank, toss her the box of sparklers, then get a good grip on the side of the little boat and run forward, pushing it forward faster and faster, and attempting to jump on at the last moment.

"Shit-!" And I've fallen off the boat, sinking into the pond. But instinct takes hold and I kick my way to the top, breaking the surface to only hear her laughter, "Aw, man, why didn't I tape that?"

"Because we've yet to find a working camera." I remark, hauling my now-sodden self onto the boat. Ellie scooches accordingly, "Don't you dare get water on me."

"Why? You're not a witch. You won't melt." I tease, and she eyes me, "You know who is a witch?"

"Lizzie?"

"Yes!" She throws her hands up in the air, "She's such a bitch."

"You guys seemed close, though." I note, and Ellie sighs. "I was doing a favor for Dr. Mundell. But, Maria, I'm gonna be honest with you. She's so annoying. And wanting to look for clickers?!"

"Crazy, I'll admit." I agree, and Ellie gives me a nudge, "You know no one would ever replace you, right?"

"Even if someone with a matching set of humor, perfect aim with a gun, and lover of horses?"

"Oh, hell naw. Then they'd just be boring."

It's nice to exchange compliments, and we both smile. Then, leaning back to back, despite her protests of not wanting to get wet, "You excited for your birthday?"

"I don't really know what day it's on, to be honest." She admits sheepishly, and I laugh, "My mom was adamant my brother and I were going to remember our birthdays."

"Aren't there more important things to worry about?"

I shake my head, "To my mom...surviving, while it became second nature, always was...something in the back of her mind. She never lost faith that one day the world would be fine again."

"Hm." Then it's quiet again, and I ask, "Did Joel teach you how to swim?"

"Yep!" She flashes me a grin, and I raise my eyebrows, "So why don't you want to get in?"

"Because it's gong to be weird showing up with our clothes soaking wet."

"Oh please," I shove her, "there'll be time for them to dry."

"Yeah, yeah." She waves me off with a flick of her wrist, and that's when I stand up.

Ellie turns to look at me, "What are you doing...?"

"Oh, nothing. Just stretching." The glare I get for this response tells me that Ellie isn't buying this it. So before I can lose my courage, I crouch down, scoop her off, and I run off the edge of the boat with her shouting, "YOU ASSCLOWN!"

We hit the water and submerge, me laughing while she's pissed. But she keeps her arms around my neck, and as we break the surface, "I thought you knew how to swim!"

"I'm tired." She whines, then laughs.

I roll my eyes, "Don't make me drop you."

"Oh please, no." Her grip tightens, and something in me makes my heart pound.

Whilst I'm treading water, she looks at me with big green eyes, "Maria?"

"Yes?"

"Can I tell you something?" Her face has gone completely red, and I don't resist the urge to bear a smug grin on my face, "Yes."

"I...um...might like you." Ellie's sheepish and adorable when admitting, and I can't help myself from laughing, which gets me smacked, "It's not funny, you assclown!"

"Yes, it is." And I laugh for the relief felt, and then Ellie searches my face, "What?"

"No, it's just nice. Because believe it or not Ellie, I thoroughly enjoy your presence as well."

"Stop using your big f-king vocabulary." She scowls, and I let myself another sheepish smile to join hers, "So...now what?"

"Would you mind being kissed by a girl?"

"If it's someone I'm in love with? Hell no."

Ellie gives a nervous giggle, and we clear our throats, trying to avoid the obvious that I'm still holding her, that I'm still treading water, that it's awkward as hell.

"Well?" I prompt, but then we both lean in and close our eyes and my stomach is a mess of butterflies and my brain's going HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT she's kissing me!

When we pull apart both of us can't help the awkward giggles that come, and then, "What now?"

"We ditch Lizzie and ride unicorns off into the sunset?" I offer, and Ellie laughs, squeezing me before kissing me on the cheek, "You're awesome."

"I'll take that as a compliment." I grin, and then I swim to the surface, Ellie piggybacking a bit. We sit on the sandy bank, and I turn to face her, "Have you come out to Joel?"

"I don't think I will." Ellie admits, giving a sigh. "It's just...he's all macho and gung-ho and I don't think he's all for raising a...girl who likes girls."

"Well, if it helps, I haven't come out to my mom." I remark, and she shrugs, "So confusing."

Then she looks down at herself and laughs, "I'm soaking wet and covered in sand. You think anyone's going to get suspicious when we return?"

I give a grin, "Oh well. Say there was a freak rainstorm so we escaped to the beach."

"I wouldn't mind a beach."

