"I'm probably dreaming."
"No, you're not."
"Dream Freya would definitely say that," he said then sighed. "But I don't care. You're here, and that's all that matters."
With a smile, I stepped into the room, remembering to leave the door cracked behind me. I walked to his bed and took a seat on the edge. Tolliver's eyes followed me the whole time.
"So, I came to make sure you're alright," I explained.
"You shouldn't have," he said.
My heart started to sink.
But then he added, "I don't want you getting sick because of me. Or for any reason, but definitely not me."
"Well, too bad," I said. "You can't tell me what to do."
He smiled. "Real Freya would say that."
"Tolliver, this is real," I said.
"Whatever you say."
When I looked closer, I could tell that his eyes were a little unfocused. "Did you take something?"
"Just some medicine," he said then yawned and pushed the bottom of his palm against his eye. I did that sometimes when I felt pressure building there, but I got the feeling Tolliver was only trying to wake up. "Helps with the symptoms, but it makes the patient sleepy and groggy."
I nodded. "You're a little loopy. Aren't you?"
"Yeah."
Maybe that would make this easier.
"What's in there?"
I followed his eyes to the bag and smiled. "I got you some stuff."
Tolliver smiled too. "I like stuff."
Definitely not all there, I thought while digging into the bag. "Soup," I said, holding up the cans. "I wasn't sure which is your favorite, so I got five different flavors."
"Yum. What else?"
I chuckled then held up the next items. "I got tissues, vapor rub, ginger ale and cough drops."
"What kind?"
"Cherry," I said, and he nodded his approval. "There's some other things, but yeah. That's the gist of it. You can look through the rest later."
Before I could stop him, Tolliver reached into the bag and brought out my final and best find.
The small, stuffed teddy bear had black fur and was wearing a hockey jersey and skates. In one paw, there was a tiny hockey stick. On the front of the jersey, there was a heart, and on the back, it said, "I Love You Bear-y Much." Tolliver stared at the bear. And stared. And kept staring.
Until finally, he looked up and said, "Where'd you find this?"
I shrugged. "At the grocery store."
A beat.
