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“Sasha, I’ve spoken to quite a few doctors on this topic and all of them say that there’s no way to effectively determine what causes a miscarriage that early in pregnancy. Your mother didn’t cause the miscarriage, and neither did you. You don’t owe her anything.”

“Well, she gave birth to me, so . . .”

“I mean Shanna,” Amanda says.

I lean toward her as well, because I think she would like that. “I know,” I say.

What I don’t say is that I’m starting to think Shanna owes me.

Big-time.

I am (here you are) you (there? goes my heart) attack—serious as (a little birdie told me that you hate me).

And I believe that little birdie.

From Isaac

How you feeling?

Sasha?

Sasha?

I. Things I Know

A. Mind over matter is not only a saying.

B. Buddhist monk Thích Quang Duc set himself on fire in 1963, meditating peacefully while he burned alive.

II. Things I Don’t Know

A. How far I can take this

thirty

TODAY AT THE CARDIAC CENER!

Apparently not proofreading classes.

11:00 a.m.—Civil War Reenactment on the Lawn! Get hooked on hoop skirts as the Historical Society brings us their best! Note: The cannon will not be in use due to last year’s pacemaker incident.

I would rather hear about that incident than attend the event.

2:00 p.m.—Wild for Woolies! The zoo brings in their cuddliest cuties for some special playtime in the common room!

To be followed by earnest hand washing so that our compromised immune systems don’t collapse.

4:00 p.m.—Songs with Sasha! Who knew such talent walked these halls? Come hear resident musician Sasha Stone in the meditation room to get those toes tapping!

“You’re famous,” Layla says as I take my seat at lunch.

“Only in the Cardiac Cener,” I say, and she rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, I knew you’d catch that typo.”

I try to act like I don’t care, but the truth is that instead of ending up as a crumpled ball in my trash can, like every other day’s schedule, today’s is tucked in between the pages of the only romance novel Layla’s mom could bring me that didn’t have three inches of cleavage and some side boob on the cover.

“Wild for Woolies?” Brandy asks, eyeing the schedule. “Do they even know?”