"We should find one."

And we've grabbed our shoes and hoodies and then I remember the sparklers, dropping my stuff and sprinting to the water and swimming back out to the boat. At first, Ellie seems perplexed on the shore at my sudden disappearance, then she drops her things and follows me, "These sparklers better be worth it, assclown!"

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

Back at Ellie's house, nobody is the wiser over breakfast. Lizzie pretends that nothing's happened between us all, and is all smiley and bubbly and plain out annoying. Ellie and I try not to grin at each other too much, keeping our heads bowed and focused on our eggs and bacon.

"Y'all went to bed early last night." Maria says, smiling at us three. "I was expecting you to stay up until at least one or two."

"She's trying to encourage bad habits." Joel deadpans, and Ellie and I laugh, "We were tired!" "We didn't want to stay up!"

"What are you tired from?" He continues, giving us a look while still having a smile on his face. "You don't do anything but ride horses and play video games."

"That, is very strenuous activity." Ellie argues, pointing her fork at Joel. "Games take a lot of hand-eye coordination."

"Give me a break." Joel rolls his eyes, and after a moment of silence, the two laugh.

Then Maria turns to face me, "What are you doing over at Mizti's studio?"

"Working on a project." I respond, forking some eggs into my mouth. Joel gives her a surreptitious nudge, and when she raises his eyebrows at him, he gives a small, very small, nod of his head. So I'll assume that Maria knows Ellie's gift as well.

"Well, that was delicious." I say, pushing away from the table after successfully clearing my plate. "I should head home now so my mom doesn't get border patrol on me."

"Be safe, alright?" Joel calls after me, as I sling my drawstring over my shoulders. I nod, turning the knob to the front door, giving a wave as I head out.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

At my house I finally take a shower. Don't ask how Ellie and I covered up the fact we were soaking wet. It involves two hours in the early, early morning when one is so punch-drunk a simple "hello" makes them keel over in laughter. I still don't know how we got it past the adults. Who cares about Lizzie.

When I'm nice and clean and dry, I put on some dry clothing, and then head over to Mitzi's studio.

"Well, hello, kiddo." She grins as I walk in the door, and I give a two-fingered salute, "What's cracking?"

"Nothing." Then Mitzi eyes me a bit, "How come you can't wipe that smile off of your face?"

"Because. Reasons." I remark, grabbing the guitar and setting up my workspace.

Mitzi eyes me warily, "You still can't stop smiling."

Then she gasps, "You little rat!"

"What am I?" I tease, and she slams her mug down on the table, "You...and...Ellie!"

"We didn't do anything." I reply coolly, still not able to wipe the smile off my face, and Mitzi grins as well, "I knew it! I shipped y'all from the beginning!"

"Let me just paint my guitar in peace." I groan, and she slaps me on the shoulder, "Fine, fine, whatever."

So I finish painting it black, and then Mitzi has to help me paint the galaxy in varying shades of purple and pink and blue and violets and indigos and roses.

"That looks amazing." I say as she begins finishing up. Mitzi shrugs, "I've never tried the sky before, so this is a new experiment."

She lets me be her audience of one as she paints, a peacefulness and focus coming over her face, something I've never seen before on the eccentric woman. As she nears the end of it, "Here comes the fun part. Go get a toothbrush from that bucket over there."

I follow her orders and return with two. Mitzi takes one, dips the edge of it in white paint, and pulls it back, the synthetic hairs sending a flurry of white dots across it.

I dip my toothbrush and follow her lead. We cover the front of the guitar, the dots growing large nearer the rosette. As we begin to finish up, Mitzi dips her toothbrush and turns to face me, sending a wave of white across my face and clothes.

"Hey!" I cry out, but she's laughing. I dip my toothbrush and fling the paint back at her, the droplets spraying back. Mitzi jams her toothbrush back into the puddle of white paint, "Oh, it's on!"

So we continue with a paint battle, me ducking behind ragtag assemblies of tables and desk and chairs, while she aims her toothbrush at me. I manage to get some more paint on mine, and gain the upper hand of the battle, chasing her around.

"Y'all having a nice time?"

Joel's thick drawl draws me to a stop, and Mitzi fires one last round onto my arms, grinning as I wince. Then she turns to face him, "Just about. Need this to dry and then clear coat it a little bit."

"You have the material to do that?" Joel asks, and she gives a shrug, "Enough, at least."

Then Joel crosses the studio, and I join him as he looks at the guitar and smiles, "It sure is a beauty. Don't look anything like when we found it."

