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He was quiet for a minute, and then he said, “Yeah, I do.” He smiled. “What’s got five toes but isn’t your foot?”
What?
“I have absolutely no idea.”
“Myfoot,” he said, suddenly looking utterly gleeful.
I almost fell backward onto my bed. “Oh, my god,” I said. “That’s the stupidest joke I’ve ever heard.”
“But you’re laughing,” he said. “And be careful, because I’ve got more where that came from.”
“Please, no more,” I said, trying to look serious and failing.
“Fine, if my awesome dad jokes are too much for you right now. But it isn’t bedtime yet, and so you need to getoutof bed. We have to find something to do. Do you want to play Ping-Pong? Mitch said he ordered a new set of paddles.”
He was waiting for me to say yes, but how could I? I’d come from a world of hunger and guilt and sorrow into one of jokes and roommates and sweatpants and Ping-Pong and a cute college boy who seemed to actually enjoy spending time with me, even if hewasgetting college credit for it. And it honestly just felt like too much right now.
“It’s too late for Ping-Pong,” I said.
“That’s your excuse, but the truth is you don’t want to suffer humiliating defeat,” Jordan said.
I couldn’t help smiling. “You can’t goad me into it.”
He shrugged. “It was worth a try. We could do a puzzle?”
“I brought enough food to feed everyone, you know,” I said.
Jordan leaned toward me. “What?”
“Grains and butter and beans and bread … Everyone was so happy to see me. And Ryia—she had a baby girl. But I’m really worried about her husband.”
Jordan said abruptly, “How about we take a walk? Just around the ward.” He stood and held out his hand, but I didn’t take it.
“What for?”
“Well, everyone here will be happy to see you, too. You were kind of out of it for a while.”
“Out of it—is that the technical term?” I said dryly. But I got out of bed and stretched my stiff limbs. I felt heavy and slow. I couldn’t hit a Ping-Pong ball if someone begged me, bribed me, or threatened my life. Shuffling down the hall, though, I could probably manage.
Jordan tossed my shoes to me, and I slipped them on over my mismatched socks. “I like the leather boots I got at the castle better,” I said.
“Living one life is hard enough,” Jordan said quietly. “Isn’t living two of them exhausting?”
His tone was gentle, but for some reason I bristled. Did he think I wanted to give one up? Did he think Icould?
“Well, we all have our probs, don’t we,” I said.
He paused. “Yeah, I guess we do.”
We walked into the glaringly bright hall. Andy was pacing up and down as usual, and he turned to me as we passed, his eyes wide and spooked.
“Get them off me,” he said.
I didn’t know what he was talking about. “Get what?”
“The bugs! I can feel them on the back of my neck.”
“Oh,” I said. I stepped closer and stood on my tiptoes so that I could see the back of Andy’s long, hairy neck. He’d never believe me if I told him he was bug-free, so I picked up an imaginary critter. “There! Got one. It’s tiny—totally harmless.”