"Good. We worked hard on it." Mitzi notes, joining our discussion.

To this Joel nods, "I'm sure y'all did. Ellie's gonna love it."

Then he turns to face me, and then back at Mitzi, "Think Maria's done enough work?"

"Yeah, enough slacking." I stick my tongue out at her with this remark and she only grins, adding, "She's good to go."

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

Joel and I head back to the power plant office, where Tommy greets me with a grin, "Hey, Maria."

"Hi!" I give a wave back, and then take a seat at the desk. Joel shuffles with something buried in the drawers, then returns to me, "Which one?"

Three cards sit in front of me. One looks serious, the other one goofy, and one has a picture of an enormously fat cat on the front. I pick up each one and read it. The serious one is too serious, the goofy one makes me grin, but the one of the cat has me laughing out loud. I hand it back to Joel, "This one."

"I'll trust your judgement." He remarks, taking the card back. Tommy leaves the office to a call from one of the workers, and I turn back to face Joel, "How's Ellie doing?"

"A little under the weather. She started feeling sick after y'all left."

My heart pangs as I glance at the remaining two cards. Poor Ellie. Sick and sleeping.

"Maria stayed home to take care of her." Joel adds, and I give a smile, "Good to know someone's looking over her."

He nods in agreement, then thunder booms in the distant. The pleasant humming of voices in the power plant drops for a few minutes, determining it's thunder, then the talking picks up again.

"I reckon I should bring you home before your mom loses her mind." Joel remarks, and I nod, rising from my seated position, "Good idea."

We're heading to the door when Tommy slams it back, drenched from head to toe, "I'm afraid nobody is going anywhere with that storm brewing outside."

"Ain't it safe to walk?" Joel argues, and he shakes his head, "Nah. Not gonna risk you two being struck by lightning."

I try not to sigh. So basically, I'm stuck at the power plant with Joel and Tommy until the storm clears.

All it takes is a quick glance out the window to see the pouring rain. The sky's dark and ominous, and every few minutes a burst of lightning and thunder booms. I'm really not going anywhere.

"I have a pack of cards." Tommy offers, pulling back one of the endless drawers. He tosses a deck onto the table, where it lands with a gentle thump.

Joel takes the deck and shakes the cards out, beginning to shuffle them. Tommy takes a seat at the table, glancing at me, "So, what games do you know how to play?"

I give a shrug, "None."

"Really? You look like the type of person to have a deck of cards in your pocket." He remarks, and Joel clears his throat, "It ain't too hard to learn."

"Just don't teach her how to gamble, alright?" Tommy laughs. "I don't want your mom to kill us both."

"It'll be a good way to work on my poker face." I note, and Joel shrugs, "I guess so."

So while the rain pours down outside, Tommy and Joel take it upon themselves to teach me blackjack, war, and "spoons" (which is played with whatever pens and utensils we find around the office).

Tommy and I reach double war twice, Joel has a bad habit of grabbing more utensils than he needs, and I can't stop asking for more cards in blackjack. Before I know it we're all laughing at one another with our faults in playing card games.

Finally, the storm lightens up, and Maria walks in the room, pulling down the hood of her jacket, her blonde hair stringy with water, "It's done raining."

She gives a smile to me, and I push back from the table, "Thanks for teaching me the card games."

"No problem. Stop by next time you want to lose at blackjack." Tommy teases, and I roll my eyes. Joel returns my two-finger salute and I head out the door Maria holds open for me.

(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)

"This isn't a good time." Ellie manages weakly, her face pale. She shakes under a pile of blankets as I cross her room to see her at her bedside.

She gives a pitiful cough, burying her face in her pillow, "Go away. I feel like shit."

I can't help but laugh, and only sit on the edge of her bed. "Poor thing. You shouldn't have gone swimming."

"You grabbed me and pushed me off, assclown." Ellie practically hisses the last word, but the intensity is lost as her voice is smothered by the pillow.

"But you kissed me." I argue, grinning as she giggles, "I did that, didn't I?"

She finally rolls over, her ponytail messy, her eyes dim but still playful. I brush the wild auburn strands out of her face, "Just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Of course I am, Maria. I'm supposed to stick around and kick your ass for a long, long time." Ellie smiles, then coughs. The edges of her eyes fill with tears and she blinks rapidly, "I'm so tired."

"I'll let you sleep." I murmur, as she closes her eyes without hesitation. Before I can lose my courage I give her a kiss on her forehead, then stand up and bring the blankets up to her shoulders.

"Thanks." She mutters, beginning to smile, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes, heading to the door, "Get well soon."